Hasta La Gadget!

You asked, questioned and implored — why, with all these underpowered touchscreen all-in-ones prowling our lands, can we not get a decent standalone touchscreen monitor? Well, somebody somewhere listened, and somebody else, presumably elsewhere, leaked. Presenting the entirely unofficial, but all the same real, Dell SX2210T: a 1920 x 1080 21.5-inch panel that has HDMI and DVI inputs alongside an integrated 2 megapixel webcam and microphone for your Skyping convenience. If its 1,000:1 contrast ratio and 2ms grey-to-grey response time sound familiar, it’s because the non-touch sensitive SX2210 has been available for a while already. From the support documentation we’re looking at, you’ll need to hook up an extra USB connection for the touch interface, which doesnt appear to be multitouch, but we can always hope for a miraculous firmware update down the line, right?

Update: More info has surfaced on this monitor, which can now be purchased for $469 from Dell’s online store, and will come with multtitouch panning and zooming when attached to a Windows 7 machine.

[Thanks, Bruce and dennispg]

Filed under: Displays

Dell SX2210T adds touchscreen functionality to 1080p panel (Update: multitouch!) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 20 Oct 2009 15:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s been far, far too long (read: four months) since we’ve heard a peep from the gentle souls over at Pixel Qi, but it looks like the long, heart-wrenching wait for the hybrid display that’s bound to revolutionize Western civilization is nearing an end. According to the startup’s CEO herself, Mary Lou Jepsen, the primetime-ready 3Qi display should make its glorious debut on an undisclosed tablet to be announced next month. For those out of the loop, this transflective display contains both e-ink and LCD properties, one for outdoor reading scenarios and the other for multimedia viewing. The amazing part is that toggling between the two is as simple as flipping a switch, which obviously means great things for battery life on whatever device it’s shoved into. We’ll be keeping our eyes peeled for more, but do us a favor and cross your fingers for good luck. Toes too, por favor.

[Thanks, Tom]

Filed under: Displays

Pixel Qi e-ink / LCD hybrid display to debut on tablet next month? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 17 Oct 2009 15:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Something tells us that whenever we do round two of our Time Square signage Engadget Show, Mitsubishi’s modular OLED display will be amongst the highlights. Aimed at outdoor applications (but obviously ready for your living room), the scalable prototype shown here at CEATEC was 155-inches in size. The wild part, however, is that it could grow infinitely larger — at least in theory. The whole panel that you notice from afar is crafted from smaller OLED blocks that snap together like a puzzle; the more you add, the larger your screen can be. Unfortunately, resolution is still relatively low and longevity is a definite concern, but if you can manage to stand a few feet back, the result is simply stunning. Hop on past the break for a new take on “immersive.”

Continue reading Mitsubishi’s modular, scalable OLED display goes 155-inches at CEATEC, could go way bigger (video)

Filed under: Displays

Mitsubishi’s modular, scalable OLED display goes 155-inches at CEATEC, could go way bigger (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 09 Oct 2009 22:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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3M’s MPro 120 didn’t really add a whole lot of spice to the currently drab pocket projector lineup, boasting a simple VGA resolution, 4:3 aspect ratio and image quality suitable for presentations alone. Granted, the 12 lumens and 4 hours of battery life both trump figures on the decidedly impressive SHOW WX (which has 10 lumens and 2 hours of life), but in the wide world of beamers, it’s the picture quality that matters most. We took a peek at the latest MPro here in Japan, and while the results were less than impressive underneath the lights, the sub-$330 street price in the US is definitely admirable. If you’ll recall, the laser / PicoP-based SHOW WX is slated to retail right around $500, while this bugger can be found right now in trusted e-tailers for over a Benjamin less. ‘Course, 3M might want to inform its booth attendant of this little matter, as the (erroneous) $600 price quote we got from a certain someone definitely shocked us momentarily. Video’s after the break.

Continue reading 3M’s MPro 120 pocket projector fights the good fight at CEATEC (video)

Filed under: Displays, Portable Video

3M’s MPro 120 pocket projector fights the good fight at CEATEC (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Oct 2009 18:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you aren’t tired of accessing Facebook and Pandora through your  phone, laptop or Chumby, there’s yet another gadget that promises to help you stay constantly plugged in to the electronic universe.

HP launched a new category of devices called DreamScreens that are a cross between the traditional digital picture frames and PC displays.

DreamScreens can connect to a wireless or wired network, allowing users to access their Facebook feeds, listen to music through Pandora or check photos through Snapfish, among other things. The idea is to provide built-in widgets that can bring information that users would otherwise have to go to their PCs for, says HP.

“Constant, always-on access to friends, information and entertainment is a common expectation today,” says Satjiv Chahil senior vice president, worldwide marketing, with HP. “With DreamScreen, social media, web services and digital entertainment can be enjoyed in more areas of the home.”

The screens, which will start at $250 for a 10-inch display, come with 2 GB of built-in memory. (HP also offers a 13-inch version.) Customers can load digital content using a USB drive or most types of flash memory cards, says HP.

But so far, widgets available for the DreamScreen are limited to weather, Facebook, Pandora and SmartRadio, a service that aggregates streams of live net broadcasts and a few other selections. HP says it plans to introduce more widgets that users can add to the screen. But unless HP can have a thriving app store that offers a wide variety of programs from gaming to productivity tools, the HP DreamScreen seems pretty limited in its usefulness.

Another glaring omission is the lack of a touchscreen. Using the display requires pressing buttons on the bottom of the  display or clicking the bundled remote. Either way, its not as elegant a solution as a touchscreen.

Bottom line:  The DreamScreen is not a tablet by any stretch.  It’s a sophisticated digital picture frame.

So if you want another gadget to surf Facebook, may we suggest the upcoming Motorola Cliq instead?

Check out more photos of the DreamScreen below.

Photos: HP