Hasta La Gadget!

I was a pretty big fan of Sony’s HMZ-T1 3D head-mounted display when it first came out a couple of years ago. With its HD OLED screens, it created an insanely immersive personal viewing experience. However, it had a few major shortcomings, and Sony hopes to rectify those with the newly revealed HMZ-T2 model.

Like the original HMZ-T1, the T2 has a pair of high-contrast 1280×720 OLED screens for displaying discrete content to each eyeball. This produces a crosstalk-free 3D image, and a simulated screen that’s like sitting in a small movie theater. The biggest problems with the original model were that it was very uncomfortable for even relatively short periods of time, and that it also required that you used the mediocre, built-in earbuds. With the HMZ-T2, Sony has improved on both of these issues, plus added a few other tweaks.

The updated HMZ-T2 personal viewer lets you remove its earbuds, letting you listen to movies with headphones of your choice, or a surround sound system if your interpretation of “personal viewing” includes waking the neighbors. It’s also got something called a “harmonics equalizer” which is said to improve sound quality no matter what device you listen with. In addition, the T2 claims to improve upon the biggest problem with the original – it’s weight and discomfort. The T1 weighed quite a bit and put significant pressure on the forehead and bridge of the nose. The new version has a larger forehead pad, weighs a little less (330g vs. 500g), and comes with more adjustments for its headstrap, so hopefully you’ll be able to wear it for longer viewing sessions. They also added a technology which gradually adjusts color temperature as your content plays, easing eye strain. That idea sounds a little odd to me, but perhaps it’ll work. Hopefully, you can disable that if it causes issues with image fidelity. Sony also added a 24p “true cinema” mode for 24 frame-per-second cinematic playback.

Sony hasn’t announced a release date for the HMZ-T2 yet, nor a price, but I’m guessing it’ll be out in time for the holidays, and will list for the same $799(USD) that the original did. Hopefully, Sony can ramp up production better this time, as the original model was frequently sold out and being sold for ridiculous prices on eBay.

Wearable displays have jumped in attention over the past twelve months, with the arrival of Google’s Glass driving interest, but Sony continues to push virtual big-screen entertainment rather than augmented reality. The HMZ-T2 Personal 3D Viewer was a quiet surprise at IFA, replacing last year’s T1 with a more compact, lightweight version using a pair of 720p HD OLED screens to create a virtually vast individual screen. Read on for our hands-on first impressions.

Where wearables like Google Glass focus on overlaying digital data on top of the virtual world, Sony’s headset hopes to take you away from it. The two OLEDs are enclosed in a white and black plastic visor – you can see your feet below you, but nothing ahead of you – and though they’re each only 0.7-inches diagonal, the effect is of watching a considerably larger screen at a distance of several feet.

The first struggle is getting it to fit. Perhaps I have an unfeasibly large head, but getting the adjustable strap – which pulls on like a baseball cap, from back to front – to sit snugly but still allow the visor to sit in my eye-line proved tricky. You also need headphones, either a set of in-ear buds plugging into the HMZ-T2 itself, or a separate pair of cans that you put on secondly. There’s a padded piece that rests against your forehead, and while we were able to ignore it initially, we could imagine it might get uncomfortable after watching a full feature film.

Once you’ve actually got it on, though, the result is impressive. The screens may be 720p not 1080p, but you don’t notice at that distance: the overall effect is of crisp visuals that are bright enough to be clear but not so much as to hurt your eyes. Meanwhile the 3D effect is excellent: none of the shimmer or shudder that you can suffer using regular 3D TVs.

Controls are hidden on the lower side of the headset, though they’re quite small and – since you can’t actually see them when you’re pressing them – could do with being larger for more straightforward navigation. A dual display switcher, meanwhile, allows for two players to game on the same console, one using the TV as normal and the other seeing their own personal view through the HMZ-T2.

Sony HMZ-T2 hands-on:

Sony isn’t talking price yet for the T2, though its predecessor came in at around $800. That gets you a big TV for home viewing or a couple of tablets for on the move, though the latter are never really going to provide the same visual experience as the former. The HMZ-T2, however, might well prove a sufficient alternative, and that’s before you get into the possibility of hooking up computers or other devices to take advantage. Expect it to hit shelves later in 2012.

Sony HMZ-T2 hands-on is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Premiership footballers will be weeping in envy at the way Samsung’s been spending its cash this month. After splashing $822 million on a Korean R&D center, it’s now chucking $4 billion to renovate its semiconductor factory in Austin, Texas. The cash will be used to increase production on system-on-chip products used in a wide variety of smartphones and tablets, presumably to cope with future demand. It’s not clear if this investment is in addition to the $1 billion it was raising in January to add a new SOC and OLED line to the same facility, but it’s certainly a good time to be living in Texas, right now.

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablet PCs

Samsung spending $4 billion to renovate Austin chip factory originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Aug 2012 06:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The mobile device world has gone resolution crazy thanks in part to the high-resolution Retina screens from Apple. Now that the iPhone and iPad have high-resolution and high pixel density screens, you can bet other manufacturers are looking for similar screens of their own for mobile products. A report has surfaced from Korea claiming that Samsung has managed to reach an impressively high pixel density on an OLED display.

According to the report, Samsung has hit 350 ppi on an OLED display using Fine Metal Mask technology. Samsung had previously used L ITI technology to hit such pixel densities on portable displays. If the report is accurate and Samsung was able to hit the 350 ppi mark using Fine Metal Mask, it would be able to roll out the process to its current AMOLED facilities.

There has been no official confirmation from Samsung that it has hit this milestone. However, if it’s true, we could see significantly higher pixel density OLED screens coming to smartphones soon. Apple’s Retina display has a pixel density of 326 ppi for comparison.

[via OLED-info]

Samsung 350ppi display tech could make OLED the next Retina is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

The world of technology and gadgets is a fast-paced and highly competitive one, and sometimes, things can get a little bit hairy. Six LG Display employees have been charged with stealing OLED technology from Samsung Display between 2010 and 2011, with Samsung saying that LG poached some of its core employees – and presumably a number of its business secrets – as well. 11 people total have been charged in the case, including three people who currently work for Samsung and two former Samsung Mobile employees.

LG, of course, denies any involvement in the theft of Samsung’s technology and claims that the information Samsung accuses it of stealing was already widely known, and therefore can’t be considered a trade secret. OLED looks like it’s going to be the next big thing in display technology, and with OLED TVs costing thousands upon thousands of dollars, it’s pretty easy to see why Samsung is being so protective of its information in this case.

Interestingly enough, Samsung doesn’t want any money, just a formal apology from LG Display. LG, on the other hand, is apparently planning to take Samsung to court for defamation.

Who is right and who is wrong here isn’t for us to decide, but it sure does make the day a whole lot more exciting. Samsung and LG are the world’s two largest flat-panel makers, and there isn’t any doubt that the two will be competing fiercely when it comes to making OLED technology the new industry standard for displays. LG could be in a mess of trouble if it turns out that Samsung’s charges are legitimate, so this will definitely be a story to watch in the coming days and weeks. Stay tuned.

[via Bloomberg]

LG employees charged with swiping OLED tech from Samsung is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.