Hasta La Gadget!

Spotify is a great service, but do you ever wish you could use it to stream music through your smart TV? Soon you’ll be able to, thanks to a new team up between Samsung and Spotify that will see an app developed specifically for Samsung’s 2012 E-Series smart TVs. Before you US Spotify lovers get too excited, however, we should let you know that this app will only be available in Europe.

Don’t own a Samsung smart TV? You won’t be left out in the cold, as the joint announcement says that Spotify will be coming to Samsung’s Blu-Ray players and home theater systems as well. All you need to do is downloaded the Spotify app on you smart TV or Blu-Ray player, log on, and you’ll have access to Spotify’s library of 18 million songs. That is, provided you’re a Spotify premium subscriber.

Yes, it sounds like this app will only be available to those who have a Spotify premium subscription, but if you’ve yet to shell out the cash for a premium membership, you’ll have the opportunity to test it out with a free trial. There’s no word on how long this trial period will last, but we’re willing to assume that it will last just long enough for you to integrate Spotify into your day-to-day life before it cuts you off. That isn’t to say that signing up for Spotify premium is a bad idea, as premium members will have their playlists synced across their devices and get to enjoy ad-free listening.

Hopefully this is the first of many partnerships that see Spotify launching on a variety of devices. There’s no word on a solid release date for this app, which comes complete with an interface designed for large screens, but Samsung and Spotify say that it will arrive later this year. Considering there are only two months left in 2012, that means European users should be getting the app relatively soon. Stay tuned.

Spotify coming to Samsung Smart TVs in Europe is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Although these have been accomplished by two different branch entities, there’s no doubt the folks over at Disney are in a deal-making mood as of late. Having recently announced a deal bringing new content to Cablevision subscribers, Disney has also partnered up with LG to bring an array of 3D films over to its Smart TV platform — so long as the units are 3D-ready and you are in the US, of course. This means movies from studios such as Disney Pixar, Walt Disney Pictures, Marvel and Touchstone Pictures will available to rent in three-dee directly from LG’s 3D World, including The Avengers, Toy Story, Alice in Wonderland and, later next year, Finding Nemo. Better yet, LG’s currently offering a deal which hands you $50 in credit (which expires December 31st) to spend on 3D rentals — naturally, however, you’ll have to shell out some cash on one of its qualifying TVs in order to take advantage of this promo. To learn more about that, check out the press release after the break.

Continue reading LG’s Smart TV platform starts renting out Disney 3D movies, offers new buyers $50 worth

Filed under: Misc, Home Entertainment, HD, LG

LG’s Smart TV platform starts renting out Disney 3D movies, offers new buyers $50 worth originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 06 Oct 2012 03:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Vizio has just announced their latest Smart TV, which is a 60” Razor LED display that will definitely be priced to please – after all, we are looking at a $999.99 price tag. Of course, there are other sizes in the collection as well, which will be priced differently, and we will also look at those, but for now, the 60” model will be the one that is under the proverbial spotlight. In fact, the newly designed E-Series 60” Razor LED Smart TV will deliver an ultra-thin, slim-frame design, touting a brilliant 1080p Full HD LED quality as well as the inclusion of Vizio Internet Apps. All of that under a sub-$1,000 price point? It sure as heck sounds like Christmas has come early for those who are shopping around for a new TV!

The 60” Razor LED Smart TV will be available via online sources as well as select shelves at Costco Wholesale, Sam’s Club, Walmart, Amazon.com, Target, BJ’s Wholesale, ebay.com, VIZIO.com and other retailers if you are interested in introducing a new member to your living room.

Matt McRae, Chief Technology Officer, Vizio, said, “The new E-Series units, which are the first of many large-size VIZIO models, give consumers access to great technology on an even bigger scale. The larger units provide more screen space with a narrower border around the picture, allowing consumers to get the most out of the crystal-clear Razor LED picture for a more immersive, Wi-Fi enabled experience.”

What are some of the technologies found underneath the hood? We are looking at the latest technologies including Vizio Internet Apps with WIFI, so that one can access the likes of Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, VUDU, Hulu Plus, YouTube, Pandora, Facebook and Twitter, a 120Hz refresh rate, auto-adjusting brightness, and SRS StudioSound HD for clear audio.

You will be able to pick up the 55” Class Razor LED Smart TV, 60”Class Razor LED Smart TV, 65” Class Razor LED Smart TV, 65” Class Razor LED Smart TV with Theater 3D, and 70” Class Razor LED Smart TV for $949.99, $999.99, $1,499.99, $1,699.99 and $1,999.99, respectively.

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[ Vizio 60” Razor LED Smart TV copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

There’s about to be a brand new smart TV in your living room with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, wireless streaming abilities, and no more than a $50 price tag, all of this in a tiny dongle: FAVI’s Streaming Stick. This little device comes in white or in black – though it wont matter as it’ll be plugged in to the back or the side of your television in your HDMI port the entire time its in operation. Plug it in to the HDMI port, plug a mini-USB cord into the side of the stick for power, and connect your wireless keyboard and mouse for next-level Android-based media engagement!

This device comes by itself with a simple remote control or you can pay an extra $39.99 for FAVI’s own mini wireless keyboard and touchpad mouse. You can also connect with DLNA and the device’s own MediaSHARE app so you can stream media from your computer to the device. You’ve got Google Play on the device right on the device right out of the box, and it all connects to the web via wi-fi. The stick works with a slightly modified version of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean made specifically for the television of your choice – a startup sequence allows you to expand or retract your display area at will.

You’ve also got a standard headphone-sized audio port and a full-sized USB port so you can run a mouse or wired keyboard through the device if you wish. You can use a USB hub through the device if you wish for additional accessories, and any and all Android apps that don’t require specific processors will work right out of the box. At the moment we’re getting in contact with FAVI to check which processor this device does have, but they’ve been clear thus far on its ability to play basic games such as Angry Birds for sure.

This device is up for pre-order now and will be shipping in October, coming in two iterations – the first is a 4GB internal storage version for $49, the second is $79 and includes 8GB of internal storage. Does it look like FAVI has made the instant-smart-TV device for you? Let us know if you’re ready to jump in to the internet-connected TV universe with Android running the show!

SmartStick by FAVI brings Android to your HDTV for $50 is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

I tend to think that out of the three current generation consoles, the Nintendo Wii innovated the most not from the point of graphics, but rather, the way one interacts with the game itself. This has led to other developments like Microsoft’s Kinect that uses your entire body as a video game controller itself. We have also seen innovations in smart TVs that can be controlled through gestures from different manufacturers, and here we are with the nTobeBox from eyeSight Mobile Technologies and Innodigital. Basically, the nTobeBox is a set-top box which enables you to interact with your TV without the need for a remote control, although it receives a little bit of help from the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system that will transform any standard TV into a Smart TV, letting you stream content, apps, perform video calls, enjoy Internet connectivity and intuitive hand gesture recognition to boot.

It seems that eyeSight’s technology will enable “users comprehensive control over every aspect of Innodigital’s set-top box”, where both hand gestures as well as hand tracking will pave the way for virtual mouse control, yielding full control over the TV as though you had a handheld remote. I do wonder what the sensitivity is like, and what happens when I just want to swat a pesky mosquito buzzing in front of my face? Will that change the channel by accident?

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Ice Screen 26-inch Android-powered Smart TV From Tencent and TCL, Samsung intros new 75-inch Smart TV and Angry Birds Smart TV app with gesture controls,