Hasta La Gadget!

Sure, 1080p HDTVs aren’t exactly an ultra luxury these days, but a 1920 x 1080-pixel panel on your desk? That’s a privilege often enjoyed by stock brokers, graphic designers, and those of us who know how to beat the technology ordering system at work. Luckily, Dell’s new UltraSharp U2412M isn’t ultra expensive, delivering 1080p resolution with its 24-inch LED-backlit display. It also features in-plane switching (IPS) with a wide viewing angle, a 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio, DisplayPort and DVI connectivity, a built-in USB hub, and height adjustability. Oh, and it retails for $399. That price tag may make you reconsider spending an extra $200 per inch for Apple’s new $999 Thunderbolt Display, though Dell’s 24-incher notably lacks a built-in webcam, and is somewhat limited in the connectivity department. Still, we like to see HD monitors that don’t cost more than many all-in-ones, and, knowing Dell, you should be able to find the U2412M for less than retail, assuming you’re willing to test your patience with that 17-inch CRT for a few more weeks.

Dell UltraSharp U2412M display features 1080p resolution and IPS, doesn’t cost $999 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 Jul 2011 17:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sure, we’ve seen iPad hats and augmented reality tattoos, but a 60-inch display suitable for hours of wear under the hot Nevada desert sun? Well that’s just crazy talk. Believe it or not, a one Dave Forbes built exactly that: a 12V battery powered, 160 x 120-pixel monitor capable of displaying standard NTSC analog video from an in-pocket iPod. The result is nothing short of incredible, but when you’re building a wearable lab coat-based TV with thousands of LEDs and a pair of circuit boards, features like breathability and water-wicking tend to get overlooked. Forbes spent six months creating this ultimate gadget, which is likely to make quite the colorful splash when he shows it off next month at Burning Man. But with a multi-month time commitment and $20,000 price tag, we can’t help but wonder what this ‘brainiac’ could have come up with were he to redirect those resources towards a super-slick tech project for the masses, instead.

Continue reading Wearable lab coat TV packs thousands of LEDs, heads for Burning Man (video)

Wearable lab coat TV packs thousands of LEDs, heads for Burning Man (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 Jul 2011 15:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Continue reading Art Lebedev’s Optimus Mini Six enters production, Popularis unsurprisingly delayed

Art Lebedev’s Optimus Mini Six enters production, Popularis unsurprisingly delayed originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Jun 2011 13:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Everyone ’round here knows that Samsung has a lusty 10.1- and premature 7-inch version of its Galaxy Tab tablet. But we’ve heard nary a peep from Samsung about that $469 8.9-incher announced alongside its bigger, just-as-thin sibling back in March. We might know why. According to Korean news site Etnews, Samsung is having trouble getting it to market due to low yields of the 8.9’s G1F touch-panel which uses one less film layer than conventional GFF (glass fiber filter) panels. This G1F architecture is behind Samsung’s Super Clear LCD which you’ll find on Sammy’s own Galaxy Player, (Russian) Nexus S, and Wave II handsets. Etnews claims that Samsung will offset the G1F shortfall with GFF-type touch panels that are 30 – 40 percent thicker and dimmer, thanks to the extra layer. If true then we have one question: which regions will get the chunkier Galaxy Tab 8.9 when if finally does launch this summer?

Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 8.9 troubled by screen issues, chubbier version the result? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Jun 2011 07:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Kopin’s a company known for diminutive displays destined for duty as electronic view finders in camcorders and digicams. At E3 this year, the company’s subsidiary Forth Dimensions Displays has unveiled a new use for its teeny tiny screens — virtual reality. Called Replicating Reality, it uses two .8-inch 1280 x 1024 LCD panels and head tracking to place you in a 3D virtual world. We got to test the system through a racing game, and found that it works pretty darn well. Graphics were of console quality, with nary a hint of image distortion from the system’s magnification lenses and pixel pitch was imperceptible to our eyes. Basically, there was no indication that the screens our gaze was fixed upon were less than an inch across. The sharp picture combined with the system’s head tracking — which let us look around while taking turns and weaving through traffic — to create quite an immersive experience. Of course, it still looked like a game, but there’s a pixel packed 2048 x 1536 panel in the works that the company claims can deliver visuals nigh-indistinguishable from the real world. We were told that prototypes of these QXGA screens will be ready in ten months, and they’ll be suitable for public consumption in a year. So, the real question is: will your eyeballs be prepared to handle such prodigious pixel density by then?

Replicating Reality demos 3D virtual reality system powered by pixel-rich microdisplays originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Jun 2011 04:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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