Hasta La Gadget!

We weren’t actually allowed to get our hands on Samsung’s 22-inch Transparent BLU LCD TV — the showcase was accompanied by a “Do not touch” label — but we were able to get our first in-the-flesh look at the see-through display at SID this week. According to Sammy’s rep, the monitors, which can operate with or without a backlight, will start shipping to manufacturers as soon as this week, but consumers will have to wait until Q3 to get their hands on one. While our hands remained mostly at our sides during our little meeting, we did sneak them behind the display to see just how transparent these things are. Sure enough, we could see our phalanges wiggling quite clearly through the ghostly panel. When the backlight was flipped on, the screen became a touch more opaque, but didn’t fully obstruct the view of the potted plants lurking in the background. For now, the screens are focused on the commercial market — specifically advertising — but we wouldn’t mind adding one of these things to our living room. Hop on past the break for a little video love.

Continue reading Samsung’s 22-inch Transparent BLU LCD TV shipping next week, eyes-on at SID 2011 (video)

Samsung’s 22-inch Transparent BLU LCD TV shipping next week, eyes-on at SID 2011 (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 May 2011 16:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We got the lowdown on Toshiba’s latest four-inch LCD a couple of days ago, and today at SID 2011 we got up close and personal with the pixel-packed display. It’s one thing to read about a 367ppi screen that shows native 720p video, and it’s quite another to experience it in person. We can report that it is, in fact, as awesome as it sounds — onscreen images were clear, crisp, and chromatically brilliant. Pixel density enthusiasts will also be happy to hear that Toshiba confirmed the display will make it to market this year. Of course, the rep wouldn’t tell us which phone will take the iPhone 4’s crown as the ppi champ, though we imagine it’ll be something powered by little green bots. See the new king in action in the video after the break.

Continue reading Toshiba declares victory in pixel density war: 367ppi coming to a phone this year (video)

Toshiba declares victory in pixel density war: 367ppi coming to a phone this year (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 May 2011 04:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Traditional electronic watches may be practical, but there’s nothing elegant about battery power. With the Eole watch concept, designer Julien Moise envisioned a device that’s powered by blown air, displaying the time only when you want to see it. Sure, compulsively blowing on your watch in a meeting is less discreet than sneaking a peek under the table, but you’ll still have your BlackBerry around for when you need to count down the minutes until freedom. There’s also a weather indicator and alarm function, so we assume there’s a battery in there that’s doing more than keeping time — an alarm that only sounds when you blow wouldn’t work too well if you’re asleep.

Continue reading Eole concept watch has turbine bezel, shows time when you blow (video)

Eole concept watch has turbine bezel, shows time when you blow (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 May 2011 23:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toshiba just fired its own salvo in the pixel density wars at SID 2011. The company is showing off a range of LCDs for cellphones that top out at an almost imperceptibly fine 367ppi on its 4-inch HD (720 x 1280) model. Beyond just cramming more red, green, and blue dots in each inch, these panels also top the bar-setting Retina Display in the contrast department with an impressive 1,500:1 ratio. The company also brought a smaller 3.3-inch screen with a resolution of 480 x 864 to Display Week that hits a respectable 300ppi. They’re not quite as impressive as these HAST LCDs, but who really needs to put 1080p in their pocket? (Want is a different story.) Of course, Engadget is on the scene and, if you’re lucky, we’ll let you live vicariously through us as we tour Toshiba’s booth — you know, as a reward for your loyal readership.

Continue reading Toshiba enters pixel density fray with 367ppi LCDs for cellphones

Toshiba enters pixel density fray with 367ppi LCDs for cellphones originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 May 2011 13:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s a well-known fact that LG’s already dominated the pixel density race in the smartphone market thanks to the Retina Display inside the iPhone 4, but we’ve yet to see similar technologies making their way to larger devices. That could change very soon, however, with Samsung and LG both announcing larger high-density panels to be showcased at SID 2011 next week. From Samsung we’ll be seeing its 10.1-inch 300ppi prototype LCD panel, which rakes up an astonishing resolution of 2,560 x 1,600 under the battery-friendly PenTile RGBW matrix (not to be confused with AMOLED and Super AMOLED’s RGBG arrangement). What’s more, Samsung also teases “commercial availability” for this technology later this year.

Things are a bit vague with LG — no specific resolutions are mentioned in the pre-show announcement, but we’re told that the company will introduce “a full line-up” of “ultra-high resolution” Advanced High Performance In-Plane Switching (AH-IPS) products, including 3.5-, 4.5-, 7-, 9.7, 55-, and 84-inch panels, with a “greater number of pixels than the PPI that can be recognized by the human eye at a typical distance” — a proclamation typically reserved for the iPhone 4’s 326ppi Retina Display. Of course, LG could be misleading here — the 9.7-inch panel brought up in the press release could just be the exact same 1,024 x 768 IPS display on the iPad, but we’d be surprised if LG doesn’t have a similarly-sized prototype to fire back at Samsung’s 10.1-inch 300ppi panel. Well, keep an eye out for our SID 2011 coverage next week and we’ll let you know what goodies we find.

Continue reading Samsung and LG to showcase high pixel density LCD panels for tablets at SID 2011

Samsung and LG to showcase high pixel density LCD panels for tablets at SID 2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 13 May 2011 02:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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