Hasta La Gadget!

We don’t see an official press release yet but Pocket-lint and other UK sites are claiming that Sony’s OLED Walkman will hit the UK high streets starting tomorrow. The hotly anticipated X-series Walkman will be priced at £209 for the 16GB model or £279 for the 32GB model. We’d translate those numbers to US dollars but we don’t want to scare the natives with the UK markup for consumer electronics. We’ll update you with official US numbers just as soon as they’re out.

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

Sony X-series OLED Walkman priced, hitting UK tomorrow originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 May 2009 07:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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For the longest while, scientists have been flummoxed by the incessant coruscating emitted by individual molecules; no matter their methods, they could never quite seem to overcome a troubling optical quirk known sensibly as “blinking.” Thanks to a brilliant crew at the University of Rochester, however, we now understand the basic physics behind the phenomenon, and together with a team from Eastman Kodak, a nanocrystal has been created that can constantly emit light. In theory, the discovery could lead to “dramatically less expensive and more versatile lasers, brighter LED lighting, and biological markers that track how a drug interacts with a cell at a level never before possible.” Indeed, one could envision that future displays could be crafted by painting a grid of differently sized nanocrystals onto a flat surface, making even OLED TVs look chubby in comparison. Now, if only we had a good feeling that such a device was destined for a CES in our lifetime…

Filed under: Science

Nanocrystal breakthrough promises more versatile lasers, world peace originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 May 2009 08:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We wouldn’t carve this in stone quite yet, but we’d say that points-to-dollars conversion from Sony’s official ‘Rewards’ site is pretty legitimate. The outfit’s highly anticipated OLED Walkman, which we had the pleasure of toying with earlier this week, is now listed in 16GB and 32GB forms at SonyRewards. While no ship date is given, we are told that the smaller of the two will run members 29,995 points, while the larger one demands an extra 10,000. For those who only speak real currency (you know, like Schrute Bucks), that translates to $299.95 and $399.95, respectively. Furthermore, the first official OLED Walkman accessories have popped up, proving that a leather case / kickstand, clear screen protector and a hard plastic shell will be made available. Oh, and Sony — any moment now would be great for a confirmation.

[Via SonyInsider]

Read – 16GB OLED Walkman
Read – 32GB OLED Walkman

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

Sony’s OLED Walkman priced in the US… sort of originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 07 May 2009 14:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We got a chance to peek Sony’s succulent OLED Walkman way back at CES, but we’ve waited for what seems like forever to hold one in our supple paws without a booth attendant breathing down our neck. The model that arrived today on our doorstep is the 16GB NW-X1050 (or NWZ-X1050), which just launched in Japan last week. There’s still no telling when this beauty will hit the US, but we can already guess that it’ll cause some serious buzz when it does. We’ll just come right out and say it: this is the best looking display on any PMP that we’ve ever seen. If you’ll recall, Cowon’s S9 also shipped with an OLED panel, but we’ve got to give the edge to Sony here. Also of note, we were never fans of the dark granite border in the press shots, but it’s downright stunning in person. We’re going to be hosting up a video walkthrough of the menus and such just as soon as it uploads (sigh) as well as some more thorough impressions in the coming days. For now, however, feel free to peruse the gallery below.

Update: Video’s live! Check it after the break.

Continue reading Video: Sony OLED Walkman (NWZ-X1050) hands-on

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

Video: Sony OLED Walkman (NWZ-X1050) hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 May 2009 16:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Given just how long we’ve been looking at prototype OLED panels at trade shows (and trade shows alone), we’re understandably skeptical about a few new claims regarding availability. For whatever it’s worth, MegaWhat.tv has reported that the display will actually be on store shelves in 2010 (yeah, that’s next year), bringing with it a 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio, DVI / HDMI inputs and a total depth of just 1.6 centimeters. Furthermore, it’s said to suck down 40 percent less energy compared to an equivalent LCD, but you can rest assured that you’ll pay for that luxury up front. In related news, Smarthouse is suggesting that senior Panasonic executives have said that it is currently “researching” HD OLED TV and should have one on the market within two years. Not to be a Debbie Downer or anything, but we’ll wait until we see progress at CES 2010 before getting too hopeful.

Read – Samsung’s OLED TV
Read – Panasonic / Toshiba plans, via OLED-Display

Filed under: Displays, HDTV, Home Entertainment

Samsung’s 23-inch OLED TV coming in 2010, others following suit originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Apr 2009 09:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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