Jul 14

TechSaver Test: Sears Electronics Deals

Posted in: nikon, sale, Sharp, Today's Chili

Sony BDP-S350 Blu-ray playerThere was a time when my family and I bought everything from Sears: refrigerators, stoves, clothes, even computers. But since there are dedicated electronics stores like Best Buy and TigerDirect, no one really thinks of shopping at Sears for electronics anymore.

I’ve been wondering, though, if we’ve been missing out on some great deals at Sears. That’s why I’m choosing the retailer for today’s TechSaver test.

For this savings challenge, I really had to dig deep into Sears.com for deals specifically related to electronics and computers. On the homepage of Sears.com, you’ll notice deals on Sharp HDTVs, a Sylvania HDTV, and a Sony Blu-ray player–but that’s it. So, I clicked on the Electronics & Computers category and scrolled through the different products to find other things on sale.

What I came back with was the Nikon D40, the Sony BDP-S350, the Sharp AQUOS LC-40E67U, and the PNY USB 2.0 4GB Flash Drive.

Should you head straight to the cashiers at Sears? Find out, after the jump.

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Jul 07

Sharp’s new AQUOS lineup eyes-on

Posted in: LCD, LED, Sharp, Today's Chili

We just crashed Sharp’s AQUOS launch party and got a nice look at the new AQUOS panels, along with a bit of a peek at the LEDs behind the curtain. In a lot of senses, Sharp’s new panels are a collection of last generation technologies: the LEDs aren’t locally dimmed, the 120Hz refresh rate falls short of the 240Hz that’s been bandied about of late, and the internet services don’t offer video playback or WiFi connectivity. That said, the picture is looking pretty great. Sharp credits its specialized LEDs for increasing the color gamut, and new LCD tech for improved blacks and improved brightness due to better controls and less electronics getting in the way. As for 120Hz, Sharp says that its engineers found that 240Hz introduced noise, and on a personal note we don’t think we need many more Hz in our lives. There aren’t really any excuses for the shortage of internet services, but we should be seeing some new stuff at CES next year. Localized dimming is also due for the next generation, but Sharp sees the next big step for LCD tech being the RGB backlight available in its XS1 top-of-the-line set. In practice the blacks look great and the colors look great, but we’ll have to sit these new sets down next to competing TVs to really get a good idea of where Sharp’s at with this gen.

Gallery: Sharp’s new AQUOS lineup eyes-on

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Sharp’s new AQUOS lineup eyes-on originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Jul 2009 18:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jul 07

Sharp intros slate of new AQUOS LCD HDTVs, first LED models included

Posted in: hdtv, LCD, LED, Sharp, Today's Chili

There are just two months to go before CEDIA kicks off in Atlanta, but Sharp’s obviously not down with waiting ’til the Fall to introduce its latest gaggle of AQUOS HDTVs. First off, we’re taking a look at the outfit’s first LED-backlit AQUOS television, which will be available in 52- (LC-52LE700UN), 46- (LC-46LE700UN), 40- (LC-40E700UN) and 32-inch (LC-32LE700UN) screen class sizes. Each of the sets boast 1080p resolutions, a new X-Gen Panel — which supposedly leads to deep, dark black levels that could very well blow your mind — a 2,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio and 176-degree viewing angles. Separately, Sharp also debuted the 65-inch LC-65E77UM and the 60-inch LC-60E77UN, 1080p sets that are joining the E77 series and offering up 120Hz dejudder technology, a 4 millisecond response time, four HDMI sockets and an RS-232 socket for custom installers. We should be getting a little face time with all of these here shortly, and if you’re looking for specifics on any given set, hop on past the read link and have a look.

Gallery: Sharp intros slate of new AQUOS LCD HDTVs, first LED models included

Continue reading Sharp intros slate of new AQUOS LCD HDTVs, first LED models included

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Sharp intros slate of new AQUOS LCD HDTVs, first LED models included originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Jul 2009 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jul 01

Microsoft’s “Pink” smartphone to be Microsoft-branded?

Posted in: ad, HTC, Microsoft, motorola, rumor, rumors, samsung, Sharp, Today's Chili, ui, Windows Mobile, windows mobile 6.5, WindowsMobile, WindowsMobile6.5, zune

Ready for even more rumors about Windows Mobile 7 and Microsoft’s mysterious “Pink” smartphone project? Good, cause we’ve got a few — and the first is potentially huge. ZDNet’s Mary Jo Foley says her best understanding of “Pink” is now that it’s a Microsoft-branded phone running a custom UI on top of Windows Mobile 7, developed by what’s left of the Danger team and targeted at the Sidekick market. Yep, Microsoft-branded — as in, the exact thing Microsoft has been denying for ages now. What’s more, Redmond wouldn’t be letting third parties use this new UI — Pink would be manufactured only by Sharp or Motorola, who’ve made Sidekicks in the past. It all makes sense, even if it does feel a bit like MS is knifing its partners in the back — companies like HTC and Samsung have been equally aggressive in layering their own UIs like TouchFLO 3D and TouchWiz on top of WinMo, but it’s another thing entirely to compete against Microsoft itself, especially now that AdWeek says Microsoft’s selected an agency to develop a Pink ad campaign. Yeah, things are starting to get a little wild — we haven’t even mentioned the open questions of whether the Zune HD is running Tegra because it’s based on Windows Mobile 7 Chassis 1, or whether Pink will launch on Verizon, or whether Zune will appear on other phones, or… you get the idea. Hey Microsoft — you want to clear any of this up by shipping some products?

Read – ZDNet
Read – AdWeek

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Microsoft’s “Pink” smartphone to be Microsoft-branded? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 26

Video: Sharp’s Mebius NJ70A unboxing

Posted in: netbook, Sharp, Today's Chili

We’ve seen a bit of Sharp’s Mebius netbook around here — and most of our attention has been focused on that LCD trackpad (a 4-inch optical-touchscreen) — but now it’s been unboxed on video for all to wonder at. This 1.6GHZ Intel Atom N270-boasting baby has a 10.1-inch display (1,024 x 600), 1GB of RAM, a 160GB HDD, three USB 2.0 ports, Ethernet, WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR and a multicard reader, and it runs somewhere in the realm of ¥80,000 (about $837). Video unboxing after the break — and hit the read link for a photo gallery.

[Via SlashGear]

Continue reading Video: Sharp’s Mebius NJ70A unboxing

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Video: Sharp’s Mebius NJ70A unboxing originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 26 Jun 2009 09:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 25

Sharp launches Brain PW-AC900 e-dictionary in Japan

Posted in: Japan, Sharp, Today's Chili

Sharp’s really been stepping up the e-dictionary game of late — what with the MID-looking RD-PM10. It’s latest offering — the Brain PW-AC900, however, is a little less exciting. It’s very similar to its predecessors in the PW line — PW-TC930 physically, but has a host of new features, including a simple text editor, multi-lingual dictionary, pronunciation, and vocabulary drills. It boasts a 5-inch VGA LCD, a text pad that’s 30 percent larger than previous offerings, MicroSD and USB ports. It’ll be available in Japan on the 10th of July. No word on pricing.

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Sharp launches Brain PW-AC900 e-dictionary in Japan originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Jun 2009 20:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 25

Sharp says ITC ban on LCD imports won’t affect US consumers

Posted in: lawsuit, LCD, legal, samsung, Sharp, Today's Chili

We just spent some time talking to Sharp’s reps about that ITC ban on its LCD panels, and while they certainly didn’t sound happy about the ruling, they made it clear that it shouldn’t have too much of an effect on US consumers — Aquos TVs and Sharp professional LCD displays currently on shelves are fine to be sold, and updated models have been hitting the channel as of last month. As you’d expect, the new displays have been re-engineered to workaround the Samsung patent in question, but here’s where it gets confusing: the basic model numbers haven’t changed. Instead, the new units have an “N” at the end, so a TV like the Aquos LC52-E77U will now be labeled LC52-E77UN. Sharp says the updated models have exactly the same specs as the outgoing ones, but we’re waiting on a detailed list of spec changes — or better, a side-by-side comparison — so we can decide whether or not the HDTV equivalents of a pre-CBS Fender are floating around out there.

Update: Sharp hit us back with some revised information, so we’ve changed the post slightly.

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Sharp says ITC ban on LCD imports won’t affect US consumers originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Jun 2009 16:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 24

Sharp LCD panels banned from US import until further notice

Posted in: breaking news, BreakingNews, lawsuit, LCD, legal, samsung, Sharp, Today's Chili

Chalk up another huge win for Samsung in its long-running patent dispute with Sharp: the US International Trade Commission has just issued a ruling banning importation of Sharp LCD panels that infringe one of Samsung’s viewing-angle patents. As you might imagine, the ban covers a wide swath of Sharp’s consumer products, including the Aquos TV line, but it’s not clear on how it’ll affect other companies that use Sharp panels — this ruling could potentially have a huge impact on the entire tech market. On the other hand, we’d bet that Sharp’s lawyers are furiously putting together a request to have the ban delayed while an appeal is sorted out, so this is far from over — in fact, we’d say the real fireworks are just beginning.

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Sharp LCD panels banned from US import until further notice originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Jun 2009 16:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 23

Digital Rosetta Stone memory could last a thousand years

Posted in: Japan, memory, Sharp, Today's Chili

The race for bigger and better memory continues apace, it seems. It was only a week or two ago that we caught wind of the work that scientists in Berkeley were doing with nanotubes and thousand-year-plus memory lifespans, and now it looks like a group of researchers in Japan have made some headway using an electron-beam direct-writing technique that utilizes semiconductor devices that can keep data intact for a thousand years, so long as humidity is kept at 2% or less. The prototype Digital Rosetta Stone, developed by Keio University, Kyoto University, and Sharp, has a storage capacity of 2.5TB and a max transmission speed of 150Mbps. Of course, there’s no telling if or when this will become a reality, so if you want to ensure that your adolescent poetry lasts for the next thousand years, you’d better print out your MySpace blog and have it carved in granite.

[Via TechShout]

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Digital Rosetta Stone memory could last a thousand years originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Jun 2009 18:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 18

Cheap Geek: Sharp LCD TV, Internet Radio, Digital TV Antenna

Posted in: Sharp, Today's Chili

SharpAquosLC52E77U.jpg

The Cheap Geek column now features cut-and-paste plus a search bar. What’s the problem? I just got around to it. Look, I’ve been busy.

1. Father’s Day is coming up soon. If you really, really love your dad, here’s what you should do. Buy the Sharp Aquos LC42E77U 52-inch LCD HDTV from Sixth Avenue Electronics. Use coupon code “AFL5” to get it for $1,350.90 with free shipping. This gorgeous screen offers full HD 1080p (1920×1080) resolution, high brightness, and wide viewing angles. Then, when it’s all set up, invite your dad over to watch a game on it. Or just tell him about it on the phone. There’s no reason to have him over; you know how he scares the kids.

2. Radio is a continuing problem. Local station are full of commercials and have super-small playlists. Satellite radio is nickel-and-diming its customers for things like online streaming, which used to be free. The only option is Internet radio, which is free if you already have WiFi in your home. To get a world of radio stations in any room, get the Aluratek Wireless Internet Radio, which Buy.com now has for $79.99 with free shipping. This is the Home Theater Edition, so it needs to connect to a home theater or a set of external speakers.

3. I thought the days of roof antennas were over, but maybe not. Some homes don’t get  digital TV signals well, so the best solution is to install a powerful roof antenna. Buy.com has the Winegard HD-1080 HD antenna for $31.99 with free shipping. If you don’t have cable or satellite, and rely on over-air signals, it’s a smart way to go.

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