Hasta La Gadget!

Samsung’s mad, monied quest to “free the TV apps” may not stop at your couch — the electronics manufacturer says it’s looking to loop in cell phones as well. “We plan to have a single platform for Samsung TV and phones,” a VP told Reuters, without providing further details. We have to wonder if it might cross swords with the Media Hub video-on-demand software the company’s pushing in the tablet and smartphone space. No word on when we’ll find out.

Samsung plotting a single platform to connect TVs and phones originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Oct 2010 23:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony told us that Best Buy wouldn’t begin selling its Google TV sets until October 24, but it looks like that wasn’t quite right — sources within the big box retailer tell us the TVs have already arrived, and will be free for all to purchase when an October 17th street date breaks tomorrow morning. The scrap of paper you see above goes on to suggest that full shipments may not actually arrive until the 19th and that the Logitech Revue won’t appear until the 20th, but if you’re looking to get a nice big NSX without hunting for a Sony Style store, it’s definitely worth a shot. That assumes, of course, that you’re not planning to wait for our full review. Might we recommend at least a brief glimpse at our early hands-on? Find a pic of Sony’s Google TV packaging after the break.

Update: Sure enough, we’re getting reports that the TVs and Blu-ray player are now on sale, and you can find them ready to ship online at our more coverage link. [Thanks, Jon]

Continue reading Sony’s Google TVs on sale at Best Buy tomorrow, already hitting stores? (update)

Sony’s Google TVs on sale at Best Buy tomorrow, already hitting stores? (update) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 16 Oct 2010 23:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve mixed feelings on 3D as a whole, and it seems that the vast majority of consumers do as well. We’ve seen quite a few lovely implementations, and there’s hardly a better way to watch sports away from the field, but those dreaded 3D glasses are likely keeping most people an arm’s length away. According to a new report from DisplaySearch, 3DTVs will make up just two percent of all flat panels shipped in 2010. Paul Gray, Director of TV Electronics Research, noted that “while TV manufacturers have bold plans and a lot of new products, consumers remain cautious,” continuing by stating that “consumers have been told that 3D TV is the future, but there still remains a huge price jump and little 3D content to watch.” In particular, “North American consumers appear to be playing a waiting game,” and in Western Europe, the sales of 3D glasses to sets has failed to hit 1:1. That said, the report feels rather strongly about the future, noting that 90 million 3DTV sets are expected to ship in 2014. Of course, if we’ve only got two or three 2D options to choose from by then, the estimated skyrocketing makes a lot more sense…

Continue reading DisplaySearch: consumers playing a ‘wait and see’ game with 3DTVs

DisplaySearch: consumers playing a ‘wait and see’ game with 3DTVs originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 Oct 2010 09:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This past Sunday night, Eagles’ quarterback Kevin Kolb led Philadelphia to a 27-24 squeaker over the winless 49ers. Kolb led the huddle in place of the lightning hot Michael Vick who was nursing a cracked rib. Vick, of course, took over full-time passing duties from Kolb after he suffered an early season concussion. Is there a brewing QB controversy in Philly?! Oh, what do you care? You were playing Fruit Ninja on your iPad all night.

You know how I know that? Because the internet told me.

According to the official blog of mobile app analytics network Flurry, users are now spending more time playing social games than watching Sunday Night Football on NBC. In fact, at 19 million user/watchers spending an average of 22 minutes today, social gamers would now constitute TV’s sixth largest audience.

Keep in mind, these numbers only constitute mobile users, only those using iOS, and only factoring in apps that participate in the Flurry network (about 50,000 apps–roughly 25% of the total iPhone app market). There are a lot more hands diligently commanding their Minisquadran through pocket-sized battle that aren’t even figuring into this data.

Of course, these numbers aren’t so clean cut. Multitasking is the new black, and it always looks good with an iPhone. Meaning, that there is likely a lot of cross-over here. There are plenty of people diddling away in Farmville while watching football on TV.

This is the future. The most immediate change will likely be for all you modern-day Don Drapers out there–when looking for the perfect spot to put your company logos and movie trailers, there is now a much more viable and interactive option than Undercover Boss.

(Yes, commentators, I know that Don Draper is a character who lives in the TV, which is somewhat ironic that I would use him as a reference. TTYL.)

via TechCrunch

In yesterday’s roundup of the good, bad and ugly in new remote controls, we included one photo of a vintage remote: the Zenith Space Command. We identified it as the first TV remote, gave some details on its ultrasound-frequency tech and included a CC-licensed photo of an early model.

However, the Zenith Space Command we included was not, in fact, the first version of the device. The post prompted this friendly email from Wired.com reader Dan Turkewitz:

You’re right that the Zenith Space Command is the first commercially available remote. But the model you have pictured is one of those fancy “new” models! This is the original.

Sadly it doesn’t work very well on my 46″ plasma. But it has a place in my home theater setup anyway.

The next model up from this had a huge advance–four buttons: on/off, channel and volume up and down. That one sits on my brother’s desk.

As to its “Tired” features: the channels on the TV could also be changed by jangling a hand full of quarters, which made the same frequency sound as the metal bars in the remote. A trick my brothers and I all used when we weren’t happy with the channel choice of whoever had the remote. Which usually resulted in some fights.

I don’t know; given the current Apple-driven minimalist drive to pare down device controls to the smallest size and fewest number of buttons possible, you could easily argue that this first model of the Zenith Space Command was ahead of its time in more ways than one.

All images and email via Dan Turkewitz.

See Also:

• Apple Redefines Remote Control — Now, It's Your Cellphone
• Three Futures of Remote Control: Apple, Sony, and Samsung
• Our Remote Controls Are Amazing, Yet Nobody's Happy
• Man Creates Huge Online Museum for Vintage Calculators
• Tracing the Army Knife's Swiss History
• Wired Test 2007: Gadget Hall of Fame 1956 – Zenith Space Commander …
• Remote Controls to Get a Wireless Upgrade