Todays & Tomorrows Technology

Samsung may have managed to get several models from Sharp’s TV and monitor ranges banned from import into the US, after convincing the U.S. International Trade Commission that the products infringe one of its patents. The IP refers to LCD display technology, with sets from Sharp’s Aquos range of HDTVs named as potentially in violation.
While ruling against other Samsung patents the company had accused Sharp of violating, the agency decided that one particular patent, granted in 2004 and titled “Liquid Crystal Display having wide viewing angle”, was indeed infringed. The ITC are now suggesting that Sharp LCD products should be banned from import into the US.

A final ruling in Sharp’s complaint against Samsung is yet to be reached, though an ITC administrative judge actually Sharp’s spokesperson declined to comment on the ongoing process, while Samsung could not be reached for a statement.

LG have unveiled two new ”full LED” HDTVs, each with 55-inch LCD panels and 240Hz refresh rates. The LG 55LH95 and LG 55LH93 both use 3,360 individual LEDs and boast a contrast ratio of 5,000,000:1; the company’s backlighting technology can individually control 240 sections of the display, dimming or brightening as suits the image on-screen.
Despite sliding in all those LEDs, the new HDTVs are still slimline. Depth is just 24.8mm, despite the company also fitting in wireless connectivity; it’s unclear from the press release exactly which format LG have selected, but considering they’re boasting zero degradation we’re assuming it’s some type of ultrawideband HDMI.

The two new sets will be released in July, priced at around $5,500 for the 55LH93 and around $5,900 for the 55LH95. Smaller 42-inch and 47-inch “full LED” sets will follow by the end of 2009, though they won’t be as slimline as these 24.8mm flagship models.

LG and NComputing have announced a new range of “Network Monitors“, LCD displays with integrated thin-clients that can be used as virtual desktops or with cloud computing systems. Unlike most thin-client systems, however, LG’s looks straightforward enough for home or SOHO implementation, requiring just an X550 PCI card to be installed into the server PC, the included vSpace virtualization software installed and then up to five N-series monitors hooked up via ethernet cable.


Three N-series monitors will be available initially, the 17-inch N1742L-BF, 18.5-inch N1941W-PF and a 15.6-inch model only on sale outside the US. Each has an ethernet port, for connection to the X550 PCI card, together with PS/2 ports for keyboard and mouse. There’s also a VGA port for using the display as a regular LCD with a local computer, plus built-in speakers.

Each server PC can use up to two X550 cards, allowing for a total of eleven users at any one time. Both Linux and Windows are supported and, while no pricing for the displays has been released, LG are calling the X550 a “sub-$200″ product. It, plus the N-series monitors, will go on sale worldwide this month.

Samsung announced a brand new LCD monitor not too long ago called the VC240, but this is no ordinary display. In fact, it’s configured to work as a video conferencing tool. Made by an affiliated company called Radvision, this display is 23.6-inches and has a 1,920 x 1,080 resolution.


But this monitor also comes with a noise-canceling microphone and a 5-megapixel camera. 3W speakers are built-in. The camera is capable of a 720p resolution and 30fps live video streaming.

Other features include 300cd/m2 brightness, a 1,000:1 contrast ratio, a 170-degree and 160-degree horizontal and vertical viewing angle, respectively and a 5ms response time. It also features V2oIP, SIP, MCUs and MS. Inputs include VGA and DVI-I. You’ll be able to get your hands on this display sometime in the fall for $1,999.

Sanyo revealed two brand new projectors today called the PDG-DET100L and the PLC-WTC500L DLP. Both of these projectors feature a pretty high brightness rating and sport numerous features.


The PDG-DET100L has a brightness rating of 7,500 lumens with two 330W lamps and a 1,400 x 1,050 resolution. Other features include a contrast ratio of 7,500:1, a 4:3 aspect ratio, HDMI 1.3, DVI-D, S-video and RGB. Additionally, it has a DICOM Simulation Mode, which means it can be used to project X-rays in medical environments.

The PLC-WTC500L on the other hand has a brightness of 5,000 lumens, a contrast ratio of 3,000:1, dual-lamps, 16:10 aspect ratio and a PJ Net organizer connector. Both models share a 10-filter roller and picture-in-picture. Both will be available later this month for $14,995 and $6,995.

A new Samsung PMP has been leaked, courtesy of online retailer Play. The Samsung YP-R1 has a 2.7-inch WQVGA (400 x 240) touchscreen and 8GB of onboard storage, and supports not only standard headphones via a 3.5mm jack but Bluetooth cans thanks to the A2DP profile.

Update: The above Play link still works, but a new listing for a 16GB version of the YP-R1 has been added, with an MRSP of £179.99 ($296) and a sales price of £129.99 ($214) – thanks Sebastiano!

Other specifications include an FM radio and ebook reader, together with games support. There’s a fair chunk of codec support in there too, with the YP-R1 coping merrily with MP3, WMA, OGG, ACC, FLAC, WAV and ASF audio files and MPEG-4, WMV, H.264, RMVB, DivX and Xvid video files. It’ll also show JPEG, BMP, PNG and GIF images.

A TV output wraps up the main abilities, and transfers are via USB though there’s no word on whether the YP-R1 uses a proprietary port or a standard mini or microUSB connector. We’ll keep out fingers crossed for the latter. The Samsung YP-R1 8GB is set to arrive on July 30th, with an MRSP of £149.99 ($247); Play are listing it for £109.99 ($181), however.

Eizo announced a new LCD monitor today called the FlexScan EV2333W-H. Measuring in at 23-inches and sporting a 1,920 x 1,080 resolution, this 1080p display supplies an eco-friendly and practical monitor solution.

What makes this display unique is that it has both a HDCP-protected DVI port and DisplayPort. Other inputs include VGA. With 300cd/m2 brightness and a 3,000:1 contrast ratio, it’s equipped for a decent quality picture for everyday use.

Other specs include a 7ms pixel response time, a FlexStand with vertical adjustment and swivel capability and EcoView Sense, which is an infrared sensor that detects the brightness in the room and whether or not you’re sitting in front of the computer, adjusting the screen’s on-status and brightness accordingly. You can get the Eizo FlexScan EV2333W-H LCD monitor starting on July 16th in Japan for the equivalent of $560. There’s been no word on a U.S. release just yet.

Concept cars are a dime a dozen around these parts -- but concept lawnmowers? A little more rare, and the latest from Husqvarna looks to be about as closely related to that rusty John Deere in your shed as Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes McLaren F1 car is to your boss's E-Class. It has paddles on the wheel for adjusting three independent mowing blades, a "sophisticated" LCD display that displays speed and obstacle proximity, and a rechargeable lithium-phosphate battery with enough staying power to trim your yard for two hours straight, all shown in a soothing and thoroughly rendered promo video after the break. The one thing it can't do, apparently, is tame the wild locks of Swedish male models.

Now this is pretty cool. Apparently, gadgets that can change their color just by pressing a button are on the horizon for tech geeks everywhere. Yes, that means you can make your handheld any color you want on the go. Can you sense the anticipation?


By utilizing cholesteric liquid crystal display technology, or chLCD, gadgets will be able to change color automatically. These special displays have been modified to wrap around any object–a cell phone in this case.

By using three layers of red, green and blue chLCD, the device can be wrapped in the displays with resin in between each layer. This makes them strong and impervious to breakage. Then, all you do is press a button and a electric current changes the color of the screens. The color stays the same–even when the device is powered off–until you press the button again. Apparently, displays capable of up to 4,000 colors will be made in the future by Kent Displays. It remains to be seen if this tech will be used in next-gen devices, but we don’t see why not.

Toshiba began shipping their Regza HDTVs today, which were initially shown off at CES earlier this year. However, another series was added to the line up today, called the XV648, which is certainly worth learning about.

First up is the SV670, which features an LED backlight, a 240Hz panel, 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio, 14-bit color processing and more. It is available in a 46-inch and a 55-inch version that cost respectively, $2,300 and $3,000.

Next is the ZV650, which features a CCFL backlight rather than LED and has a 240Hz panel and a 100,000:1 contrast ratio. It’s available in sizes ranging from 42-inches to 55-inches and costs from $1,300 to $2,400. Last, there’s the XV648, which is new to the Regzas series, and features a CCFL display, a 120Hz panel and a CrystalCoat display for better contrast. It will be available in August in sizes ranging from 40-inches to 52-inches for $1,100 to $2,000.

NEC has made two new LCD displays available in the U.S. today to match the recent release of similar models in Japan. The LCD2490WUXi2 and the LCD2490W2 both sport 24-inch screens and feature IPS panels.
These displays have a much better image quality than TV or PVA screens and allows them to show 96.7% of the sRGB color space. Professional graphics editors could definitely make use of these.

Other features include auto-brightness, 12-bit color lookup tables, ambient light sensors a 320cd/m2 brightness, a 1,000:1 contrast ratio, VGA and DVI inputs and more. a SpectraView color calibrator comes with the LCD2490W2 display as well. You can get both models by the end of the month for $1,099 and $1,299, respectively.

JVC have announced that their GD-32XI - the world’s slimmest 32-inch LCD display - will go on sale in Japan come August. The screen, announced back at CES in January, measures 6.4mm at its thinnest point, and is capable of displaying 1080p Full HD video.

The GD-32XI has a contrast ratio of 4,000:1 and brightness rating of 400cd/m2. It reportedly manages 100-percent coverage of sRGB colors and 90-percent of Adobe RGB, while cutting the number of necessary parts down by around 50-percent. JVC’s GENNESA image processing tech is also onboard, to reduce motion noise, improve color accuracy and boost still images.

Despite the slender dimensions, JVC still manage to fit a fair few ports onto the GD-32XI. As well as two HDMI sockets there are analog RGB ports, component and composite connections, an RS-232 and speaker terminals. There’s also an SD card slot and USB port, for viewing images and listening to MP3s.

JVC expect most buyers of the GD-32XI to be business and commercial, planning to shift 10,000 sets a year. The 1080p display will be priced at the equivalent of around $2,500.