Oh! Gizmo

By Shane McGlaun

Most of us own a cell phone today and we can all agree that one of the worst parts about mobile phone service is that we are tied to contracts. With a contract, the mobile provider has you by the kiwis even if their network sucks, assuming you don’t want to pay the early termination fee.

The dislike of contracts has been a good thing for the variety of no-contract pay-as-you go providers like MetroPCS. MetroPCS is one of the few no contract providers that gets a number of new handsets. The latest new handset for the network is the Samsung Tint.

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By Shane McGlaun

I am a big fan of netbooks and often use an MSI Wind U100 when I am on the go. The only thing I have really wished for that the Wind lacks is a larger keyboard, without giving up the small and compact form factor that makes the netbook so appealing.

Samsung has introduced a pair of new netbooks called the N110 and the N120 that are virtually identical. Both sport the Intel Atom N270, 1GB of RAM, 160GB HDD, and 10.1-inch LED backlit LCD. Both also run Windows XP Home and have webcams, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth built in. The N110 measures 10.27-inches W x 1.19-inches H x 7.3-inches D and has a 6-cell 5900mAh battery good for nine hours.

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By Shane McGlaun

I once managed to fling my notebook computer across the room where it landed flat on its back with a thud. I just knew when I opened it up the LCD would be shattered and it would never work again. The only thing broken was the hard drive and after replacing it I was back surfing the net again.

Samsung has a new hard drive that is ruggedized to prevent just the sort of damage my notebook received. The hard drive is called the Spinpoint M7 and can withstand shock up to 400G/2ms while operating. The 2.5-inch drive is available in 250, 320, 400, and 500GB capacities.

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By Shane McGlaun

I like using multiple monitors for my computer; they are cool for gaming if you extend the desktop. The big downside to multiple monitor setups is that the bezel around the monitor makes for a gap in the on screen image that can be annoying and get your fragged if you miss something right in front of you.

I have also seen big video walls where the gaps make the video pretty much unviewable. Samsung has announced a new line of large format monitors that are 46-inches in size and have very thin bezels. The monitor bezel is 2.4mm on the right and bottom and 4.3mm on the top and left sides making the space between screens only 7.3mm (we can assume that there has to be some space between each screen, accounting for the extra .5mm of space).

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By Shane McGlaun

One of the myriad of new smartphones to debut last summer and try to match wits, coolness, and usability with the iPhone was the Samsung Instinct, which was a Sprint exclusive. The handset was cool by many accounts, but didn’t really stack up to the iPhone.

Sprint and Samsung have announced that a new and Sprint exclusive Instinct s30 will be coming this month. The new handset offers a thinner profile and two color options including Cobalt Metal or Touch of Copper hues. Sprint says that the device can receive email and access corporate email servers at no additional charge.

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by Shane McGlaun

I guess I’m old fashioned when it comes to my LCD and plasma TVs. I don’t really care how thin the screen is and I don’t really care how much power the things sucks down. All I really want from my TV is a massive screen and a great picture. If the lights in my house dim when I turn the beast on, I am fine with that.

I guess there are some out there who like thin screens, and if you are going to wall mount the set, I can see the benefit of thin screens. Samsung has announced that it is now in production with new edge-lit LED backlit LCD TV panels that will be offered in 40-inch, 46-inch, and 55-inch sizes.

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David Ponce

I’m here in Vegas, liveblogging the samsung press conference. keep refreshing this article throughout the next hour to get live updates.

2:42pm Launching the HMX-H106 SSD camcorders. 64GB with solid state drive. 12 hours of HD footage. Getting out of here.

2:37pm God damn connection. Launching a new slim wall mount, that reduces the TV to wall gap from 2 inches to 0.6 inches.

The LED 8000 delivers 240Hz refresh rate. Chrome accented design.

The PDP 850 plasma TV is only 1 inch thick.

Launching the 2233RZ 3D monitor.

2:29pm Finally talking about new products. I’m getting some connectivity problems. Strategic products:

- LUXIA LED TV line. Redefines energy efficiency, creating a new TV category. Crazy ass contrast ratios, super slim, 40% less power consumption than conventional LCD TVs. Mercury and lead free.
- Samsung LUXIA LED 7000, with Medi@ 2.0 multimedia experience. Internet TV.

2:24pm Talking green. Their LED TVs and washing machines have contributed to Samsung being awarded 1,858 eco-friendly certifications.

2:21pm Talking about Intuitive Emotional UI. Being able to customize your menu screens in various Samsung devices, like cameras, video enabled MP3 players. Like the P3. Demo of the interface does indeed show improvement.

2:18pm Launching Samsung LUXIA LED TV, slim TVs with built in tuners, up to 55 inch. Unsurpassed brightness and clarity. Using the unified UI mentioned earlier, to strengthen the brand.

2:15pmWireless Connectivity Solution. Sharing of media between devices. Wireless full HD content transmission. Mobile WiMax. WiMax?

2:14pmYahoo! launching Widget Engine, a developer platform to allow third parties to develop applications that will work with Samsung products. Widgets for the TV. Neat idea if deployed right.

2:13pm Yahoo! talking now about their vision of TV and Internet integration. Working with Ebay, MySpace, CBS to develop TV widgets for cinematic Internet. Being able to interact with web using only remote control.

2:10pmLaunching Samsung Internet TV, integrated with Samsung products, with collaboration with Yahoo! Good stuff.

2:08pmTalking about unified UI. Good thing they thought about this.

2:05pmSamsung’s approach, they’re calling “Seamless Experience”. Explaining their competitive advantage from other companies doing Seamless Experience.

2:00pm Just managed to find a seat middle right of the room. Nice large LCDs and loud music. We’re about to start.

This post is syndicated with permission from Gadgetoholic.com

With the digital transition coming in 2009 the LCD HDTV market is booming as people upgrade to new TVs. When it comes time to buy a new HDTV you have to decide between LCD or plasma technology for the most part. Samsung has introduced several new HDTV models recently including some new plasma sets.

Samsung didn’t leave the LCD HDTV fan out either and introduced a new Series 8 line that includes models 850 and 860 both in 46-inch or 52-inch screen sizes. The new TVs feature the Samsung Touch of Color design that puts color inside the plastic housing of the TV rather than simply painting it on. Both the 850 and 860 models share similar specs with 50,000:1 contrast ratio, 120Hz refresh rate and four HDMI inputs as well as other input types. The TVs are also very thin at only 1.9-inches at the thickest part.

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