« Apple | Main | Component News »
CES 07: LCDs get bigger and HD goes hybrid
Having pounded the floors of CES here in Las Vegas over the past five days, it’s become clear that this year, big screen LCD TVs and the elimination of cables to transfer those high def signals wirelessly are hot.
While last year’s show was dominated by 80in or higher sized plasma TVs, this year it’s LCDs hitting that size. Many are not out yet, and the first wave will be 50in plus models, but supersize LCDs will not be far behind.
And to go with those TVs are more HD DVD and Blu-ray drives. LG’s hybrid Blu-ray player has grabbed loads of attention, but the company is also bringing out a hybrid PC drive too, although its high launch price will put off many.
In the PC space, Vista is the talk of the town. Manufacturers have been saying the past month has been very slow as people hang on for the new operating system. And they are lining up many machines – particularly laptops – to launch once Vista ships at the end of this month.
The most eye-catching products were, I think, display based. On Sony’s stand it is showing some stunning looking OLED TVs (pictured left). The TVs were only millimetres thick and although most were only 11inches in sreen size – clearly not big enough - you could see where the technology is heading. And Sony also had a working 27in model on the stand.
Sharp has an incredible looking 108in LCD HDTV (pictured right) on its stand. It’ll take up a whole wall and is going to cost $60,000 or more, but far from being a concept device, Sharp will start selling it from August. 
Philips had its one-off diamond flat TV – complete with 2,200 diamonds. And it also has a couple of three dimensional displays. Used for signage, the company said they will be commercially available TVs within a few years.
Having films or programmes with real depth and leaping out will get Hollywood’s creative juices flowing, and Philips also believes they’ll attract serious gamers as well.
CES 07: Toshiba bringing out twin hard drive laptop
Toshiba is bringing out a laptop later this year with two hard disks inside.
The Satellite A135 will be out around Q3, coming in two versions - with a 15.4in or 17in screen. It will use Intel’s Santa Rosa Centrino mobile platform, run Microsoft’s Vista operating system and include a webcam (as will most of Toshiba's new laptops, many of which will be released soon after comes out).
Despite having two hard drives inside, it will not be Raid enabled, so wcan't be used for mirroring to back up all data simultaneously on both disks. Instead, Toshiba said it is aimed at people that want to use one for multimedia files while the other is used for general data.
No firm pricing was given, but the models are likely to cost between $899 and $1,299.
CES 07: Wireless Port Replicator eliminates cables
Toshiba showed off its latest Portege R400 tablet notebook with its Wireless Port Replicator at CES.
The Replicator uses the Ultra Wideband wireless frequency, and means you'll not longer need to connect your mouse, keyboard or TFT monitor into the notebook.
Instead, the devices are connected to the Replicator and when the notebook is within range it automatically detects and allows the devices to be used.
The UWB frequency has not yet been ratified in Europe, so the Replicator won't be available on the continent until it has been certified.
3D TV around the corner
Philips believes it is only a few years away from releasing a high-end consumer facing TV that shows three dimensional images.
At CES it is showing its current 3D displays, used by businesses signage, but said it will have 3D TVs within two or three years.
It uses a Lenticular Lens System, like old postcards that appear to change when the viewing angle is moved. The 3D image is rendered in the TV, and projects pictures to the left and right eye at the same time.
Nine pictures, at differing angles, are projected and depending where you sit in front of the TV, your eyes see two of those images. It gets its depth from each pixel either appearing to be in or out of the TV.
TVs will be expensive – the 42in version costing about €10,000 and the 20in around €6,000.
Goaaaallll! Plen robot scores at CES
It costs $2,200 and can be controlled via software on your mobile phone.
CES 07: HP releasing external Blu-ray drive
Expect to see an external Blu-ray drive later this year, joining the already available HD DVD drive.
HP developed and released the $499 HD DVD first, partly because it was easier and would be cheaper for consumers.
The Blu-ray drive casing is the same as the HD DVD drive’s and will be out in the second quarter. HP said no price was available yet, but it is likely to cost more than the HD DVD drive.
The drive needs a PC with a minimum Pentium D 3.2GHz or equivalent processor, an HDCP compliant graphics card and a TV or monitor that is similarly HDCP compliant. It connects to a computer via USB.
HP will also be bringing out an external HD DVD writer during the summer, allowing consumers to burn HD DVD discs. No other details were available.
Bluetooth media streamer
MSI has launched a Bluetooth video and audio streamer at CES called the Bluetooth VDP box.
After connecting it to a TV or video projector via the RCA connector you can stream 3GP and MP4 files wirelessly from your mobile phone, laptop or PDA.
It might seem like a useless item since you usually stream videos from one room to another and Bluetooth won't stretch further than 10m and rarely through a wall.
However, with mobile phones beginning to get outfitted with more memory (iPhone for example) this might be the perfect way to see those clips on a big screen.
It uses VDP, the video streaming profile and the A2DP audio streaming profile, which I've previously had problems with but it has now grown on me.
CES 07: Seagate aims to make backup chic
Seagate is aiming to give an air of sex to storage, with its sleekly designed FreeAgent external backup family of products.
The FreeAgent Pro comes in 320GB, 500GB and 750GB versions and is aimed
at being more of a lifestyle and backup device.
It includes 500MB of online storage that is free for six months, after which it is a paid for service (the capacity can be increased).
The idea, said Seagate, is to have a limited amount of data available from anywhere where there is internet access. Prices range from $200 to $400.
The base FreeAgent Desktop version, which comes with 250GB, 320GB and 500GB, is designed to be a pure back up device. Prices range from $149 to $249.
The FreeAgent Go is the portable version, coming with an 80GB, 120GB or 160GB hard disk drive, costing from $130.
CES 07: 1.5TB hard disk drives in 2008
Hard disk capacities have shot up over the past couple of years, and speaking with Hitachi today - which launched it 1TB drive a few days back - the company predicted we could be seeing 1.5TB or 2TB 3.5in drives next year.
A spokeswoman said the company was waiting to see customer reaction first to the 1TB - if it is well received then a bigger capacity will be arriving quicker.
She didn't know if the next drive would be a mere 500GB bigger or doubled to 2TB. But she said: "There will be another capacity jump in 2008."
CES 07: LG to launch hybrid Blu-ray and HD DVD PC drive
The dual standard high definition player announced by LG at CES has had a lot of attention, but it does have a smaller brother also due out soon – the Super Multi Blue internal Blu-ray Disc Rewriter and HD DVD Rom drive.
Like the BH100 Super Multi Blue Player, the GGW-H10N can also read both Blu-ray and HD DVD discs, as well as standard DVDs and CDs. It also, as the name suggests, writes to Blu-ray discs, although not to HD DVD discs.
It can write to a disc up to 50GB in size – holding nine hours of HD content or 23 hours at standard definition. LG claims its 4x write speed for Blu-ray discs is the fastest around.
Due out around March in the US – and shortly after that in the UK, it will cost around $1,199.
