OLED now up to 55” thanks to LG, to be teased at CES 2012
Posted Monday, December 26, 2011 at 6:32 pm by Jason Cartwright
LG have done it, the world’s first 55” OLED HDTV. The technology that one day could replace LCD, has been a long time coming and is usually limited to around 20” at best. The technology provides superior power consumption, ,thinner, better black levels, and better response times, but with a screen that’s better in almost every way, price is the barrier.
Most of us are familiar with the the early adopters tax, but this one doesn’t even come with a price tag. The equation is probably best summed up by an Engadget commenter – “I would buy a 100-inch LCD TV over a 55-inch OLED TV for the same price.”
That statement probably isn’t far from the truth, you’d be talking tens of thousands of dollars for this set, but hey that 42-55” HDTV in your living room once cost that. The price will come down as manufacturing techniques evolve and are refined along with increased demand.
LG’s 55” OLED HDTV will be shown off at CES early next month, if you get a chance to see it in person, your eyes are likely to tease that credit card from your pocket. You have been warned. LG have been touting their ability to make OLED at 55” for some time now, but this announcement marks the readiness to take it mainstream.
It’ll also be interesting to see if there’s been any scientific breakthroughs with Transparent LCD displays, one of which was on display at CeBIT earlier this year.
More info @ Engadget
XmasTech: think technology when buying presents this year
Posted Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 7:30 pm by Jason CartwrightIt’s now December and like it or not Christmas is quickly approaching. While you could give someone a lame present like socks and jocks, you should consider technology to fill your Santa Sack. Below is a few ideas to start, but if none of these suit your needs, then also consider a gift voucher. While some think it’s impersonal, the reality is gift cards (to the right place) allows the recipient to get the gift they actually want.
Photo Frames
Now available in large sizes, more connectivity, better interfaces and at affordable prices. Digital Photo Frames are a great way of displaying thousands of photos in the space of a single frame. Unfortunately there’s still a cable to power the device unless you want to replace batteries every second day. If you’re building a house right now, you should wire your walls to hide the cables to digital photo frames, just like HDTVs.
Digital Radios
While availability of Digital Radio, may not be available outside Metro areas, many of us have friends or loved ones in the city. This means Digital Radios, bot bench top and in-car may be a great gift idea. Digital Audio Broadcast, or DAB means those with a compatible device get crystal clear, high quality audio from the stations you know and love as well as a bunch of digital-only stations. As an added bones, the text information transmitted with the stream displays the currently playing song.
Office chair
While not something you’d immediately think of when you consider technology, the reality is that many of us spend far too long at the computer. A good chair can be the difference between all night coding sessions and a trip to the physio with debilitating back and neck pain.
Digital cameras for kids
One great thing about DSLR’s coming down in price is that it forces point and shoot cameras to a ridiculously low price point. So cheap these once boutique technology is now a commodity. At sub $100, a digital camera can be a great gift for kids. When you hand a camera to a child, something interesting happens. The photos are taken from their height, meaning you get a completely different perspective on the world.
If you have other suggestions for tech gifts, then leave a comment!
Apple gives Samsung design options, apparently not just trolling
Posted Saturday, December 3, 2011 at 10:43 am by James Murphy
Samsung is in dire need of some advice regarding patents, it seems. Another play in the ongoing patent struggle between Samsung and Apple has resulted in Apple giving Samsung some ‘workarounds’ in order to finally appease Apple’s demands. While this may seem like a good idea, it almost seems like Apple is just deliberately trolling Samsung for a laugh – though it is entirely possible what they’re asking for could result in a change in Samsung’s design choices.
The first set of recommendations relate specifically to the Galaxy S2 smartphone, including having a front surface that isn’t black, non-rectangular in shape or without rounded corners, non-horizontal speaker slots and no front bezel at all. Most of these suggestions describe most modern smartphones, so it would be interesting to see if Apple goes after other major manufacturers if they were to win this battle, like HTC.
The Verge noted that Apple also listed alternative options for Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1, namely:
- overall shape that isn’t rectangular, or doesn’t have rounded corners
- thick frames around the screen
- front surface that isn’t flat
- profiles that aren’t thin
- cluttered appearance
Apple believes the changes that Samsung made with its 10.1N version of the Galaxy Tab weren’t enough, and recently asked a German court to ban the new version. We’ll see if Samsung takes any further notice of Apple’s suggestions, and whether Samsung can ever finally get a break.
More @ The Verge
What is happening with AMD?
Posted Thursday, December 1, 2011 at 6:10 pm by Bryce Wilson
Upon waking up yesterday I was sent a link announcing that AMD had plans to no longer compete with long standing rival Intel, and were now backing down from the x86 race in order to focus on the more profitable and constantly expanding mobile market.
However this may not be the crystal clear truth, with sources inside ExtremeTech reporting that that the initial outburst of information many posts were based on was in fact misconstrued, and painted an inaccurate picture of AMD’s plans for both the mobile and PC hardware spectrum. “”We’re at an inflection point,” said AMD spokesman Mike Silverman, “We will all need to let go of the old ‘AMD versus Intel’ mindset, because it won’t be about that anymore.”
Many people took this as AMD bowing out of the x86 and desktop CPU race after the somewhat dismissible launch of the much anticipated “Bulldozer” platform back in mid-October. Speculation then developed that AMD was going to be replacing it’s traditional x86 chips with the ARM CPU series, thus allowing the long running company to focus exclusively on mobile platforms, where the ARM chips excel thanks to their low power consumption.
ExtremeTech contacted Silverman for another comment after a number of alarming and misleading articles were published, with the spokesman saying that AMD was a “leader in x86 microprocessor design, and we remain committed to the x86 market.” he then continued, “Our strategy is to accelerate our growth by taking advantage of our design capabilities to deliver a breadth of products that best align with broader industry shifts toward low power, emerging markets and the cloud.”
After the dismal launch of Bulldozer, it wouldn’t be considered unjust for me to say that AMD has taken a huge financial hit, and now they think they’re going to make waves in the ARM market despite having no previous experience or financial research in the field? Yeah right. And on top of already stacked odds, leading mobile developer Nvidia has invested close to $2 billion dollars into their Tegra-2 platform, and has still only made just over $480 million back from their initial investment.
How does AMD intend on financially supporting their already existing (And slowly failing) x86 line, whilst investing billions of dollars into a market that Nvidia firmly has a hold of? Although many people probably realise this already, the Tegra platform isn’t exactly brand new either, so AMD now has to go through years of annual revisions before they even reach the level that Tegra is at.
As a long time supporter and preacher of the low cost and high power AMD chips, I really want the company to succeed, but I feel like the launch – or lack thereof – of Bulldozer, and this poor business move could see one of the long running PC component powerhouses fall off the map.
Australia’s first sub-$1,000 Ultrabook
Posted Tuesday, November 29, 2011 at 12:14 pm by Jason Cartwright
Ultrabooks are all the rage right now, with Macbook Air competitors coming from almost every PC manufacturer. The favourite right now for those with unlimited budget is the Samsung Series 9, if your boss is paying, get this one. The next tier down is a more reasonably priced Asus UX21 (Zenbook) is a great the middle class. But what about those on a budget ?
Good news today for those looking for an ‘affordable’ Ultrabook. The Acer S3 Ultrabook now starts at a brand new price of A$999. Just under that magical $1,000 mark. Yes to reach that price point there are compromises above and beyond the regular Ultrabook limitations.
The Acer S3 family starts at A$999 but only houses an Intel Core i3 chip, rather than the i5, or even i7 chips found in other Ultrabooks. There’s also a 320GB SATA drive, rather than the power-saving and speedy SSDs. If thin and light is your requirement, not speed and grunt, then this may still satisfy your check boxes. It still weighs in at just under 1.4kg and is just 13mm thin, wrapping up a 13.3” display.
It’s always been a promise of Wintel Ultrabooks to hit the sub $1000 mark, but until now that had been unachievable. Most like the Asus retail for between $1200-$1500, with the Samsung over $2k. Price pressure down is always great for consumers and while you can pick up a standard laptop for less than an Ultrabook, you should definitely consider the benefits.
New BlackMagic Intensity Extreme rocks Thunderbolt support
Posted Thursday, November 17, 2011 at 8:43 pm by Jason Cartwright
Blackmagic Design is a company that makes a plethora of hardware/software solutions for video capturing. With solutions that range from a couple of hundred dollars, to thousands, they service the needs of enthusiasts to professions the world over. The latest version, the BlackMagic Intensity Extreme now rocks that elusive thunderbolt port.
Machined from a solid piece of aluminum, Intensity Extreme gives you incredible quality HDMI, component video, s-video and composite 10 bit capture and playback. Better still, this super-sleek, high-speed data transfer system offers an incredible 10 Gb/s connection that’s up to 20 times faster than USB 2.0 and up to 11.5 times faster than FireWire 800.
This means your MacBook can now take care of advanced video capture on the road. As an original Intensity owner, I’m all too familiar with the hardware requirements of years gone by, when capturing HD video.
The worst part about trying to capture video from devices is HDCP or High Definition Copy Protection. While the goal of copyright protection is understandable, it makes capturing game content from the Xbox360 or PS3 for review purposes problematic. To pull this off, you’ll need to use the analog hole.
Find an early version of those consoles, then use component cables to connect the console to the breakout connectors. Switching between the HDMI and component inputs is an absolute pain, so if you can dedicate a console to capture, that’s the best option.
That issue aside, if you have a HDMI out on your video (or DLSR) camera, then the Intensity Extreme is likely to be your new best friend. It’ll set you back $318.00, then you’ll also need the Thunderbolt cable for an addition $55. Overall it’s a decently priced solution to a problem more and more of us will have in this digital, mobile world.
