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Archive for the 'CES 2009' Tag

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Toshiba unveils largest flash-memory drive

January 10th, 2009, 11:15 am by

For what’s next in computer storage, look no further than Toshiba Corp., which showed prototypes of 512 GB solid state drives during the Consumer Electronics Show (click image to view larger):

The solid-state technology is the same stuff inside tiny SD and other flash cards used in cell phones, digital cameras and MP3 players.

Toshiba’s new storage sizes are available in 2.5-inch drives, which are sizes found in laptops like the Apple’s svelte MacBook Air, currently at a mere 120 GB. The drives are thinner, lighter and more reliable because they have no moving parts, unlike traditional computer hard drives which rely on spinning platters to store and read data.

Other capacities include 64 GB, 128 GB and 256 GB, which are available in 1.8-inch or 2.5-inch sizes. Speeds are up to a maximum sequential read speed of 240 MB per second, and a write speed of 200 MBps. The new drives will be available during the first quarter of 2009, with mass production beginning around April.

Toshiba’s U.S. storage division is based in Irvine.

To see headlines from earlier stories from CES, please visit gadgetress.freedomblogging.com/ces2009.

Posted in: Storage • • • • • • • • • | Comments Off

Microsoft overwhelmed with free Windows 7 beta offer

January 9th, 2009, 8:52 pm by

As mentioned during Microsoft CEO Steve Balmer’s keynote at the Consumer Electronics Show, the beta version of Windows 7 became available today for 2.5 million people to prod and poke and play. The beta will expire on August 1, 2009. More details on the download are HERE.

But demand was apparently more than Microsoft expected. The download page posted this note:

“Thanks for your interest in the Windows 7 Beta. The volume has been phenomenal — we’re in the process of adding more servers to handle the demand. We’re sorry for the delay and we’ll re-post the Beta as soon as we can ensure a quality download experience.”

I guess that’s what you get when you announce a beta in front of a bunch of geeks who are in Las Vegas to check out the latest tech online and offline.

The official Windows 7 blog posted the delay update at 2:53 p.m., adding that it’ll inform everyone via the blog when Windows 7 is ready for download. From the comments on that post, it looks like not many people downloaded the software at all. One guy said he’d been trying since 6:30 a.m.

If you still want to give the new Windows a shake, check back at microsoft.com/windows7 or bookmark the Windows 7 blog. Good luck!

Read more CES coverage from the Gadgetress: Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: news • • • • • • • | 2 Comments »

LG shows off the fastest TV on the CES floor

January 9th, 2009, 4:17 pm by

If you picked up one of the new 120-hertz TVs to avoid motion blur when watching sports in high-definition, I hate to tell you this – most major TV makers announced 240 Hz TVs at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show. 

And then there’s LG Electronics. At its booth, it was demonstrating a 600 Hz TV! The company’s “Advanced Fluid Motion Technology” manages to show “10 sub-fields per frame.”

In other words, standard TVs, which are 60 Hertz, show 60 images or frames per second. LG’s 600 Hz Max technology shows 10 times that amount. The goal is to eliminate “motion blur, judder and artifacts even for the fastest action sequences,” according to the company.

You definitely have to be a video aficionado to notice the difference. I, myself, have a hard time seeing any difference between 120 Hz and 240 Hz. 

Now, whether this is truly 600 Hz is debatable. Toshiba was the only company with a 240 Hz TV that said it wasn’t really 240 Hz , calling its performance ”the 240 Hertz effect.” According to one report about the validity of 600 Hz, critics called LG’s claims as “creative.” Here’s a photo from LG’s booth (click for larger view):


Whether the 600 Hz  technology is real or not, LG added the feature to three new plasma TVs:The PS80, PS60 and PS30. Prices and availability of the TVs were not disclosed. More details on the TVs are in the company’s press release.

Earlier reports from CES 2009:

Posted in: news • • • • • • | 2 Comments »

Pictures of the Prada 2 phone

January 9th, 2009, 3:24 pm by

Designer phones are always fun even if they are impractical or expensive. The second version of the Prada phone, developed by LG Electronics, was on display at LG’s booth at the Consumer Electronics Show. According to the woman staffing the Prada exhibit, the phone will be available in Europe “soon.” There is no launch date for the sales in the U.S.

The first Prada phone made a big spash with gadget freaks mostly because it was a touchscreen phone that launched right before the first iPhone. It even got some good reviews. Back then, the unlocked Prada was $849.

A major difference between the first Prada phone and the second one is that the new one comes with a matching Bluetooth watch. The two devices are linked together not for chatting a la James Bond, but to quickly view instant messages, calendar items and contacts. Do fashionable people prefer to chat on a watch? Hmm… It also includes a 5-megapixel camera, 3G compatibility with video calling, Wi-Fi and a full HTML browser. 

More photos (click to view larger): 

  

 

Earlier reports from CES 2009:

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Dish welcomes digital TV transition with $9.99 deal

January 9th, 2009, 10:43 am by

A chunk of Dish Network’s press conference at the Consumer Electronics Show focused on the February broadcast TV transition to all digital, which is slightly odd since Dish Network subscribers don’t have to worry about a thing. 

However, said Charles Ergen, the company’s CEO, “We think it’s the friends and families of our customers who will be affected.”

Hence, the company announced the $9.99 deal for new customers that starts Feb. 1. The offer, good for six months at this price, includes 100 channels with at least 50 HD channels. 

After that, it looks like the 100-channel package is really Dish’s “America’s Top 100” package, which is $32.99/month, plus an extra $5.99/month to access local broadcast channels. The $9.99 deal is even cheaper than Dish’s cheapest package, the 40-channel DishFamily plan for $19.99.

Interestingly, Dish Networks is probably the only TV service company that sells digital converter boxes. Its cheapest is the TR-40 CRA at $40. If consumers have applied for the government-issued $40 coupon, the converter is free plus $8.95 shipping. 

Earlier reports from CES 2009:

Posted in: Video & TV • • • • • • • • | Comments Off

Celeb spotting: Jimmy Fallon getting ready for late night

January 9th, 2009, 10:00 am by

Celebrities like showing up events like the Consumer Electronics Show. But typically, they’re invited guests of the companies and make special booth appearances.

Not “Saturday Night Live” alum Jimmy Fallon.  I spotted him grilling Motorola at its booth about some of its new phones.

No, he wasn’t part of its booth, one Motorola employee told me. He just showed up — camera crew and all. Apparently, this is part of his web-first late night show, “LateNightWithJimmyFallon.com,” which is a test run for the real thing when he takes over Conan O’Brien’s 11 p.m. slot later this year. 

Earlier reports from CES 2009:

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Why wait till summer for a Vizio TV?

January 9th, 2009, 9:15 am by

If you’re in the market for a 55-inch HDTV,  you might want to wait until summer. Around that time, Vizio Inc. plans to start selling its latest top-of-the-line TV, the VF551XVT.

Why wait?  The new XVT is stuffed with the latest techologies, like 240 Hz refresh speeds for extra smooth viewing of fast-moving video. It’ll have a USB port, 5 HDMI ports and SRS TruSurround HD and SRS TruVolume technology, so TV volume doesn’t get annoyingly louder during commercials. And it’ll be Vizio’s first TV with LED back lighting, making it brighter than other Vizio TVs, yet with deeper blacks. But most impressive, Vizio plans to charge $1,999.

Vizio had the TV in its CES suite and the picture color really popped when compared to other Vizio TVs placed right next to it (although you probably can’t tell from the above photo I snapped).

For years, movie-loving videophiles have preferred plasma TVs over LCDs because the colors are richer and blacks are blacker. But with LED back lighting, LCDs now offer a similar viewing experience. The black bars that straddle DVD movies above and below were, in the demo I saw, nearly as black as the TV’s frame. Comparably, a Vizio TV right next to the VF551XVT were just a dark shade of gray.  A lot of TV manufacturers announced new LED TVs, but their prices tend to be hundreds to thousands of dollars more. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Video & TV • • • • • • • • | 2 Comments »

Irvine’s Vizio expands into Blu-ray

January 9th, 2009, 8:00 am by

Vizio Inc., the little Irvine HDTV company that could, has expanded into into high-definition DVD players with the VBR100 Blu-Ray Player.

And keeping with Vizio’s tradition, this player is just $199.99. While that’s become the going rate for Blu-ray players, most major brands don’t usually start pricing Blu-ray at that price. They just end up selling at that price.

I caught the Irvine company in a sweet suite at the Wynn hotel. It was showing off a full line of TVs that are coming out later this summer and fall (more on this later). But I wanted to highlight the Blu-ray player first. My photos don’t do the player justice, but Vizio hasn’t had professional pictures taken yet. So here’s a first look:

 

The VBR100 is a sleek, black box that matches the shine of Vizio’s existing lines. Besides Blu-ray discs, the player upconverts standard DVDs for simulated high-definition viewing. It includes HDMI, component and composite video outputs.

More technical stuff: A 24-bit/192kHz audio Digital to Analog Converter is to make sure the sound matches the video quality. There’s also built-in audio decoding for uncompressed audio formats such as Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD Master Audio, and multi-channel PCM in additional to all other surround codecs (Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, and DTS), according to the press release.

The new player is expected to go on sale in April.

More images (click for larger view):

  

Earlier reports from CES 2009:

Posted in: Video & TV • • • • • • • • | Comments Off

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