As with the Bento Book, the Lifebook Frame is a sort of super-dock for some of your mobile tech, including your smartphone and tablet.

This concept is by the German designers Florian Langer and Patrick Decker and received a special award. It’s one of seven shortlisted designs among the 3,000 that were submitted.

It seems to me that eventually someone might have to release something like this that will work for iPads and iPhones, because those are most common combination of tablets and smartphones. I doubt that Apple will do so, since it might compete with the MacBook Air platform.

[via designboom]

The utlra-widescreen moniker means that these HDTVs can display native 2.35:1 CinemaScope movies without any black bars, which is really cool. Although this means that anything that’s not in 2.35:1 ratio will have some kind of bars, or the picture will have to be stretched. You can’t win them all.

Still, most blockbuster movies are released in this aspect ratio, so that’s not a problem unless you watch many TV shows. Even then, most of shows are shot in widescreen 16:9 formats these days, so the bars won’t be that big. The sets will also feature passive-lens 3D technology, built-in 802.11n WiFi and Vizio’s Internet App capabilities.

The HDTVs will come in 50-inch (XVT3D500CM) and 58-inch (XVT3D580CM) edge-lit LED models, and they’re showing off a prototype of a gigantic 71-inch model with local dimming at CES this weeek.

The guys over at Ostendo are making these new CRVD displays, which not only offer a whopping 2880 by 900 pixel resolution, but are curved to engulf you in the action with a 90-degree field of vision. And when combined with ATI’s Eyefinity multi-display tech, you can set up multiple displays side-by-side to create a truly immersive gaming experience.

Each CRVD has a 43″ diagonal screen with an insane 32:10 widescreen ratio, backed by a bright, yet compact DLP rear projection system.

Somehow I overlooked these bad boys back when I was trolling the aisles at the CES show back in January, but from the looks of these sample video clips, I’m not sure how I could have.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

…and that’s just a single monitor. How about three?

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

So here’s the bad news. At $6499 (USD), you’ll need to take out a second mortgage to buy just one of these, and you’d probably have to sell a kidney on the black market to fund a triple-display rig like the one shown in the video.

[via NewLaunches]

Tucked away on the far edge of the CES show, I came across these nifty new CINQ monitors from Sideline, which extend the display of your laptop without the need for any external power supply. The CINQ display attaches to the lid of your laptop, and gets all of its juice from your USB port. The video signal also travels via USB, thanks to DisplayLink technology. The display also sports an extra SD card reader slot in case you need one.

Each CINQ display measures 10.1″ diagonal, has 1024 x 600 resolution, and energy-efficient LED backlighting. If you’ve ever worked on a netbook, this is basically the same display. The displays work in landscape or portrait mode (either by rotating the mount or through software) and can be removed off of the back of your laptop when not in use. Power consumption is 2.8 watts max, which is pretty low, but will put a little extra drain on your laptop battery if you’re not plugged into the wall.

The prototype I saw had a fairly large mounting plate that has to be adhered (with removable adhesive) to the lid of your computer, but I’m hoping they’ll refine this before it ships. You don’t see the mount when you’re using the computer, but I could imagine it might get in the way when the lid is closed and you try to fit your laptop into your travel bag. The production CINQ will also ship with a small desktop stand, and a nice little protective sleeve for travel.

Sideline expects to ship the CINQ sometime in Q3 2010, and it will retail for around $249 (USD) and will offer both Mac and PC video drivers. You can reserve one now at mycinq.com, and get yourself a $50 early bird discount offer when they actually ship.

Studio FRST also exalts its creation as “A technological sculpture in levitation. Between opacity and transparency.” So it’s a flying colloid?

The TV’s built-in player only plays DVDs, but hey, it’s built-in! In levitation! Between opacity and transparency!

I really hope something like this gets mass produced. I can live without the glass base if it means a cheaper product. And the square gap can be used to house the TV’s controls. Do it Pioneer!

[via MoCo Loco]

Conventional 16:9 HDTV sets are for wussies. At least that’s what Philips is saying with their upcoming Cinema LCD televisions, which support a truly cinematic 21:9 viewing aspect ratio.

You see, big blockbuster movies are often shot in 70-millimeter or Cinemascope formats are actually 2.20:1 or 2:35:1 ratios, so end up showing with black bars on top and bottom on even the best 16:9 displays. With a 21:9 ratio, you’re at 2.33:1, which means you’ll have virtually no black bars when watching films shot in these formats.

Now keep in mind that the 56″ Philips Cinema LCD screen will have to stretch your precious HD and Blu-Ray signals to fill the screen so the former black bars will result in some wasted resolution. But what good were all of those pixels doing as black dots anyhow?

Of course, watching 4:3 programs on this bad boy will give you the fattest black bars you’ve ever seen, but 4:3 is so last decade anyhow. The Cinema display can also stretch 16:9 content to fill the 21:9 screen, but if you’re like me, you hate stretchy heads, and would rather put up with the black bars on the sides while viewing regular HD content.

Philips also says the Cinema series will include their colorful RGB LED Ambilight backlight technology, which should make watching movies on this beast a truly immersive experience. Expect the Cinema 21:9 to hit stores this spring. Pricing and release information should be available sometime in February.

[via DVICE]

Even though Maxx doesn’t win any awards for originality, the PDV-8500BLK does look like a pretty capable portable DVD player. The player features a nice 8.5-inch LCD widescreen, and can play videos in DVD, DVD+/-R, DVD+/-RW, CD, CD-R/RW, VCD and SVCD formats. There’s also support for JPEG, MP3 and MPEG4 files via a built-in SD, MMS/MS card reader slot. About the only thing it won’t play is video games or UMD discs — but you’ve got a PSP for that already, right?

So if you think the PSP’s screen is just too small to watch movies on, you can supersize with one of these players for about $120 over on Amazon.

[via ChipChick]

All of the models feature a full HD 1080p 10-bit LCD panel. However, the W5000 series gets a wide gamut backlight, x.v.YCC color, and MotionFlow (120Hz refresh rate to reduce motion blur.) In addition, the W series offers dual analog and digital tuners, while the V series only has a single tuner. The only other significant difference is the number of HDMI ports. The W5000 and V5000 sets have three HDMI inputs, while the V3000 sets have only two.

From what I can tell, the cosmetics for all the models are identical. There’s no word on release dates outside of Japan yet, but in all likelihood, we’ll see these displays worldwide in 2008.

[via AV Watch]

The Sceptre 46-inch 1080p widescreen LCD set is now on sale for just $1299.99 (after a $300 rebate.) The set offers full 1920 x 1080 native pixel resolution and supports true 1080p input signals. Contrast ratio is a solid 8,000 to 1, which is pretty good as LCDs go.

I also like that they didn’t skimp on inputs, even though the price is low. Sceptre includes 3 HDMI ports, as well as 2 Component and 2 Composite/S-video inputs too. There’s also a VGA input for hooking up a PC. The set also offers four built-in speakers, and SRS TruSurround XT audio enhancement.

This special offer is only valid through August 12, 2007, so if you’re interested in taking advantage of it, hop on over to the Costco website now.

First off, there’s the 688 series, consisting of a 37-inch model (LT-37X688) and a 42-incher (LT-42X688.) The 788 series come in 42-inch (LT-42X788) and 47-inch (LT-47X788) variants. The 688 series each feature a minimal black cabinet, while the 788 series have a an ultra thin bezel with silver trim. The 788 models also offer higher contrast ratio, faster response time and wider viewing angle than the 688s.

All of the sets offer a native 1080p (1920×1080) pixel resolution, and feature an upgraded scaling for optimal upconversion of lower resolution content. The sets all feature JVC’s Genessa image processing chip which offers features such as video noise reduction and “mosquito” noise reduction for dealing with highly-compressed signals better.

In addition to the typical inputs (HDMI, Component, Composite and S-video), the sets feature the ability to connect any USB storage device and view images directly on screen. They also feature “Advanced Hyper Surround” for basic virtual surround sound if you don’t want to add separate sound system.

Pricing and release dates for the new sets are as follows:

Another improvement in this new series of sets is that JVC has drastically redesigned their (previously quirky) remote controls. The remotes now provide direct access to video inputs, illuminated buttons and improved infrared transmitters.

[Press Release]

Measuring just 3.7″ (h) x 9.2″ (d) x 10.8″ (w), the projector features full 1080p resolution. All those pixels come courtesy of a single Texas Instruments DLP chip. The projector is also one of the smallest that I’ve seen with TI’s BrilliantColor tech, which increases color gamut significantly over standard DLPs. Brightness is rated at a solid 1000 lumens, and the DLP’s 5x speed, 7-segment color wheel should reduce the likelihood of the dreaded “rainbow effect” common in many older DLP sets.

While it may be small, the projector comes with some serious home theater features, including compatibility with most digital home control systems using IP or RS232 control schemes. Each projector is also individually calibrated on the production line using projectiondesign’s RealColor suite, ensuring optimal image quality before the projector ever makes it to your home.

Pricing was not announced, but I’d expect to drop at least a couple of paychecks on this, given projectiondesign’s high-end track record.

[via ecoustics]

The wrist player features a 1.8-inch widescreen color display (isn’t that an oxymoron like “jumbo shrimp?”) It’s got 2GB of flash memory on board, and can play MP4, MP3, WAV and WMA formats. There’s even an FM radio along for the ride. Oddly enough, even though you wear it on your wrist, it doesn’t look like the device can tell time (or at least that’s not in the specifications.)

If you’re looking for a super geeky fashion accessory, you can pick up these players from importer Chinavasion for just $56.74.

All of the sets will feature 1080p support and three HDMI ports, but the Z-series will feature a 120Hz frame refresh rate to reduce image blurring and other motion artifacts. The sets are all expected to be available later this year.

I’m pretty sure that at lease some of these are the same sets that I reported on a back in January, but now we know what the sets actually look like.

[via Pocket Lint via Gizmodo]

The $1150 HANNSvibewhite is a 32-inch LCD television with a chunky, contemporary design, highlighted by white and black accents. The unique cabinet design lets you easily remove the stereo speakers if you have an external audio system. Native resolution is SXGA (1366×768) and the set supports 1080i/720p/480p/480i source signals (sorry, no 1080p). It also has an ATSC/NTSC/QAM tuner on board so you can receive over-the-air high definition broadcasts without additional hardware.

[via BornRich]

The F520 is similar in many ways to the F700, with a slick, Flash-based user interface, touchscreen, media player and true 3G connectivity. The F520 however has a really cool trick up its sleeve; the keyboard slides in two directions: one to reveal a limited phone dialer, and the second to reveal a full QWERTY keyboard. It also has a 3-inch diagonal (480 x 272 resolution) screen, which is actually a little larger than the screen on the F700. It’s got a 3-megapixel camera, full HTML web browsing and video playback too.

The more I see phones like this one, the more I think that Apple is going to be challenged keeping up with the pace of the mobile phone industry. Companies like Nokia, LG and Samsung are used to churning out dozens of new models every year, so are able to react to market changes very quickly. Conversely, Apple is used to producing just a handful of iPod models every year or two. This may give them some advantages on the quality front, but I’m not sure that’s going to be enough to keep up with the joneses.

[via Gizmodo]

The Samsung Ultra Smart F700 features a sleek, modern design that’s a little more rugged looking than Apple’s iPhone. For starters, the F700 has a large, 2.78-inch touchscreen display, running at 240×400 resolution. In addition, it’s got a full QWERTY slide-out keyboard lets you quickly type e-mails and text messages. It’s a full triband GSM phone, with 3G support for EDGE, GPRS,UMTS and HSDPA high-speed wireless service, as well as Bluetooth.

The phone features robust multimedia playback capabilities for MP3 and MP4 files as well as a variety of other formats. The F700 also has a solid 5-megapixel digital camera, with a smaller secondary camera for teleconferencing. A full HTML web browser is also included. While the F700 doesn’t feature some of the fancier features of the iPhone such as the accelerometer or multi-touch display, nor does it offer WiFi access, it does one-up the iPhone with its expandable memory, 3G support and slide-out keyboard.

Keep an eye out for this one later this year.

[via Newlaunches]

The D-Lux 3 is a compact 10-megapixel digital camera with 4x optical zoom. It offers support for both compressed JPEG and uncompressed RAW format images for the ultimate in picture quality (if you can afford a big enough SD card). The Leica can shoot 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 ratio images, and the widescreen 2.8″ diagonal display lets you view full 16:9 images at their maximum size. It’s loaded with both automatic scene settings for ease of use as well as pletiful manual settings including aperture, shutter speed, color balance among others. The D-Lux also features an optical image stabilizer to keep your images sharp in challenging situations. Keep in mind that Leica cameras aren’t for cheapskates – expect this camera to retail for about $1000 (street prices will likely be a bit less.)

[via Chip Chick]

I can now confirm that the Dell 27-inch 2707WFP widescreen monitor is a reality, running at a solid 1900×1200 native resolution. The monitor is housed in a slick aluminum case with a beveled glass base, so it has a little more panache than most other DELL monitors. The display also claims a 1000 to 1 contrast ratio and a wide 92% color gamut. Inputs include DVI with HDCP, component, composite and s-video. There’s also an integrated media card reader and USB ports. The display offers full tilt, swivel and height adjustments as well.

The monitor is priced at $1399, and is already available from Dell’s online store.

A Dell employee confirmed to website DailyTech that the image was from the training manual for their upcoming W2707C display. Further speculation is that the monitor is positioned to cross over Dell’s television and their computer monitor lines by including both computer inputs such as DVI and USB as well as television inputs such as component and composite, but not HDMI. The panel is assumed to use Samsung’s new 27-inch 1920×1200 glass, which would be sufficient for 1080p+ resolution.

Dell has generally received high marks for their 24-inch (2407WFP) and 30-inch (3007WFP) widescreen monitors, so I’m looking forward to checking this one out when it hits the street.

[via DailyTech]

The computer adds virtually no bulk to the flat panel display. The first system in LG’s TVPC lineup will come with an Intel Celeron 430 CPU, 160GB hard drive, 1GB of RAM and on-board WiFi connectivity. The system is expected to be released initially in South Korea for about 1,850,000 KRW (appx. $2000 US). No release date or pricing has been announced for other markets yet.

[via AVING]