My favorite part of being in fancy restaurants and small European countries—you know, places where rich people hang out—is checking out the bathrooms. There's always some decadent touch that makes them cooler than the same-old I'm used to using back home. But with this LED faucet, available for $65 at ShopKami, you can bring a touch of that luxury to any old sink.

The easy-to-install, single-handle faucet uses a glass panel lit by a colored LED to convey water, allowing it to cascade gently into your sink while you massage a passion fruit clean or wash your hands with an organic mint soap. See? Your life's already improving. [Coolest Gadgets]

Voelker, a German designer, says the robot is still in the prototype phase, but from the look of things it already has the Christmas tree and house routines down pat.

The prevailing "lightdrawing" technique for humans—waving a LED key chain around in the air like a madman—is not the easiest to master; at best you get a nice halo over your head, at worst you get a big ugly mess of light. But Voelker's Lightdrawer putters along, cool as a cucumber:

Robot Drawing with Light from Nils Völker on Vimeo.

Using a robot might not be the most fun way to paint a long exposure Christmas tree, but at least this way people will be able to tell it's a Christmas tree when you show them the picture. [Nils Voelker via Designboom]

Dozens of LEDs sprinkled across this dress concept light up, and actually blink faster when the microprocessor and carbon dioxide detection unit (hidden in the dress bustle, I presume) recognizes pollution in the air. No, they don't make underwear versions, though I'm sure some of the men reading this could do with their "air pollution" being monitored. [Diffus via The Coolist]

Thankfully LG didn't compromise on diagonal size, with this prototype coming in at 42-inches. It's LED-backlit, with a 120Hz processor (for the US market, anyway) and apparently only weighs 4 kilograms.

Please excuse me while I fall over in shock. [I4U]

Designed by Elizabeth Fuller for the NYU's ITP Winter Show, the Life Dress is fully programmable, meaning that you can step out to your fancy parties with the pattern or message of your choice writ large by the LEDs embedded in your clothing. The unlit squares are also a bit translucent, which in the right (or wrong) places could send the strongest message of all. [ITP Winter Show]

Says designer Burak Kaynak, the 'can was conjoured up after seeing all the Share buttons that populate the Internet these days. Why not apply it trash? And so he did:

Sharing content on social networking sites is as simple as stepping on a foot pedal to open the lid and toss your trash. Share//Trash Can is a smart step-on trash can which includes a LED - live counter that counts the amount of steps that are stepped on the foot pedal.

I guess in the end I really don't see the point. Is it to shame you into wasting less, in this particular trashcan, so that you'll just go down the hall and use the next one? [Burak Kaynak - Thanks, Camila]

The only problem is that, at 13-foot in diameter and 5.25-feet high, I doubt it will fit anywhere in our apartment. The XXXLamp uses three white light sources, but you can order it with RGB LED sources to achieve any color you want at any time with a remote controller, like the much smaller Philips Livingcolors Lamp. Oh prettiness. [Eden Design via Dezeen]

If you want to make your own, all you'll need are some Star Trek Pez heads, a Deluxe LED Menorah Kit, and a healthy disregard for tradition. In keeping with the holiday spirit, couldn't they have made room for Khan? [Evil Mad Scientist via Make]

Ok ok, I'm being a bit harsh. The lights are actually pretty nifty if you've already got a good atmosphere going on, but they're not going to magically make hot chicks show up at your late night Guitar Hero tournament.

The lights range from $30 to $120 and are available now. [Rock Gear Shop via Engadget]

You can find all the details for Batsignal projector (including stencil patterns) at Thingiverse. Fun part is that you can even switch out the stencils just in case you decide that you want a different superhero identity. Spacegirl-signal, anyone? [Thingiverse via Make]

This art installation is called "An Almost Ephimeral Autumn" and was created by a group called Luzinterrupus. It took them about three hours to set it up in a Madrid park.

Unfortunately this was only a short exhibit, and the leaves remained trapped in a pretend breeze for a mere four hours. What a shame. I'd have loved to hop on a plane and race through that park, pretending to be an autumn fairy. [Design Boom]

Less spectacular than the Galaxy Dress, but classier. [Fasioningtech via Bornrich]

The "3D LED Wall" is on show at the International Broadcast Equipment Exhibition in Japan, and really highlights just how much of a boner Sony has for 3D right now. They've got 3D laptops, TVs and Blu-ray players planned, and don't forget new games and a firmware update will bring 3D to the PlayStation 3 next year, too. [TechOn via Engadget]

You will learn important lessons like: sizing your TV to optimize resolution, whether to choose LCD vs plasma vs LED and why you don't need to spend money on a 240 Hz TV. So, make sure to check out the following link before you shop. [HDGuru]

This gorgeous thing was designed by Francesca Rosella and Ryan Genz and they say that it's the "the largest wearable display in the world." I don't know if that's true or not, but I do know that I wanted to cry when I read that the dress went straight from the sewing room to the museum mannequin, without ever being worn by a real woman. [Wired]

"The mPower Reserve Battery offers an unprecedented minimum shelf life of 20 years and has an immediate activation to full power. Through an intricate battery design, mPhase developed a way to eliminate power dissipation before initial activation."

The flashlight uses an intense, high-performance LED, and has an accessory USB connection to charge your mobile devices. It's slated to arrive in March, but we hope to get a better look at it at CES in January. [CNETand Yahoo News]

Less than five bucks for an 8-LED lamp that won't even be a blip on your electricity bill? Why not grab one, especially if it somehow pisses off your teleco? [Uxsight via OhGizmo! via Wired]

Frederik Krebs came up with this combination of solar panels and LED lights which, while definitely a work-in-progress, could bring cheap light to some of the world's poorest regions. I call the lamps a work-in-progress because despite being durable enough to last several years, they run at a mere 1% efficiency. But with the expected final cost of $7 a piece, they're full of life-changing potential, despite that low efficiency.

Some prototypes of the lamps are currently being tested in Zambia. As seen in the picture, the solar panels are left laying flat during the day and then rolled up (and secured with snap-button) into a cone-shaped lamp. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing the results of the prototype tests and a final product, because no one should go without artificially lit nights. [IEEE Spectrum via Pop Sci]

The design is a rough map of the city's neighborhood as distinguished by "air boundaries".
The data is collected from 27 air monitoring stations; every 15 minutes the map lights up in order of highest to lowest air quality. [Living Light via bldgblog]

We really didn't need postings on Microsoft's Careers page to tell us that a successor to Windows 7 is in the works. The only information in those job ads is that there could be some focus on Internet Information Services (IIS) and Windows Live Mail integration. Other than that Microsoft just plain appears to be setting everything up for testing future development builds. Please page me when there's a leaked version of the builds, until then these are just job postings. [Ars Technica]

Like most concepts designs, this Carpool LED sign is great in theory. You're supposed to stick it on the top of a car (or even a cab) to show that you're willing to carpool and how many seats remain open. That's fantastic except it doesn't take into account that some of us don't want to pick up creepy, smelly strangers in the same fashion we would hitchhikers. The Halloween movies I've watched today even further prove this as a bad idea. [Yanko Design via Uber Gizmo]

A company called Cereplast decided that making plastic junk out of tapioca, corn, wheat and potatoes isn't gross enough. So now they're making flimsy cutlery out of that green gunk that builds on on water. Frankly, I don't care how much petroleum is saved in comparison to traditional plastic, I just plain don't want to shove something made of algae into my mouth. [Pop Sci]

Ideum has made yet another ultra-wide touchscreen surface and this one's designed to be capable of recognizing up to 50 different simultaneous touch points. I guess it could be fun if I had a few extra fingers or if a bunch of people crowded around and used all their toes. Geez. Can we just plain skip overdoing it with the touch points and work on getting one of these into my office? [Slashgear]

But we'll admit it—this techno-barbarism is strangely hypnotic. [Soomi Park via fashioningtechnology via Valleywag]

Jack Schulze and Timo Arnall made this stunning video by using a specially-made LED wand, long-exposure photography, some animation, and a metric ton of patience. I, on the other hand, will be using the next few moments, my eyes, and an ounce or two of amazement to appreciate the supposedly paranoia-inducing beauty of RFID. [PopSci]

Starting from scratch, he designed a PCB complete with 133 (hand soldered) LEDs, room for a temperature controlled oscillator for real time clock capabilities, a LiPo battery, and a cell phone vibrator to provide a simulated "second hand tick" feeling. The whole watch is powered by a PIC 16F946.

You would think that improving on such a beautiful design would be difficult, but a second version is already in the works that will feature a "more compact, lower power TCXO, automatic NTP syncing, and a USB port for charging and reprogramming". Check out Paul's website for more information on how to build one yourself. [Project Page via Hack a Day via Geeky Gadgets]

This latest entry attempts to camouflage the portable as some kind of Christmas decoration. The buttons glow, lights flash, yada yada yada you paid a $250 premium and then put a bunch of holes in it.

Sorry for all the negativity. I guess I was just holding out hope that the "PSPGo Mod" Google Alert that popped up in my inbox today was the one where someone finally hacked this thing with better wifi so it could download a file in less than a hour. [Acid Mods - Thanks, Wouter]

LED color, to be precise, and I must say the clean, new design is almost good enough to distract me from the fact that this little guy could have really, really benefited from a touchscreen. Almost. It certainly makes the screen a bit harder to see, in any event.

The LEDs are powered by that unique internal battery. You know, the one with the sticker. [YouTube via Engadget]

(That's no cool-burning LED bulb; there aren't any heat sinks.) [Yanko Design via OhGizmo!]

Apparently built by some Polish tinkerer, this clock uses LEDs and the hard disk's natural reflectiveness to create these crazy patterns and colors. It's remote controlled too, in case you need to switch to a different eye-piercing background color. It doesn't seem to be available for purchase, but let's be honest—would you really put display this in your house? If you answered yes, take the lights out of your mouth and go back to Burning Man. [Elektroda via Hacked Gadgets via Boing Boing Gadgets]

The Price

$30

The Verdict

It's handy, even if we'd like to see the price drop by $10.

Taking the Gorillatorch out of the box, my immediate reaction was that it was a bit smaller than I'd expected. Especially compared to their dSLR tripod, pictured here, it's a little guy.
But the small size isn't necessarily a bad thing. Coupled with bright light output (that will blind you head-on) and feet that will stick firmly to metal surfaces (seriously, if you twist the light, the legs flex while the feet stayed glued), it's incredibly multifunctional. You can wrap or stick the torch almost anywhere you need some extra light.
I also loved the six-shooter style AA battery compartment.

Of course, this is an LED light. And that means it's more of a spotlight than a warmly diffused bulb. Reading requires creative positioning to avoid the overexposed center. Luckily, the LED is on a dimmer, so you can tweak the output pretty aggressively.

My biggest qualm is the price. For $30, I'd prefer the LED to be removable so the tripod could be used to hold a camera as well. But if you've got a good job, then sure, the Gorillatorch will scratch that consumer itch. [Gorillatorch]


Magnetism in feet is quite strong

Extremely high quality, flexible Gorillapod legs

Useful, dimming LED

Removable head would be welcome

Sometimes harsh spotlight output

Given the wildly varying conditions of the show floor—and the frankly crappy source video, lighting and background LG picked for its demo TV—we can't really judge which TV actually has the best picture quality right now, but the facts do tell us something:
• Samsung and LG both use local dimming on their 55 inchers, while Sony's 52-inch TV is edge-lit
• Sony and LG have expensive built-in wireless HDMI for 1080p streaming from a paired media box
• Sony and Samung have the best "other" features, like great streaming video services
• Samsung's the cheapest, at $4500 for its 55-inch set, probably because it lacks wireless
• Sony's is the most expensive, even though it's the smallest, and lacks full-array LED backlighting, like its champion precursor, the XBR8

In person, the XBR10 is gorgeous, really pulling off the floating TV look, and the Samsung 8500 sets are slick and slim. LG's 55LHX is comparatively drab and physically more clunky, as you can see in our Sizemodo:

Red = 55" LG; Purple = 52" Sony; Yellow = 55" Samsung

All in all, there's no clear winner, and there are lots and lots of trade-offs. If you really want to blow five grand on a TV, you're going to have a tough decision for now, at least until we get 'em side by side. [More CEDIA '09 coverage]

LG ELECTRONICS BREAKS BARRIERS IN HOME ENTERTAINMENT

WITH SEAMLESS PANEL LCD HDTVs, LED BY STUNNING NEW LED MODELS

Sleek SL Series Models Couple Advanced Display Technology, Single-Panel Design

ATLANTA, Sept. 9, 2009 – Breaking barriers in home entertainment, LG Electronics today introduced a "Full HD" LED LCD HDTV – that looks almost as thin as the single sheet of glass it resembles.

Introduced for the U.S. market here this week at the Custom Electronic Design and Installation Association (CEDIA) EXPO 2009 (Booth #2623), the new 47- and 42-inch class* SL90 series HDTVs feature LED lighting and other display technologies developed by LG Electronics.

"LG continues to break barriers in design and technology with its stylish high-definition televisions, like our SL80 and 90 series," said Peter Reiner, senior vice president, marketing, LG Electronics USA, Inc. "These new ultra-slim series of LCD HDTVs position LG at the forefront of providing a new entertainment experience to consumers – one that focuses as much on design as it does on creating a more immersive home entertainment experience."

Unlike conventional LCD TVs, where the panel is recessed slightly within a thick plastic frame, LG's new series of LCD HDTVs use a single-layer design and narrow bezel to create these stunning sets, designed to maximize the viewing experience as well as enhancing the home interior.

LG uses a special film lamination technology for better color tuning, gradation and reduction of glare – all in a sleek, minimalist package. The lamination process completes the flat surface, virtually eliminating the visible line between the screen and the bezel when the set is turned off.

LG's latest masterpiece, the SL90 series, sports a depth of just 1.15 inches, making it a beautiful window into a new world of home entertainment, according to Reiner. "Inside its glossy enclosure, LG's SL90 hides technology that produces a great picture and makes every program and movie even more entertaining," he said.

For example, the LED LCD screen helps produce an extremely high dynamic contrast ratio of 3,000,000:1 for truer blacks and finer gradations between grays. An additional benefit of the film lamination process is to provide anti-glare properties to the screen, reducing distracting reflections and to help ensure that everyone in the room has a cinema-quality experience.

The SL90 series also incorporates advanced display and calibration options, providing home theater enthusiasts and custom installers a sleek new approach to home entertainment. With TruMotion 120Hz technology, the SL90 reduces motion blur and creates more natural looking images for a better viewing experience. By responding quickly to color changes, LG's 120Hz technology provides superior picture quality at different viewing angles.

The SL90 series will be available later this Fall in 47- and 42-inch class* screen sizes at manufacturer's suggested retail prices of $2,599 and $2,099 respectively.

Expansive Entertainment Options

Also on display at CEDIA Expo this week is LG's SL80 series of LCD HDTVs, which shares a similar stunning single-layer design with the SL90, using a sleek edge-to-edge panel of glass over a slim bezel. This design makes the screen and bezel appear to blend seamlessly together.

"The SL80, with its slim style boasts a depth of just a mere 1.8 inches. The combination of this unique design with slim depth makes the screen appear larger and helps draw viewers in, for a more engaging viewing experience," Reiner explained.

The SL80 boasts TruMotion 240Hz technology to improve motion picture response time so consumers experience a smoother, more natural picture during fast-action scenes. Additionally, LG's anti-glare filter on both the SL80 and SL90 reduces glare to provide a more pleasant viewing experience even in brightly-lit rooms.

For a complete cinematic home experience, the SL80 has a dynamic contrast ratio of 150,000:1 for amazing clarity and color detail. The SL80 series utilizes slim CCFL technology to achieve its dramatically thin profile. Delivering a compelling visual experience, the SL80 series is less than 1.8 inches thick at its slimmest point.

The SL80 series is available now in 42-, 47-, and 55-inch class screen sizes* at MSRPs of $1,599, $1,899 and $2,799 respectively.

Advanced Calibration Options

For easy, self-calibration, the SL80 and SL90 both include LG's Picture Wizard technology. Picture Wizard provides consumers with on-screen reference points for key picture quality elements, such as black level, color, tint, sharpness and backlight levels. Now, consumers have the ability to calibrate their LG HDTV with an easy-to-use calibration process that takes the guesswork out of picture adjustments and eliminates the need to purchase separate calibration tools.

For consumers looking for advanced calibration, the SL series offers ISFccc calibration options to deliver superior picture quality to more closely represent what filmmakers intended viewers to see. Using the LG Expert Mode, an ISF-certified technician professionally calibrates the HDTV using ISF parameters based upon individual home theater environments and ambient lighting.

Once calibrated to the optimal setting, the calibrations are saved as ISF "Day" and ISF "Night" modes. With ISFccc, LG offers a superior 10-point white balance calibration capability, providing an extra level of precision for gray scale calibration for a more uniform picture.

Smart Energy Savings

As with all of LG's 2009 HDTVs, the SL90 and SL80 models feature Smart Energy Savings technology. These new sets meet the newest Energy Star® 3.0 ratings and come equipped with Intelligent Sensor, which senses the ambient light in the room and adjusts color and brightness accordingly and can also save energy. Additionally, a mechanical on/off switch eliminates standby power consumption completely, if desired.

[LG]

However, as has been noted, this rechargeable $80 gadget may have been designed with the best intentions in mind (i.e. protect you from becoming a bug on someone's windshield), but it looks a bit big and unwieldy for running. Perhaps the LED, which casts light a respectable 54 feet ahead, is more suited to the slightly more leisurely pace of the ambitious cave running circuit I'm currently selling incredibly hard right now?

In any event, it's due out in October. The headgear, I mean. [Black Diamond via BBG]

I only had it set up in my living room for a short while. A little HBO, some movies, not much gaming at all. But it would have been long enough to pick apart a TV by just watching it. And during that time Sony's picture defied any major complaints. Standard definition TV looked colorful, clear and without too many artifacts, reminiscent of how good it did on ye old standard def CRTs, before flat panels started hamfisting the upscaling. On the high end, High definition content from a Blu-ray disc felt like pricks from hypodermic needles, 1920 x 1080 of them, filled with a solution of video joy suspended in photons, as well as some unknown meds that made my chest tighten and my eyes unable to blink. It was by far the best LCD I'd ever seen, and as David Katzmeier from CNet said when he reviewed it, one of the best sets ever, although not as fine of a picture as the now extinct Pioneer Kuro plasma sets.

Sony's engineers went to remarkable lengths to create it, almost as if the ghost of Sony's founding fathers came down and rekindled the engineering pride of the company, telling them to spare no measure to create the TV. "Use LEDs! Use three or four of them for every one those bastards in Korea do!" What resulted was a unique set of discrete red, green and blue LEDs—two of the dimmer greens in every triad— repeating the set up into a backlighting array. Each of the different color LEDs would be calibrated in real time, adjusting for color and brightness output. And that's after they were matched for similar qualities. Apply localized dimming, for a set only an LED fanatic could dream of. And the result was fantastic but without implying anything about its reliability, it is curiously prototype-like in many ways.

The set's large number of discreet color LEDs makes it heavier, more power hungry and thicker than most LED LCD sets, fitting somewhere in physical profile between other LED LCD sets and plasmas. A year and change after its revolutionary release, the set finds itself in murkier waters that make it impossible to justify its extravagance—another hallmark of cutting edge prototype-like technology. And there's competition. Kind of!

Having said how wonderful it looks, this set is a strange creature, born right before the economic crash wiped out the chance that high end sets, like Mitsu's laser TV or Pioneer's Kuros, would sell well. Yet it exists at the same time as its cheaper and poorer performing successors like the Non-LED XBR9.

Markets equalize all. Right now, the XBR8 still has a wildly expensive, with an MSRP of almost $4000 for a 46-incher. Thankfully, because of the set's age, they're going for $2600 on Amazon, which is better, but still over the MSRP of some competing sets that look almost—almost—as good. The XBR9 is $2600 MSRP and can be had for under 2 grand. For about the same price as the XBR9, you can get the LG LH90 in a 47 inch size, backlit by white LEDs with localized dimming. David K. over at CNet says its almost as good, visually.

Somehow, I'm still drawn to the only shipping LCD that uses separate red, green, and blue LEDs. Maybe once the retailers forget how special it is, and the final units are put on clearance as last year's model, I'll pick one up at a steal. More than likely, that sub $2k price point will fill up with better and better sets using simpler and more production friendly technology that'll make me wonder what I was lusting about in the first place. Until then, I still love the XBR8. And without any benchmarks, you'll just have to take my word for it that this set is something special, if not also an unrealistic set to own.

Things, with dollars! It's a story, in two parts: enjoy.

From March, here:

[M]anufacturers are being faced with two equally unattractive (read: expensive) options for building TV-sized OLED TVs, like the one Samsung showed off last year: either devise an entirely new manufacturing process, which would require the invention of new techniques and machines for fabrication, or pursue a different type of OLED panel. Both options would circumvent the current size restrictions, but both options are extremely expensive.

The investments necessary to manufacters a legitimately "next-gen," i.e. either reasonably priced or reasonably sized, OLED, are extremely high, and difficult to muster capital for in this economy. This alone could've explained Sony's delay, but then we have this, today, from the WSJ:

Sony will delay the launch of its next organic light emitting diode, or OLED, television because mass producing the new displays would exacerbate losses at its TV division, according to people familiar with the matter.

It's not just that developing the fabrication processes to build larger OLED TVs is too expensive—it's that so far, and probably for some time into the future, OLED TVs are and will be money-losing prestige products. And right now, Sony can't afford prestige products.

The WSJ points to Samsung and LG as the companies to fill the OLED void, but neither company has been overly enthusiastic about the technology, at least on a TV scale, for the last few months. Idealistic vision of the future, circa 2007? Deeeeee—layed. [WSJ]

Play.com has the larger Lego: Dynamo Torch for £13.99 (about $23), and the Lego: Mini Torch for £5.49 (about $9). Both should be available this September, along with a female battery-powered Minifig flashlight, and a wacky headlamp version. [Play.com via OhGizmo!]

Halo is a concept by French designer Aissa Logerot. Shaped like a bottle of spray paint, the LED light can change colors on the fly and while it's powered by an internal battery (that recharges with a simple shake of the can—a cutesy but awesome idea).

Combine this LED light with slow-shutter photography and you can freeze light graffiti in thin air without ruining a facade in the process. Of course, that non-destructive practicality probably eliminates any incentive for about 99.9% of graffiti enthusiasts.


[Halo via Core77]

One visionary has steamrolled Edison's design with this credit card light bulb. Tiny LEDs take the place of fragile incandescents, popping out to spread their light through a murky matrix of plastic and unidentified floating flecks—all of it shaped like our old pal the light bulb.

It'll run you $9 or $10, depending on your crazy gadget retailer of choice. [brando and gadget4all]

I mean just look at it. It's from the future or something .

The obviously 1080p set is using white LEDs, along with local dimming, unlike say, Sony's which use tri-color LEDs for better color. You can cue up the usual so-great-they're-meaningless measurements you get with LEDs though: 7,000,000: 1 contrast ratio, 2ms, Auto Motion Plus frame interpolation, and an Ultra Clear Panel that "works to improve image clarity and brightness regardless of a room's ambient lighting." But it is only 1.6 inches thick.

There are two models, the 46-inch class (45.9 inches) set for $3600, and the 55-inch class (54.6 inches) for $4500, both out in September.

AMSUNG INTRODUCES STYLISH NEW LED HDTV THAT DELIVERS EXCELLENT PICTURE QUALITY, CONNECTIVITY AND INTERACTIVE FEATURES

Joining Samsung's Award-winning LED TV Line, 8500 Series Offers Consumers Supreme HD Experience

RIDGEFIELD PARK, N.J. – July 30, 2009 – Samsung Electronics America, Inc., a market leader and award-winning innovator in consumer electronics, today unveiled the flagship model of its expanded LED HDTV lineup with the all-new 8500 Series. The new HDTVs combine the award-winning picture quality and thinness of Samsung's previous LED HDTVs, with the latest networking and interactive features, to provide an ideal option to all TV connoisseurs.

"For consumers who are looking for the ultimate HD centerpiece and high-level performance in their home theater, the Samsung 8500 Series delivers break-through quality and design," said John Revie, senior vice president of Visual Display Marketing, Samsung Electronics America. "The 8500 Series underscores Samsung's dedication to providing a full range of HDTVs that not only achieve the highest levels of picture quality, but also provide unique and immersive entertainment experiences through our Medi@2.0ä suite."

Samsung 8500 LED HDTV Series Pricing and Availability
- Price: 46-inch class: $3,599.99 / 55-inch class: $4,499.99
- Availability: September 2009

Picture Quality and Control
With Samsung's innovative use of white LEDs as a backlight source, the 8500 Series is capable of a stunning 7,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio for extreme detail and image depth. Its Wide Color Enhancer Pro ensures that colors are consistently vibrant, while Samsung's Ultra Clear Panel works to improve image clarity and brightness regardless of a room's ambient lighting. The 8500 Series is also compliant with the latest Energy Star® v3.0 ratings, and includes an optimized energy savings mode that adjusts the backlight and picture quality, without sacrificing the overall viewing experience. Additionally, its "Natural" mode optimizes picture settings to model the brightness advantage of LCD displays and the cinema-like richness of plasma displays with any content.

The 8500 Series incorporates an ultra-quick 2ms panel response time, combined with Samsung's latest version of its Auto Motion Plus™ frame interpolation technology that has a true 240Hz refresh rate to significantly improve playback of fast-paced content. Going beyond the three standard Auto Motion Plus™ presets, users can also separately adjust the levels of judder and motion blur reduction for superior picture control.

Connectivity and Content
The new 8500 Series features Samsung's Medi@2.0ä suite, allowing users to access content from more sources than ever before. The Internet@TV - Content Service, developed in association with Yahoo!, provides onscreen access to popular web-based content from Yahoo! (Flickr, Video, News, Weather, and Finance), USA Today (Sports), Twitter, YouTube, and others. The widgets-based interface and scrollbar are activated with the push of a button, and run along the bottom of the screen for easy browsing of the latest programs and content available.

Even after purchase, consumers will be able to use a growing library of widgets, as the widget development kit is available for other content providers to develop new offerings. Samsung's Medi@2.0ä suite provides wired and wireless DLNA compatibility to enjoy photos, music and videos from a networked PC right on the television. Pre-loaded photos, artwork, games, and recipes are also included for entertaining, and two USB 2.0 connections can be used for playing a plethora of video, photo, and audio files from portable devices, including external hard memory.

Designed to Stand Out
Measuring at just 1.6 inches deep and featuring Samsung's Touch of Color™ (ToC™) bezel, the 8500 Series provides consumers with style and flexibility in an HDTV. Additionally, both the 46-inch and 55-inch models come with a built-in tuner and an array of multimedia connections. Samsung's innovative, ultra-slim wall-mount solution (sold separately) makes installation akin to hanging a picture frame, by reducing the gap between the TV and the wall to a mere 0.6 inches – a major improvement over traditional mounting systems.

Samsung Electronics America's press releases, video content and product images are available at www.samsung.com/newsroom.