Pixel Qi's last announced manufacturing date—residue of which still graces their website—was "the second half of 2009." In big, bold type, they've updated the claim: "We are starting mass production of this screen in December 2009," is proudly emblazoned on Pixel Qi's worryingly retro website, while "We totally totally promise this time," a comforting, if slightly desperate adjunct, is not. But this is:

We have begun design of a sub-10 watt HDTV that can be used in hundreds of millions of households that don't have steady, if any, access to electrical power. The typical HDTV uses more than 100 Watts and often draws several hundred watts. We are working on a way to massively lower the power consumption, and significantly lower the price with a target price of $100. Thus this HDTV can run off of battery that can be charged up when the power is on, or charged with a small solar panel, crank, or so forth.

I'm sure there are about a million different applications for a low-power screen tech that displays full-motion color, static e-ink and works in the sunlight, but don't get ahead of yourselves: we haven't seen a single non-prototype device yet. Throw us a bone, guys! And by bone, I mean the name of any hardware partner who's willing to make a product with this screen tech once it starts shipping. [Pixel Qi via Blogeee via Slashgear]

Other features include: a 2.0 megapixel camera, 2.8" touch sensitive TFT-LCD display, 256MB/64MB ROM memory, MP3 and MPEG4 player, WCDMA modem, Bluetooth, and video call capabilities. Two models will be available the "Dragonfly" and "OMAP' with the latter having a faster CPU and tri-band network support instead of quad-band. Naturally, no pricing information has been released, which is just as well seeing as how this product is unlikely to make its way to the states anytime soon. Bummer. [TechFaith via TFOT]

We cannot wait!

LG Electronics (LG), a leader in consumer electronics and mobile communicati ons, announced that it will launch the world's first dual-format high-definition disc player, capable of playing both Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD content. The unit will be released in the United States in early 2007. Details will be provided at the 2007 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), held January 8-11 in Las Vegas.

LG expects this technological breakthrough to end the confusion and inconvenience of competing high-definition disc formats for both content producers and consumers.

– Jason Chen

The RTX comes with a charging dock, a base station, and a handset. The base station connects into your ethernet network and your landline, meaning you're free to take the cordless handset anywhere in your house. Even that closet your wife stores her letters from her old lovers in. It's 109.99 ($206), so it's not exactly as the non-standalone phones. T'is the price of progress. – Jason Chen

Product Page [Skype Style]

What does this matter to you? Well, if you're using a SIP VoIP provider like Gizmo Project or even rolling up your own Asterisk box, then this phone can connect to those whenever you're in WiFi range. The phone gets five hours of talk-time in GSM mode and two hours in WiFi mode—kinda puny.

And at a price of $599.99, thanks to the lack of carrier subsidy, we may have to wait until the second model. – Jason Chen

Press Release [DLink via Laptop Mag]

So what did we think of the CIT300? Find out after the jump, plus pictures.

The Skype part first, because that's what everyone's here for. Installation was easier than Monique from Lincoln High: just pop in the CD and install the software. If you're familiar with other Skype-plugin software that hooks into Skype, this is exactly the same. All you have to do is find an empty USB port to plug the base into and you're in business.

The Skype calling is merely adequate, but relies on you having your PC on and running Skype at all times. That's fine for techies, but some people only turn on their PCs when they're using them.

By passing the audio from the handset to the PC, there's a little added delay occasionally when we were making Skype calls. Nothing too severe, but when it was there it was noticeable. Overall, the audio quality was what you would expect with Skype, but with no echo coming from your end since this is a handset and not a speakerphone. There is, actually, a speakerphone function on the handset, which is useful for when you're cooking or in the loo.

The interface on the phone has a dedicated Skype button for you to bring up your Skype contact list and cycle through both the currently-online contacts and your Skypeout numbers. Skypeout is free in the US 'til 2007, so you're free to make loads of long distance prank calls to your grandmother in Kansas on Skype's dime. Of course, if you want to make calls out through the analog line, you can do that easily, too.

I actually couldn't test the analog telephone line features here in Gizmodo's West Coast HQ, aka, my apartment—I only have cellphone service. But cordless phone technology has been around for tens of years, so there's nothing new there. The UI on the handset lets you choose the analog line or the Skypeout line when you're making calls to standard numbers. Easy as pie.

So with this being a "dual-mode", PC-tethered device, we would recommend it for people who still want to keep a standard home line but also want to make and receive calls from people on Skype. For instance, you could buy one of these for your parents, so they could use the same phone to take regular calls and the calls you make to them using Skype on your PC. To them, it'll sound exactly the same. To you, it'll sound like money being saved. – Jason Chen

Product Page [Linksys]

Aside from its support, however limited, of CDMA and iDEN, the ic502 also features that not-annoying-at-all walkie-talkie mode, whose telltale beeps have driven Americans mad for years now, speakerphone and other standard features. You won't, however, find EVDO support, so it's not exactly the most advanced phone on the market. Price and release date are still up in the air. – Nicholas Deleon

ic502 listed on FCC Site [HowardForums via Phone Arena]

FCC Documents