Gizmodo: ifa

CEDIA 2008 Infiltrated: Booths Under Construction, A Few Tidbits Already Powered Up

John Mahoney — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 15:55:00 EDT

We snuck in (or casually moseyed in, actually) to CEDIA's main show floor, which is still being set up for tomorrow's opening, and we've learned a few things in advance of any announcements.

Sony's Motionflow wall which was in the process of being powered up had a 240Hz set like the 200Hz Bravia we saw at IFA (240Hz NTSC = 200Hz PAL), which indicates Sony is bringing some or all of its Euro IFA goods (including, hopefully, the super-thin ZX1) stateside. We also spied a Sharp X-Series Aquos all fired up in their booth (shown in the image above), which very well may be the WHDI wireless set announced in Asia a few months back, which indicates Sharp is pushing their thin LCDs even harder, and in larger sizes. We also learned that it must really suck to have to vacuum tradeshow floors after setup. Hit the gallery for more shots of the majors' booths.

Toshiba's Regza ZF HDTVs Do Their Own Cell-Processor Upscaling

Kit Eaton — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 07:46:00 EDT

Toshiba's new Regza ZF HDTVs don't upscale your DVDs to HD resolution with any old chipset or engine: they do it with a Cell-processor based system. Bonkers! It's the first TV to upscale with a Cell, and according to its European executive vice president, Toshiba's future "does not involve Blu-ray disc" but will use this sort of tech to deliver high-res imagery. The upscaling system uses the Cell for some advanced image-processing techniques, creating interpolated pixels to give the final image "near-HD" quality. The sets will also have Active Vision M100 100Hz HD picture processing, 178-degree viewing angle, 30,000:1 contrast ratio and 10-bit processing. The ZF TVs will be in 40- and 46-inch sizes, the 40-inch out now with pricing of around $2,390, the 46-pricing and availability is not announced yet. [Toshiba.co.uk and Toshiba.de-via Google translate.]

We've Infiltrated IFA 2008

Mark Wilson — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 12:18:00 EDT

It's not open to the press or public yet, but our own fearless Jesus Diaz just might be on the IFA (think CES in Germany) floor now, snooping as booths are completed and new gadgets make their first appearances. And if he's able to find anything, you'll be the first to know. (Well, technically he'll be the first to know, but you won't be far behind.)

Ziff Davis' DigitalLife Gadget Show Cancelled For 2008

Wilson Rothman — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 14:59:00 EDT

Tech reporters are often caught in tradeshow gridlock: Just as one is ending, another is beginning. This year, the load is lightened a bit by one of them, the Ziff Davis publishing group's own DigitalLife, getting cut at the last minute. We asked why, but in the meantime, we can only guess the reasons:

Primarily, we think it's lack of serious newsdraw. Last year's highlights were mid-level at best: iRobot's Looj gutter cleaner, Palm's Centro and Gateway's One. September is already late for companies introducing stuff for Christmas, and two big electronics shows—IFA and CEDIA—already provide far too much expo space just before it.

It may even be that trade shows are no longer that big a deal: A combination of the internet and FedEx is all that online pubs really need to bring you a nonstop stream of gadget news and in-person impressions throughout the year.

I for one will miss seeing all the company reps and catching up, but I won't miss the vast tradeshow floors, booth after booth after booth of stuff we already covered. [DigitalLife]

Update: I must've overlooked Caroline McCarthy's explanation of the cancellation, but my guesses were pretty close to the truth—they just couldn't put together a compelling enough show. Ziff's chief blamed "poor economic conditions," but I'm not sure if he means the country's, the industry's or just his own.

Sony's Next Gen Alpha A900 DSLR: 25 Megapixels, Due By September

Haroon Malik — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 09:30:00 EDT

Sony's Alpha A900 practically blew us away when we first had an opportunity to grope it, which was way back during PMA '08 in January. Well, it looks like the Sony lads are again showing off their 25MP full-frame pro sensor toting DSLR in Japan, along with a launch date of August/September. Our pals at Master Chong were able to grab a whole slew of new images of the device, as well as shots of the neat looking, clear-bodied iteration pictured above. [Master Chong; Thanks, Felix]

New Kodak Cameras Officially Launched at IFA

msparkes — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 04:00:59 EDT

The three new Kodak cameras which we covered yesterday have now graduated from leaked pictures to official launch. The V1253 is priced at $300, the V1233 at $250 and the Z812 IS at $300, and all three are available now. [Kodak]

LG-KS20 has Touchscreen, is HSDPA-Friendly and IFA-Bound

AddyDugdale — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 04:17:50 EDT

LG's new smartphone should be out in Europe by the end of the year, and we're expecting to get a look at it next week at IFA. Find out what else this touchscreen beauty has got, and see some pretty ladies handling it, all after the jump.

Runs on Windows Mobile 6.0
12.8 mm thich
2.8-inch touch screen display
Full browsing capability
HSDPA-supporting
3.6Mbps download speed
Push email service
2 megapixel camera
MP3 playback
Bluetooth 2.0
Cursive script recognition
Video call

Looking forward to it, LG. [Aving]

Three New EasyShare Cameras from Kodak Leaked before IFA

AddyDugdale — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 08:01:37 EDT

A trio of cameras from Kodak, the Z812 IS Megazoom, the V1233 and the V1253 have shown up on the Let's Go Digital website, who apparently got it from the Kodak website. More details and pics about the three compacts below.

The Z812 IS Megazoom
12 x optical zoom
Schneider Dreuznach Variogon lens
Optical Image Stabilization
0.23-second click-to-capture delay
8 Megapixels

The V1233 Easyzoom
12 Megapixels
4,000 x 3,000 pixels
720p resolution video
2.5-inch LCD color display
Schneider-Kreuznach lens
5 x optical zoom
Face detection technology
Automatic focus and metering

The V1253 Easyzoom
12 Megapixel
720p resolution video
3.1-inch widescreen color LCD display
Kodak Color Science Chip
Schneider-Kreuznach lens
5 x digital zoom
Face detection technology
automatic focus and metering

No prices yet, but expect to see them at IFA. [Let's Go Digital via i4U]

Grundig's MPixx Fine Arts PMPs Look Cool, Out in October

AddyDugdale — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 05:51:53 EDT

Grundig has got three new PMPs coming out next month—two from the MPixx 7000 Fine Arts series, and one from the 4000. Both the 7200 and the 7400 (above) boast a 2.4-inch screen and can record radio to MP3 format, while the 4100 boasts a 3.5-inch screen. Full stats and a pic of the 4100 after the jump.

MPixx 7000 Fine Arts Series

Digital movie & music player for MP3, MPEG4 WMA, WAV, OGG
High-quality stereo FM radio with RDS and direct recording function (MP3) and 25 presets
Extremely sharp 2.4" TFT display (QVGA) with 262,000 colours
Lithium polymer battery / maximum operating time approx. 20 hours
Music library (track, artist, genre) / folder navigation
Slide show for pictures in JPEG / BMP format2 or 4 GB for approx. 40 or 80 albums
WMA-DRM9/10 compatibleID3 tag information for displaying tracks and artists
USB 2.0 high speed connection for fast, safe data transfers
Dictation function (MP3)
Lyric function
Firmware update possible
9 European languages in the user menu

With an internal memory of 2GB, the 7200 will cost $200, while the 4MB 7400 will be $240.

MPixx 4100

Digital movie & music player for MP3, MPEG4 WMA, WAV
High-quality stereo FM radio with direct recording function (WAV) and 30 presets
Extremely sharp 3.5" TFT display (QVGA) with 262,000 colours
Lithium polymer battery, maximum operating time approx. 20 hours
Music library / folder navigation
4 GB memory via SD card, 1 GB internal flash memory
WMA-DRM9 compatible
ID3 tag information for displaying tracks and artists
USB 2.0 high speed connection for fast, safe data transfers
Dictation function (WAV)
Sleep timer, stopwatch, firmware update possible
9 European languages in the user menu

The 4100, pretty much identical to its 7000 Series sisters, only has 1GB memory, but you can boost its memory up to 5GB via its SD slot. Expect to pay $200 for the privilege. [Grundig via Audio Junkies]

Leaked Pics of Samsung i450 Show Sliding Speaker

AddyDugdale — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 07:10:20 EDT

A Czech mobile site has got hold of pictures of Samsung's i450 slider. Despite the fact that there are still no details available (are we gonna see them at IFA next week, then, Samsung?) it looks to us like there's a little speaker hiding out at the top of the phone.

What else can we speculate on about this Nokia-esque cell? Well, these are the rumors so far:

Tri-band GSM 900/1800/1900, UMTS and 3.6 Mbps HSDPA connectivity
2.3 262K color QVGA display
2 mpx camera and VGA front camera for video calls
Bluetooth 2.0 and USB 2.0
1GB of built-in user memory
microSD memory card slot

Come on, Samsung, put us out of our misery! [iDNES via Unwired View]

Loewe Connect Series TVs Offers Built-In Network Media Player

Christopher Mascari — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 18:23:18 EDT

Loewe's network media center concept promises an intelligent TV set in a modern design. Loewe Connect has 3 sizes ranging from 32 to 42 inches, each with a built-in network media player, USB port, Ethernet port, WiFi and an integrated HD tuner. An additional model labeled the Connect Media DR+ has a built-in HDD recorder for recording HDTV programs. No price or release date is available, but the Loewe's Connect Series will be on display at IFA 2007.

[IFA]

Samsung AV-R720 Receiver Pumps Out 850 Watts Of Power

Adrian Covert — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 19:08:04 EDT

Samsung announced the launch of their new AV-R720 receiver that will be on display at this year's IFA Expo. In addition to its 850 watts of juice, the receiver boasts 1080p support, 7.1 audio, 2 HDMI in/out jacks, along with the standard fare of component, composite and coaxial inputs. There is no photo as of yet, but above is how the HT-AS720 looks. The receiver is exclusive to Germany for now, and costs 659 Euros. We'd appreciate a North American release. [Samsung]