While many TV makers are using polarized glasses in their 3D concepts, Sony's plans involve high-definition active shutter glasses that alternate the image for the left and right eye. Hopefully they won't make me cross-eyed like my old 3DFX Voodoo shutters did. [Sony]

Here's how Flatpanelshd says it will work:

The upcoming Samsung 400 Hz (or 480 Hz in the US.) utilizes the so-called BFI/DFI principle. BFI/DFI stands for (Black/Dark Frame Insertion), and means that the TV inserts very short black frames between the original picture frames.The method utilizes the principle that the human eye does not "forget" light instantly.

I have to say, as someone who knows next to nothing about the human ocular system, this sounds entirely plausible! Look at all the acronyms!

If this does come to pass, it's worth noting that it wouldn't display a true 480Hz (or 400Hz outside the US), since it's not really refreshing the source material on the screen 480 times a second—it'll just simulate that effect by inserting black frames in between actual content. The story is made doubly weird by the fact that, hey, a lot of people kind of hate the artificially high-Hz sets. Like me! At any rate, IFA starts in less than two weeks, so I'll abstain from biased ranting until they actually materialize. [Flatpanelshd via Pocket Lint]

Apple's cited reason for the withdrawal of Steve Jobs from the Macworld keynote, and the subsequent withdrawal of Apple from Macworld altogether, was that:

Apple is reaching more people in more ways than ever before, so like many companies, trade shows have become a very minor part of how Apple reaches its customers....Apple has been steadily scaling back on trade shows in recent years, including NAB, Macworld New York, Macworld Tokyo and Apple Expo in Paris.

This is true, but I don't think anyone really considers Macworld a "trade show" like CES, CEDIA or IFA.

It's a show, sure, but it's one where Stevie J is the main attraction. Maybe there are a few retail buyers here and there who need to hit up Macworld to see what's hot for Macs, but Apple doesn't really do this stuff for the attention of retail buyers anyway. When was the last time Macworld was a serious forum for independent software and accessories? Macworld will probably die without Apple, but I think it's because Macworld is Apple.

These other trade shows are buckling for different reasons. I can't speak to NAB or AES, which primarily foment business-to-business dealings, and which Apple did in the past support. I can speak to the myriad consumer electronics and computer shows that occur throughout the year, none of which have featured Apple at any time in my memory.

The easiest rationale for the decline of these shows is the current credit crunch and global economic downturn. A crappy economy means fewer awesome toys, one supposes. But even before the current crisis, a few factors were choking trade shows where it matters:

A true trade show is where retailers go to buy their year's inventory. But consolidation of the country's retailers into Best Buy, Amazon, Walmart and some other guys makes it easy for companies like Sony, Samsung, Mitsubishi and more to just set up shop in some sunny beachy spot and fly in the likeliest buyers. (Or, in Walmart's case, for makers to truck a bunch of crap to Bentonville, AR and see what sticks.)

Since showing up at a trade show doesn't threaten that big ole Best Buy order, it becomes optional at best, and an unneeded expense at worst.

The same goes for the media—a large side effect of the show. Companies don't need Macworld and CES to launch product. Sure, it's nice to see devices in person, but they're often mockups, and useless for making real judgment calls.

As fun as it is to rush off after the holidays to some convention center to eat crappy food, lose sleep and swap cold virus strains, the January time frame for Macworld and CES makes no sense for readers of blogs and other media, since they're not looking for new gadgets at that time. Again, retail buyers need to plan ahead, but for reviewers and consumers in the middle of the retail cycle's buying slump, this is more candy than sustenance.

Before the internet was a viable medium, or the CE space was big enough where many companies could spend in the hundreds of millions for mainstream TV/radio marketing, centralized marketing though trade shows was a cheap and easy way to get the news out. Echoing Apple's statement, now that they can get the word out online—and through retail locations and other more innovative outreach programs—spending money on PR and marketing not just to reporters but to millions of actual consumers, the tradeshow take the role of an opportunistic middleman rather than a needed facilitator.

One big threat to US trade shows is the declining value of the dollar. This year and last, we saw more and more stuff debut at IFA in Berlin than we did at NY's summer shows and CEDIA in September, in part because Asian electronics makers are encouraged to sell more to people who pay in stronger currency. CEDIA this past year was fun, but nearly every hot product we went to cover had already been announced in some form or another in Germany.

CEDIA's bread and butter isn't gadgetry, though, like IFA's is. It's really about home-theater components and systems engineered for custom installation inside rich people's homes. In this country, that's still dominated by an association of independent installers (known as, surprise surprise, CEDIA). And those guys have rich customers who don't actually suffer through depressions as much as you'd like them to think.

My guess is that while CEDIA and IFA are safe (for different reasons mentioned above), CES will change and probably shrink, and Macworld will likely die. Soon.

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.

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.

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]

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]

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]

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]

[IFA]