The new Plasmas also boast THX certification, and a dynamic contrast ratio of over 2,000,000:1 (really?).

The models look to have slipped under the radar and hit the U.S. last month. The TC-P58V10 is $2700; the TC-P65V10 is $4000. [Panasonic USA | Panasonic @ IFA]

Note that these are the same TVs rolled out at CES—nothing new has been announced, save for pricing and availability (although some remain TBD). So while the super-thin Z1 got all the CES attention, the line as a whole has some great value points scattered through its bafflingly stupid kudzu forrest of model designations. Here, the knife to get through it.

• X1 Series
The X1 are the barest bones 720p sets, and are divided between LCDs for the 26, 32 and 37-inch sizes and plasma for the 42 and 50-inchers. To sweeten the deal (a little), the LCDs come with an iPod dock that lets you play music and video via the remote on an interface on the screen. But as Wilson has said, you don't go to Per Se for McNuggets (or maybe you do)—but in any case, for a low-end LCD, you may be better served by Samsung or Sony. And you'll want to stay away from the X1 plasmas—they're the old panels from last year's line.

LCDs: TC-L26X1 - $600, TC-L32X1 - $650, TC-L37X1 - $800; all coming this month
Plasmas: TC-P42X1 - $900, TC-P50X1 - $1100; all coming Febrary 2009

• S1 Series
This is the step up into 1080p/120Hz (for LCD) land, and is a series still split into LCDs and plasmas, indicating that the distinction between flat-TV types is something people care less and less about at the store. On the plasmas, this will be the lowest you can go to still get the new 2009 panel glass, which has increased motion resolution and contrast. Motion resolution is essentially the same stat touted as 120/240Hz refresh rate in LCDs; Panasonic has starting referring to the "sub-field drive" (motion resolution refresh rate) in the same terms, here as "600Hz". Also new here is 54-inch plasma, a size Panasonic hasn't done before.

LCDs: TC-L32S1 - $850, TC-L37S1 - $900; all coming this month
Plasmas: TC-P42S1 - $1200, TC-P46S1 - $1500, TC-P50S1 - $1800 (this month for these three), TC-P54S1- $2200 (May 2009), TC-P58S1 - TC-P65S1 (no price on the biggies, coming in August).

• G1 Series
These are the highest-end LCDs at the 32 and 37-inch sizes, but with not much to differentiate from the S1 series besides an extra HDMI port, a nicer bezel and an increased contrast ratio. Again, if you're going LCD, might want to check around elsewhere.

LCDs: TC-L32G1 - $800, TC-L37G1 - $1100 (coming this month)

• G10 Series
Throwing the rest of the naming convention to the wind is the G10 series, which is the earliest point in the line where Viera Cast, Panasonic's built-in streaming software service, comes in (it's in all the series moving on up the line from here). The biggest fish offered through Viera Cast is Amazon VOD; there's no Netflix to be found. With others like LG offering both, it's kind of baffling why Netflix is missing here, but if a deal comes to fruition later, your TV will be compatible, as the whole thing lives server side. These sets are also THX-certified with a special THX preset for optimized picture settings, with sizes going up to the new 54-incher.

Plasmas: TC-P42G10 - $1400, TC-P46G10 - $1700, TC-P50G10 - $2000, TC-P54G10 - $2400, (this month for all but the 54-incher, which is coming in May).

V10 Series
The V10s are the top-of-the line, big-screen plasmas, going all the way up to 65 inches. They have everything found on the G10s, adding 24p cinema framerate playback and the bigger-sized panels. The 40,000:1 contrast ratio won't beat the custom-install only 65VX100U's 60,000:1 blacks we saw at CEDIA, but you won't have to drop 10 grand either. In fact you won't have to drop a lot of money at all, as the value quotient here is pretty hot—at least where pricing is confirmed.

Plasmas: TC-P50V10 - $2300, TC-P54V10 - $2700, TC-P58V10 - TBD, TC-P65V10 - TBD (all available in the summer: June for the smaller ones, and August for the two biggies with TBD prices).

• Z1
And of course, let's not forget the crazy showpiece Z1, the one-inch thick stunner with Wireless HDMI on top of all of the high end specs you've seen before. The pre-production model we saw today looks just as fine as it did at CES. Pricing is now set at $6000, with a non-commital 2009 release.

Of course we all know efficient LEDs will eventually find their way into every automobile, but the Audi R8 V10 takes the prize for being the first commercial vehicle to sport LEDs in everything. Headlights, running lights, turn signals—you name it there's an LED shining bright inside.

And not just shining, but "smartly" shining and adapting to the driver's needs.

Audi developers are convinced that future generations of headlights will react to weather conditions, a vehicle’s speed, the distance between vehicles, and potentially dangerous objects. “We’re striving to create intelligent headlights and taillights which think and anticipate in the interest of enhancing a driver’s safety and comfort. For example, there are already high-beam headlights in pre-series development which will allow drivers to navigate roads at night without temporarily blinding oncoming drivers. This is made possible by a variable distribution of light: An electronic system continuously calculates the distance to any approaching vehicles to ensure that the road ahead is ideally illuminated at all times – without irritating oncoming drivers," said Dr. Wolfgang Huhn, Head of the Light and Visibility Department at Audi.

Sheesh. You know you're a luxury car manufacturer when you have a Light and Visibility Department. [Gizmag and Jalopnik]

The Price: $300

The Verdict: If you have the cash and really want a little projector that can go wherever you go, this is the one to get. It's got a much better build quality than the visually comparable 3M MPro110, but it's got so many more goodies, you'll be entertained for hours before even loading your first movie.

The key difference is that, unlike the 3M, the Aiptek has an SD card reader so it's always ready to play something, even when nothing's wired to it. You transcode files to Motion JPEG AVI or MPEG-4 ASF—you can use whatever software you want, but if you don't have an app, the thing comes with ArcSoft's PC-only Media Converter—and they're recognized with ease by the projector, along with JPEG stills and MP3 music files, which play fine by themselves, but not in the background of a photo slideshow where they belong.

The 3M, if you recall, had a VGA input along with a composite A/V input, but of course no SD reader. The Aiptek doesn't have the VGA input, but it's a tradeoff I can live with. The Aiptek does have a basic component video input, so you can run low-grade standard-def sources in there with no trouble.

You get a lot more for the money, too. Aiptek's projector comes with a nice little tripod for quick-and-dirty setup, and a remote control if you're going to give a presentation. (Speaking of that, the manual recommends converting PPT and PDF files to JPEG and loading them on SD card for best results. Like I said, "quick and dirty.")

The beefs I had with it were basically the same as with the 3M: You really can't set the thing back more than five feet or so when by which time the picture—at that point about 50 inches diagonal—really starts to blur. I'm not even going to begin to talk about contrast, color accuracy, motion blur and all of the things we examine in higher TV technologies, but I do have to admit, in a sufficiently dim setting, the video for both projectors was entirely watchable.

In two weeks I've gone from not believing much in the pico movement to being a fervent supporter. And if you're going to be an early adopter, I am happy to say that, because of the Aiptek PocketCinema V10's better geek features and much improved build quality over the 3M MPro110—and $50 cheaper price to boot—I found a pico projector that I can genuinely recommend. The only hold back is that they're just gonna get better and better. [Aiptek Product Page]

Ultra-thin design is achieved using a new compact battery and miniaturized circuit boards

Huge 3.0 inch LCD monitor makes it easy to compose and review images

8.0 megapixel CCD and 3x optical zoom assure high resolution images

Face Recognition Auto Focus and Auto Exposure assure properly exposed portraits

Digital Shake Reduction mode automatically selects higher ISO setting

Powerful flash captures images even in dark locations

Auto Picture mode quickly selects camera settings based on the scene

16 additional capture modes offer versatility

Auto Macro mode allows close-up photography

CAMERA HARDWARE

MODEL: Optio V10
TYPE: Ultra Compact Digital Camera
PRODUCT CODE: 19481, UPC: 027075135932

SENSOR
Type: 1/2.35" interline transfer CCD
Effective pixels: 8.0MP
Total pixels: 8.5MP
Recorded resolutions
Still: 8M (3264x2448), 5M (2592x1944), 4M (2304x1728), 3M (2048x1536), 2M (1600x1200), 1024 (1024x768), VGA (640x480)
Movie: VGA (640x480), QVGA (320x240)
Quality levels:  (best),  (better),  (good)

LENS
Type/construction: Pentax zoom lens, 6 elements, 5 groups, 4 aspherical elements
Optical zoom: 3x
Focal length (equiv.): 6.3-18.9mm (36-108mm)
Digital zoom: 4x
Combined zoom: 12x
Aperture: f/3.1-5.9

LCD/VIEWFINDER
LCD screen: 3.0" TFT color LCD
LCD resolution: 230,000 pixels
Wide angle viewable: YES
Optical viewfinder: n/a

FOCUS SYSTEM
Type: TTL Contrast Detection Autofocus
Autofocus: 9 point autofocus, Spot Autofocus, Auto Tracking Autofocus, and Face Priority Autofocus available
Manual focus: YES, Infinity Landscape also available
Macro focus: YES, macro and super-macro available
Focus lock: Available by pressing the shutter release button half way
Focus range: Normal 1.31' to infinity, Macro 0.33-3.30' (at wide), Super Macro 0.16-1.31'

FLASH
Type: Built-in, series-control auto flash
Flash modes: Auto, on, off, redeye reduction
Effective range: Wide 18' (auto ISO), Tele 9.5' (auto ISO)

STORAGE MEDIA
Internal memory: Approx 52.1 MB
Removable memory: SD, SDHC

INTERFACES
Ports: USB 2.0 hi-speed, AV, DC Input
Video out: NTSC, PAL
Printer interfaces: PictBridge

POWER SUPPLY
Power source: D-LI63 rechargeable Li-Ion battery
Recordable images: Approx 200
Playback time: Approx 210 min
Movie recording time: Approx 70 min
Audio recording time: Approx 260 min
AC adapter available: YES (optional)

PHYSICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Dimensions (W x H x D): 3.8 x 2.3 x 0.7"
Weight
Without battery or removable memory: 4.2 oz
Loaded and ready: 4.9 oz
Construction material(s): Aluminum alloy
Operating temperature: 32-104°F
TIMING
Startup: Approx 2.1 sec
Release lag: Approx 0.04 sec
LANGUAGE SUPPORT
English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Finnish, Polish, Czech, Hungarian, Turkish, Russian, Thai, Korean, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Japanese

IMAGE CAPTURE

IMAGE STABILIZATION
Still: Digital SR (up to ISO 3200)
Movie: Movie SR
METERING SYSTEM
Type: TTL
Multi-segment: YES
Center weighted: n/a
Spot: n/a
Exposure compensation: +/-2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
ISO SENSITIVITY
Auto: 50, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200 (auto up to 3200 in Digital SR mode)
Manual: 50, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200
WHITE BALANCE
Auto preset modes: Auto, Daylight, Shade, Tungsten, Fluorescent
Manual mode(s): YES
SHUTTER
Type: Programmed AE electronic lens shutter w/ CCD electronic shutter
Shutter speed: 1/2000 to 4 sec
CAPTURE MODES
Mode selection: Auto Picture (Landscape, Portrait, Night Scene, Normal), Program, Night Scene, Movie, Voice Recording, Landscape, Flower, Natural Skin Tone, Portrait, Surf & Snow, Sport, Digital SR, Kids, Pet, Food, Frame Composite (3M)
Green simplified mode available: YES
Face recognition available: YES, available in Portrait and Natural Skin Tone modes
P/A/S/M/B: P
Date stamp: YES (not available in Green Mode)
Digital filters (capture): n/a
DRIVE MODES
Mode selection: one shot, self timer (2s, 10s), continuous
Continuous FPS: Approx 1.4 FPS
Self-timer: YES (2s, 10s)
Remote control: n/a
PLAYBACK MODES
Mode selection: One Shot, Index (9 thumbnails), Magnification, Movie Playback, Sound Playback, Histogram, Bright/Dark Indication, Folder Display, Select & Delete, Calendar
Mode Pallet: Slideshow, Resize, Trimming, Image & Sound Copy, Image Rotation, Digital Filter, Brightness Filter, Frame Composite, Redeye Reduction, Voice Memo, Protect, DPOF, Startup Image
Magnification: YES, up to 8x, scroll available
Digital filters (playback): Black and White, Sepia, Color Filter (6 filters available), Color Extract (B&W w/ red, green, blue), Soft
Movie edit: n/a
FILE FORMATS
Still: JPG (EXIF 2.2), DCF, DPOF, Print Image Matching III
Movie: AVI (Motion JPG), 30/15 FPS, w/ sound, color, sepia, monochrome
Sound: WAV (PCM), monaural

Nonetheless, 12 hours of use and line-in recording in return for $62 of your United States dollars is not a bad deal. Suitable for those who want their music simple and and their players unadorned with the outline of a fruit. – Jason Chen

Ramos MP3 [iMP3 via TechEBlog]

Additionally the V10 design incorporates a large, 3-inch LCD screen and comes in gunmetal or orange. This camera is still in production and should start popping up in March.

Fujifilm FinePix V10 Preview [Lets Go Digital]

Not saving everything for February's PMA digital imaging trade show, Fuji announced four cameras at CES.

The FinePix V10 has a 5 MegaPixel Super CCD HR sensor and uses the company's Real Photo technology to remove noise from your digital pictures and allow you to take pictures at higher light sensitivities. Perfect for those if us with an unsure hand. But what will really make you notice this camera is it's large, 3-inch LCD with 230,000 pixels. And strangely enough, Fuji is now taking a cue from mobile phone companies and including four video games on the camera, accessible through its menu. The games include Number Puzzle, Block Buster, Shooting Game and Maze. Retails for $349.
In its entry level space, you'll find two Super CCD-powered digital cameras. The 4 MegaPixel FinePix A400 and 5 MegaPixel FinePix A500 come with a new image processor for cleaner photos, , a 3x optical zoom lens and internal memory. The A400 retails for $149 and the A500 is going for $179.
Finally, in the fashionable, small design-friendly category, the FinePix F470 is 20 mm thick, with a 6 MegaPixel CCD sensor, 16MB of internal memory and 2.5-inch LCD. Retails for $279.