Haier transparent LED display is brilliantly barmy 
MonitorsHaier may not be the first name to spring to mind when it comes to cutting-edge electronics, but the company has been a major force in the kitchen and appliance market for years. Now, Haier's decided to throw research and development cash at the gadget market, with some fascinating results. When we got the call to check out its transparent LCD monitor at the IFA tech show, our little legs couldn't get there fast enough, and there were plenty of other geek treats on show too.
Shown at IFA in PC monitor guise, the 22-inch LCD panel is completely transparent. Even when there's an image floating across the screen, it's possible to see right through the display. A traditional backlight is lacking, so we suspect the set uses LEDs hidden in the metal frame. Continue reading...
Apple's new LED Cinema Display packs Thunderbolt, shown off in leaked pics
MonitorsPromotional images for Apple's new LED Cinema Display monitor have prematurely appeared on the company's website. MacRumours managed to nab a few screenshots before the pictures were taken down.
One image shows two Cinema Displays hooked up to a MacBook Pro, which means the latest version of the 27-inch LED display will pack Thunderbolt, the high-speed port that Apple's sticking on its new gadgetry. Continue reading...
Packard Bell Maestro LED 230 HD monitor offers hi-def asymmetricality
MonitorsThe Maestro LED 230 HD 23-inch monitor from Packard Bell flaunts a 1,920x1,080-pixel resolution, a 16:9 aspect ratio and a jauntily asymmetrical stand.
The Maestro display is definitely eye-catching and PB is clearly hoping it will be the eye candy on your desk with its slim design and liberal use of black and clear plastic and aluminium. The asymmetrical stand is clearly making a strong statement -- we're just not sure what it is. "I'm not afraid of leaning," perhaps? Continue reading...
Government offers £100 computers to the great unconnected
DesktopsThe government is offering a computer and Internet connection for under £100 to unlucky Britons languishing in the hell of life without the Web. Yes, for less than a ton, those poor unfortunates can become as happy and fulfilled as the joyously Web-connected digital darlings pictured above. Hurray!
Digital inclusion champion Martha Lane Fox is in charge of the low-cost IT pilot scheme, as part of the Race Online 2012 campaign. This encourages people to take advantage of the services and deals on the Internet to generally make their lives better. The scheme is aimed at those who find the cost of equipment is holding them back. Continue reading...
Asus Designo MS236: Fancy ring monitor
MonitorsRemember the 'Fantasy Ring' series of monitors from LG? You know, the ones with the base shaped like a doughnut. Yeah? Good, because Asus, of Eee PC fame, has pounced on the concept to create its own circular-standed monitors, the Designo MS series.
We've just got our hands on the 23-inch MS236 and it's not bad at all. Whereas LG's ring hangs out the bottom, Asus' ring is mounted in a perpendicular fashion at its rear. This allows the monitors to be carried like a handbag, worn on the head like a slightly ill-fitting sweatband, or used as a shield in a game of Monitor Punch.
Continue reading...
Samsung SyncMaster XL2370 1080p monitor with LED backlight: Hands-on photos
MonitorsLED illumination for both TVs and monitors has been gathering pace recently, with Samsung's XL2370 the latest we've seen to make use of the advantages LEDs offer over traditional cathode backlights. Firstly, they're dimmable, which means you get good contrast and secondly, they use much lower power, which means you won't make the polar bears sad.
At 23 inches, the XL2370 is a good size for a PC monitor, and its 16:9 ratio and 1080p resolution mean it's likely to appeal to people who work with video, or those who watch loads of movies. Continue reading...
Nokia Booklet 3G: Photos of Nokia's netbook
LaptopsJust when you thought the world didn't need any more netbooks, up pops the Nokia Booklet 3G. It's a 10-inch mini-laptop with design and specs that seem to place it closer to the MacBook Air than your typical cheap and cheerful netbook.
The screen is a glass display that Nokia says is HD Ready for watching in high definition. It also includes A-GPS, which uses the phone signal to get a fix on your location faster, integrated with Nokia's Ovi Maps. Other Ovi features include Ovi Suite for syncing between phone, netbook and the cloud, as well as access to the Nokia Music Store. Continue reading...
Asus T4T1: Hands-on with the monitor that's also a TV
MonitorsRemember the Asus T1 range of monitors we wrote about last week? Course you do. We've just been sent a sample of the 24-inch 24T1 version to play with and have wasted no time putting it through its paces.
First things first: it looks pretty sweet. We'd have made the bezel thinner, the floral pattern on the speaker grille a little less girlie, and played down the Asus logo on the front, but on the whole, the 24T1 is definitely non-muntish. Continue reading...
Asus T1: Monitors that turn into tellies
MonitorsAsus has announced a series of monitors that double as high-definition TVs. The 22T1E, 24T1E and 27T1E allow you to watch Freeview and terrestrial telly with built-in DVB-T and analogue tuners, as well as plugging into your computer for gaming and other computer-y tasks.
There are 21.5-inch, 23-inch, and 27-inch models, which almost explains the model numbers. Each gives 16:9 1,920x1,080 high-definition resolution. They boast two 7W speakers, which can be set to four sound presets: vocal, rock, soft and boom, selected depending on whether you're listening to music, watching TV, playing games or going boom, apparently. Continue reading...
Asus announces wireless USB LCD monitors
MonitorsAfter ushering in a revolutionary, perception-altering paradigm shift by changing the Eee PC's motto from 'Easy to learn, easy to work, easy to play' to the far more enlightening 'Easy, excellent, exciting', Asus dropped off news about its first wireless LCD computer monitors -- the EzLink Series.
If memory serves -- and it often does -- these Wireless USB monitors were first hinted at in the middle of last year, when Realtek announced its collaboration with Asus on their creation. But we just got word from Asus that they now exist!
Details are scarce of course, and Asus hasn't got back to us regarding exact specifications. But it looks like these monitors will be the first to connect to your desktop or laptop without touching -- y'know, like your parents in bed -- and the promise is the same user experience conventional wired displays offer. Continue reading...
Most iPhone apps spurned after purchase
Just 30 per cent of people who buy an iPhone application actually use it the day after it was purchased, according to Pinch Media, which analysed over 30 million downloads from Apple's App Store.
The numbers plunge from there: after 20 days, less than five per cent of those who have downloaded an application are actively using it. The drop-off is even greater for free applications. Continue reading...
BenQ M2200HD: 16:9, 1080p monitor joy
Monitors
Monitors with a 4:3 aspect ratio have all but died a slow, painful death, and 16:10 models like the one you're using now are on their way out, too. The future is all about 16:9 displays like the new BenQ M2200HD, which we had the pleasure of testing recently.
This 21.5-inch bad boy runs at a native resolution of 1,920x1,080 pixels -- the same as you get on 'Full HD' 1080p televisions. This means it's ideally suited to watching high-definition movie content -- particularly Blu-ray or HD DVD movies, which are designed to run at that particular aspect ratio and resolution. Continue reading...
HP Dreamcolor LP2480ZX: One billion colours!
MonitorsThe generous chaps over at HP have just sent us what they proudly believe is the LCD monitor to end all LCD monitors. The HP Dreamcolor LP2480ZX's claim to fame is that it'll deliver colour reproduction the likes of which was only possible with a CRT display.
Designed in conjunction with movie studio Dreamworks, the LP2480ZX is capable of showing 64 times the colours supported by ordinary LCDs. It has a 30-bit LCD panel and a tri-colour LED backlight, which allows it to display over one billion colours. That's heavily impressive, considering the LCD you're reading this on probably shows just 16.7 million shades. Continue reading...
LG Flatron W2284F: Nipple-powered monitor
Monitors
LG sent us a rather lovely 22-inch monitor to test this morning, and it stirred something primal in our loins. You see, the LG Flatron W2284F has the curves of Beyoncé Sasha Fierce, style like Gok Wan, and -- with a weight of just 4.4kg -- we suspect it may even have one of those trendy eating disorders.
Our favourite thing about the screen is the touch-sensitive power button, which one Craver noticed looks like a slightly deformed nipple. Bizarrely, you can actually tweak it to switch the power on, which causes the Perspex button to glow blue, and the clear transparent base to temporarily glow white. Perhaps that look is in this season. Continue reading...
Apple 24-inch LED Cinema Display: Hey, good lookin'
MonitorsIn a short aside at tonight's Cupertino launch of the new MacBook and MacBook Pro, Steve Jobs casually introduced a new Cinema Display monitor, fashioned in purdy aluminium and glass. Continue reading...
Sony not alone in displaying OLEDs at Ceatec 2008
MonitorsSony has an entire wall of its 11-inch XEL-1 OLED TVs set up here at Ceatec 2008 in Chiba, Japan, but in contrast with past gadget shows, it's not the only company showing off OLED prototypes.
Panasonic may have said earlier this week that OLED (organic light-emitting diode) is still far from becoming a mass-produced mainstream technology for use in big-screen TVs, but other electronics makers are plowing ahead with their own research on the organic, thin film technology: NEC, Sony and KDDI showed off what they've been doing with OLED in their research labs.
Sony, of course, continues to press ahead its OLED research and development, showing a flexible OLED display as thin as a playing card, as well an OLED TV that's even thinner than its current XEL-1. The prototype measures just 0.3 millimeters thick.
KDDI is going in a slightly different direction, looking to take OLED smaller and mobile. The mobile phone company showed an OLED display measuring 79mm (3.1 inches) and meant for mobile devices. It's just a prototype for now. Continue reading...
LG Flatron M2294D: When monitors and TVs get it on
MonitorsWhen Crave inherits the Earth, we're gonna change a few things. First, we'll make everyone watch Lips 2 Da Floor at least three times a day, every day, indefinitely. We're also going to sort out world peace, but not before making it compulsory for every PC monitor to include a TV tuner.
LG's priorities seem just as sorted as ours. It's just released the Flatron M2294D LCD TV-cum-PC monitor -- a 22-inch screen that looks like a telly and acts like a telly, but also packs a high-resolution 1,680x1,050-pixel, 16:10 panel so it can be used as a proper PC monitor.
The specs make for good reading: analogue and digital Freeview tuners, two Scart inputs, two HDMI inputs, component in, and optical digital audio out for surround-sound goodness. Continue reading...
Fujitsu-Siemens ScenicView 'Zero Watt' monitor: Pigs might fly
MonitorsGreen is the new black. No, we're not talking about the latest trends at the London Fashion Show -- rather the current trend of making electronic friendlier to the environment.
Fujitsu-Siemens reckons it's doing its bit with the Zero Watt monitor, also known as the ScenicView P20W-5 Eco. As you might have guessed, this rather attractive-looking display purportedly uses zero Watts during standby mode in an attempt to save electricity, money, and ultimately the world. Continue reading...
LG Flatron W2252TE: Greenest monitor in the world?
MonitorsSo you wanna save the Earth, huh? You've got two options: you can visit the Surya nightclub in London and dance on its electricity-generating dance floor, or you can buy an LG Flatron W2252TE monitor.
It might sound like some sort of futuristic tank, but the W2252TE is reportedly the world's most eco-friendly monitor. LG reckons it sucks just 22W in use and as little as 0.3W in standby mode. We tested these claims, and to our delight, it drew just 18.8W in use and less than 0.1W in standby mode. To put things in perspective, other 22-inch monitors tend to draw somewhere in the region of 40W.
So it's genuinely green, but is it any good? Well, yes. The 22-inch panel runs at 1,680x1,050 pixels, the screen isn't horribly glossy, it has a 10,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, 2ms response time, an HDCP-compliant DVI port, and the image reproduction is very, very good. Continue reading...
Video reviews round-up: Serving up aces
GadgetsPut away your preposterous Ascot hat and get out your crisp whites -- it's Wimbledon time. We've got some top seeds of our own in this video reviews round-up and they're sweeter than strawberries and cream.
Panasonic continues its winning streak with compact cameras in the Panasonic Lumix DMC- FX500 video review. This 10-megapixel point-and-shoot has a fantastic lens and a responsive 76mm (3-inch) touchscreen round the back. There are almost too many features to list, but you can watch Rich give it a go in the video. Continue reading...
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