There’s a joke in the journalism business that when something happens three times, it can automatically be dubbed a trend. If there’s any truth to that statement, then this year’s Consumer Electronics Show suggests a Year of the Slim on the horizon.
First, Lenovo introduced the IdeaCentreA600, an all-in-one desktop computer that measures one inch at the thinnest point on the monitor. Then, Samsung unveiled an HDTV that’s only 6.5-mm, (0.26 in.) thick. Both products claimed to be the slimmest in their respective classes. LG was also looking to compete in the television category with a 24.8-mm (0.98 in.) offering.
Now, Samsung is reaching for that slender accolade once again with its new Blu-Ray player, said to be thinner than all its competitors by measuring 39 mm (1.54 in.) tall. Hinted at in previous days but officially revealed today, the BD-P4600 is wall-mountable and the BD-P3600 is a traditional set-top model. Both are Profile 2.0 players sharing similar specs, according to CrunchGear.
Samsung claims that these are the thinnest Blu-Ray players to date. But if this is truly the Year of the Slim, it’s really too early to tell which manufacturer will become the biggest loser.
Would you like to see any of your beloved technology trimmed down? Or is this whole fad bound to go out like the Atkins diet?
12 Comments
I would think only a small percentage would wall mount as it defeats the purpose of making it thin - you suddenly have a giant black wart on your wall with wires dangling, or you are drilling holes in the wall and snaking wires around inside them. Either way, you have a thing on the wall that people will constantly ask: "WTF is that?!?!"
I am also a bit leery running a disc player at a right angle to the Earth. It seems it would make disc handling even more annoying and prone to dropping than usual.
Or, you can set it on top of something, which seems more likely and you could still access the menu buttons easily if needed.
BD-P4600 popularity prediction: Fail
However, given its likely price, it will probably be a slot, which would make loading at any angle somewhat less problematic.
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