New tablet devices attempting to rival Apple’s industry-dominating iPad and an updated range of 3D HDTVs were the hot items at this year’s Internationalen Funkausstellung (IFA) trade show in Berlin.
Here’s a rundown of some of the major products unveiled at IFA 2010:
Tablets
Samsung Galaxy Tab – A 7-inch slate-style tablet PC running Android 2.2 OS. Samsung is hoping to gain a lot of market share from those unhappy with the iPads limitations by including multitasking capability, Adobe Flash support, and unrestricted access to applications. It also supports expandable memory up to 32GB, a rear-facing 3.2-megapixel camera and a front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera for video chatting, and has a battery that will reportedly last for up to 10 hours of video playback. Final pricing and release date have not yet been set.
Toshiba Folio 100 – Another Android 2.2 OS tablet with a 1024 x 600 10.1-inch capacitive touchscreen, Tegra 2 processor, 16GB of built-in storage, SD card expansion, HDMI out, 802.11n WiFi, a 1.3 megapixel webcam, and support for Flash 10.1. The device is supposed to last approximately 7 hours on battery and is only 0.55-inch thick, weighing in at 1.7 lbs. It will begin selling sometime in Q4 for around $515 USD.
Viewsonic ViewPad 100 – Another tablet that runs Android 2.2, but will also dual-boot with Windows 7. It features a 10” 1024 x 600 LED panel, a 16GB SSD, an Intel Atom N455 1.66GHz processor with 1GB DDR3 RAM and two USB ports. A micro-SD slot will allow for up to 32GB memory expansion and a built-in g-sensor provides automatic screen orientation changes. The Viewpad 100 will begin selling this for October for approximately $845 USD.
3D HDTV
LG LEX8 – Dubbed the 'world's first nano LED TV', the LEX8 is impressive in regards to its size and display quality. It measures only 8.8mm thick, but uses a new type of LCD technology to keep the picture bright and sharp. It offers 1080p resolution at 400Hz “Magic Motion” remote control that places an aimed cursor on the screen similar to a Wii-mote. Pricing and release date TBA.
Toshiba Regza WL768 - This new series of LED TVs features a “Full HD Edge LED Backlight Panel” with a 1920 x 1080 resolution and a 7,000,000:1 contrast ratio. It also has wi-fi, 4 HDMI ports, 2 USB ports, and supports 3D viewing with active-shutter glasses. 3 size options will be available this October with pricing TBD.
Philips 3D Cinema 21:9 HDTV – As the name implies, this is the world’s first cinema proportion 3D TV. It includes a Direct lit LED display, 400Hz Perfect Pixel HD Engine picture processing, a 58-inch Full HD screen with 21:9 aspect ratio, and Ambilight Spectra for cinema-like movie immersion. Europe will be the first continent to experience the 3D Cinema 21:9 by the end of this year for around $5100 USD.
