CNet have reviewed Panasonic’s 50 inch 720p plasma HDTV,the TC-P50X1, and have come up with a ‘Good’ rating at 3 out of 5 stars. They highlight inaccuracy of colour on the TC-P50X1 as a major negative along with faint diagonal lines in lighter areas, but on the upside is the price-tag and ‘excellent’ black-level performace.
This HDTV reproduces superb blacks and excellent shadow detail, while costing a relative pittance for a big-screen HDTV. Unfortunately, two major problems prevent it from earning higher praise, namely that it suffers from less-than-accurate color and the presence of faint on-screen lines that may be a deal-breaker to sharp-eyed viewers.
I must admit that if anyone reviewed an HDTV and came back with colour inaccuracy then I’d be passing it by. But may be the price tag will seduce some customers into purchasing the Panasonic TC-P50X1. If you are still keen here are the specifications on the unit
* 50 inch 720p Plasma panel
* HDMI , S-Video , Component , Composite
* 48 x 3.7 x 30.3 inches
* 75 lbs
* 720p 16:9 display
* 30,000:1 contrast ratio
* 480i , 480p , 720p , 1080i , 1080p input formats
* SD Memory Card slot for viewing your photos
* 2x10W speakers
* 2 x HDMI input, 1 x Composite video/audio input, 2 x Component video input, 1 x S-Video input, 1 x Audio line-in, 1 x Digital audio output - Rear
* 1 x Composite video/audio input, 1 x HDMI input - Side
So all the figures stack up especially with a US$1,100 price tag, but the CNet review really puts me off. It really is a case of what you get is what you pay for and cutting corners on a price tag usually means the manufacturer has cut corners elsewhere. Unfortunately we have to give the Panasonic TC-P50X1 plasma HDTV a big thumbs down.
Samsung have just brought out a new netbook over in the US. The N110 is a 10.1 inch unit powered by an Intel Atom N270 processor and sporting a 93% keyboard. It’s six cell lithium battery will last up to 9.5 hours which is not too shabby. Here is the rest of the low-down on the Samsung N110 netbook.
* Windows XP Home SP3
* Intel Atom processor N270
* 1 GB DDR2 Memory
* Intel 945GSE graphics processor with 128 MB shared memory
* 1 W HD audio Speakers
* 1.3 Mp integrated camera
* 160 GB 2.5 inch 5400 RPM HDD
* Ethernet LAN 10/100, Wireless LAN 802.11 b/g and Bluetooth 2.0+ EDR connectivity
* VGA, Headphone, Mic, USB 2.0, RJ45 (LAN), PC CardBus ports
* 3 in 1 card slot (SD, SDHC, MMC)
* 10.27” x 1.19” x 7.3”
* 2.78 lbs
Not bad for a lightweight netbook, but what about the price tag? Well over at Amazon the Samsung N110 is on sale for only US$475. May be just the netbook you’re looking for.
MSI have unleashed an upgraded Wind U100 Plus with an Intel Atom N280 processor sitting inside plus a couple of extra colour options, Metallic Blue and Champagne Rose. It also sports XP Home, which I’m pretty sure is unsupported soon, unless of course Miscrosoft extend the deadline again. Other nice features on the Wind U100 Plus include 802.11n connectivity, built-in speakers, mic and webcam. The unit is quite obviously aimed at the user on the move especially when its marketing blurb starts out
Strolling down Avenue des Champs Elysees in Paris with style, I get swept off my feet by the Aegean Sea in Greece, let my hair down in a Brazilian Carnival ….
And so forth. Well I’m more interested in seeing some hard specs on MSI’s WInd U100 Plus and here they are
* Intel Atom N280 Processor
* Windows XP Home
* 10″ 1024 x 600 LCD Display
* Convenient Magnifying Capability
* 802.11b / g / n Wireless connectivity with Bluetooth
* 1 GB of memory
* 160 GB SATA HDD
* 1.3 Mp webcam
* 4 in 1 card reader
* Built-in 10/100 LAN
* 3 x USB 2.0 ports
* 3 or 6 cell battery option
* 260 x 180 x 31.5 mm
* 1.0 kg with 3 cell battery
Unfortunately I was unable to track down a price-tag for the U100 Plus but it sure looks like a snazzy unit, so hopefully MSI will do the honourable thing and hang a snazzy price-tag on the unit too.
Whilst not exactly at the high-end of digital cameras, the Canon PowerShot SD1100IS digital camera can provide you with some great snaps if you’re after a relatively cheap point ‘n’ shoot. The SD1100IS is avilable over at Amazon for only $150, which is pretty good considering this list of features and specs on this Canon model.
* 8.0 Megapixel CCD
* 3x optical image-stabilized zoom
* 2.5 inch LCD monitor
* Face and Motion Detection
* 3.4 x 0.9 x 2.2 inches
* 4.5 ounces
* Aperture range F/2.8-4.9
* Min/Max focal length 6.2/18.6 millimeters
* Built-in flash
* ISO 80 to 1600 range
* JPEG image type
Needless to say Canon enthuse over the PowerShot SD1100IS
It introduces you before you say a word, making the Canon PowerShot SD1100 IS Digital Elph the ultimate image-maker. Five fashion-forward hues expressed in pure aluminum add a new burst of excitement to Canon’s Perpetual Curve design. Of course, a camera that brings out the best in you also delivers Canon’s most advanced technology features. Call it style with substance, for a new level of picture taking pleasure.
But even consumers give the SD1100IS a big thumbs up with the user reviews scoring a nice 4.5 stars out of 5. So if you’re after an inexpensive point ‘n’ shoot, the Canon PowerShot SD1100IS
may be just the solution you’re looking for.
More cruising around the net meant we ended up stumbling across the Samsung Impression over at AT&T. This snazzy little touchscreen slider rocks in at US$200 after rebate and shackle, but is available shackle-less for US$400. Here are a few more bits and pieces on the Samsung Impression
* 3.2 inch AMOLED 240 x 400 res 262K colour screen
* Quad-band and 3G connectivity
* Touchscreen and QWERTY slider interfaces
* 3 Mp camera with 3x digital zoom
* Music player supporting AAC, MP3, Real file formats
* Text messaging with Predictive text and IM - AOL, Windows Live and Yahoo! Messenger
* Mobile email - AOL, Yahoo, Windows Live, AT&T Yahoo
* Talk time up to 3 hours
* Standby time up to 250 hours
* microSD slot
* Web Browser
* Blue-tooth 2.0 and USB connectivity
Some quite cool features on the Impression, but may be $200 is a touch too high a price-tag? Smartphones seem to be down around that mark these days. Anyway the unit is loved by its owners as proved by a 4.8 out of 5 average rating on the AT&T website and just to cap it all off Engadget have been enthusing over the AMOLED screen
the screen is absolutely amazing, with mega-black blacks and colors that seem to pop right off the screen
So may be that price-tag is justified given the apparent quality of the Samsung Impression’s display. Here’s a positive review from Cnet Loaded.
So everyone seems to like the Samsung Impression from AT&T, so if you’re an owner of one of these suckers please let us know what you think.
For only US$150 you can get your paws on a Blackberry Curve 8350i over at Sprint, with the obligatory two-year plan of course. And the 8350i comes without a camera, quite a bizarre move as seemingly all cellphones come with at least a 2Mp image taker these days. But the 8350i does come with the following features and specifications
* QWERTY keyboard
* Send and recive emails
* Wi-Fi connectivity
* 1 GB microSD card
* Bluetooth 2.0 connectivity
* GPS capable
* 320 x 240 res colour display
* 4.4″ x 2.4″ x 0.7″
* 4.7 oz.
* 4 hours of talk time
The standard price is a whopping $480 but after ‘instant savings’ and the mail-in rebate, Sprint can offer the Curve 8350i at an astounding $150. Pretty impressive for a smartphone even if there isn’t a camera.
And just to make things even more interesting here’s the same phone with camera at exactly the same price. You think Sprint would give you at least a small discount if a camera is surplus to your requirements.
Browsing around the Verizon website as we do from time to time, we came across the HTC Touch Pro SmartPhone which caught our eye. The Touch Pro is available for US$350 woth a two year contract and sports a QWERTY slider key pad, Windows Mobile 6.1 and of course HTC’s TouchFlo navigation. Here are some more details about the Touch Pro
* Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional
* Microsoft Office Word Mobile, Excel Mobile, PowerPoint Mobile
* Opera Mobile
* Windows Media Player 10
* 512MB Flash/192MB RAM memory
* 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi connectivity
* Bluetooth 2.0 connectivity
* 2.8 inch 480×640 res VGA display
* Touch–sensitive LCD display
* Portrait and landscape orientation
* Slide Out QWERTY Keyboard
* 3.2 Mp camera
* microSD slot
* Text, Picture and Video messaging
* Wireless Sync capable
* HTC Touch FLO 3D Navigation
* 4.17″ (H) x 2.04″ (W) x 0.71″ (D)
* 4.94 ounces
* Up 250 minutes of usage time
* Up to 350 hours on standby
We also found this video from HTC themselves which gives you an idea of how the TouchFlo interface works. It looks quite impressive to us, but check out the video for yourself.
Not a bad looking unit to be honest, we’re all for QWERTY sliders, and the TouchFlo interface looks good too. If you’re after further details pop over to the Verizon site and check out the HTC Touch Pro.
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is on sale for only US$475. May be just the netbook you’re looking for.
