IBLOG SPACE

LG is pretty big in the TV market today and has a full line of TVs in all price ranges and just about every category. The company has debuted an interesting new TV that will be offered in 50-inch or 60-inch sizes. The model number for the sets is P850 and they are known as the Pentouch TVs. The TVs are 3D and come with a pair of pens. When the user is close to the screen, they can draw on it. LG says that the sets are the first to offer this feature. The TV can also be connected to a computer to turn it into an entertainment hub according to LG. The sets use 3D active shutter glasses and only a single pair of them comes with the TV. Naturally, it has USB and HDMI inputs on the back. It’s not clear if the TV will allow you to draw on the screen no matter what the content on the screen is. If you could draw on your favorite or least favorite people right on the TV, this thing might be fun. I know many folks that would get a kick out of drawing horns on Obama during his next speech.

If you are an Android user that is in the market for a new speaker dock that you can use with any Android device you own, Philips has a trio of new offerings that turned up at IFA 2011 this week. The new docks are all in the Fidelio line and they are each based on the same speaker systems that Philips has in its iPhone line. The Android docks use Bluetooth and they have an app that allows connection to content in several places. The app allows the user to play their own music playlist and stream from the web. There are three different docks in the Android line including the AS851, the AS351, and the AS111. The AS851 is the top of the line offering and it has a design made to structure the acoustics for deep bass and great sound. The device uses crystal-sound technology and uses digital sound processing. It has 30W RMS total power output. The AS351 is the next step down the range with the option of battery or AC power to allow it to be used on the go and at home. It has bass boosting te

Our man Chris Davies wrote earlier this week that the carriers might kill the Galaxy Tab 7.7 thanks to the fact that the tablet has voice calling capability. Davies reckons that the carriers in the US won’t appreciate that voice calling feature because it might make some users cancel that smartphone plan rather than having both smartphone and tablet plans. I would be willing to bet that Samsung shopped the Tab 7.7 and the Note around to carriers in the US and found no takers. Davies figured the tablet would end up in the States, but it might come with no voice service. It looks like Samsung has opted to simply not offer the Note and Tab 7.7 in America at all. A Samsung rep has confirmed that the company has “no plans” to sell either tablet in America. It wouldn’t be the first time that an official statement turned out to be false so we can only wait and see. The tablets not coming makes sense, Samsung other tablets aren’t exactly blowing up the sales charts in the States. Samsung may j

E Ink is best known for the displays on the Kindle and NOOK, but the company has more strings to its bow. We caught up with the company here at IFA 2011 to take a look at the E Ink Triton color epaper display, talk flexible panels and find out how a super-skinny electrophoretic screens can help prevent credit card fraud. Read on for more. E Ink CMO Siriam Peruvemba demonstrated the Triton color display, which uses an E Ink Pearl panel with a color filter layer overlaid. The existing prototype runs at around 160dpi, but the company has been working with Epson on a 300dpi color version of the monochrome screen announced earlier in the year. Two companies already have Triton products announced, but there are apparently several more using the next-gen screen for incoming devices. Meanwhile, faster versions that can support more fluid transitions are in the pipeline. As for bank security, E Ink showed the new generation of its SURF display (Segmented, Ultra-thin, Rugged and Flexible) whi

Toshiba has been offering its line of palm-sized camcorders for years now called Camileo. Three new camcorders in the line have been unveiled for the first time. One of the more interesting is the Camileo Clip, which is the camera in the photo below. The cam gets its name from the clip on the back that allows the user to clip it to things for hands free shooting. Toshiba also unveiled the X200 and X400 camcorders. All three of the new camcorders can record in 1080p video resolution and use only SD cards to store the video. The X200 has 12x optical zoom and the X400 has 23x zoom. Price details are not offered right now, but the cameras are expected to land in Q4 for Europe. I would expect to see them in the US as well. The cameras record in 1920 x 1080 format at 30 fps in H.264 HD format. The three cameras all have a 1.5-inch LCD and electronic image stabilization. The sensors are 5MP units and they can shoot still photos at up to 16MP resolution. The Clip has 10x optical zoom and all c

If you work in the business world and have a tablet or smartphone that you have a hard time using with your fingers, you might have your eyes on a stylus. I know a lot of iPad users want a stylus and some iPhone users do too. However, you pockets can get full if you have to carry a stylus, pen, and a laser pointer for your presentations. Griffin Technology has a new geek multi-tool that combines three different things your typical working nerd needs including a stylus for your tablet, a pen to write with, and a laser pointer for messing with cats or harassing coworkers. That laser works just as well for presentations in the boardroom. The stylus and pen head are on one removable section of the tool. The tool is called Stylus + Pen + Laser. The soft rubber tip of the stylus promises to work on the iPhone and iPad as well as other tablets. The pen head is refillable and lets you write your notes or take the bosses lunch order. The gadget will sell for $49.99 and is available now.

Boutique wireless speaker manufacturer Libratone has pounced on AirPlay , announcing a pair of new all-in-one units – the Lounge and the Live – back in July that each use Apple’s streaming technology, and we caught up with them at IFA 2011 this week to listen to the results. The Live looks identical to the Libratone Live we reviewed earlier this year, but swaps AirPlay for the company’s proprietary wireless, while the Lounge is a far larger system intended to be wall-mounted under your TV. As before, the Live has a carry-handle on the back as well as a 3.5mm headphone jack. Inside, the speakers and amplification have been improved, with a 5-inch bass, twin 3-inch midrange speakers, two 1-inch ribbon tweeters and 150W of amps (50W bass, two 25W tweeters and two 25W midrange). That adds up to a far stronger sound, still using the FullRoom virtual stereo technology that reflects audio off of the walls. It was impossible to really judge how well that soundfield works on the showfloor, h

XtremeMac has rolled out a new line of audio gear during IFA 2011 with some that dock iPhones and iPads and others that are meant for computer audio. The new solutions include the Tango Bar, Luna Voyager II, Soma Stand, and Soma Travel. All of the products are designed for good looks and audio performance. The Tango Bar is the first of the new products I want to talk about. This is a 10W amplified speaker bar with a USB port needed for connectivity. The device is designed to complement the iMac or Cinema Display and it has dual dome tweeters, midrange/bass drivers, and passive radiators with headphone outputs, line-in jacks and an optional sub-out port. The Luna Voyager II is a low profile, FM dual alarm clocks and personal audio system that works with the iPod, iPhone, and iPod. It also has a FM tuner and a buzzer to wake to. The Soma Stand is a folding portable design that has dual ported speaker legs and works with the iPhone and iPod. It runs on AC adapters or batteries and it last

At the start of the merger process, many people though that the merger of AT&T and T-Mobile would be an easy thing. Some of the competitors weren’t happy at all at the prospect, specifically a yellow firm that bet big on WiMax. This week the Department of Justice filed a complaint over the deal citing anti-trust concerns and the FCC has some serious misgivings about the merger as well. AT&T isn’t going to let its plans die that easily though. AT&T has a plan to try to save its proposed merger. AT&T is gearing up to fight for the merger in court and the company is ready to make concessions to get the deal to go through. Undoubtedly one of the things pressing AT&T to fight so hard is the roughly $6 billion it will owe T-Mobile if the deal falls through. Naturally, AT&T isn’t offering up details on how exactly it plans to fight for the merger, but there have been some educated guesses made. The concessions are expected to be a pledge to keep the existing and lower

Suddenly the hackers participating with Anonymous and LulzSec aren’t so anonymous. Back at the beginning of August, police tracked down the suspected Anonymous leader going by the name Topiary and arrested him. The teen was arrested and was found to have the details of 750,000 people on his computer. That single arrest was just the start of things as the investigation continued into the two hacker groups. The investigation by the FBI and Scotland Yard has resulted in two more arrests in England of men suspected to be part of the hacker groups. The two men arrested are 24 and 20 with one picked up in Mexborough, which is a place near Doncaster, South Yorkshire. The other man was arrested in Warminster, Wiltshire and both were charged with offences under the computer misuse Act of 1990. A spokesman for the police said that computer equipment was removed for forensic examination from the Doncaster address. Police also arrested other suspected hackers in another investigation recently in N

The Fraunhofer Institute’s LED-based light networking technology left us mighty impressed on paper back in August, so we jumped at the chance to test the Visible Light Communication system here at IFA 2011 . Promising up to 800 Mbit/s data rates from rapidly flickering white LEDs, without any risk to hospital equipment, airline hardware or sensitive manufacturing tech, Fraunhofer’s demo ran at a more mundane 10 Mbit/s but was still enough to stream high-res video streams between two notebooks. Check out the full video and more details after the cut. In the video conferencing demo, one laptop was hooked up to a custom light fitting via ethernet cable, and another was connected to a receiver box. The light used LED to transfer data to the receiver, and then the receiver beamed back its own data using infrared for bi-directional communication. Put your hand in-between the sensors and the conversation froze; remove it and it automatically resumed. Fraunhofer bi-directional visible light c

It doesn’t matter if you like Apple computers or not, there is no denying that Steve Jobs is one of the best corporate leaders in history. Jobs resigned not long ago from his post as CEO of Apple due to health reasons. Jobs is still part of Apple and is acting as the Chairman for the company. While Jobs was at the wheel at Apple, he masterminded some of the most iconic and profitable products in the tech world. Google chairman and former CEO Eric Schmidt has heaped some high praise on Jobs. Schmidt is also a former Apple board member so some may see him as biased. Schmidt has stated that Jobs was “probably the best” CEO in 50 or 100 years. That puts Jobs in some lofty company with the likes of Henry Ford and John D Rockefeller. The praise is warranted if you look at the history of Apple and Jobs. A company needs a solid leader if it is going to do the things Apple did, such as recently topping Exxon in stock market valuation. Jobs was at the helm of Apple twice with his first stint run

Dell has unveiled a cool new notebook for what it calls its thin and powerful line of notebook computers. The new notebook is the Inspiron 14z and it can be had with several different options. The machine can be fitted with Intel Core i3 or Core i5 processor options. It has a 14-inch HD resolution screen and promises impressive battery life to keep you working for a long time. The 14z has SRS Premium Sound HD for better audio quality when you are watching movies or listening to your favorite music. Combined with the 1366 x 768 resolution screen the little notebook will make for a good entertainment PC that can work too. The 14z has Intel Wireless Display tech inside and it has an HDMI output so you can shoot video and other content out to a larger screen. Dell uses the Windows 7 OS for the 14z line and the machine has on-processor graphics to help with battery life. The 14z will come in Diamond Black or Fire Red colors. It also has a USB 3.0 port, WiFi and an integrated memory card rea

I don’t know why exactly, but I never lose my iPhone but I routinely misplace my wallet around the house. Mostly it’s because the wife is bad to pile a bunch of crap on my wallet so I can’t find the thing. The upside to misplacing a smartphone is that you can call the number and find the thing. The wallet on the other hand lies hidden until I dig through everything around the house and find it. I also don’t care for having my pockets stuffed full so I ditch everything I can when I am on the go. The Callet is the perfect thing for people that like to go light when they are traveling. The Callet is made in models for several different popular smartphones on the market including the iPhone and it comes in several colors with black, blue and pink available. The big feature of the case is that it has two slots on the back of what appears to be a soft silicone style case to hold your money, credit cards, and drivers license. The case will provide protection if you drop your device and let yo

I have seen shows on TV before about armored cars and I have seen the car in movies before and wondered if they really are bulletproof. You know the cars I mean, the sort that look normal but have special glass to prevent bullet from going through and have armor plating inside as well. A dude named Trent Kimball is the CEO of Texas Armoring Corp and he got tired of people asking him if the glass he makes would really stop a bullet. Kimball decided to literally stand behind his product. The dude pulled up a bench and sat behind the glass his company makes. He then had an AK-47 wielding worker pick up the rifle and shoot the glass he was sitting behind. The dude hit the glass three times and it worked. That is a very good thing for Kimball. Apparently, the black stuff you see cracking off along the edge is some sort of filler that hides how thick the glass is from the outside so the car looks stock with the glass installed. You have to see this on video to get the full impact. I bet Kimb

As you may well have seen earlier this week in some news straight out of Berlin’s own IFA 2011, Samsung has released information about their newest DSLR with interchangeable lens, the NX200. All the information about the camera as it existed in its original release form can be found in the post Samsung NX200 gets official with i-Function 2.0 lenses in tow. You’ll find out instantly that this device is part of a larger environment that includes a whole slew of additional lenses, all of this in the size and form factor of a compact point-and-shoot. We got the opportunity to take a hands-on quick look at this device this week as well, filmed and published below for you to take part in the fun! The video you’re about to watch is quite loud, so make sure you’ve got your headphones turned down somewhat, then get your sharp listening ears out because there’s a massive amount of what I’d call “bonus” noise going on here because everyone is so excited to see all the new gadgets – ravenous fans,

This week at IFA 2011 in Berlin we’ve been given the opportunity have quite a few hands-on looks at products from a handful of vendors, but it’s the Samsung stand that’s got us most interested as their newest line of products are so very comparable to one another. This week revealed to us two brand new devices, that being theSamsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 and the Samsung Galaxy Note, the former being the next tablet device in the Galaxy Tab line, the latter being what Samsung is describing as the perfect half-way point between smartphone and tablet. Then there’s the Samsung Galaxy S II as it exists on the international market right this second. How do they all compare? The first thing you should be noting whilst comparing the Galaxy Note and the Tab 7.7 is that they’ve both got a 1280 x 800 pixel resolution AMOLED display, the different between then being the size of the screen, (7.7-inches on the Tab 7.7 and 5.3-inches on the Note), and the name Samsung gives each of their displays: the 7.7 h

This week we’ve been getting a look at a whole handful of Android tablets at IFA 2011, one of the most inexpensive of which being the ViewSonic ViewPad 7e. The “e” in the name here stands for “Entry” aka “Entry-Level” meaning that it’ll certainly be ViewSonic’s least expensive tablet on the market for the time being. We got the opportunity to take a close look at this lovely white-bordered Android tablet and we’d just love to show you what it’s all about. For those looking to get into Android via a unique look at the Android operating system as it’s topped by one of the coolest 3rd-party user interfaces on the market, this is your device. The user interface you’re seeing here is not your average Android 3.2.x Honeycomb experience, instead being called Viewscene 3D, an interface designed by the same folks who developed SPB Shell 3D, a homescreen replacement app quick we’ve reviewed over on our sister site Android Community. ViewSonic worked with that development team to create a great l

This week we got the opportunity to take a hands-on look at quite a few devices, today playing host to a set of tablets that may well change the tablet world forever – is the ViewSonic ViewPad 7x one of them? This is anAndroid 3.2.x Honeycomb tablet, a tablet we first got wind of earlier today, this year’s IFA conference in Berlin certainly not letting us down on the tablet front. You’ll find a whole new user interface, a lovely 7-inch display size, and the quality you’ve come to expect from all ViewSonic hardware. Follow the three birds! They always lead you to fine displays, yes? What we’ve got here is a hands-on video that’ll show you a tablet that does indeed have a fairly nice 7-inch 1024 x 600 pixel resolution display on it. This tablet also brings you Android 3.2.x Honeycomb, that being the most advanced tablet-based Android system on the market, and the processor is one of our favorites: the NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual-core SoC at 1.0GHz. You know what that means? Full access to the Te

This week at IFA 2011 we’ve come in contact with a group by the name of ETYMOTIC, a group whose main function it is to create high fidelity in-ear products, here letting us know about their newest project, ETY•Kids. What Mark Karnes, Managing Director, Consumer Products Division of ETYMOTIC explains to us here at IFA 2011 that ETYMOTIC Research has been working with kids throughout their entire career as a company, being one of the leading makers of hearing screening equipment, concerning themselves with the hearing care of children for many years now. What ETYMOTIC is seeing now, according to Karnes, are surprising and alarming statistics which point toward masses of kids graduating high school with real signs of hearing deterioration. ETYMOTIC aims here in their new ETY•Kids project to turn the tide back to healthy ears across the earth. One of the more interesting points Karnes lets us know is that the point at which deterioration of hearing in this high school age started in a real

What we’re getting a look at with a full hands-on demo here at IFA 2011 this week, amongst other fantastical devices from all walks of life of course, is the IdeaPad U300S , a Lenovo Ultrabook, being both ultra-small and ultra-powerful with aesthetically beautiful chassis all around. On the right side of the device you’ll find a headphone jack, USB jack, full-sized HDMI port, and power port. On the left side you’ll see one more USB port and a grille through which Intel Advanced Cooling Technology will be blowing a lot of your hot air. This system works with the side opening there, a long grille along the rear hinge, and through the keyboard itself to help avoid the “hot lap” syndrome normally associated with laptops of such awesome power as this. This device features an all-aluminum body, top, bottom, and insides. The entire body of the IdeaPad U300S is 14.9 millimeters thin, 1.3 kg in weight, and features a keyboard and touchpad setup you may very well recognize if you’ve seen your h