Samsung's IFA press conference recap
We're just back from the WiFi-less Samsung PR space here at IFA in Berlin, and the report may be less than thrilling to most of our readers. Nevertheless, here's a quick recap of the events. First up on stage was Dr. Jong Woo Park, president of Samsung, who didn't have much to offer in the way of groundbreaking news, though he did emphasize his company's dedication to "user experience" with their products.
Dr. Park then went on the demo the Bluetooth functions of Samsung's new S5 PMP, asking a member of the audience to call "his" mobile phone, so that he could showcase the S5's ability to answer a call while listening to music.
Dr. Park then introduced Nelson Allen, head of media design at Samsung, who went on to discuss the company's new LED smart lighting, which can "turn off" parts of a display independently, allowing for (at least by the company's claim) 500,000:1 contrast ratios. The new technology will be featured on the new F9 and F8 LED, 1080p displays, (the former being the largest commercially available LED). Mr. Allen also discussed the P9, claiming that by utilizing the company's Ultra Filterbright technology, the display could obtain contrast ratios of a whopping 600,000:1. After commenting that, "We don't know who will win the format war," there was a mention of the BD-UP500, a dual-mode HD DVD / Blu-ray player, as well as the Blu-ray-based sound system, the HT-BD2.
Mr. Allen then demoed the YP-P2, a PMP which we're fairly familiar with, calling it the "Palm theater," and excitedly hyping its 3-inch WQGA screen. The VP-HMX10C was mentioned -- the company's latest HD camcorder -- which uses 8GB of flash memory for up to 2 hours of HD recording. And then our main-man Nelson went on to dicsuss two new office products, the 220TN VoIP monitor, and the SCX-4500, a new "design minded" printer / scanner / copier. Sure, less than breathtaking, but certainly not a total bust. Stay tuned for detailed reports on new gear.
