Samsung's SyncMaster 220TN LCD with VoIP heads to IFA

First unveiled back at CES and then again at CeBIT, Samsung is back again with their SyncMaster LCDs with built-in VoIP. The 220TN features a 5ms refresh, 1680 x 1050 resolution, 10/100Mbps Ethernet, 4x USB, 2 megapixel webcam, mic, speaker and an embedded VoIP app allowing it to make voice and video calls without the help of a running PC. In fact, you'll find a 500MHz Geode LX800 processor running WinXP embedded behind that 22-inch panel. Think their VoiP-enabled 220UW only without the Skype compatibility. Fine, but we're still not any clearer as to when we'll actually be able to purchase one.

[Scooter @ Aug 30th 2007 7:43AM]

"without the help of a running PC"?
With a 500MHz processor it pretty much is a PC. Does it consume any less power?

[I LOVE THE CAPS LOCK KEY @ Sep 1st 2007 1:22AM]

I see this monitor becoming very popular to hack, with the Car PC and Linux crowd. In fact, I cannot wait to buy one.

[PaulC @ Sep 2nd 2007 1:46PM]

Sounds like the perfect hardware to hack to create a *real* digital picture frame. Stick linux on it, and start pulling photos across the network, plus realtime info like traffic, weather and RSS feeds. I'd been looking at hacking a laptop, or finding a low-profile miniITX board for a cheap LCD display, but this would be a much cleaner way to go.

The cheap digital frames being imported in droves miss the mark. The value jumps a couple of orders of magnitude if you just network the thing.

The Momento frames are cool, but Microsoft Sideshow? seriously? document the protocol, and let the linux community at it...