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Samsung's ViewFinity S8 monitors are a more affordable option for content creators
Samsung has a new lineup of value-oriented monitors for content creators called ViewFinity S8.
LG's 32-inch QHD monitor packs AMD FreeSync for around $300
LG is leading the charge with big, cheap gaming displays, having recently unveiled a 32-inch 4K model for less than $500. If you're willing to settle for QHD resolution, you can do even better with another new 32-inch model, the 32QK500-W. It packs AMD's FreeSync with a 75 Hz refresh rate and 8 ms response time, making it a decent gaming monitor. On top of that, the 8-bit + FRC IPS panel offers excellent viewing angles and up to 1.07 billion colors, so it'll be good for streaming video, too. All of that should come at a price around $300, making it one of the cheaper 32-inch displays out there.
The first NVIDIA G-Sync HDR monitor is on sale, but it costs $1,999
NVIDIA G-Sync HDR gaming monitors promise great specs with required features like an iris-searing 1,000 nits of peak brightness, wide color gamut and high 144 Hz refresh rate. Unfortunately, G-Sync HDR monitors from the likes of ASUS and Acer have been delayed multiple times, so we've yet to learn the price or whether the displays can live up to the hype. Now, Acer's Predator X27 has gone on pre-order at Newegg, so at least we know how much it'll cost: A mind-blowing $1,999.
Panasonic's OLED-fighting LCD is meant for professionals
Panasonic's salad days in the consumer TV space are in its past, but today the company announced a new IPS display technology that might help it win back some of the professional market. Essentially, it's making an LCD panel with the precision backlighting capabilities of an OLED. Thanks to a new backlight technology, these panels can turn off the backlight on a per-pixel basis, granting them an advertised " over 1,000,000:1" contrast ratio. Meaning that blacks will be absolutely black while whites could be eye-searingly bright — within the same image — and HDR and colors should look incredibly life-like.
New research hints at stem cell treatments for cataracts
A pair of unrelated studies into the efficacy of stem cell-based treatments for correcting cataracts had the scientific community abuzz on Tuesday. The studies are "amazing, almost like science fiction" Mark Daniell, head of corneal research at the Centre for Eye Research Australia in Melbourne, told Nature News. "The potential of this technique is mind-boggling."
LG's 4K monitor is first with AMD's game-enhancing FreeSync
LG will be the first to sell a 4K monitor with AMD FreeSync technology, beating models from rival Samsung by a nose. The technology in its 27-inch 27MU67 is similar to NVIDIA's G-Sync, matching monitor and GPU refresh rates to eliminate tearing, stutter and other gaming issues -- as long as you have a compatible AMD graphics card or chip. Like Samsung, LG makes its own panels and it shows in the specs. The IPS screen can run at 40 to 60fps with 9.7 milliseconds of input lag, while being decent for color pros with a 99 percent sRGB gamut and 10-bit interpolated color. It'll come calibrated out of the box later this month at select retailers for $599 -- quite a drop in price from last year.
Say hello to the FBI's national facial recognition system
If you've ever been arrested in the United States, chances are strong that your fingerprints and criminal history are floating around in the FBI's Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System. It's apparently pretty good at what it does - it can sift through some 70 million subjects in search of a particular fingerprint in as little as half an hour - but it's just not enough for the boys in blue. Thankfully for them (and maybe unfortunately for us), the FBI just announced that its sequel, the unimaginatively named Next Generation Identification system, is now "fully operational" some three years after the rollout began.
Apple bringing indoor positioning to iOS 8 with M7 motion processor
The ability to have a GPS in nearly every adult's pocket has permanently changed the way we travel great distances. You no longer have to study a map before you drive across the country. Instead, you just charge your phone. Still, finding individuals among a crowd is no easier, but a new addition to Apple's CoreLocation geopositioning abilities in iOS 8 may be changing that. As noticed by the folks at 9to5Mac, iOS 8 makes it possible for building owners to create indoor positioning systems (IPS) tied to their business. Using a combination of the M7 motion processor and iPhone motion sensors, your compatible iOS device will be able to help you find your way around your location. This would be groundbreaking technology to have in the palm of your hand. Museums could use this to help visitors move from exhibit to exhibit. A confusing airport becomes less so when you get turn-based directions to your gate. Couple that with the iBeacon tech that was released with iOS 7 and you're looking at a major improvement in finding your way around. Apple is currently seeking venues to sign on, with California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, the Westfield San Francisco Center, and the Mineta San Jose Airport having already implemented these IPS features. Given that Apple acquired the IPS startup WiFiSLAM last March this development isn't surprising, but for users happily anticipating iOS 8 it's an exciting development. Keep in mind that using these features will require a phone that has a M7 motion processor. Currently only the iPhone 5s, iPad Air, and 2nd generation iPad mini feature the chip. The launch of iOS 8 might be the perfect time for you to upgrade from whatever generation you're using right now.
More details leak on Verizon's Ellipsis 7: a 'value' tablet for $250
A Verizon-branded tablet may not be top of mind for most consumers (or anyone, really), but that's not stopping the wireless operator from pursuing the 'value category' spurred by Google's Nexus 7. Leaked documents obtained by PhoneArena today paint a fuller picture of the Verizon Ellipsis tablet we first saw surface yesterday. According to the alleged documents, this budget tablet is to be the first in a new brand series and will feature an HD IPS display -- though actual resolution is unknown -- an unspecified 1.2GHz quad-core processor, 8GB of expandable memory and a considerable 4,000mAh battery. Naturally, it also incorporates 4G LTE, as well as WiFi and there's even mention of Verizon's Redbox Instant streaming app, so we assume it'll come pre-loaded. Beyond those few specs, there's not much else known about this Android Jelly Bean tablet save for a $250 price and mention of an on-contract promo. If there's truth to this leak, and indeed it does appear likely, all that's left is for Verizon to take this public and give it a ship date. Although, if and when that happens we're still not sure anyone will care.
Oppo's 4.7-inch R819 arrives with svelte 7.3mm profile, stock Android option (updated)
Oppo has just announced the R819, a 4.7-inch smartphone that's likely to have high appeal to lovers of stock Android. The Chinese firm will release the handset with its Oppo Color ROM, but users will also be able to install stock Android through a relatively simple sideloading procedure. Hardware wise, it's also decently spec'd, considering that Oppo seems to have tried to cram as much as it could into the sleek 7.3mm thick (.29 inch), 110 gram (3.9 ounce) shell. You'll get a quad-core MediaTek CPU, 720p IPS display, 1GB RAM, 16GB ROM, a Sony Exmor-equipped 8-megapixel f/2.0 rear camera with an LED flash, a 2,000mAh battery and dual-sim capability. There's no word on availability or pricing yet, though unlike some China-based handset makers, Oppo's devices often wind up in the US. Update: As you probably saw in our hands-on, the Oppo R819 is indeed set to arrive at online retailers in September for $349 (269 euros).
LG ships retro TV with rotary dials
Do you miss walking over the TV to change the channel? We know LG does. It just launched a 32-inch LCD set, the 32LN630R, that resembles a '70s tube TV down to the working channel and volume dials. Not that the company is foregoing modern luxuries, mind you -- its 1080p, IPS-based display supports both USB-based storage and MHL video from mobile devices. The 32LN630R is available now in South Korea for 840,000 won ($754), but there are no immediate plans to sell the TV to nostalgic Americans.
The Perfect Ten: Franchises that would make great MMOs
Any MMO player worth his or her salt has a binder full of ideas for games, usually based on a favorite book, television, or movie franchise. We've talked about it before. We've discussed whether or not it's a good idea to even have IP-driven MMOs. But you know what we've never done? We've never consulted me. I'm hurt, to be honest. I know that I'm just one of millions of MMO players, but I have a binder too! It's a vintage Trapper Keeper with a wizard on the cover who is dashing among abstract geometric shapes. My mom thought it was cool and my friends think it's totally rad. Inside are the secrets to hit MMOs that studios are just too scared to make but would be bigger than World of Warcraft if someone would just take the chance. I know it. Today I'm going to open up that binder and shove my ideas in your face. And then, knowing how these things go, I will raise up every geek voice against my picks in the comments section. Bring it on. My wizard can handle all of you.
LG launches TV set and all-in-one PC with 29-inch 21:9 ultra-widescreen
Remember LG's EA93, that eye-catching 29-inch 21:9 "ultrawidescreen" monitor we played with at IFA last year? Well, it's just spawned a couple offspring. Today in Korea, the company launched a TV set and an all-in-one PC which use the same 29-inch IPS panel with the same 21:9 aspect ratio, 2,560 x 1,080-pixel (WQHD) resolution and 178-degree viewing angles. LG's new all-in-one PC boasts a standalone TV tuner with instant-on (no booting required) and simultaneous PC and TV operation (PiP and several split screen modes). Details are few, but we know it features an Intel Core i5 CPU, NVIDIA GeForce GT640M GPU (3D capable) and HDMI / MHL inputs (to use the display as a monitor). The PC comes pre-loaded with an instant messaging app (and matching mobile version) which lets users watch television while chatting. The TV set supports PiP and split screen, including a 16:9 plus 5:9 mode (HD broadcast plus connected smartphone), and offers a comprehensive set of inputs (DisplayPort, DVI, HDMI and MHL). Pricing is 1.49 to 2.29 million won ($1,315 to $2,021) for the PC (based on configuration) and 690,000 won ($609) for the TV.
LG ships its MT93 Personal Smart TV to your dorm this March
College students and studio apartment tenants still don't have many options for advanced TVs; they often have to make do with a PC monitor or find a way to cram a bigger TV set into a tiny space. It's a good thing that LG's MT93 Personal Smart TV is shipping to Europe this month, then. The 27-inch, IPS-based upgrade to last year's model carries the same smart app platform, 3D imagery and Magic Remote as LG's larger sets while doubling as a monitor for HDMI-equipped PCs. It even stuffs in wireless sharing support that rarely makes it to small TVs, such as Miracast and WiDi. LG hasn't said which other countries will get the MT93, but international expansion plans later this year could please at least a few more campus dwellers.
The curious case of the persistent image
The other day I was working on some blog posts, and when I pulled up an image in Preview to edit it, I noticed something odd. It looked like the Preview window was transparent, and that I was seeing a window through it. I thought nothing of it until a few minutes later when I closed a number of open windows on my new 27-inch iMac and noticed that a faint "echo" of those windows was visible on my desktop photo. I realized I was seeing some image persistence. This is nothing new; back in the days of PCs with cathode-ray tube monitors, it was quite common to see the C: prompt burned into some screens, visible even when the monitor was turned off! But this was a bit of a surprise, since I hadn't experienced image persistence for a long time. And on a brand new 27-inch iMac? Ouch. I'm guessing that something kept my iMac display from going to sleep, resulting in the "burn in." I usually have the display set to go completely dark after 15 minutes, and had never seen this happen before on this or my previous 27-inch iMac. Immediately I went to the Apple support communities and searched for image persistence and image retention, and I found that this has been a fairly common issue with the new devices. Not only are iMacs prone to persistent images, but some MacBooks are also seeing the problem. (Mike Rose experienced the image persistence issue specific to the MacBook Pro Retina models with LG panels, and ended up having his screen replaced.) There are a number of people who were so concerned that they brought their devices back to the Apple Store and asked for a replacement, but Apple believes that the problem is common to IPS (in-plane switching) LCD panels and not a real issue. Apple recommends doing exactly what I had been doing -- setting display sleep after 15 minutes of non-use. Fortunately, they also have instructions on what to do if your get a burned-in image despite using display sleep. In knowledge base article HT5455, "Avoiding image persistence on Apple displays," there's a section on using a screen saver to eliminate a persistent image: From the Apple () menu, choose System Preferences, and then click "Desktop & Screen Saver." Click the Screen Saver tab. Choose a screen saver. Set the "Start screen saver" time to be shorter than the "Display sleep" and "Computer sleep" settings in the Energy Saver pane of System Preferences. To clear the persistent image, allow the screen saver to run for approximately as long as the image was being displayed. I had no idea how long the image had been "stuck" on my screen, so I just decided to change the screen saver time to five minutes and the display sleep time to three hours and let the "Flurry" screen saver run for that length of time. Sure enough, once I returned to my iMac this morning, the annoying persistent images were nowhere to be found. One commenter in the support community suggests that this might be a problem with all IPS LCD panels made by LG, and that this didn't happen with display panels made by Samsung -- a company that Apple seems to want to avoid at this time due to the lawsuit situation going on. Regardless of the cause, it's refreshing to know that there is a way to correct it and that this does not cause permanent damage to the display. I've changed my iMac settings to go to screen saver after five minutes and to display sleep after 15 minutes, and hopefully I'll never see those persistent images again. Have any TUAW readers experienced this problem? Did running the screen saver work to eliminate the ghosted images? Let us know in the comments.
LG intros 15.6-inch U560, helps stretch our definition of Ultrabook (video)
There have already been a few 15-inch Ultrabooks that have pushed the very limits of the thin-and-light category. Still, LG wants its turn at bending the rules. Its new U560 packs a 15.6-inch display and an optical drive that, together, contribute to the PC's 4.3-pound weight and 0.82-inch thickness -- really, it's a traditional laptop in a slimmer than usual package. Not that we'll complain too much when it involves an IPS-based LCD, a 1.8GHz Core i5, dedicated graphics (a support page suggests NVIDIA) and both a spinning hard disk as well as solid-state storage. The U560's launch is limited to South Korea so far, although we wouldn't be surprised to see Europe and other territories get their turn.
LG's 13.3-inch Windows 8 Ultrabook Z360 hands-on
By now, you should be familiar with all the Windows 8 options flooding the market and here on the CES 2013 show floor, LG's showing off its latest Ultrabook entry: the Z360. The thin and light device measures just 13.6mm and weighs in at 1.15kg making it easily openable with just one finger. Of course, since the Z360's 13.3-inch 1080p IPS panel doesn't support touch input, there's an array of dedicated "Metro" hot keys along the left edge of the keyboard. Inside, you're getting a fourth-generation Intel Core i5 processor (alternate Core i3 and i7 configurations are also possible) which allows for the device to cold boot in just eight seconds. On the Z360's bottom right, you'll find two slots for microSD slightly hidden, as well as HDMI and wired ethernet ports around the device. LG hasn't made its pricing or release details known at this time, so stay tuned for those additional details. %Gallery-175319%
NEC revamps its MultiSync lineup with new 24-inch IPS monitor
NEC's MultiSync monitor lineup is well-known for offering a slew of versatile choices -- as such, this year's CES isn't too bad a time for the Lavie creator to introduce a new member of the family. The newly announced 24-inch LED EA244WMi looks pretty good on paper, boasting a 1920 x 1200 resolution with IPS technology and a 16:10 aspect ratio, plus there's also built-in speakers four USB 2.0 ports, HDMI, DVI-D, VGA and, similar to that EA231WMi, a DisplayPort. Naturally, NEC has added plenty of its own customization options to the rather adjustable monitor, including ControlSync to help with multi-screen setups, ECO Mode and a "smart" sensing feature which adjusts depending on "ambient light and human sensors." The EA244WMi will go on sale later this month for $379; in the meantime, we have a press shot gallery after the break to hold you over until the monitor eventually hits shelves.
LG's ET83 touchscreen Windows 8 monitor, fingers-on
We heard about it some time ago and managed to get some fingers on time with LG's new 23-inch Windows 8 optimized monitor at today's CES press conference. It's a nice looking peripheral, for sure. The IPS panel is cocooned by a black bezel, which meets a white shiny plastic rear at its tips. Along the bottom bezel are a number of touchscreen controls, including things like Menu, for adjusting picture quality and the like. The screen sits on a leg with a large hinge for adjusting your viewing angle. Unfortunately, the single leg support shake a bit when you tap the screen, so you're going to want go a bit easy when tapping on those Metro tiles. All in all, its quite responsive. We were able to tap and slide through the Microsoft UI in a breeze. As long as you're not too aggressive with you're touchscreening, it looks to be a pretty nice compliment to Microsoft's latest desktop operating system. Follow all the latest CES 2013 news at our event hub.
AOC's 23-inch IPS monitor almost skips the bezel, ships soon for $199
Close on the heels of its "virtually borderless" (when it's turned off) 27-inch IPS monitor, display maker AOC has come up with a smaller sibling to add to the family. The 23-incher, tagged the i2367fh, totes similar styling and specs -- IPS technology, a claimed 2mm bezel, 1920 x 1080 resolution with 50,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, 5ms response time and two HDMI ports. The off timer function its predecessor sported also remains. However the new model, which is part of a different series, can't boast of the same height-adjustable stand and 4-watt speakers, integrating a 2-watt pair instead. The monitor carries a $199 sticker, but you can snag it for 10 bucks lower on backorder from B&H Photo and Amazon -- stock is expected later this month.
