By and large, there's nothing too incredible about LG's latest LCD HDTV. It's 22-inches, can double as a PC monitor, boasts a deceiving 2,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio and consumes some 40 percent less power than the average Earth-hating 22-inch LCD. There's also a pair of HDMI sockets, a DVI port and a 1,680 x 1,050 resolution, not to mention an automatic brightness sensor that responds to ambient light. There's no word yet on how pricey the 20 millimeter-thick set will be nor when it'll ship stateside, but hopefully it -- along with its 24-inch Full HD sibling -- will make the trip in short order.

[Via AkihabaraNews]

Acer's been on a tear with the new gear lately, and while we're not going to say we're as hot for the new Aspire M5800 tower as we are for, say, the Timeline, it's still a pretty nice little machine -- you're looking at a 2.66GHz Core 2 Quad with 8GB of RAM, 1.5GB GeForce GT230 graphics, a 740GB drive and HDMI out for $800. Not bad at all. Little brothers Aspire M3800 and X3810 are far less interesting, with a 2.5GHz Pentium and integrated X4500 graphics for $450 in a tower or $529 in a low-profile case. Not exactly mindblowing, but you've still got HDMI out, so they could make for reasonably cheap HTPCs if you don't need much more than Flash support. Acer's also got a new display out, the 23-inch H235H, which offers 1080p resolution, 2ms response time, a 160-degree viewing angle, and 100,000:1 contrast ratio for $239.

We just spent some time talking to Sharp's reps about that ITC ban on its LCD panels, and while they certainly didn't sound happy about the ruling, they made it clear that it shouldn't have too much of an effect on US consumers -- Aquos TVs and Sharp professional LCD displays currently on shelves are fine to be sold, and updated models have been hitting the channel as of last month. As you'd expect, the new displays have been re-engineered to workaround the Samsung patent in question, but here's where it gets confusing: the basic model numbers haven't changed. Instead, the new units have an "N" at the end, so a TV like the Aquos LC52-E77U will now be labeled LC52-E77UN. Sharp says the updated models have exactly the same specs as the outgoing ones, but we're waiting on a detailed list of spec changes -- or better, a side-by-side comparison -- so we can decide whether or not the HDTV equivalents of a pre-CBS Fender are floating around out there.

Update: Sharp hit us back with some revised information, so we've changed the post slightly.

Chalk up another huge win for Samsung in its long-running patent dispute with Sharp: the US International Trade Commission has just issued a ruling banning importation of Sharp LCD panels that infringe one of Samsung's viewing-angle patents. As you might imagine, the ban covers a wide swath of Sharp's consumer products, including the Aquos TV line, but it's not clear on how it'll affect other companies that use Sharp panels -- this ruling could potentially have a huge impact on the entire tech market. On the other hand, we'd bet that Sharp's lawyers are furiously putting together a request to have the ban delayed while an appeal is sorted out, so this is far from over -- in fact, we'd say the real fireworks are just beginning.

CEDIA's UK show is going on right now across the pond, and while things are rather quiet overall, JVC has definitely garnered a fair bit of attention with its 32-inch LT-32WX50. The 1080p set features 100Hz dejudder technology, a 4,000:1 contrast ratio, 90 percent of Adobe's RGB color space and -- here's the real kicker -- a thickness of just seven millimeters. The whole panel weighs just 11 pounds, meaning that even the weaklings should be able to transport, move and install this one sans any overpriced help from Geek Squad. Around back, there's a pair of HDMI inputs, a PC port, an SD card slot and a USB connector. If all goes well, it should start hitting retailers this fall, but there's no mention of when it'll ship stateside.

Sure VIZIO only just showed off new updates in its high end XVT series, but it's already planning the next generation of LCDs with VIZIO Internet Apps included. Packing widget functionality, 802.11n wireless networking and slider QWERTY Bluetooth remote, the SV422XVT, SV472XVT and VF552XVT Connected HDTVs are coming home in November, October and December, respectively. Already on deck to serve up content for your widgets are Vudu, Revision3, Facebook, Twitter, Rhapsody, Blockbuster OnDemand, Showtime, Flickr and more. The biggest surprise? There's apparently no price premium planned for these features, with the 55-inch clocking in at the same $2,199 price as the model it's replacing, though the 47-inch jumps $200 over the previous edition to $1,699, while adding the local dimming LED backlit technology previously reserved for the 55-inch. The 42-inch will be the first and cheapest available at $1,199 (sans LED) -- we'll see if that bar is low enough to get viewers to jump into the internet-connected display future.

Read - VIZIO Announces High Performance XVT HDTV Line Up with 240Hz SPS(TM), TruLED(TM) and Smart Dimming(TM) Technology, VIZIO Internet Apps (VIA), and Slim Line(TM) 120Hz LCD HDTV Models
Read - VIZIO Unveils Rhapsody Digital Music Service for VIZIO Internet Apps (VIA(TM)) Connected HDTVs
Read - VIZIO Reveals Dynamic New Content Partners for VIZIO Internet Apps Connected HDTV Feature

LG is set to release its first 3D TV -- the 47-inch 47LH50 LCD -- into the Korean market next month. As our tech overlords, this could signal a trend that'll head west. In fact, LG estimates that the 3D television market will exceed 30 million units by 2012 -- exactly what we'd say too if we were in the business of selling televisions. Hmm, 30 million TVs multiplied by 4.5 pairs of glasses required for the average household -- guess we'll be investing in polarized lenses.

[Via @visitken]

Think your cellphone display packs a lot of pixels into a small space? Pssh. Kopin Corporation has just announced the smallest VGA color-filter liquid crystal display, checking in with a 600 x 480 resolution and a 0.27-inch (diagonal) size. The feat was accomplished by shrinking the color dots to 2.9 x 8.7 µm from 3.75 x 11.25 µm, and according to the company, it's a huge step in reaching its goal of creating a "2,048 x 2,048-resolution display in a size smaller than a typical postage stamp." Already, the firm has stated that it can concoct SVGA (800 x 600) displays at 0.34-inches, XGA (1,024 x 768) displays at 0.44-inches and and SXGA (1,280 x 1,024) displays at 0.56-inch using the same color dot size, which will apparently be used in digicams, camcorders and possibly even handsets. And you thought that D90 panel was something to ooh and ahh over...

Nobody was happy to see digital video standards splinter along the lines of DisplayPort and HDMI back in 2007. Two years on and Dell and Apple seem to be the primary forces behind the standard as the rest of the consumer electronics industry opts for straight-up HDMI. Kind of makes you wonder if DisplayPort is the new Firewire particularly with HDMI 1.4 and minascule Type D HDMI plugs around the corner. At least Eizo's tossing DisplayPort another bone today with the introduction of its 23-inch FlexScan EV2333W-H in Japan. The 1920x1080 pixel display with 3000:1 contrast, 300nits of brightness, and 7-ms response also packs a DVI-D jack to help ease the transition. It'll cost ¥54,800 (about $560) when it lands in Japan mid-July. Not exactly a game-changer.

Without a doubt, the next big thing in the world of HDTVs is internet capabilities. With Toshiba just shipping its own web-enabled sets this week, LG Electronics is making sure it doesn't fall too far behind by floating a few of its own NetCast models out to the open market. Originally unveiled at CES, these HDTVs are the first from the company with built-in Netflix streaming support, and if you're curious about model numbers, it's the 47-inch 47LH50 LCD HDTV and the 50-inch 50PS80 plasma that are available today. LG tells us that the 42-inch 42LH50 LCD and 60-inch 60PS80 plasma should hit later this summer, but if you're looking to buy now, you'll have to pony up $1,999 for the 47LH50 or 50PS80.

Concept cars are a dime a dozen around these parts -- but concept lawnmowers? A little more rare, and the latest from Husqvarna looks to be about as closely related to that rusty John Deere in your shed as Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes McLaren F1 car is to your boss's E-Class. It has paddles on the wheel for adjusting three independent mowing blades, a "sophisticated" LCD display that displays speed and obstacle proximity, and a rechargeable lithium-phosphate battery with enough staying power to trim your yard for two hours straight, all shown in a soothing and thoroughly rendered promo video after the break. The one thing it can't do, apparently, is tame the wild locks of Swedish male models.

OLED displays are synonymous with being impossibly thin. But Samsung's 8.9-mm thick "production-ready" 31-inch OLED TV was just trumped by this 32-inch LCD monitor from JVC measuring just 6.4-mm at its thinnest point. Oh right, thinnest point, we get it, all the processing circuity (Genessa Premium) and jacks (2x HDMI, RGB, component, composite, and more) are bundled into a brick riding the lower-half of the Full HD (1920 × 1080) monitor resulting is an unsightly pear-shaped pudge measuring a full 22.5-mm (0.89-inches) -- eww. You'll also be giving up the million-to-one contrast ratio of OLEDs for the relatively weak 4,000:1 contrast (on 400nits of brightness) found in the GD-32X1's LCD panel. No worries, with JVC dropping out of the consumer display business, these panels are targeting business-use anyway, so you can save your cash when these start shipping in August.

[Via Impress]

Turns out Pixel Qi's CTO Mary Lou Jepsen reads Engadget, or at least the posts relevant to her company and her invention, the 3Qi screen. In addition to a side-by-side comparison of the display against the Kindle and a few other devices, in an interview with techvideoblog, she can be seen going through our most recent post and answering some of our readers' questions, including clearing up what seems to be a pretty big misconception that the screen uses e-ink for being visible in direct sunlight -- "it's standard LCD, just clever design," she explains. In one scene, she demonstrates that even in those very bright situations when the screen looks to go monochrome for visibility, you can still see a hint of color, with the full "Pleasantville" experience entering the more she moves the hardware into the shade. As for reports of the tech adding a $200 premium, she dismisses this as a misquote and infers that it was more of an example price for a laptop that'd be using the technology. There's a lot of fascinating tidbits here, including some talk on the nature of the display and laptop industries. As it stands, mass production begins this Fall, and even though you're seeing that Acer logo on the demo unit, Jepsen says it's just a prototype built into a laptop they bought at Radio Shack and that no manufacturing partners have been confirmed. Make sure the closest star isn't beaming down at your screen and head on after the break for the both videos.

Read - Mary Lou Jepsen answers user comments
Read - Pixel Qi vs Kindle vs Toshiba R600 vs regular LCD tablet