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Haier reveals new HDTVs and audio gear at CES
Haier just unleashed several new HDTVs (as an update to the one we saw a this time last year) and home audio gear here at CES. First up is the EV series of 3D HDTVs that sport a "virtually edgeless picture" thanks to a super thin bezel, and come in both 65- and 55-inch versions. The EV Series also packs 2D to 3D conversion tech, Yahoo Connected TV and the company's new Smart Home UI to access all of your media content, plus a double-sided QWERTY remote to navigate it. Next is the 23-inch Designer Series that sports an edge-lit 1920 x 1080 LED screen that comes in your choice of black, white, metallic grey or red to fit your every mood (and room color). Price has yet to be determined, but you'll be able to get a Designer TV of your own in Q2 of this year.Lastly, Haier is unveiling several new audio products. First, there's the $400 3D model that has an iPhone dock built in and delivers 230 watts of 5.1 surround sound using Absolute 3D technology. Next is a super slim profile soundbar that pumps out 280 watts of sound through 2.1 channels through a speaker that's only 1.07 inches deep for $350. Rounding things out is a ViewHD iDevice dock that works with iPads, iPhones and iPods. Priced at $99, it comes with a remote for controlling it from afar and has HDMI out in case your mobile's meager screen simply won't do. All you Haier-philes can dig deep into the details of all of these in the PR below.
Haier's transparent organic TV eyes-on (video)
What's the worst thing about your TV? If you said "opaqueness," boy have we got the set from you. This is a 22-inch transparent organic TV from the folks at Haier (you know, the ones who also showed off that mind control TV today). It's a slim display with a metal bezel that has a clear OLED at its center with a 1680 x 1050 resolution. The images appeared pretty sharp on screen, though the colors didn't particularly pop. And really, this thing isn't likely headed to any living rooms in the near future -- Haier sees it more as an advertising tool, letting shoppers see its images from both sides. The display in its demo form was actually hooked up to a Windows PC, running video through a media player, making this not too unlike that 14-inch Samsung laptop that we saw at CES last year. The TV is still in its early demo stages, so pricing and availability are a ways off. Video after the break.%Gallery-132590%
Haier's mind control TV prototype hits IFA, we go foreheads-on (video)
The remote control revolutionized the way we watch television, doing away with the need for frequent trips to the set in order to change channels. One prototype in Haier's portfolio makes the whole remote thing look like a back breaking chore by comparison. The Brain Wave (definitely not a final product name) television protoype showcased at IFA this week brings mind control into the picture, promising users a future where channels can be changed and volume controlled with mere thought. The set is still in the early prototype stages at the moment, however, so we're still a ways away from such life altering precision. At the moment, the only available demo involves blowing up an animated barrel with your mind. Naturally, we had to give the thing a spin. Check out the results after the break.%Gallery-132589%
Haier's HaiPad ships in August, to become the preferred tablet of lolcats everywhere
We thought Haier's HaiPad looked oddly familiar, and a quick trip down memory lane suggests we aren't (completely) bonkers: it's a rebranded Quanta we spied at CES. The 7-inch slate now sports a custom Froyo skin from DianXin, an 800MHz processor, 802.11 b/g WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1, and a WCDMA radio. We're told that last antenna provides the slate with phone and texting capabilities just like some versions of another 7-incher we know. Also present are "dual-cameras" (which we assume means one on each plane), availability in five "stylish" hues, and a vague August ship date. With less than a month to scrounge up 3,299 RMB (about $500) and train to fight off thousands of felines, you had better get cracking. [Thanks, Marco]
Windows 7 Media Center embedded TV hands-on
We didn't think much of Haier's mention in Microsoft's Windows 7 Media Center embedded press release, but on the show floor today we ran across this HDTV which was actually a full-blown Media Center including tuners and a harddrive. The details were very skimpy beyond that, with no mention of specific specs, prices or if the product would really make it to market. But the idea of an all-in-one TV and DVR running our favorite software certainly is something to get us excited about. What we didn't like ws the motion remote used for the demo which was almost impossible to navigate and had us seriously longing for our favorite Green Button.
Haier launches WiFi equipped Net Connect LED HDTVs, takes Yahoo Connected TV along for the ride
In an effort to obviate the best efforts of Boxee, Logitech, Roku, and Apple, the new line of HDTVs from Haier aims to bring internet content and streaming video to your living room without such excess hardware. Rather than having another black box fighting for space in your entertainment center, Haier's Net Connect LED displays have WiFi capabilities and Yahoo's Connected TV baked in to deliver content. In addition to Yahoo's apps, the TVs will also provide viewers with access to Hulu Plus, Blockbuster on Demand, Film Fresh, and Netflix. Unfortunately, we don't have specs, prices, or a release date for the sets, but we do know that they'll have remotes with a dedicated Netflix button, which is sure to please the impatient movie watcher in us all.
WHDI breaks out at CES 2011, brings 1080p streaming to TVs, PCs, tablets and a projector
We've felt the rush a-comin', and it looks as if 2011 may finally be the year that Amimon (along with its competitors) gets the break it has been yearning for in the consumer market. With wireless HD streaming options becoming more plentiful (and prices heading southward into a realm of feasibility), the WHDI standard is making a stand at this year's CES. Right around a dozen new products will be introduced this week with WHDI embedded, including HDTVs from Haier, PC-to-TV adapters from Asus and LG Innotek, tablets from First International Computer ('Jacob' prototype shown above), Malata and Gemtek / Ampak, a projector from Vivitek and a mobile-to-TV solution from 35.com. The goal here is pretty obvious -- Amimon would love for you to have a house full of WHDI-equipped gear, in turn creating an ecosystem where these devices could talk to one another and stream in a variety of directions. We'll be scouring the floor to see who's buying in, but it sounds as if that won't be too difficult a chore. %Gallery-112381%
Netflix 'one click' remote button coming to nearly every device it streams to
We got a hint of this when Boxee announced one, but it's clear now that Netflix's plans are much larger as many of its hardware partners including Panasonic, Samsung, Sharp, Sony, Toshiba, Dynex, Haier, Memorex, Iomega and Roku will also offer one-touch Netflix buttons on remotes for TVs, Blu-ray players and media streamers. It's pretty obvious, Netflix Watch Instantly is a killer app for any connected TV platform at this point and one of the most used features, making access quicker and easier is a no-brainer.
Haier's heat-exchanging Power Pad promises to make long, hot showers a little more efficient
Major appliances are major energy drains, and if you have a traditional, tank-based hot water heater it can be a major factor in your monthly utilities bills. Haier's Power Pad promises to make those things have less of an impact on people's finances -- at least when it comes to showers. It's a heat exchanger that you stand on whilst washing that man right out of your hair, water running off your toned body and through the vanes in the Pad, warming the cold water that's pumped through it. That water is then deposited into the hot water tank, which now has a little less work to do. Haier is hoping to get this to market in China within the next two months for ¥4,000 (about $600) and, by that time, boost its efficiency to 30 percent. That's still 10 percent lower than the EcoDrain we spied last year, but we have a more practical concern: what happens when that thing gets clogged with hair and various bathing products? It doesn't look particularly easy to clean.
NVIDIA shows 16 new Optimus laptops at Computex, teases GTX 460M GPU
Just in case you were wondering where and when you might get a taste of the Optimus elixir, NVIDIA has handed us a detailed list of Computex debutants that will be taking the graphics switching technology with them to retail. A total of sixteen new Optimus machines are on show in Taipei, and although ASUS is still the biggest purveyor (with six SKUs, not counting previously announced products), Lenovo and Acer have also jumped on board, with the IdeaPad Y460 and a pair of Packard Bell EasyNotes, respectively. Notably, the FX700 above from MSI is marked as using an "unannounced" next-gen graphics chip, which we suspect might be the GTX 460M, a mobile GPU that NVIDIA is showing, but not talking about yet. Guess that'll be slotting in just below the recently unveiled GTX 480M. We've got pictorial evidence of the 460M's existence after the break, along with the full list of new Optimus-ized machines, which you can also scope out in the gallery below.%Gallery-94167%
Haier's wireless HDTV lacks wires, svelte profile (video)
If you're at CES and just can't stand wires, be sure to drop by the Haier booth where the company is showing off its completely wireless HDTV. Employing both Wireless Electricity technology developed at MIT, as well as Wireless Home Digital Interface (WHDI) this tube can supposedly stream video over 100 feet, but there's no telling if that WiTricity signal will be as far reaching. All this technology does add a good bit of heft to the panel's profile, so even though you might be avoiding that mess of tangled cables, don't think you're getting off that easy. Video of the wire-free panel is after the break. %Gallery-82027%
Upcoming Haier Blu-ray players are as intriguing as they are cheap
We spotted Haier's first U.S. entry into the Blu-ray player market luxuriating at Digital Experience following the company's recent trend of surprisingly complete feature sets for low prices. The Broadcom-powered BDP100 and BDP200W are no great surprise, comparing closely with Best Buy's recent Insignia players as Netflix streaming Blu-ray decks, the former without WiFi for $169 and the latter with wireless internet for $229. However they're distinguished slightly by the addition of Pandora's streaming music, plus plans to support apps/streaming from another provider or two around launch in the first quarter. What was promised but not shown this go round were some interesting features powered by the unit's Flash compatibility, we'll be sure to check them out on the CES floor today and report back on the experience as well as its other products, including a new LED edge lit LCD line and Blu-ray/LCD combo TV with Netflix. For now, the press release and a couple of more images after the break.
Haier's Theater PMP sports a 3-inch touchscreen, recession-friendly price
There are PMPs in every shape and color, and while we've never been particularly fond of Haier's contributions to the segment, its latest might just find a home in that all-important lower-end of the spectrum. It packs a three-inch capacitive touchscreen of undisclosed resolution, an FM tuner, voice recorder, support for plenty of audio formats, a rather more spartan list of video formats (apparently just AVI and MPEG4), and comes in either four or eight GB sizes. Earth-shattering? No, but at prices of $89 and $99 it's a good value -- well, the bigger of the two is, anyway. Who wouldn't drop another $10 for twice the capacity?
Haier steps out of character, builds ultra-desirable Jian i7 ultra-thin laptop
The last time Haier really wowed us was back in 2007 when the company was peddling its "screen-on-a-stick" laptop tech. Two years later we've got this little beauty to drool on: the Jian i7. The 13.4-inch Core 2 Duo ULV laptop is pretty dang thin, weighs 3 pounds, and retails for a mere 6,000 Yuan (about $879 US). Where do we sign up?
Haier H7 Android handset set for September launch
Haier may not exactly be breaking any new ground with the outward appearance, but its new H7 handset is an Android phone (which still counts for something these days), and it's reportedly on track for a launch as soon as this September -- in France, at least. Unfortunately, the phone the company had on display at CommunicAsia 2009 was just a non-functional mockup, but the final model will apparently pack a 2.8-inch touchscreen, along with a 2-megapixel camera, built-in GPS, WiFi, and, most importantly, Android 2.0 (a.k.a Donut) -- assuming it's available by the time the phone launches. No word on any release plans beyond France just yet, but the H7 will reportedly run $150 -- on contract, presumably.[Via ModMyGphone, thanks Neerhaj]
FCC approves Haier C300 in Virgin Mobile clothes, puts lab engineers to sleep
As far as we can tell, this totally nondescript candybar that just "rocked" the FCC as the C300 from Haier doesn't appear under the official Virgin lineup by any catchy name yet, which would put it solidly in the unreleased, unannounced category. Our normal instinct when that happens is to get excited -- maybe break out the bubbly and celebrate our fascinating find with a night of sinful debauchery -- but in this case, this thing is so positively uninspiring that we're having trouble getting fired up about the ordeal. The phone's ugly (at best) and ultra low-end -- you won't even find a camera on this one -- so we're guessing you'll find this in your local CVS for $20 or so within a few weeks, quite possibly without the fanfare of an official press release. One thing we can say for certain: this won't be a Helio-branded device, if you catch our drift.Update: Rich over at Phone Scoop points out that the C300 is CDMA800 only, which would seem to preclude it for action on Virgin Mobile USA; makes you wonder why they bothered with an FCC approval then, but who are we to question Haier's wisdom?
DiiVA home networking spec exposes itself to potential partners
Sporting an extra "i" DiiVA is back, ready to show off the initial draft of its home networking spec. The same old crew of Chinese manufacturers are still pledging support, claiming it solves data channel issues for the future of interactive TV and such. We'd probably want to make sure the name is nailed down before signing up but interested parties can register as a DiiVA promoter to review and provide feedback before its finalized. Still, in the China-based format race, it probably has better odds of ever catching on than CBHD or HD NVD.
Haier shows off mysterious "NetBooks," Android phones
Haier's offerings are always an adventure, and this year at MWC they didn't disappoint. They were showing off an interesting assortment of MIDs, confusingly dubbed "NetBooks," including a mini-laptop of sorts (left) that falls somewhere in the middle. Unfortunately, we're totally short on specs, release dates or other sorts of relevant informations, so what you see is pretty much what you get. On a similar note, Haier had two Android-based devices at the show, dubbed the G1 and the G2, along with a BlackBerry 8900 look-alike we didn't see, and another phone that even the PR person wasn't sure what it was. These two "Googlephones" (their word) were sadly out of battery when we went for a demo, but one of them bore more than a passing resemblance to the BlackBerry Storm, though it happens to be lighter, smaller and runs a new OS... maybe RIM can call up Haier for some pointers.%Gallery-45365%
Ibiza Rumble prototype hands-on: a touchscreen PMP with Rhapsody, webkit browser
Behind closed doors at the Haier booth, we got a chance to check out two Ibiza Rhapsody PMP prototypes, codenamed Rumble and Rumble mini. Here's what we know so far: the Rumble's got a 2.8-inch WQVGA capacitive touchscreen, 8GB NAND flash, and a Freescale i.MX37 ARM 11 processor. It also has a Webkit-based browser, but it -- along with most of the operating system and virtual keyboard -- wasn't functional at the moment. There's support for AAC, MP3, and WMA, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, H263, H.264, VC-1, and DivX. The Rumble mini trades out touchscreen in favor of an input pad and a smaller 2.2-inch screen. Beyond Rhapsody service, both models will feature integration with Flickr, Audible, and the ever-vague "popular social networking" sites. Battery life for the Rumble is expected to be about 15 hours for audio and 6 for video, while for the mini it's 14 and 4, respectively. It's surprisingly lightweight at the moment, but other than that we really don't have much to say until we can see the interface in action. Both players are on track for a June release for a penny under $150 for the touchscreen and $100 for the mini. %Gallery-41548%%Gallery-41561%
Haier rings up two new LCD TVs at CES
Being the official HDTV of the NBA, would you expect Haier to do any less than ring up a pair of new TVs at CES? Both the 47-inch HL47XT1 and the 42-inch HL42XT1 have good specs (especially given the company's durable goods background), each touting 1080p resolution, four HDMI inputs, LED backlighting and 120Hz refresh rates. These sets also pack hidden Sound Chamber speakers (tweeter and midrange drivers mated up to a port for enhanced bass response) and SRS TruSurround XT circuitry to float a soundfield into the room. Sounds good, and the specs are entirely competitive, but some pricing and availability info more specific than "2009" would sure help gauge where these TVs will fit in the market -- hopefully these two aren't bricks like some of the company's other efforts.
