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thin posts

Samsung's 40-inch LCD is world's thinnest at 3.9-mm, attracts magic pencils

by Thomas Ricker posted Oct 26th 2009 at 6:22AM

What measures 3.9-mm thin by 40 inches? If you answered the standard Korean product waif you'd be close. This time, however, we're talking about Samsung's LED backlit LCD featuring a 120Hz refresh and 5,000:1 reported contrast. Yup, that makes it the world's thinnest -- easily besting cross-town rival LG's 5.9-mm thick LCDs -- even if you can't buy it as a complete television package... yet.

[Via Akihabara News]

ASUS Designo MS gets handled, gushed over

by Vladislav Savov posted Oct 21st 2009 at 12:31AM

ASUS' stylish Designo MS monitors might not be quite on the same diet as the world's thinnest LCDs, but they're plenty svelte enough to collect glances of envious admiration. Suffering from a rather severe case of techno-lust, the Electric Pig crew got to handle a 23.6-inch sample and couldn't stop talking about the sex appeal of the exterior -- they were even big fans of the circular stand on the back of the display, which we suspect will have as many supporters as detractors. In spite of packing a full 1920 x 1080 resolution, the MS246 failed to impress with the quality of its output, but then if it was as gorgeous on the inside it'd have an Apple sticker on the front. Right? We kid, honestly. Calm down with a gallery of images at the read link.

Cellphones thinner than ever

by Chris Ziegler posted Oct 10th 2009 at 5:47PM

Strategy Analytics latest look at its spec-tracking (hence the name) SpecTRAX database of wireless devices has unearthed a few juicy tidbits of information, none more notable than the fact that phone thickness is at a new all-time low -- 13.96mm on average, the first time the metric has ever fallen below 14mm (for comparison, Motorola's original DynaTAC clocked in around 89mm, so we're making some solid improvement there). USB penetration is at a new high, too, supported by some 85 percent of newly-entered devices in the database, and battery life is up 25 percent from two years ago. Of course, that's still not nearly long enough -- battery tech is falling dangerously behind virtually every other technology that goes into the making of a mobile device, sadly -- but we'll take any improvement we can get.

[Via MobileTechNews]

Video: Slim, wireless, LED-backlit Sony ZX5 LCDs prepped for November release

by Steven Kim posted Sep 7th 2009 at 4:29AM

Sony's packed in a plethora of buzz-worthy tech into its ZX5 series of Bravia LCDs -- thin panels, edge-mounted LED backlighting, 240-Hz Motion Flow, and wireless connection between the media receiver section and the glass. The new 46- and 52-inch versions have got the styling portion of the competition aced, but we're still smarting over the move away from local-dimming Triluminos LEDs. As for the Motion Flow, we'll have to wait and see for ourselves if 240-Hertz is going to be the magic number to win us over. But then again, we're greedy like that; but there's something drool-inspiring about a 52-inch LCD that gets 1080p video wirelessly sent to its 16.6-mm thin frame. Somehow, we don't think our response will be different when these beauties are released to Japan in November. Video after the break.

Continue reading Video: Slim, wireless, LED-backlit Sony ZX5 LCDs prepped for November release

Acer Aspire Timeline thin-and-lights priced for the US: $600 to $900

by Nilay Patel posted Jun 2nd 2009 at 7:01AM

Acer's Aspire Timeline inexpensive thin-and-lights have been popping up here and there around the world since we first laid eyes on 'em in April, and now the CULV machines are ready to hit the States. Pricing is actually a little lower than we initially heard, with the base 15.6-inch 1.3GHz Pentium SU2700 machine coming in at $598, but you're more interested in the two smaller machines: the 14-inch, 4.2-pound 1.4GHz SU3500 Core Solo unit is $699, while the 13.3-inch, 3.5-pound 1.4GHz SU9400 Core 2 Duo pictured above is $899. All three machines feature 16:9 1366 x 768 LED-backlit displays driven by Intel 4500MHD graphics, and battery life exceeds eight hours, aided by a PowerSmart energy-saving switch. So -- anyone still thinking about an Adamo? Full press release and two more pics after the break.

Gallery: Acer Aspire Timeline thin-and-lights hands-on

Continue reading Acer Aspire Timeline thin-and-lights priced for the US: $600 to $900

LG world's thinnest LCD is only 0.23 inches thick

by Richard Lawler posted May 19th 2009 at 1:04AM

Looks like we've got a new record holder for world's thinnest LCD, as LG pegs its new 42- and 47-inch models at only 5.9mm thick. Apparently lacking an iPhone for the accepted measurement of thinness, this model was reduced to holding up a coin for an example of LG's edge LED lit prowess. Though you may prefer local dimming LEDs, DisplayBlog is hopeful we'll see a combo of the two lighting schemes bringing thinness and high picture quality next year. Meanwhile, compare these to JVC's magnetically mounted former champ, measuring a now-widebody 7mm thick, but at only 5kg, still holding a weight edge over these two at 6.1 and 7.3kg, respectively. LG promises 120Hz refresh technology and 80% of the NTSC color gamut, up from 72% on standard models, on these, but we'll wait for them to go from the demo stand to the store shelf before revisiting the question of whether thinner and more energy efficient is actually better.

[Via DisplayBlog]

Samsung's 850 PAVV plasma teases the 1-inch thick mark

by Darren Murph posted May 4th 2009 at 8:07AM

The plasma industry may be teetering on the edge of certain doom (okay, so maybe that's exaggerating it... a little), but Samsung's still pushing the envelope. Over in South Korea, the company just outed its latest PDPs, the 850 PAVV lineup. Aside from being 40 percent more power efficient, 20 percent lighter and 120 percent more seductive than the prior generation, the new 50- and 58-inch sets also boast DLNA support, a USB 2.0 socket, DivX compatibility and a rather striking stand. The real kicker? The 29 millimeter depth, which equates to just over one inch thick for those who abhor the metric system. There's no word on when these beauties will hit the streets, but we're guessing Panasonic will be keenly interested in knowing.

Credit card style Bluetooth device isn't likely to increase your wealth, coolness

by Laura June posted Mar 16th 2009 at 12:10PM

We've seen some ultra-thin MP3 players, even ones that were credit-card sized, but this newest one actually masquerades as a credit card, numbers and all! There's perilously little information available about the device, but we can tell you this: you'll look and feel awesome sporting it, should you ever be able to get your hands on one; which we doubt. Price and availability are a mystery to us all.

Update: As pointed out by several of our astute commenters, this appears to be a Tokyo Flash concept for a Bluetooth adapter modeled on a previous credit card styled MP3 player.

[Via The MP3 Players]

Elecom's new TK-FCP004 ultra-slim keyboard is minimalism at its finest

by Paul Miller posted Mar 4th 2009 at 1:10AM

Pining for a numeric keypad, which Apple has so unceremoniously discarded, but can't bring yourself to pick the numeric version off a list? Do you have other personality problems, but appreciate good design? Do you live in Japan? Then Elecom's got just the thing for you, the new TK-FCP004 series ultra-slim keyboards. Rising a mere 0.57-inches off the ground, and sporting incredibly minimal aesthetics, we'd say Elecom has hit a real nerve here. The keyboard comes in silver, white or black, and hits Japan mid-October for 5040 yen after tax (about $50 US).

[Via Akihabara News]

Gallery: Elecom's new TK-FCP004 ultra-slim keyboard is minimalism at its finest

Dell's ultra-thin Adamo laptop set free

by Thomas Ricker posted Jan 9th 2009 at 11:44AM

We're live at the Dell presser and the Adamo (pronounced uh-dahm-o) is official. The laptop was briefly presented and then whisked off stage without specs or prices. All we know is that it's crazy thin and represents the new luxury design franchise within Dell's laptop lineup. More as we get it.

Continue reading Dell's ultra-thin Adamo laptop set free

Neoi 906E is world's first, thinnest, most beautiful, most calculator-esque QWERTY phone

by Laura June posted Dec 16th 2008 at 10:49AM

We like to keep a positive attitude around here, so we're trying not to be overly um... skeptical about this one, even though "World's" followed by anything awesome (in this case "thinnest," and "first micro sized Java J2Me hand phone") sets off a few alarms. The Neoi 906E, at least in the renders, is an exceedingly thin GSM / GPRS handset with a QWERTY keyboard, though beyond that, it's all pretty unimpressive and run of the mill. It's got an MP3 player, a camera, a microSD slot, plus some shortcut keys on the upper right of the phone, but details about its actual specs are a bit sparse. It's not clear when or where the 906E is going to be available, but it doesn't seem like Neoi plans to cut out the middle man -- the minimum order number is 500.

[Thanks, Fredrik J]

Samsung titillates with transparent and 0.05mm 'flapping' OLED panels

by Thomas Ricker posted Oct 29th 2008 at 7:01AM

Samsung's all up in Sony's OLED space this morning at the FPD International 2008 show. They started by trotting out that 40-inch OLED TV again, with a Full HD resolution, 8.9-mm depth, and contrast ratio so high they just call it 1,000,000:1. Then they upped the ante while dialing down the dimensions to a 4-inch, ultra-thin 0.05-mm OLED (pictured above) with 480 x 272 pixel resolution, 100,000:1 contrast, 200cd/m2 brightness -- so thin that it was displayed flapping in the wind. Take that Sony and your 0.3-mm OLED chubster. Sammy then reached deep into its bag of tricks with a transparent AMOLED display (first hinted at around these parts in early 2006) with an appropriately clad model presumably meant to invoke your pubescent fantasies of x-ray vision. Or maybe that's just us. Click through to see what we mean.

[Via OLED-Display]

Continue reading Samsung titillates with transparent and 0.05mm 'flapping' OLED panels

Hitachi demonstrates 15mm 37-inch LCD TV at CEATEC

by Darren Murph posted Sep 30th 2008 at 5:50PM

Hitachi drug its oh-so-sexy 1.5-inch plasma to Japan after showing it off in Denver earlier this month, but what we didn't see at CEDIA was this: a 15-millimeter thin 37-inch LCD TV. The "reference" set packed a 1,920 x 1,080 panel and a fittingly designed stand, though it won't see mass production until "2009 or later." Ugh, even 1-inch just seems so bloated now.

Slimmer Xbox 360 spied in the wild? (mystery solved)

by Joshua Topolsky posted Sep 25th 2008 at 9:37AM

We received an interesting tip that we thought we'd share with the group. Windows expert and all-around bon vivant Paul Thurrott recently previewed Microsoft's new Arc mouse on his personal blog, detailing the device with a handful of photos. In the final shot of the series, what appear to be two Xboxes side-by-side can be seen in the lower right-hand corner... but one of those consoles looks thinner than the other. The appearance of what might be a slimmer Xbox 360 has (needless to say) sparked a debate amongst our editors here. Some say it's nothing -- a matter of angle -- while others argue that this could be just the scenario in which you'd see a leak of a new form factor. Either way, you can't simply brush off the differences here, and a little Photoshop matching on our end proved that these edges are decidedly different in angle. So we put it to the Engadget reader: is this a sign of things to come, or just our imaginations running wild?

Update: And we have our answer! Paul Thurrott has gone to the trouble of detailing just exactly what's going on here, and it is an angle issue. Needless to say, we've got a lot of deflated dreams and lightened pockets in the office today.

[Thanks, Brian]

Philips' 8mm thin 32-inch LCD turns the screws on Sony

by Thomas Ricker posted Aug 28th 2008 at 9:55AM

This morning you saw what a 9.9-mm thin LCD from Sony looks like. Now it's Philips' turn to drop jaw. Albeit just a concept compared to Sony's ZX1 soon to be production TV, this 8-mm thin, 32-inch LCD with LED backlighting is done with the engineering and now waits for the suits to bring it to market. Two thin strips of Philips' own LumiLEDs -- 30 on top and 30 on the bottom -- are the secret sauce to this thin, Full HD mixture. According to Philips' "Senior Scientist," Dr. Giovanni Cennini, this 8-mm design will scale to panel sizes of 42-inches and probably higher. Better yet, these are the same panels Philips already uses, no extra tweaking required. So it's your move corporate, we're all waiting.