Looking to make the wild and not-entirely-wondrous world of printers exciting for the first time in decades, HP has just unveiled the "world's first web-connected printer." If you're wondering how it plans on accomplishing such an impossible mission, let us just say this: the Photosmart Premium is going the way of the widget. Up on the 4.33-inch front panel is Touchsmart Web, a touchscreen interface with several bundled, online apps to accommodate usual paper-friendly tasks such as printing Google maps, tickets from Fandango, coupons, recipes, Sudoku, etc. There's even a full-on HD Apps Studio just in case downloading new apps on one's printer really becomes the new hotness. The API's being made open for the entire realm of developers, but we have to wonder what kind of interest we'll see here. Pricing is set for $399, and if you're thinking "why not just buy a cheap netbook and plug it into my current model" we hear ya, but we get the impression this is aimed squarely at another crowd. Lots more details are just past the break.

Update: We just had a chance to try the printer / Touchsmart for ourselves. First off, surprise, the screen is capacitive touch, and it works well -- but only one finger at a time. We asked a rep about multitouch and were told that while technically feasible, it's not gonna be supported at this time. The widgets are created with a combination of HTML5 and Java, and much to our surprise, video streaming has been implemented. The Monsters vs. Aliens trailer we saw was decent resolution, but really, it's not a place where we need pristine quality. More screens in the gallery below.

Gallery: HP unveils Photosmart Premium with Touchsmart Web hands-on

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SilverPac's SilverFrame is certainly doing its best to break the boring mold of typical digital photo frames, and while we were understandably skeptical about the idea on paper, we're beginning to warm to it after a little face time at Computex. Said frame is more like a widget console than anything else, and it definitely reminds us of that Samsung / Chumby prototype digiframe that we peeked back at CES. Don't take our word for it, though -- hit the read link to soak it in yourself.

With Akihabara, mobile TV that works and games like this, does Japan really need another nicety to remind us of how awesome it is? Starting this week, Yahoo Japan has started to deliver free video services to loads of Sharp AQUOS HDTVs. The so-called Douga Channel currently offers some 3,000 videos gratis, and absolutely no member registration is required to tap in. At least initially, the service will target Sharp's AQUOS DS6 family of products, which are equipped with a revised Sharp GUI and an 'Ex System' for handling the video processing. Better still, the material coming through can be viewed in SD or HD, which has to make local cable companies cringe. At any rate, the company is still trying to hammer out a business model before delving into pay-TV, and it's hoping to service at least one million TV sets in the not-too-distant future. So... any news for North America?

It's been a long time coming, but television manufacturers have finally wised up to the ways of the Internet and the realities of modern content sourcing and distribution. Case in point, Sony, with its XBR9 and Z-series televisions with built-in Ethernet jack for accessing internet media and informational widgets based on the Yahoo platform. The cats over at SonyConvergineer have put together a few introductory videos (embedded after the break) showing-off Sony's connected capabilities on a production set using Sony's Xross Media Bar UI and Bravia remote control. Right, XMB, thus making the user experience on these Bravias consistent with Sony's PS3 and PSP gaming consoles and select VAIO laptops. A unified-UI trend noticed by Samsung and others that helps promote a consistent user experience across devices. About time, eh?

Tthe new HDTVs from CES 2009 are almost upon us, with new Samsungs and a few Sony BRAVIAs popping up on Best Buy's website with the pricetags and shipping dates we've been waiting for. Samsung's 55-inch Internet@TV widget enabled, LED-backlit 7100 model has a pricetag of $3,799, although we couldn't get any indication when to expect one in our neck of the woods. The 46-inch 6000 series model checks in at $2,799 and is due in early April, with assorted sizes falling in from there, including selections from the older CCFL backlit 6 series line. Checking for a Sony V-Series BRAVIA or the 32-inch XBR9? They're up as well, with a $2,399 pricetag on the 52-inch KDL-52V5100 due in stores March 22, although the Internet enabled sets are nowhere to be found. Take another look at our video of widgets in action before deciding, if the benefits of LED backlighting are cause to upgrade this spring are you ready to chip in $200 extra (the price difference between Samsung's Yahoo! widget packing 7000 series and old school Infolink RSS 6000 series models) to Twitter on your TV?

[Thanks, Deen & Best Buy Employee]

Say hello to yet another Internet / TV mash-up, with the CeBIT launch of the first TVBLOB powered device, the Telsey BLOBbox. Taking the widget platform idea even further, the BLOBbox promises access to DTV broadcasts with a user upgradeable 160GB DVR, and unlimited potential for pulling in Internet videos via BitTorrent, HTTP/FTP, podcasts, and streaming either directly or from a local PC. Unlike, for example, the Yahoo! powered TVs we saw at CES where manufacturers can determine access to functionality, the Linux based system touts open technologies, and its BLOBKit SDK is available today in the hopes of creating an environment where anyone can create and deliver a TV app, without worrying about content deals. At launch, there's 1080p out over HDMI and an Ethernet hookup, with an optional dongle for WiFi, and apps for YouTube, Last.fm, Picasa and more built in. MP4, DivX and XviD support is accounted for with upgrades like Facebook access and MKV said to be on the way for the €389 ($490) box, currently available through an Italian reseller, at least until someone decides to bring this over here.

If you thought Chumby would stop at digital photo frames, you were wrong. Dead wrong. Today, the widget-loving company has announced a tie-up with Broadcom that will integrate its rich media internet platform onto system-on-a-chip (SoC) solutions that will eventually find their way into HDTVs, set-top-boxes and Blu-ray players. Essentially, Chumby is making sure it doesn't miss out on the quickly filling insert-your-connected-device-here bandwagon, and quite frankly, we'll be shocked if any of those other guys can rival what Chumby's bringing. After all, widgets are this company's forte, and we're downright giddy at the thought of having over 1,000 internet-connected snippets of information at our fingertips while intently watching future episodes of Lie To Me. Hey, TV / STB makers -- jump on this. Now. Video demonstration is after the break.

Apparently Sara Antoinette Martin is quite the artist, and either her or Chumby (or both) are mighty, mighty proud of her handiwork. Available now for those unaffected by things like global recession and public opinion, the Designer Chumby pictured in the gallery below can be had for $599.95. Functionally, it's exactly the same as the vanilla Chumby -- which, by the way, sells for "just" $199.95 -- but we dare you to convince us the bragging rights attached aren't worth the extra four bills. Okay, we're convinced.

Okay Yahoo!, we're sorry we teased, we give up, you win. After what certainly seemed on this end to be an endless run of HDTV manufacturers announcing support for the Widget Engine today -- and serving up a hefty slap in the face to Microsoft and others who've been moving the Internet to TV movement for some time now -- all we can do is look over the carnage. Signed up on the app side of platform formerly known as Konfabulator are content providers like eBay, MySpace, CBS, Blockbuster OnDemand (in its first off-2Wire MediaPoint appearance), Netflix, Showtime, USA Today and Twitter, while the Widget Development Kit has opened up to developers interested in putting their apps on the screens of millions. Hardware should street starting this spring from the likes of Samsung, LG, Sony and Vizio leaving the biggest question mark as how the competition and their clumsy external boxes can possibly respond.

We knew CES would deliver internet-lovin' HDTVs, but we had no idea Samsung would be bringing along so many. In case LCDs aren't really your bag, the company has also managed to bring along the Series 6 and Series 8 plasma sets. Both lines are hailed as the "greenest plasmas yet" thanks to their Energy Star 3.0 ratings, and they're also among the first TVs to be wireless DLNA-compliant. Both lines are obviously compatible with the Yahoo!-powered Internet@TV functionality, and the Series 8 checks in at just over an inch thick with an inbuilt ATSC tuner. Comically enough, Sammy doesn't even bother mentioning what sizes these things will arrive in (and definitely no price / release date), but it sure does stop to gloat about all this newfangled technology.

CES is in full swing here in Vegas, and Toshiba's taking the liberty of busting out a litany of new REGZA HDTVs. New features include a fresh Deep Lagoon Design, which supposedly provides a "three dimensional feeling to a clear flat design." Furthermore, you'll find invisible speakers and an Infinity Flash Front, and functionally, the InstaPort feature enables HDMI switching to occur in just a fraction of a second. As expected, these sets also offer the Resolution+ Super Resolution Technology and the PixelPure 5G engine, but it's not the new line that's truly intriguing. Instead, we're already anxious to feast our eyes upon the Widget Channel-capable family that'll be introduced later this year; furthermore, these HDTVs will be DLNA certified and have Extender for Windows Media Center capabilities baked right in. So, who here's buying one of the "new" XV645, ZV650 or SV670s when you know what's on the way? Is that a sea of crickets we hear? Full release is after the break.

Go 'head, D-Link, get down with your bad self. Seriously, we can't remember the last time a router got us all hot and bothered, but this one's just too wild to not get stoked about. The Xtreme N DIR-685 is hailed as an "all-in-one home network router," and we'd say it puts a new meaning to "all-in-one." Aside from handling the normal duties of an 802.11n wireless access point, the device also includes a 3.2-inch LCD for displaying photos and / or widgets. As if that wasn't zany enough, it also supports both UPnP server functions and BitTorrent downloads. How so, you ask? The twin USB ports on the rear enable users to plug in vanilla external hard drives and essentially convert them into NAS drives, making the data on each accessible over the web. Sadly, no price is mentioned for this conglomerate, but we don't expect it to come cheap.

Samsung and Yahoo! promise the Best of the Web on select 2009 HDTV models, thanks to the Internet@TV widgets we snuck a look at a few weeks ago. Developers build Javascript and XML apps that then run directly on your Samsung HDTV, starting with USA Today, YouTube, eBay, Showtime and Yahoo properties like Flickr and Yahoo! News. Next up their sleeves? Video streaming and "other popular Internet services" running through the built-in Ethernet or optional Wi-Fi USB dongle. Also, unlike some others, the Internet@TV Content service isn't just a U.S. thing, headed to 12 other countries this year: Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, The Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Finland. Having the Internet no further away than the nearest remote was your biggest request for '09, right?