M-Series
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Vizio's M-Series Theater 3D TVs are officially available, at last
Last CES Vizio announced a slew of new LCD HDTVs with its passive glasses-compatible Theater 3D capabilities and Vizio Internet Apps built in, and now it's finally ready to announced the M-series midrange lineup is shipping nationwide. M3D models in various 40- and 50-inch sizes have been popping up over the last few weeks, featuring edge LED backlighting for between $1,039 (42-inch) and $1,649 (55-inch). Need something bigger on your wall? There's also a 65-inch version on the way in 2012, with a pricetag of $2,099. As usual, Vizio's displays bring a rather complete line of features without an ultra-high price tag, but there'd be more reasons to share the included four pairs of 3D glasses with friends if the NBA season would just ever start. As is, buyers will have to make do with whatever videogames and college sports they can find for now -- check after the break for more specs and prices.
Acer intros revamped desktops, 23-inch multitouch display for kids with ginormous dorm rooms
Last week, Acer unveiled a handful of back-to-school laptops, and today, the outfit's showing off gear for kids who've got a teensy bit more room in the dorms. The company just trotted out a pair of desktops, along with the beastly 23-inch T231H multitouch monitor. Both towers have a staid black chassis with Acer's clear.fi media streaming software on board. Of the two, the M series (pictured) is clearly for power users, with Core i3 and quad-core AMD Athlon II x4 processor options, 6GB of RAM, 1TB of hard drive space, optional discrete graphics, and a storage tray on top housing four USB 2.0 sockets and headphone and mic ports. The X series, meanwhile, has a trimmer, more compact design, and a modest spec list featuring Intel Pentium dual-core and AMD Athlon II X4 processors, 4GB of RAM, and integrated graphics. As for that 1080p display, it has an 80,000:1 contrast ratio and tilts between a 5-degree and 60-degree angle -- not unlike that swiveling HP all-in-one that came out earlier this year. They're all up for grabs now, with the M and X series starting at $500 and $398, respectively, and the monitor fetching $330. Full PR after the break. %Gallery-126310% %Gallery-126309%
Acer Iconia M500 runs MeeGo on an Atom CPU, coming at the end of this year (hands-on video!)
Acer's David Lee just hijacked Intel's netbooks and tablets Computex keynote to unveil a brand new 10-inch tablet: the Iconia M500. It's the first in the company's new M Series and runs MeeGo atop an Atom (Moorestown) processor. Its appearance and dimensions are strikingly similar to the company's Android tablet, the A500, and that similarity extends to the resolution of the screen as well: 1280 x 800. The MeeGo interface is a custom Acer skin offering what was described as a "snackable UI." The point seems to be to offer instant access to the things you care about, and the brief demo we saw featured a set of live widgets organized around an "Acer circle." Mr. Lee, an Assistant Vice President with the company, tells us Acer's new 10-incher will be on sale at (not by, sadly) the end of this year. Update: We've just added a gallery of hands-on shots below and you'll find video of the M500 after the break. %Gallery-124964%
Leica introduces M9 'Titanium,' limited to just 500 luscious pieces
Can't afford anything that's been introduced at Photokina so far? Unfortunately for you, there's hardly a chance that Leica's newest limited edition product will be the one that slips under the budget. At the outfit's exclusive press preview this evening in Cologne, a gallery of executives from Leica and Volkswagen (who chipped in on the design) formally unveiled the M9 'Titanium.' For all intents and purposes, this is just a souped-up M9, but there's plenty to love for those who fancy high-fashion. You know, like a trim that uses leather "typically reserved for the interiors of Audi's premium automobiles." According to Leica, "anything that looks like titanium, is titanium." It's also coated with a fingerprint-resistant overlay, and the bundle is slated to include the camera itself, a 35mm Summilux F/1.4 prime lens, lens hood, a new carrying concept (just a single hook for a carry strap), a newfangled electronic illumination system and a fanciful cardboard box made somewhere in the Black Forest. Just 500 of these kits are being produced and sold for an undisclosed amount starting in November, and chances are all but one or two have already been claimed. Good luck getting in line, and you might as well forget scoring the four millionth Leica camera to be produced since 1923 -- a specially-stamped M9 'Titanium' -- as that one's being given away to someone far more important than us tonight. %Gallery-102807% %Gallery-102808%
Canon FS, S, M and R series VIXIA HD camcorders hands-on
Wondering what the slew of Canon's new camcorders announced earlier this week look like in the flesh? Err, plastic? We went to find out and while the full suite of model numbers is far too extensive to possibly include in this post -- three separate series of camcorders, three models in each, one with lots of internal storage, one with a little, and one that relies entirely on SD-based storage -- we did at least include lots of pictures in the gallery below, and you can read all the specs from the official release here. %Gallery-82017%
Canon adds new S, M and R series VIXIA HD camcorders, two regular FS cams for good measure
We know you've been coveting that primo Canon VIXIA HF S11 hi-def camcorder we got our hands on a few months back, and now it looks like the company is going wild -- debuting two new camcorder lines (and three new S series machines) for your consideration. All nine new Vixia models offer flash or SD-card-based storage -- or both. And when both are present, the Relay Recording feature allows the camera to automatically switch between storage devices during recording. If that weren't enough, all SD-packin' machines are compatible with the SDXC card format (up to 2TB). S series camcorders feature 1080p AVCHD video at 24Mbps, low-light optimized CMOS sensors, Digic 4 processors, 10x optical zoom lenses, 3.5-inch touchscreen LCD panels, and 8 megapixel still photo capture -- with the ability to down-convert to MPEG-2. Prices start at $1,000 -- due out in April. The M series models feature smaller touchscreens (2.7-inch) and a smaller CMOS sensor (which only manages 3 megapixel stills) and will be out in March with a starting price of $680. The R series, which is also out in March, brings up the bottom end with a starting price of $500, but still manages 1080p video (at a lower 17Mbps bitrate), while sacrificing the touchscreen and dropping down to 2 megapixel stills from the smaller, sure-to-be-noisy CMOS. If that all weren't enough, Canon also has two new standard definition cameras in the FS series, with one sporting 16GB of built-in storage and the other doing the removable SD thing, with a starting price of $300. There's full PR after the break. %Gallery-81505%
Gateway updates bevy of laptops / desktops in one fell swoop
Merely months after Gateway thrilled your soul with the introduction of all sorts of new desktops, the outfit has apparently received the upgrade bug. Starting right now, the 17-inch P-Series, 15.4-inch M-Series and 14.1-inch T-series laptops can be ordered with Intel's latest Core 2 Duo chips, more spacious hard drives and dual-layer DVD writers. For those eying a tower, the FX Series, DX Series and GT Series now provide (up to) a Core 2 Quad Q9300 CPU, 6GB of RAM, an overclocked NVIDIA GeForce 9800GT and price tags starting as low as $549.99. For more on these absolutely riveting upgrades, hit the read link and try not to fall out of your seat.
Matrox M-series graphic cards go 4-up natively
Matrox just announced er, last week, its new M-Series of graphics cards powered by the industry's first QuadHead GPU. All the PCIe X16 cards offer 512MB of graphics memory and support up to 4x widescreen monitors (DVI or analog) simultaneously as one large desktop or as independent resolutions. The cards can connect a pair of monitors at a max digital resolution of 2,560 x 1,600 or just 1,920 x 1,200 if you're looking to go quad. What, you're not still getting by with just a single display are you? Look for the M-series to go retail before September is through.
Christie unloads DS+655, LW400 and M Series projectors at InfoComm
Although InfoComm 2008 has drawn to a close, there's still a few releases surfacing from the show. For whatever reason, Christie's introductions into the projector realm weren't noticed among all the others last week, but they're still worth mentioning. Up first is the pictured WXGA (1,280 x 800) LW400, which features a 3LCD light engine, 4,000 ANSI lumens and a lamp life of 3,000 hours. Next up is the DS+655, a single-chip DLP beamer that packs a 7,500:1 contrast ratio, SXGA+ resolution and 10-bit image processing technology. Lastly, we see the pricey new M Series, which includes a three-chip DLP engine, upwards of 5,000 ANSI lumens and resolutions up to 1080p. Browse around in the read links below for more specifics on each.[Via AboutProjectors]Read - LW400Read - M SeriesRead - DS+655
Gateway revs the M-series laptops to X and XL
It hasn't even been a year since Gateway dropped the M-series laptop on us, but with all the other kids getting fancy new Penryn shoes, it's time for an upgrade -- say 'allo to the M-151X and M-151XL. Only the XL gets the fancy new 2.4GHz T8300 Core 2 Duo, actually -- poor X here is still wearing last year's 65nm 1.66GHz T5450 fashions. Both feature a 15-inch glossy screen, though, as well as 256MB ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT graphics with HDMI out, a 1.3 megapixel webcam, fingerprint reader, 5-in-1 memory card reader, slot-loading dual-layer burner, 250GB drive, and Vista Home Premium. Not a bad little package, especially for the price: the X will set you back a cool grand, while the XL runs $1,299.[Via Laptoping]
Gateway intros new skins for M-Series and T-Series laptops
Gateway knows that it takes more than a bunch of meaningless digits related to "CPU speed" and "hard drive capacity" to get today's fast-paced teenagers buying its laptops -- which is why they've just announced new "skin" updates to the M-Series and T-Series models. Beginning today, users will be able to purchase the computers in their original "Garnet Red" and "Pacific Blue," as well as the new shades "Merlot," "Siver," and "Arctic Bloom." Finally, there can be more to your Gateway than mere technical features.
Gateway intros new M, T-series laptops
Seems like everyone is getting in on the brightly-colored laptop game these days, with Gateway now following Dell and others in offering an alternative to the usual monochromatic look. While complete details are still a little light, the company's new M and T-series laptops will apparently boast 15.4-inch and 14.1-inch displays, respectively, along with your choice of Core 2 Duo processors, optional ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2400 XT graphics, optional HD DVD or Blu-ray drives, and resolutions up to 1920x1200 (on the M-series). Sure to attract the most attention, however, are those colors, with Crimson Red and Pacific Blue options available in addition to the more subdued Slate Gray, each of which feature Gateway's "Ridgeview" graduated sphere pattern, which looks to be slightly less garish than some patterns we've seen. Look for these to roll out by the end of the month, with prices starting at $900.
