Roundup: IFA 2008
Techtree News Staff, Aug 29, 2008 1800 hrs IST
The Berlin IFA 2008 has seen the annual event transform from an industrial expo into a consumer electronics event.
The IFA (Internationale Funkausstellung) is a premier consumer electronics event held in Berlin, Germany every year since 1926. It changed to a biennial format since 1950, until 2005, after which it returned to its original annual format. Apart from being one of the oldest industrial exhibitions, it is also one of the most largely attended ones. The event has been known for being the venue where many technological innovations were first showcased.
The 2008 edition of the IFA is currently underway at Berlin - and as usual, a slew of new announcements and technological innovations have been showcased. From its earlier avatar of being an "industrial expo", it has slowly turned into a consumer electronics event, thereby separating itself from the likes of the CeBIT and Computex which are hardcore IT expos. You know - processors, video cards and the like...?
The range of products you see here is mind-boggling, to say the least. Ranging from laptops, home theatres, plasma displays to refrigerators that can send emails. he IFA has possibly everything that the next generation home needs. This is a quick roundup of some the main attractions at the week-long event, which will conclude on the 3rd of September.
It's thin, it's light, It's NOT the Macbook Air
Samsung showcased the ultrathin X360 notebook, which seems to be a direct take on the Macbook Air. Although not as wafer-thin as the Air, it still can be delivered in an envelope. Like the Air, this one comes without the optical drive and you can get an external one anytime. Who needs optical drives anyway these days? At least that is what Samsung and Apple seem to think. Other features include a bright 1280x800 display, Wi-Fi (802.11n is standard!), USB (three), card reader, Bluetooth 2.0 with EDR. Wi-Max and HSDPA enabled versions will be out by the end of the year. Couple of things to note: The keyboard is not backlit and the pricing will start from the $1000 range.
Netbook: Korean style
If one Korean brand was set to take on Apple, here we have another one trying to jump into the Netbook bandwagon. LG displayed its X110, its first product in the Netbook category. This one sports an 8.9-inch screen, a 1.6 Ghz Atom processor, 1GB of RAM (upgradeable). The pricing seems to be a matter of debate here. While some point toward a sub-$350 price, others have different ideas. How does $650 sound? Oh, and supposedly, LG is asking MSI, makers of the Wing, to make the X110s for them. Nothing wrong, given the success of the Wind.
The Philips Essence
If you thought that was just a title, you got it wrong. I was referring to the Philips 42 -inch 1080p capable Plasma display. This one's supposedly got the flattest back around so it can be hung to your wall like errr a painting. But don't other screens hang on to your walls as well? What's special about this one? Then there are the three HDMI 1.3A+ connectors and DLNA support and yes, that minimalistic design will keep you mesmerized for a couple of months. Moving on, there is the prototype 8 mm thick 32-inch TV that took Sony by surprise. Poor folks. They just introduced their 9.9mm TV a day ago. The saving grace is that this is only a prototype. Philips showcased their new CinemaOne home theatre system. Nothing new? Yes but what if I say all the speakers (six of them) are in one base unit and are supposedly capable of giving serious complexes to full-fledged HT setups. Click here for more.
HD TV For The Kitchen
Toshiba has this new DV series of flat panel displays that it says can be installed in your kitchen (or bedroom). It supports only 720p, which is good enough for its 19" and 20" avatars. And yes, it comes with an integrated DVD player. Just slide in your favourite DVD and watch while you're busy cooking. Strict no-no for Indian kitchens this. Who on earth would dare to keep a while LCD panel in there? And yes, it plays MP3s too.
Sony's HD Cybershot
The Sony T500 Cybershot is here. A plain vanilla 10.1 megapixel camera and cool touch sensitive pictures look just about ok. However, what sets it apart from the rest is the HD quality video recording. Should be interesting to see how 1280X720 @30fps sounds? Also, a 2GB memory stick is supplied to store all those HD movies.
Panasonic's toned down BD players
If you ever thought why Blue Ray players of today are so thick, think of mobile phones of the 80s. That's where we stand as far as evolution of Blue Ray players are concerned. The efforts at trimming the extra pounds have already borne fruit with Panasonic showing off the world's slimmest Blue Ray player. The DMP-BD55, at 49mm, is almost half as thin as its peers. And no, no features have been jettisoned along with the extra flab. This one supports BD Live, BonusView and plays DivX as well.
Contrast Ratio Wars Galore!
Sharp showcased its newest Aquos XS1 full HD screens (LCD), which has a contrast ration of 100000:1. These are not prototypes. They will be available in October this year. Besides supporting these crazy contrast ratios, these displays also claim to surpass the standards set by European agencies for colour and black level ratings.
That's it for now. We will continue to bring details on more stuff as the expo progresses. There still is one week left and we do expect a host of new announcements. Watch this space for more!
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