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TVPredictions.com: Samsung says there could be a LCD HDTV shortage in the second half of 2007, according to an article published by Reuters.

Lee Sang-wan, president of Samsung’s LCD unit, said at a press conference that the LCD market could face some difficulties next year, particularly in the first quarter. But he said an increase in consumer demand would help boost profits.

However, without elaborating, Lee then said “there is even the possibility of a (LCD) shortage in the second half.”

LCD sales have been steadily rising as the flat-screen set has cut into the Plasma TV market. A shortage next year could increase consumer demand while also helping to keep prices stable.

Both LCD and Plasma TV prices have been falling dramatically over the last year.

Despite his hint that there could be a shortage, Lee projected that the LCD market for 40-inch sets and larger will jump 112 percent next year. He added that 46-inch and larger sets will see a 253 percent increase.

Size standards keep changing,” Lee said. “The next standard is 46 inches, and by 2008 the 52-inch-and-higher panel market will grow rapidly.”

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Azcentral: (…) The much-awaited video game console comes out Nov. 17 in the U.S., although getting one will be as challenging as finding parking at the mall after Thanksgiving. Thousands of lucky gamers tested the PS3 over the weekend at the 2007 Sony Expo in Honolulu, two weeks before the debut.

Almost all were males — from boys with braces and baggy jeans to gray-haired baby boomers. (…)

“The graphics are crazy, way better than the second one,” said Doug Morrison, a 20-year-old University of Hawaii student. “It’s more realistic. It’s smoother. It doesn’t have any glitches. “I’m going to get one no matter what.” (…)

With his back turned to Sony’s new $7,000 TV, Robert McDuffie and his buddies were glued to a much smaller screen, watching someone play the first-person shooting game “Resistance: Fall of Man.” The 25-year-old Army sergeant from Daytona Beach, Florida said he didn’t attend the expo to check out Sony’s new line of high-definition TVs, tiny digital cameras or ultrathin laptops. “I came for the PS3,” he said, anxiously waiting for a moment with the machine. After playing for a few minutes, McDuffie said he was impressed. “I’m just trying to figure out how to get one,” he said. “I didn’t pre-order, so I’m going to have to stand in line overnight.”

The PS3 is driven by a high-powered cell processor, making game play super smooth and graphics amazingly detailed. A gigabit ethernet for online gaming and a Blu-ray disc player comes standard on the console, as does a wireless controller. The PS3 can play games and movies at “1080p,” which is the highest definition resolution currently available. (…)

Tim Mah, 13, of Honolulu had one word for the new machine: “Wow.”
Dyron Mack, a 35-year-old computer analyst, said he plans to buy a PS3 without consulting his wife or disclosing the cost. “I’m not going to tell her. You just show up with it and let her be mad,” he said. “You just say, ‘I’m sorry. I lost the receipt.’” What do you think?

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Heise: Although the use of mobile phones on airplanes poses no threat to aviation security, Lufthansa is not prepared to drop its ban on the use of mobile phones on board its aircraft.

“Even if from a technical point of view there is no longer any electronic disturbance hazard, we will still not allow mobile phone use aboard our aircraft,” Wolfgang Mayrhuber the CEO of Lufthansa told the German economics magazine Capital.
This decision was not based solely on the fact that dropping such a ban would at present be contrary to existing legal provisions, but also on the considerable potential for discomfiting fellow passengers inherent in such behavior, he added. Mr. Mayrhuber compared mobile phone use to smoking. Lufthansa did not allow the latter either, although it too posed no threat to aviation security, he observed.

Whether making phone calls on airplanes is truly safe is still a matter of controversy, however. Following measurements made during flight operations scientists of the Carnegie Mellon University in the US have warned that there is a possibility of mobile phones interfering with the navigation systems of aircraft in particular.
The airlines Air France and Ryanair, among others, have nonetheless announced that, provided national regulatory authorities grant the appropriate permissions, they will permit passengers to make in-flight mobile phone calls via broadcasting and receiving facilities of their own.

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ZDNet reviewed the new Apple iPod Shuffle and gave it a 6.3 out of 10.
The good: The competitively priced iPod Shuffle has a dead-simple user interface with satisfying tactile controls, and its integrated belt clip provides a handy way to keep track of the player. The package includes a cute little syncing cradle.
The bad: The iPod Shuffle has no screen, so there’s no way to navigate easily among artists, albums, or playlists. The player might be too small for some users, and nonstandard USB syncing takes away from its plug-and-go appeal.
The bottom line: If you like your music playback simple and your device nearly invisible, the second-generation iPod Shuffle will suit you well. But absentminded users should steer clear of this easy-to-misplace player.

Update: T3 too had a go at the new iPod Shuffle.

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Akihabara: Pantech will offer in Europe, and particularly in France, the U-4000, a 3G phone with videoconference, a 1.3 Mpix camera, an MP3 and MP4 player, 512MB of memory (only 30MB reserved for the user), Bluetooth, USB2.0…

For all tech specs, please visit the productpage.

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DigiTimes: LG aims to double both its sales and profits by 2010 by leveraging the strengths of its digital communication, home appliance, media and display business units, according to the company. The company listed sales of of US$34.7 billion in 2005 and US$43.1 billion in 2006.

In 2006, the company’s four business units will account for 28%, 26%, 14% and 32%, respectively, of its overall sales, LGE said.

In 2005, the maker shipped 5.5 million handsets, which generated sales of US$9.9 billion, to rank fourth in the global market. LGE’s digital media segment, including home theatre systems, MP3 players and DVD players, generated sales of US$5.7 billion, with the home theatre segment accounting for 16% of the global market.

Also, LGE’s home appliance unit generated sales of US$10 billion, the maker indicated.

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BBC News: More gift-seekers will go online and satellite navigation systems will fill Santa’s sack this Christmas, a leading retail analyst says.

Verdict Research’s seasonal forecast of the UK market says that price cuts and product improvements will push sat-nav devices up the Christmas wish-list.

But it also warns retailers they will see margins squeezed by higher costs.

Verdict predicts that the UK’s total Christmas shopping spend will rise 3.3% to £74.4bn in 2006.

Verdict expects the overall value of goods bought online during the last three months of the year to shoot up by 35% to £3.4bn.

Higher wages, energy and logistics costs will combine with the growing cost of goods from China to make this the first Christmas in six years that overall shop prices will not fall, according to the report.

Targeted promotions will highlight price cuts on selected items, but prices will creep up for other goods, Verdict says.

Verdict thinks that a much-anticipated Bank of England interest rate rise in November will not dampen consumers’ desire to spend for Christmas.

It believes shoppers will remain determined to splash out in the run-up to the holiday and then tighten their belts in early 2007.

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Anythingbutipod: Riding your bike with your headphones plugged into your ears could be dangerous. If you would rather not live on the edge, there is a solution for you. The Hammacher Schlemmer bicycle MP3 player mounts to your handle bars and pumps out tunes through its built-in speakers.

When not on your bike the MP3 player detaches from the speakers so you can use it as a typical portable player. The internal memory is 1GB but can accommodate additional SD/MMC memory. The player connects via USB and is UMS compatible so it will work for both Mac, Windows, and Linux.

Price: about 100 euro.

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T3: Flag this one up with a “dubious” sticker, but we’re hearing rumours that HD movies will soon be available for download from Xbox Live.

The internet’s abuzz with speculation that over 1,000 hours of Hi-Def loveliness will be available for download, potentially scuppering PlayStation 3’s HD party plans.
Add that to the console’s HD-DVD drive, constantly evolving software and Sony’s delay-ridden PS3, and Microsoft could be set to steal a march on delivering HD nirvana to movie fans.

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AVZombie: Projector specialist SIM2 has unveiled the world’s first three-chip 1080p DLP projector at The Best of Stuff and What Hi-Fi Sound and Vision Show.

The Grand Cinema HT5000 (pictured) features the latest TI .95-inch 1080p DarkChip3 chipset, and has a quoted contrast ratio of 5000:1. It will be made available in either a single or dual lamp configuration and can be ordered with or without SIM2’s DigiOptic Image Processor.

“Three-chip DLP front projection is the ultimate expression of home theater performance,” says SIM2 CEO Maurizio Cini. “Now, through the implementation of the newly introduced 1080p DMD chipset into our three-chip HT5000 projector system, SIM2 will deliver the most engaging and realistic cinematic experience performance ever available in this market.”

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Newlaunches: Form and function merge comfortably to give rise to contemporary pioneering appliances for our comforts. No more waiting for the commercial breaks to get your snacks! LG may have had some TV- fridge combos in the past, but the LSC27990TT will have you staring at it for long. The hottest addition to the company’s great range of refrigerators is side-by-side icebox with digital high-def built-in. It contains a 15-inch HD LCD, FM radio, DVD connection on top and a 4-inch weather & info center LCD apart from a recipe bank, a calendar, child lock functions, a digital photo album as well as a “CustomCube” ice maker! Phew…..all in it!

Price: 3.60O$ (about 2.835 euro)

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The Register: Car navigation equipment maker TomTom has lost its “me too” design infringment case against Garmin.

In a normal summary proceeding TomTom asked a judge to prevent the sale of Garmin’s StreetPilot c300 and c500 series in Europe, alleging that Garmin copied aspects of the TomTom GO design in its product line.

Yesterday the Dutch judge ruled that at first glance there are clear differences between Garmin’s StreetPilot c300 and c500 and TomTom’s Go models. For instance, Garmin’s c300 and c500 have an angular form, while TomTom’s Go has a round shape. The judge included drawings to underpin his views.

TomTom said it won’t appeal, but is counting on a procedure on the merits it has filed earlier on Garmin’s car navigation design. There are also several patent infringement cases between the two rivals.

Earlier this year, Garmin called for unspecified financial damages in its claim that TomTom is unlawfully using five US-patented Garmin technologies designed to “calculate which streets are important enough to a drivers’ route to be displayed”.

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