TVs

Looking to impress your BFFs with a ginormous flat-panel TV, but not too keen on shelling out a few thousand bucks for the privilege?

You could go with the 42-inch plasma that Vizio is selling for under $1,000. Or you could take the do-it-yourself approach to a giant CRT, like this guy.

U.K.-based Pocket-lint dubs it the "First Irish Flat Screen TV," though the joke may be slightly lost on a U.S. audience since snarking about the Irish fell out of favor here more than half a century ago. But it seems any country … Read more

Even in our perpetually clueless state we're somewhat familiar with the concept of gender-specific marketing, but we're not sure why this falls under either category.

For one thing, the photos of this 10-inch-screen Samsung portable TV depict representatives of both sexes gleefully viewing said product, which reportedly can be hooked up to an external hard drive. And the casing is a gender-neutral white--not even pink!--so it's unclear which features make this "exclusively reserved for female customers," as Akihabara News puts it.

The only clue that might tip it in that direction is a picture … Read more

SAN JOSE, Calif.--Lasers have not lived up to their full potential in consumer electronics. At least that's what one of the companies behind laser TVs says.

Novalux makes infrared lasers that will in the future be used in microdisplay TVs, home theater front projectors, and eventually digital projectors in movie theaters and business projectors.

But wait, a high-powered laser in your TV? Don't shield your eyes just yet. Lasers are a light source that so far has only been mass-produced in low-power applications, like in CD or DVD players. "We've never had a high-power consumer … Read more

Once again, I posit the question: why does Asia get all the cool stuff? (I sense I'm beginning to whine about this a bit.) Twinbird, a Japanese company that produces a variety of novelty gadgets, is coming out with a product called Link Zabady...or at least, that's how Engadget has translated it. At any rate, a big thanks to my fellow bloggers for bringing this fabulous gadget to my attention, even if I never get my hands on one. The Link Zabady consists of a splash-proof, 7-inch LCD screen with 480x234 resolution, a transmitter box, and a … Read more

Apparently, these days you just aren't keeping up with the Joneses if you have a TV in your bedroom and one embedded in your refrigerator. And it's not enough to have one in the bathroom--it's got to be in the bathtub. I should also mention that the tub can't be an ordinary tub. It's got to be along the lines of the Luxor Hydro Massage Bathtub, as featured on Born Rich. The Luxor tub is selling for 3,995 British pounds, which is about $7,600. A small price for the absolute must-have of being … Read more

We've arrived at our third episode of the Crave vodcast, and it was tough picking through all the cool stuff on the blog this week! Let me tell you, there aren't a lot of gadgets that shock and surprise me these days, but James came through with a phone that left me speechless (and making me speechless is even harder than shocking me). So let's get to the links!

With flat screens getting bigger all the time, the idea of mounting them on the wall may start to lose its appeal. After all, where would you hang all your art? Panasonic apparently has figured that out, which may be one reason it's offering this limited-edition 58-inch plasma TV with a custom-fitted stand in matching piano black.

The Panasonic Viera TH-58PZ600K, as reported by I4U News, will be available next month on the Japanese market. It has the same 1080p resolution as its 50-inch cousin, but its $16,000 price is more than twice that of the smaller model'… Read more

Call it the battle of the big screens. Earlier this year, 50-inch plasma TVs crossed into a new realm of clarity when Pioneer introduced its Pro-FHD1 with 1080p native resolution. That model garnered good reviews from industry mags--and CNET is expecting to review one soon as well, whenever they decide to finally send it our way--but unfortunately, it brandished a price point reminiscent of plasma TVs circa 2001: $10,000 list.

Now primary plasma purveyor Panasonic has answered the challenge with the first 50-inch model of its own in that resolution, the TH-50PF9UK, for November release at $5,995. It … Read more

Depending on what kind of TV is in your living room, it's either something you want to show off on a wall or hide in a faux armoire. The CuboGlass from Italy's Brionvega gives the best of both worlds: It can be displayed for all to see because, when it's turned off, you won't even know it's a television set.

The black matrix box "is an asbolute clear sign," according to the product description on Singular.com, giving it a design that's "desirable even before you know what it's used … Read more