2009's Hot Gadgets

As Cloud Computing and Web-based applications become the new mantra, 2009 will belong to netbooks such as the tiny Asus EEE PC. Personally, I’m looking forward to Sony’s contender, rumoured to be the ‘Vaio P’. Teasers hint at a stylish compact device (goodbye trackpad, hello trackball) coupled with an 8-inch widescreen LCD.

Nintendo ‘DSi’ features two clickable 3.25-inch screens, the bottom one being the touchscreen. You also get an SD card slot, on which you can store music or the photos you click. Latest mobile phone Nokia 6600 fold on 3 gadget.

Samsung recently showed off its 40-inch, OLED TV -- and it was just 8.9-mm thick! Mind you, the Full-HD set still has a contrast ratio of 1,00,000:1 -- more than most current TVs.

While the iPhone can be used with two fingers, this tablet will blow open the doors on multi-touch by letting you work with all 10 digits at the same time. Makes me wonder how I’d play Tomb Raider now!

Samsung's Window to the Future of TV at CES 2008

Next-generation OLED models, ultra-slim 52-inch LCD and quadruple full-HD LCD lead array of cutting-edge models on display LAS VEGAS--(Business Wire)--Strengthening its leadership position as the world's premier provider of sophisticated, beautifully designed HD televisions, Samsung Electronics is providing attendees at the 2008 Consumer Electronics show with a roadmap of where TV technology is headed with an assortment of bleeding edge products on display.

The lineup at the Samsung booth will include two (14.1" and 31") organic light-emitting diode (OLED) TVs in addition to an ultra-slim 52" LCD TV and quadruple full-HD LCD TV. Each reflects Samsung's proficiency at combining high resolution images with sleek design.

"OLED and quadruple full-HD technologies represent an entirely new paradigm in picture resolution technology," said Dr. Jongwoo Park, president of Digital Media Business, Samsung Electronics. "This is a level of clarity that is in some cases four times beyond current industry standards yet retains the slim fits and light weight that have made our models preferred among consumers."

OLED is seen as a powerful contender to be at the center of the future display market mainstream given its very high resolution, svelte profile and extremely light weight. Electronics manufacturers have already begun exhibiting these next-generation displays at major trade shows, but Samsung is going a step further at CES 2008. The OLED TV is being presented as a finished TV product that features an elegant, optimized design.

The chic, ultra-slim OLED TVs employ AM OLED panels developed by Samsung SDI, a Samsung affiliate dedicated to display production. The finished products weigh some 40 percent less than other LCD TVs of the same size while boasting a contrast ratio of 1 million to one, color gamut of 107% and brightness of 550nit. Samsung will begin commercial production of mid- to large-sized OLED TVs around 2010.

Also on display at the Samsung booth will be a 52" LCD TV that is slimmer than any other non-OLED TV ever made. It has 50,000:1 contrast ratio and 550nit brightness. Mass production of this model is scheduled to begin in 2009, as the company continues to maintain its leadership in the flat panel TV market.

Samsung continues to set the pace in the arena of picture quality with the unveiling of "Quadruple full-high definition" (QFHD), which refers to a resolution of 3,840 pixels by 2,160 pixels, which is four times greater than that for a typical high-definition display. Samsung will unveil the world's largest (82") QFHD LCD TV to date.

Finally, Samsung is introducing a 57" LCD monitor (model: 570DXN) that can recognize a user's motions even when the user is a short distance away from the monitor. The monitor takes advantage of a 3D motion sensing solution developed by interactive media company Reactrix Systems. Samsung plans to commercialize this monitor in 2008 and will target it for commercial (B2B) advertising applications.

Hot Gadget Predictions For Year 2008

Here are some gadget predictions for upcoming 2008!

Now that downloading movies off the net has become so quick and easy, more and more people will be investing in portable media players. Philips new flash based personal media player is fresh on the scene and is going to be a hot buy. With 2, 4 or 8GB capacities, a 3.5" LCD display, built-in speakers, and a five hour video life, you can't help but wish you got one for Christmas!

Gel cell phone cases became a growing trend towards the end of '07, so I'm sure we'll see more colors and designs in '08. With the debut of Kodak's chic new camera cases which were also a hit, you're guaranteed to see alot more custom-designed carrying cases for electronics throughout the year.

Surprisingly OLED TV's weren't overly popular in 2007, even though they created quite the buzz with their super-slim design, energy saving technology, and exceptional screen quality. I can't help but think they are going to make a huge comeback in '08. Be sure to stay tuned for Samsung's latest prototype, a 31-inch OLED TV.

For those of us who carry our portable storage devices on us 24/7, keep your eyes peeled for some fun new USB flash drives in '08. Check out these new flash drives from PQI called the Traveling Disk i201 which come in strawberry, pink, banana yellow, and blueberry blue colors. Storage capacity ranges from 1GB to 4GB.