LG’s menu for CES seems to be strongly focused on televisions. After unveiling the 55-inch OLED TV, LG has announced a huge 84-inch television set with Ultra Definition support. For the uninitiated, Ultra Definition boasts a resolution of (3840×2160 pixels) which is 4 times higher than a Full HD TV. Additionally, the new 84-inch TV from LG supports 3D with 3D Depth Control that allows users to control the 3D effect, features a slim and narrow bezel and supports over 1200 Smart TV Apps.

The LG 3D UD TV will be complemented with the Magic Remote that recognizes different types of command input like Voice Recognition, Wheel, Magic Gesture and Point.

Press Release

If you fancy watching 3D content anywhere and anyplace you want, Sony has created a Personal 3D Viewer, the HMZ-T1. The device is basically a head mounted display, which when mounted can display 2D or 3D in front of your eyes, as big as a movie theater-like virtual screen (equivalent to 750-inch display). The HMZ-T1 is equipped with an HD (1280×720) OLED panel that boasts improved colors with high contrast, adopts Dual Panel 3D that helps to deliver crosstalk-free 3D pictures and 5.1ch virtual surround support.

Despite the uniqueness of the gadget, Sony says the display is unsuitable for consumers below the age of 15. There goes half of the 3D loving consumers!

Press Release

Here’s the current scenario — you own the latest 3D TV but you don’t have enough 3D content to justify the expensive purchase. Well, Samsung has heard you, which is why they’ve announced the 3D video-on-demand (VOD) service for 3D TV owners in India. The service is free of cost and can be enabled by downloading the Explore 3D from the Samsung Apps store, allowing users to watch 3D content like movie trailers, music videos, children’s classics, as well as lifestyle videos and documentaries.

Some of the content includes 3D movie trailers from How to train your dragon, Shrek4, Megamind and Kung Fu Panda 2; music videos from popular bands – Girls Generation, Super Junior and BoA; children’s classics such as Pinocchio, The Ugly Duckling, Aladdin and the Magic Lamp, Puss in Boots; lifestyle videos such asMercedes Benz Classic Collection, Takeoff-Macau, The Enchanted Hill: Inside the Hearst Castle; and IMAX documentaries such as Grand Canyon Adventure, Dinosaurs of Patagonia, Dinosaurs Alive, Wild Ocean, Mummies, Ultimate Wave Tahiti, Ultimate Gs, Legends of Flight.

Initially only 30 3D clips will be available but Samsung promises to add up to 100 by end of this year.

This free service works with the 2011 range of Samsung 3D TVs only.

Samsung was one of the first companies to push 3D with their 3D TVs however, they’re yet to market three-dimensional technology onto mobile devices. Now the word is Samsung is already working on their 3D phone running Android OS.

According to ETNews, Samsung will launch a phone dubbed as Galaxy 3D (tentative name) running Gingerbread OS in the last quarter of 2011. Samsung’s 3D phone will pit against the likes of LG’ Optimus 3D and HTC EVO 3D.
The rumored specs of the phone include a 4.3-inch 3D LCD screen, 1.2GHz dual-core Exynos processor, dual 8MP cameras to capture 3D videos and an HDMI-out to showcase those 3D videos onto 3D HDTVs.

The news is obviously unconfirmed by Samsung but we’ll keep an eye on it if anything substantial surfaces.

[Via SammyHub]

Toshiba has announced the world’s first glasses-free 3D notebook that can display 2D and 3D content at the same time. The Qosmio T851/D8CR will be launched in Japan and feature Toshiba’s distinctive 3D Window technology that is able to display 3D and 2D content in separate windows without having to wear special 3D glasses.

Additionally, the Toshiba laptop uses SpursEngine to convert 2D to 3D content on-the-fly, uses parallax technology to create 3D images and supports other functions like Face-tracking, Face3D, Active Lens and more.

The laptop will be available from July.

Press Release

Fancy watching Blu-ray quality 3D content on your PC? If yes, then Samsung has announced their new external 3D Blu-ray combo drive for PCs. The SE-406A comes in a very sleek design and is powered by USB 2.0, which means there’s no need for a user to draw additional power to watch 3D content.

The combo drive works with Windows and Mac OS and comes with CyberLink TrueTheater software to test PC readiness for 3D and Blu-ray content. The drive is also able to convert regular 2D content to 3D.

It will be available in April for $150.

Adding to its spring lineup of Vaio laptops, Sony has announced Vaio F series notebook in the Japanese market. Unlike Vaio S and Vaio C that boasts enhanced battery life and various colour options respectively, the 16-inch Vaio F touts its 3D features.

The notebook can display 3D images in full HD resolution with reduced cross talk and has the ability to convert 2D content to 3D with the help of a dedicated button on the keyboard.

As for remaining features, the Vaio F is powered by Intel’s quad-core Core i72630QM, Nvidia GeForce GT540M GPU, 4GB RAM, 640GB HDD, Blu-ray, webcam, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and HDMI-out.

The VPCF219FJ/BI will go for about 250,000 yen.

Press Release

Sony thinks India could play a pivotal role in boosting usage of 3D technology, which is why they’ve announced to enter into a partnership with Subhash Ghai-owned Whistling Woods International (WWI) to setup Sony Media Technology Centre (SMTC).

Sony has installed top-of-the-line HD and 3D content creation and digital cinema projection equipment in WWI and will act as a one-stop hub to provide Indian filmmakers expertise in High Definition (HD) and 3D filmmaking as well as help them in pre-production, production and post-production stages.

Sony is targeting an annual sales of about $12b annually from 3D-related products targeted at consumers as well as professionals.

Samsung has confirmed that they’ll showcase the world’s thinnest 3D Blu-ray player at the CES next week. The 2011 model of the Blu-ray player comes in a metallic body and is just 23mm thick, which is about 6mm less than last year’s model.

Despite the thin size, the Blu-ray player supports 3D content, 2D to 3D content conversion, Samsung Apps support and online services like YouTube, Facebook, Twitter etc.

Google’s recently announced Maps for Android devices is now available in the Android Market. The app that relied on a decent internet connectivity to provide the latest maps and navigation now supports offline navigation. Well, it still has a lot of ground to cover to come close to Nokia’s Ovi Maps but it’s a step in the right direction.

The offline mode works by pre-fetching data so even if you lose the connection, you won’t lose the the route.

Another new feature is the inclusion of 3D viewing. Maps now supports vector graphics that enables the app to “dynamically draw the maps” to allow tilting, rotating and smooth scrolling.

[Via Google]