CES: Samsung announces Luxia LEDs, Palm Theater P3, 64GB SSD Digicam and more
Even before it begins, the Samsung presser bodes well... a possible interruption in the tedium of the day, which has been thus far like watching so much linoleum abiogenetically multiply.
I get hopeful about five minutes before the press conference starts when a gentleman behind me starts a rumpus. "'Scuse me, bro," he says to a random guy seated behind me. "Would you mind moving over a seat so me and my special lady can sit together?" He's on a date.
Next to me sits Charlie Sorrel, official washing machine correspondent of Wired's Gadget Lab. He has been delegated an ironic specialty, given the pungent aroma of patoulli oil that clings to him like just so much hobo-fucked dirt, but his presence at the Samsung conference to report exclusively on the one gadget the function of which is completely alien to him guarantees that he will be a good wisecrack buddy during the presser.
He does not let me down. Grinning through a mouth that appears to have had an entire extra skeleton randomly smashed into it, Charlie impishly asks, "What, are they going to make out? Is Samsung's presser going to be sexy?"
"God, I hope so..." I remark. Then, daring, I place my hand on Charlie's knees. The lights dim and the press conference starts.
Compared to LG's and Toshiba's snoozefest pressers, Samsung's does not disappoint.
Luxia line of LED televisions: Samsung's flagship televisions for 2009 is the Luxia series. The high-def set comes in three flavors: the 6000, 7000, and 8000.
Each television is only an inch thick, with 40 percent less energy expenditure than comparable LCDs, while also being mercury and lead free.
Samsung has also managed to slim down the wall mount to 0.6 inches, resulting in gorgeous LED flat screens that hang on the wall like a painting.
Like Toshiba and LG earlier in the day, Samsung is also claiming 240Hz technology to virtually eliminate motion blur. This is likely done the same way Toshiba is doing it: by rapidly flickering the backlight, "doubling" the perceived FPS.
The SSD Camcorder HMX-H106: Samsung's new flagship camcorder features a 64GB SSD drive built-in, capable of capturing up to 12 hours of 1080p HD footage. A 4.7MP sensor will allow still shots of up to 2880x1620.
Samsung Digital Camera HZ10w: A lovely little point-and-shoot in black brushed aluminum, the hz10w features a 24mm wide angle lens with a 10x zoom, and shoots HD video to boot.
Palm Theater P3: Samsung's newest PMP has a name so laughably onanist that even Tim Baxter, the executive vice president of sales marketing, seems to snigger when he announces it. It's a curious device, with a touchscreen interface something like Microsoft Bob meets the iPhone. Otherwise, a 3 inch WQVGA screen and 8GB of internal memory.
Yahoo! Widgets and Cinematic Internet: Both the LG and Toshiba presser featured a strong presence by Yahoo! Widgets as a means to extend the internet functions of a television through downloadable, extendible mini-apps. The Samsung presser is the first moment where anyone explains how it will work.
Essentially, Yahoo! is rolling out their widgets service — based upon the acquired skeleton of good old Konfabulator — to multiple television manufacturers. They are calling the merging of television and internet Cinematic Internet, but while the idea isn't particularly spectacular, the execution looks great: a smooth flowing ribbon of widgets that pops up at the bottom of the screen, something like the OS X dock for your television.
All widgets are remote controllable. The demo widgets include eBay, YouTube, Flickr, weather, stocks, eBay, Rhapsody and shopping. Yahoo! may be a struggling entity lately, but the Yahoo! Widgets team, at least, has not been lazing about: they are a pervasive presence in all the latest HDTVs from Toshiba, LG and Samsung.
A Unified UI: Samsung is instituting a consistent menu format across multiple devices like portable media players, digital cameras, cellular phones, cameras, etc. It looks good, like Samsung's version of Sony's PSP / PS3 interface.
The couple in the row behind me and Samsung's exciting new washing machine: At the end of the press conference, I hazard a look behind me, and note the happy couple smooching. This is a sexy press conference. I shoot a look over at Charlie, but he seems to be on the edge of his seat in anticipation of washing machine announcements. I decide to wait until after Charlie's moment of journalistic release... but that moment never comes. Samsung's exciting additions to their line of washing machines goes uncelebrated... as does the secret, pining love of two gadget bloggers clutching in the dark.
The press kit, however, supplies one lonely image... the tumbling, green-friendly avatars of our unfulfilled love.
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Even more eco-friendly than Samsung's 'exciting new washing machine': a combo washer/dryer that runs on 110V@10A Think about it, an Energy-Star dryer!
LG Appliances has one:
http://us.lge.com/products/model/detail/home%20appliances_laundry_washer|dryer%20combos_WM3431HS.jhtml
I've been using a now-defunct Equator version of this kind of machine for about six years. If this LG model had been available at the time I bought my Equator, I'd have gone for it instead.
They're great!
Well done, John. Well done.
Samsung Products are good
The couple smooching comment is giving me Fear and Loathing flashbacks. From the looks of this entry, you guys weren't nearly on enough hallucinogens.
PaulR, how does it do at actually getting the clothes dry? I wanted one of the combo low-energy units but all the reviews I found said it took a long, long time and didn't actually get the clothes very dry. I'd love to find out that isn't the case!
My Y-chromosome is tingling ... do I need a television that's one inch thick? can I afford a television that's one inch thick? No and no. Do I want it anyways, regardless of price and picture quality? Yes. It doesn't even need to be HD.
DCulberson @5:
Before I purchased mine, it took a few LD phone calls before I managed to talk to someone who wasn't just quoting the Sales Brochure.
Sooo here goes: it's a horizontal washer, so the drum is already ready for drying. All the wet/liquid handling is as usual.
There's a ventilation system that recirculates and heats air as the clothes tumble.
Do you remember your high school physics? There's a thing called the Dew Point, the temperature at which the air is at 100% humidity. If the temperature drops below the Dew Point, the RH goes above 100% (remember - hot air can carry more water vapour than cold air) and the excess moisture precipitates as dew.
The air coming from the drum, full of moisture drawn from the clothes (that is, at near 100% relative humidity), passes through a small chamber where a cold water mist is sprayed, cooling that returning air below its Dew Point - in effect, drying the air out. The spray water and dew are pumped out to the drain every minute or so. The air is reheated and blown back through the drum.
Some of the modern units flush most of the lint down the drain while they're at it. Mine just traps it in its wash water filter - and only needs to be cleaned out every 10-20 uses (but only 'cuz I don't have a cat anymore).
My combo unit, according to the helpful service tech I spoke to, uses about a gallon of cold water per hour while drying. Not much. And compared to the large volume of heated air pumped out of a house while drying clothes using a conventional dryer, it should be more eco-friendly. Mind you, laying them out in front of the wood stove in the winter, or on a clothesline is even more so.
So yes, it does take a little longer to dry: according to the manual, drying time is 60-90 minutes for most loads. The super-fast spin cycle makes a huge difference.
But then again, it runs on a normal 15A 110V circuit. The dryer's heater is 1000W, I think. Conventional dryers use 3000W-3500W heaters and run on a 240V 30A circuit. It's quiet, too.