The News By Me

Every September, Berlin plays host to Europe's biggest gadget show, the Internationale Funkausstellung (aka IFA).

The gargantuan halls of the Messe Berlin are transformed into an Aladdin's cave of gadgetry you can look at, but rarely buy – 3D TVs, tablet computers, laptops, more 3D TVs, portable media players, Blu-ray players and even more 3D TVs.

No prizes for guessing what the dominant trend this year is...

All hail 3D TV!

Back in 2009, the big tech companies were desperate to convince us that 3D TV was more than just a techno-fad. It was a difficult sell, especially when 3D content was thin on the ground – no 3D telly channels available, no 3D gaming, no 3D Blu-ray.

A year on, the flag-waving for 3D TV is just as vigorous. Sky is inching towards the launch of its first 3D channel, while Eurosport has announced that a dedicated 3D sports channel is on the way. The PlayStation 3 will finally get its Blu-ray 3D update by Christmas, while Blu-ray 3D players and HDMI 1.4-compliant cables are becoming readily available.

Every HD TV-builder worth its salt now has a premium 3D ready range with a premium price tag to match. But only a few stand truly out from the crowd. Philips, for example, has upgraded its 9000-series HD TVs to make them 3D friendly. But it's the company's unique Cinema 21:9 model that catches the eye.

Similarly, while LED backlighting is becoming the norm, LG's LEX8 'Nano LED' 3D TV uses a thin film punctured with tiny holes to more evenly diffuse the light from the LED array. Meanwhile, Sharp has evolved its quad-pixel Quattron model to include 3D compatibility.

There's also more of an interest in 'glasses-free' 3D TV this year. Philips has long championed the lenticular technology and has another impressive demo at IFA this year. Toshiba is also reportedly taking an interest in the glasses-free approach. Nintendo is using similar lenticular lenses in the forthcoming 3DS handheld, while engineering firm Rockchip has incorporated the technology into a 3D tablet PC prototype.

Internet TV cometh

Not only will your next TV be 3D ready, it will also be able to access the Internet, play YouTube videos, display your Twitter account and stream content from the BBC iPlayer. You can already buy HD TVs with this technology built-in. However, the web widgets are often sluggish, rudimentary and hardly comparable with the internet experience you can get on a computer or smartphone.

That's going to change. Web-connectivity has the potential to change the way we watch television in the future. Google, for example, is attempting to integrate its own Google TV solution into TVs, while Apple's relaunch of its Apple TV product takes a different technology tack. Both, however, have the same aim in mind: to enable users to search, browse and stream content, on demand to their living rooms.

Content is key. Apple is well positioned with iTunes; Panasonic is ambitiously expanding its Viera Cast system; while Sony's forthcoming Qriocity portal will offer music and movie streaming. Google TV has the potential to be as successful as Google Docs or as forgettable as Google Wave. The fact that it runs the Android OS opens up a whole range of dizzying possibilities as apps can be the gateway to video and audio content, games and utilities.

Tablet PCs and iPad-jostlers

The Apple iPad has set the benchmark for every tablet PC, slate computer and smartpad to follow. It's not perfect, but the announcement of iOS4.2 will add new features and, while the current iPad might not feature a built-in camera for 'FaceTime', Apple will undoubtedly include it in version 2. Steve Jobs is the undisputed master of leaving his audience wanting more.

So rival tablet PC builders like Samsung, ViewSonic, Toshiba, Acer, LG and others don't have very long to design, test and launch their own keyboard-less devices. Samsung has taken the lead with The Galaxy Tab. Compared to the iPad, it has a smaller, lower resolution screen, but the good-looking tablet offers several advantages, including a memory card slot, two integrated cameras and Flash 10.1 support.

ViewSonic unveiled its ViewPad 7 and ViewPad 100 models at IFA, with the latter offering a dual boot feature for Android and Windows 7 Home Premium. Toshiba also revealed a tablet, dubbed the Folio 100, while Sony launched an updated version of its Reader device with a touch-sensitive display. There are more iPad wannabes to come.

Gadgets, gadgets, gadgets

Last year, IFA was much more fragmented and there were many more identifiable tech trends: wireless HD streaming; improved screen technologies like OLED and LED backlighting; web-connected TVs; 3D TVs; eco-friendliness and the end of the megapixel wars.

It's obvious from our coverage this year that 3D TVs and 3D Blu-ray players have dominated the show, with web connectivity and a new breed of tablet devices close behind. As for other gadgetry, several of the tech giants have launched new mini camcorders – Sony outed the Bloggie Touch, Samsung debuted the HMX-T10 and Toshiba has been showing off the Camileo S30 and P20.

Logitech has announced a new range Ultimate Ears earphones – with prices ranging from £17.99 right up to the Ultimate Ears 700 Noise-Isolating Earphones prices at £159.

The Ultimate Ears range from Logitech has been extended with a host of new options.

All earphones come with five pairs of variously sized soft ear cushions, a compact, protective case for your earphones while you're on the go and noise-isolation technology.

The flagship pair are the Ultimate Ears 700 Noise-Isolating Earphones, which Logitech state "offer superior sound without cramping your style."

Dual-armature

"These earphones use a custom-tuned dual-armature micro design that separates the high and low frequencies to deliver sound so full and detailed you'll hear breaths in between lyrics.

"The noise-isolating design reduces outside noise by 26dBs and lets you focus on the music.

"At just 11.6g the earphones are light enough to wear whether you're relaxing, riding the bus to work, or going for a jog. The sleek, micro design makes your earphones look and feel as good as they sound – ear earphone is smaller than a scent."

We don't understand the last bit either.

Seal of approval

A little oddly, Logitech has rolled out musician Seal to promote the product; "Whether I am using my in-ear monitors on stage during a live performance, in the studio during a recording session or on a plane listening to music on my iPod, everything comes through so clearly," said Seal.

"With Ultimate Ears, singing – and listening – becomes a simple pleasure."

"Many performing artists we work with enjoy putting personal artwork on their stage in-ear monitors as an additional form of self expression," said Philippe Depallens, Logitech vice president and general manager of the Ultimate Ears business.

Coolermaster has announced the Choiix Boom Boom speaker, a low-cost option to play your music on the go.

The Choiix branded Boom Boom will cost less than £17 and offer what the company describes as "high volume and a high quality, acceptable sound".

"It's a slim size with a light design for consumers' needs," says the Choiix press release.

"Since the Boom Boom Speaker utilises the power provided by laptop USB ports it can come equipped with four slim drivers that are optimally placed to construct a perfect sound experience."

Slim and light

"The best of both worlds is now offered by Choiix's brand new product the Boom Boom Speaker. It's a slim size with a light design for consumers' needs."

The Choiix Boom Boom has been given a UK release date of mid-September with an expected price of £16.95.

One of the iPhone's biggest gaming hits has finally arrived on the Android platform, with Rovio Mobile's phenomenally addictive Angry Birds making the jump to a new platform in beta.

Angry Birds has been a massive seller on Apple's App Store, and the calls for it to arrive on Android have been many and volumous.

And that dream is now a reality, with the company announcing on Twitter that the app is now on the Google platform.

Beta version

"And Angry Birds have landed on Android:-)" the company said, adding "If you have any problems with the Android beta, let us know. It's a beta, so we know it's not perfect. Help us make it better."

Rovio Mobile has impressed many with its after support – the original Angry Birds has been continually updated with more levels and different birds for free.

The game has been so successful that there is even talk of a film in the offing. We're not sure if the plot will stretch that far, but it may still be more complex than Transformers.

Nearly closed

"This week, we were planning to run a closed beta test of Angry Birds Lite for Android," explained Rovio on its blog.

"Due to the massive response and demand from the Android community, we have decided to make Angry Birds Lite Beta available for everybody through the Android Market this Friday.

"Angry Birds Lite Beta will run on second generation Android devices and upwards.

"We want to ensure that we will publish the best game ever released on Android, and we hope that this beta version will prove to our Android fans that Angry Birds has been worth the wait!"

Wandering around the halls of the Messe Berlin for IFA 2010, it's easy to be blasé about new technology. Especially when there are 26 exhibition halls crammed with 3D televisions, brand new laptops, camcorders, 3D Blu-ray players and all manner of computing and AV hardware.

It makes defining the 'best' kit at an IFA show a tricky task. What really stands out? Where are the real "ooh" and "aah" moments that twang the heart strings of your inner geek? Here's our pick of the gadgetry that we think is worth a second look…

The Samsung Galaxy Tab

Microsoft must be kicking itself. Or perhaps it's developed some sort of prototype robotic boot device that can kick people for it. Really hard. Because while Bill Gates predicted the success of the tablet PC back in 2001, he didn't foresee that it would be running Android rather than Windows.

Enter the Samsung Galaxy Tab. This giant-sized Galaxy S is the poster-boy for the new breed of keyboard-less portable computers running mobile operating systems. Built with a 7-inch display, it's smaller and far less sexy than the inspirational Apple iPad. Nevertheless, it impresses with expandable storage, Android 2.2, a built-in 3MP camera and a 7-hour battery life.

Samsung SF-series laptops

Samsung's engineering might is unquestionable and it is fast becoming the most prolific tech-builder on the planet. Its new SF-series laptops certainly catch the eye and not just because of an attractive, curvy design.

Powered by Intel's Core i3 or i5 dual-core processors, they also include a Jekyll and Hyde hybrid graphics solution – an Nvidia GPU for power processing, a lower-powered Intel option for everyday spreadsheeting and word processing. Battery life is around 7.5 hours, claims Samsung.

CURVY: Samsung's new SF-series laptops feature hybrid graphics technology

Toshiba Regza VL HD TVs

Toshiba describes its new VL series as a 'premium range of Full HD LED TVs'. Featuring an all-new design (courtesy of Danish designer Jacob Jensen), the VL sets feature a built-in Freeview HD/DVB-T2 tuner so you can switch on and be watching BBC HD minutes after plugging it in.

Philips Cinema 21:9 Platinum Series TV

If money was no object, we'd eagerly fritter away thousands on the wider-than-widescreen Philips Cinema 21:9 HD TV. It's a well-worn cliché, but you never truly appreciate this eye-catching HD telly until you see it. The 21:9 aspect ratio is unique, almost breathtaking, making it the perfect cinematic screen for blockbuster Blu-rays.

The new 'Platinum Series' version on show at IFA this year evolves the 21:9 model by adding support for 3D. With a 58-inch full HD display, it's two inches bigger than the previous model. Philips has also improved the backlighting– out goes the old-fangled CCFL technology, in comes an array of locally dimmable LEDs. Look out for this bad boy in September.

WIDE SCREEN: The eye-catching Philips Cinema 21:9 HD TV now supports 3D

Philips "3D of the future" requires no glasses

The first time that you experience a 3D image without wearing a pair of Jarvis Cocker-esque Active Shutter glasses is a revelation. "Surely this lenticular viewing is the future", you think. "Why are we bothering with 3D specs?" And then you move. Whereupon the 3D effect dissipates for a second and you're forced to shift slightly to correct your viewing angle.

That's the problem with glasses-free 3D TV. As amazing as the tech demos undoubtedly are, they're only amazing when viewed straight on. Philips has been flogging its lenticular technology since 2007 and, while it's certainly made some improvements, there's still a long way to go.

Sharp BD-HP90S Blu-ray 3D player

Sharp is dipping its toes into Blu-ray 3D territory with the skinny BD-HP90S player. It's a stunning-looking slab of hardware, part of the Aquos range, mounted upright and featuring built-in Wi-Fi for easy Internet connectivity. Pair it with one of Sharp's new quad-pixel Quattron 3D ready HD TVs and you'll have an empty wallet but a home cinema setup to die for.

SKINNY BLU-RAY: Sharp's BD-HP90S looks (but doesn't act) like a slimline PlayStation 2...

Viewsonic ViewPad 100

Luke-warm on the heels of Apple's iPad, Tablet PCs are becoming all the rage. Gangs of these keyboard-less laptops have been roaming the halls of IFA, effortlessly seducing tech journalists with their roomy touchscreens and Android-powered UIs. The Galaxy Tab has been enjoying most of the attention, but don't overlook the ViewPad 100 from Viewsonic.

While the smaller ViewPad 7 underwhelms, this '100' model is a more ambitious 10-inch tablet that can dual boot Android 2.2 and Windows 7 Home Premium. It's surely the best of both worlds – Android for easy (and battery-friendly) access to web content; Windows 7 for more in-depth tasks. Tablets are often viewed as devices for 'consuming' content rather than creating it. The ViewPad 100 offers tablet and laptop functionality in the same device.

Hey! What about OLED?!

Every year we get excited about the prospect of OLED-based TVs. But as far as TVs are concerned, the technology is still a long way from replacing LCD and plasma. So while LG's 31-inch, super-duper-thin OLED TV looks pretty nifty, sumptuous even, we're not foolish enough to believe that it's anything more than another tech demo. For now.

And that's it. Seven outstanding products that caught the TechRadar eye at this year's IFA. But what about you? What gadgets and technologies are you looking forward to the most? Let us know in the comments.

Acer has announced the Aspire easyStore H341 NAS, offering up to four hot-swappable HDDs to store and stream your digital media.

The Aspire easyStore H341 is designed to store, organise and protect your entire digital media library, and make it accessible not only through computers but also consoles and other DLNA compliant devices.

"What's more, with the new Aspire easyStore H341 you can stream digital media content to multiple applications or DLNA compliant devices, such as console games or TV, making it possible to share games from the server or enjoy music, photos and movies on a big screen TV," adds Acer's release.

Adding drives

Acer has tried to make adding HDDs easy, and the device is driven by an Intel Atom D410 chip.

"Uploading pictures, video or data files on the Aspire easyStore is easy, too," adds Acer's release.

"All you need to do is connect the device through the USB port and press the Copy button. Data is automatically sorted and stored by file type into folders of your choice."

The data can be got at through the internet (as you would expect) with a "user friendly web interface" allowing you to connect to your content from anywhere.

Philips and extreme lifestyle brand O'Neill have joined forces to unveil a new line of extreme headphones, including The Stretch range which are inspired by the heavy-duty materials and styling of wetsuits.

The intriguing Philips | O'Neil headphones are designed to: "to withstand the rigors of an active lifestyle."

To that end, The Stretch – the 'toughest in the new line-up'- is impact and high-stress crack resistant and made of TR55LX which is apparently 6 times harder than polycarbonate.

"The Stretch maintains its toughness and durability, whether you're in the most extreme conditions – be it the hottest place on earth or the coldest climate down to -25C temperatures," adds Philips release.

Snug, Covert and Specked

The Stretch is not the only part of the new range, with Philips also offering The Snug model – flat folding headphones "that deliver flawless fit and sound with bold graphics."

Next up is The Covert "a discreet bud with deceptively powerful sound impact and iPhone control and last but not least is The Specked, which includes a range of three striking coloured in-ear buds.

We can testify to the toughness as we've been (web) surfing with our set of The Stretch for nearly 15 minutes now and they are working fine. Radical.

Synergies

Nick Andrews, Senior Manager, Consumer Marketing at Philips, comments: "This range realises the synergies of Philips simplicity and innovation and O'Neill's set of core values based around the concept of innovation in style and technology.

"Our new headphones are totally uncompromising in their durability – because they've been tested on our test animals: the toughest O'Neill riders, the most uncompromising and daring boarders around."

Eppo van Berckelaer, Global Marketing Director at O'Neill, said: "O'Neill and Philips share a long and successful history of product innovation, working to create products that allow people to get the most out of their lives.

"Knowing how important music is to the lives of our consumers, I now encourage everyone to get out there and test the headphones for themselves."

Philips' Cinema 21:9 LCD TV was certainly unique. As it was the only telly with a 21:9 aspect ratio, for (rich) people wanting a true in-home cinema experience from a TV it has been the obvious choice.

However, it wasn't perfect. It used old-school CCFL backlighting, which meant contrast levels and the handling of motion did not match up to Panasonic's plasmas or even Philips' own 'LED Pro' Direct LED TVs.

And of course, it wasn't 3D capable.

This has all changed though, with the launch of the 58-inch Philips Cinema 21:9 Platinum Series TV. It's a couple of inches bigger than last year's 56-inch model, although due to the bezel being slimmer, the actual size of the TV has not changed.

It also incorporates full-blown 'LED Pro' Direct LED backlighting, 400Hz and Perfect Pixel HD Engine picture processing as well as top-and-sides Ambilight.

Over 1,500 LED's are used as a backlight behind the LCD panel, meaning it's much brighter than the first 21:9 model, while also massively improving the contrast ratio.

Behind the scenes it's also packing Philips' new 'Bright Pro' tech which helps to boost light output in the bright sections of the screen, while the dark areas remain dark. Combined with localised dimming, it has to be seen to be believed.

Away from the eyes of the public, Philips was showing the new 21:9 screen next to the older model and it made it look fairly ordinary in terms of motion smoothing, brightness, contrast, colour reproduction and sharpness.

We're always slightly amused by the way TV manufacturers like to talk about their new TVs being the best available, and then a year later when they have new products they start talking about the flaws in the older products and why the new ones are much better.

3D comes to Philips TVs

The Philips Cinema 21:9 Platinum Series is actually Philips' first 3D TV, and it uses the same active-shutter 3D tech as the likes of Panasonic and Sony.

The other forthcoming Philips 3D TVs will require external emitters for synchonisation with 3D glasses, but the 21:9 set, being the luxury item that it is, has four of these emitters built into its frame.

The 3D performance of the Platinum Series was excellent. Watching in the 21:9 aspect ratio seems a lot more comfortable on the eyes than traditional 16:9 sets – the added screen space really did add to the sense of depth.

However, while Philips says it has gone to great length to eliminate 3D's biggest weakness – cross-talk (where the two images bleed into each other) – we found this side of things to be a bit hit and miss.

The cross-talk seemed more pronounced than on the latest Panasonic VT20's for example. Is this down to the longer response time of LCD panels in comparison to plasma? Possibly.

All in all though, the Philips Cinema 21:9 Platinum Series is a breathtaking 2D and 3D TV. We really were impressed by it and are excited at the prospect of getting hold of a sample when we're back in the UK.

Now, if only we had a living room big enough to incorporate it and the money to buy one.

Expect a full TechRadar review to come your way in due course.

The big TV manufacturers have been talking about OLED technology for a long time now, and yet the largest screen size currently available is a somewhat pitiful 15-inches. And the price? An intestine-tangling £1,700. No, we can't afford one, either.

The superior picture quality of OLED (organic light emitting diode) TVs is achieved by passing an electric current through an emissive, electroluminescent film. This technique is thought to produce better colours and higher contrast and also enables screens to be extremely thin and flexible.

The main drawback is that the tech is in its infancy, and so yield-rates are very low. It's very difficult to create pixel-perfect OLED panels without any flaws, and that means the prices of producing and therefore buying them is prohibitively high.

However, LG has been tinkering with OLED tech for a while now and first showed off its 15-inch model, the LG 15EL9500 at IFA 2009. It went on sale only very recently and now we've been treated to a first look at the Korean company's stunning 31-inch effort.

The differences between this larger OLED screen and the LCD and plasma efforts around it are immediately obvious. It's just so bright and vibrant. Full HD source material looks simply stunning – TV company's carefully choose what pictures they display on which displays at shows like this, and the choice to display colourful footage of flowers and trees, as well as animations worked a treat.

3D pictures also looked extremely impressive, with the added brightness over LCD equivalents making it truly stand out from the crowd.

We can't praise OLED tech highly enough. It's just such a shame it's taking so long to make it into the homes of ordinary people.

There are many exciting new TVs on display at IFA 2010, but none more impressive than LG's brand-spanking new LEX8 'nano LED' effort.

Using a new kind of LCD panel, the LEX8 has a super-thin film in front of the Direct LED backlighting. This film is covered in tiny pinpricks which are designed to disperse the light from the LEDs more evenly. This is designed to create a better viewing experience by making the screen brighter and more colourful.

It's the first TV of its kind, and LG has signs up at its stand proclaiming it to be the 'world's first nano LED TV'. While that is strictly true, it's unlikely that any other manufacturer would ever use the term 'nano LED'. Some of the big telly companies like to give their tech slightly different names to make them sound more special – LG calls its Direct LED TVs 'full LED', for example. Philips calls them 'LED Pro' TVs.

The LEX8 is certainly a striking set – it's just 8.8mm thick, which LG claims makes it the thinnest direct LED TV ever built. Until now, this kind of slimness has only been achieved using Edge LED technology, which places the LEDs around the edge of the screen, thus sacrificing brightness, contrast and colour reproduction.

The LEX8 is stunningly bright, even on the bright showroom floor of LG's IFA hall, with colours popping out of the screen.

The TV also includes a new anti-reflection panel which is designed to minimise the distraction of light bouncing off the TV's screen. It works, too – compared to a TV without such tech, it's a much more comfortable viewing experience. Most of the top-end TVs on display here have similar anti-reflection efforts.

The LEX8 also includes localised dimming – a de facto feature on Direct LED TVs these days, which means contrast levels are excellent. Blacks appear deep and rich, although it's hard to truly test this aspect of a TV's performance when viewing in such bright conditions.

And the other feature-of-note is the inclusion of LG's new 400Hz TruMotion tech, which smooths out fast-moving pictures to eliminate motion blur and judder. Again, it works a treat. The test footage being displayed looked breathtaking.

When it goes on sale, the LEX8 will include LG's NetCast IPTV service which will offer various web TV access, similar to the offerings of the other telly bigwigs. It also comes with what LG is calling the Magic Motion Remote which is able to control a cursor on the screen – thus making it easier to surf the IPTV services as well as play games etc.

We're genuinely excited about this 3D TV – it's certainly LG's best telly to date and we'll be giving it the full TechRadar review treatment in due course – stay tuned!