Amazon Challenges Apple With Kindle TV
Amazon will soon release set-top Kindle TV later this year that can stream video over the internet. This is a challenge to Apple TV device. The device is being developed by Amazon’s Lab126 in Cupertino, California.
No info on specs or cost yet but we do know the Amazon TV box will plug into TVs and provide Amazon’s digital media content.
LG Selling First Next-Gen OLED 55in TV
LG commenced selling a 55-inch OLED TV in South Korea that uses new display technology for $10,000.
The model featuring organic light-emitting diode, or OLED, technology is currently only available in Seoul, South Korea. LG will expand sales to North America, Europe and other Asian markets during the next three months. OLED technology uses less power than LCD displays and displays more vivid images. And costing more than double the average for an equivalent LCD set.
Apple Releasing iTV In 2012
Digitimes has reported Apple will start releasing their own TVs in the first business quarter of 2012.
Apple will brand it iTV and it will be available in 32-inch and 37-inch initially. It also rumoured that Apple will use a custom-built chip for iTV. A number of manufacturers are currently bidding for this chip, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), Advanced Semiconductor Engineering (ASE), and Siliconware Precision Industries (SPIL).
Apple iPad TV Ad
Apple has launched their television advertising campaign for the iPad during the Oscars. The iPad will be available on April 3. Check out it out.
Sky Mobile TV Launched On iPhone
British satellite TV Sky has released Sky TV App for Apple’s iPhone. For £6 a month, users can stream TV via WiFi but not 3G at this stage.
From Sky Press Release: In less than a year we’ve already seen millions of downloads of Sky’s Apps from the App Store. Our new Sky Mobile TV App combines the demand for great live TV on the move with the high quality viewing experience offered by iPhone and iPod touch. Sky Mobile TV offers more choice, control and flexibility for customers ensuring they can access the content they want, at a time that’s convenient to them, on the screen of their choosing.
YouTube XL For TV And Consoles
Recently we have Hulu Desktop, and now YouTube has just released YouTube XL for TV, PS3 and Wii. It is a stripped down version so that it works on large screen TV. The site is accessible by the browser.
Try It: YouTube XL
Adobe Pushes Flash To TV
Adobe is expected to extend Flash and Flash based applications to your TV by the end of 2009. This is a big opportunity for Adobe to get its software out there into living rooms.
Adobe has already extended Flash to the mobile market but Apple iPhone yet to embrace this piece of software due to using too much processing and battery power.
Philips Cinema 21:9 LCD TV
Philips has revealed the first cinema-proportioned 21:9 LCD TV. The TV has a 56 inch screen and you can watch movies in the 2.39:1 format. The price and availability in Spring 2009.
Press release from Philips:
Philips premieres the ultimate home cinematic viewing experience with the Cinema 21:9 LCD TV
Philips breaks new ground in the realm of home entertainment with the world’s first cinema-proportioned LCD television. Cinema 21:9 lets you enjoy movies as you would in the cinema and just as the director intended. Cinema 21:9 boasts a 56” screen that is shaped in the 21:9 aspect ratio, so movies in the 2.39:1 format completely fill the screen – exactly as you experience at the cinema. Complimentary three-sided Ambilight Spectra combines with the on-screen action to completely immerse you in the movie and deliver the ultimate home cinematic viewing experience.
(Read more…)
