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Archive for January, 2009

Flexicord cables take rattlesnake approach

Posted by Justin Yu on January 15th, 2009

Kiss your blistered fingers and headaches goodbye--tangled cords are a problem of the past as long as you use Flexicords. If you're someone who sets up and breaks down your television, home theater kit, laptop, or desktop computer, Flexicords' coiled design eliminates the need to measure exactly how much cable you'll need to hook up your gear.

The cables come curly and extend out up to 10 feet, ensuring that you have just enough slack without any excess clutter.

Flexicord offers cables for just about any application, including USB, phono jacks, S-video, networking cables, and HDMI. Once extended, the coils retain their shape thanks to a thick pipe cleaner that bends alongside the cable itself.

Finally, each wire comes with its own "recoiling tool," aka an inanimate plastic rod that helps you coil it back up. Prices vary depending on size and maximum length, but they all generally cost around $20, with the exception of the 10-foot HDMI cable that goes for $34.

More pictures after the jump!

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YouTube launches TV-friendly site for consoles

Posted by Josh Lowensohn on January 15th, 2009

YouTube on your PS3 or Wii looks a little sexier with a new portal site designed specifically for console browsers.

(Credit: CNET Networks / Josh Lowensohn)

Don't have an AppleTV or a TiVo and have been lusting after watching YouTube videos from your couch? If you've got a Wii ...

Originally posted at Webware

Should I wait ’till the ‘09 HDTVs come out?: Ask the Editors

Posted by David Katzmaier on January 13th, 2009

Scads of tempting TV hardware was announced at CES, but is it really worth waiting for?

(Credit: Panasonic)

Dear David,

Just saw your report on the new plasmas from Panasonic at CES. I was all set to get an TH-50PZ800U, your current Editors' Choice, but these look better. Should I wait or buy the 800U now?

--Anonymous, New York City

Howdy Anonymous,

If I was in your situation I would wait for the new models, but if you're a bargain hunter, then there's no better time to buy than now.

Every year around this time, the flood of new gadgets announced at the January Consumer Electronics Show washes the diligently researched product picks from the wish lists of thousands of careful shoppers. The product you had your heart set on suddenly looks obsolete in the face of the latest and greatest, and the CES hype machine (guilty as charged) somehow makes even the lowliest entry-level gear seem shinier and more desirable than the cobweb-encrusted former flagships rotting away on store shelves today.

Every year improvements are made, such as the "better picture quality for half the power" claimed by Panasonic with its plasmas; the new 240Hz and LED-backlit LCDs, at least one for a formerly unheard-of price; and the addition of Netflix streaming. But are the improvements worth it? ...

CES post-show wrap-up: HDTV

Posted by David Katzmaier on January 13th, 2009

Is plasma dead yet? Not if Panasonic can help it.

(Credit: Panasonic)

The television category is a perennial CES staple and this year was no different. For some reason nobody showed a TV bigger than Panasonic's 150-inch plasma from last year (have we maxed out in flat-panel screen size?), but most of the other trends I discussed in the preview were borne out in the show's extensive announcements. Here's my take on what CES 2009 bodes for HDTV this year.

Plasma ain't dead yet.
I get more than my share of e-mails, and have seen plenty of blog comments and forum posts that are quick to claim the demise of plasma at the hands of LCD. Judging from CES announcements by companies that comprise the "big three" of plasma--Panasonic, LG and Samsung--those big glass flat panels have a brighter future than Detroit, at least.

Panasonic, by far the biggest and, unlike GM, the most-committed of the group, bragged about its newest plasma factory (No. 5) coming online, and showed its largest plasma lineup ever, with five new series and a new 54-inch screen size. I'm really excited to review the company's new "NEO PDP" panels, the first of which, members of the S1 series, will ship in March. They boast significantly improved black-level performance and contrast ratios, according to the company, yet manage to cut power consumption in half. If the latter claim proves true, LCD will lose perhaps its biggest arrow in the antiplasma quiver (at least among consumers who care about the planet and are savvy enough to ignore the nonissues).

Absent any announcements by Pioneer (which will come in late spring, most likely), Panasonic's G10 series is probably the surest bet for Editors' Choice of any TV I saw at the show. That's why I awarded it Best of CES in the TV category. In case you're wondering, however, all of the Neo PDP panels, including the least-expensive S1, share the same basic picture-quality specs....

Originally posted at CES 2009

Small TVs are ideal for tailgating…according to Westinghouse

Posted by Eric Franklin on January 12th, 2009

If you stare at this pic long enough, eventually it stares back at you.

(Credit: Westinghouse)

In Westinghouse's press materials it states that either of the following monitors would be an ideal solution for a tailgating party. Finally, vendors are starting to give tailgaters the respect they deserve. No ...

Originally posted at CES 2009