LG Electronics lists seperate division for handling OLED development
LG's display arm has just created a new division off-shoot, these engineers have been tasked with developing OLED panel technology and promoting this display more aggressively than previously seen. As most companies haven't yet put too much effort into OLED, LG are jumping feet first into this technology.
LG's Chief Technology Officer Yeo Sang-Deog will be spearheading this advancement, with his main task said to be to increase OLED panel production up to four times this month alone - helping reduce the costing of OLED TVs to the consumers. Reports claim that pricing is one of the main issues stopping consumers going down the OLED route, seeing LCD TV's hit the market for half the price at around double the size. If you head into any big-brand technology store, expect to see 70-inch LCD's listed for as low was $1,300 when compared to the LG 55-inch OLED sitting at over $2,700.
OLED also suffers the burn-in effect as was seen with CRT's in the 90's and early 2000's - LG claims that its research team is working to rectify this issue, but as it stands it seems that OLED isn't quite worth the extra investment to most.
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The Ninja Sphere by Ninja Blocks lets you control your house with ease
Robots aren't yet taking over, if you want to enjoy your time in your house before this happens - maybe the Ninja Sphere is for you.
Developed as a small Australian start-up, Ninja Blocks has proudly presented the second installment of their product - said to help you control simple house functions with ease, expanding the controlled devices to almost anything that you wish (compatibility required however).
The Ninja Sphere can be placed as a center piece on your lounge room coffee table, stylish in design and not too big in structure this new device can turn on and off the lights with a simple tap, swiping your hand over the surface will allow you to change which device is controlled, tap again and this piece of technology will now be told by the sphere to turn on or off.
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Australia still years behind the rest - ITU announces gigabit copper
We've spoken about it before and I'm sure we'll report on it again - Australia is extremely behind the 'eight ball' when it comes to provision of high-speed internet to its residents. It seems the government is too busy dodging wild crocodiles and drop bears to work on a viable internet solution together.
Just recently, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) has finalized a new line technology, said to be able to provide broadband service speeds of up to one gigabit per second functional over Australia's old copper phone line network. One gigabit per second sounds really good, so what are we complaining about?
There's a few possible issues. The ITU explains that this new G.fast standard has begun shipping to vendors and will be available in the market by December 2015 - meaning we're going to have to put up with our 3 Mbs download and 0.85 Mpbs upload that most Aussie gamers have been living with for the past few years. This technology, said to "combine the best aspects of fibre and DSL" will only provide fibre-like speeds up to 400m away from a distribution point. Setup in a fibre-to-the-distribution-point type structure, this new advancement will see distribution points being laid around various cities, towns and streets. However, they haven't made it clear where or exactly how many of these distribution points will exist.
Continue reading: Australia still years behind the rest - ITU announces gigabit copper (full post)
Radeon GPUs can be teamed together for 24 monitors through Eyefinity
We've just reported that AMD has launched its new Catalyst Omega driver suite, where we've written up an overview on the slew of new features and technologies it has unleashed, and a look at performance at 1080p, but what about Eyefinity?
AMD increased the abilities of Eyefinity with the new drivers, which now allow 24 monitors to be supported on Windows. You don't need any third-party software, or hardware, with the company providing a new GUI for setting up your new 24 monitor Eyefinity rig. You'll need four Radeon GPUs with six DisplayPort outputs per card, but it can be done.
Continue reading: Radeon GPUs can be teamed together for 24 monitors through Eyefinity (full post)
AMD's new Catalyst Omega drivers allow 5K monitor support
AMD has just taken the wraps off of its new Catalyst Omega driver suite, which provides additional performance and a bunch of new technologies and features. The features built into the Omega drivers is extensive, but one of those stand out features is support for 5K displays.
5K you ask? What is 5K? 5K is 5120x2880, a mammoth resolution, which AMD now supports through its Omega drivers, even at 60Hz. 5K is achieved by using two DisplayPort 1.2 outputs, which some Radeon cards don't have, so you'll have to make sure you have two DP outputs before you think about buying that Dell UP2715k monitor.
5120x2880 is an incredible resolution, even overshadowing what 4K is capable of at 3840x2160 as it is an insane 14.7 million pixels, providing 218 pixels per inch, or PPI.
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The Samsung Gear VR headset is now available for $200
Samsung's Gear VR headset is now available for purchase in the US, for $199. The Gear VR had Samsung and Oculus VR, the makers of the Oculus Rift, collaborating together. One thing that the Gear VR does differently, is that it requires Samsung's flagship Galaxy Note 4 smartphone in order to work.
Coined as the "Innovator Edition", Samsung are confidently displaying this fact on their purchase page with reports claiming as the customer you must agree you understand that this is a "device targeted specifically to developers or early adopters of technology." It's not too big of a deal in the grand scheme of things, just a precaution put in place by Samsung to cover their back should anything go wrong.
Last seen at IFA 2014, news outlets reported very positively of this new device besides the fact that it needs a Note 4 for operation. It's a little disappointing that you need to tie this up with another Samsung product for use, especially when compared with the Oculus or 3D HEAD that are both said to be operable without any added features.
Continue reading: The Samsung Gear VR headset is now available for $200 (full post)
Logitech unveils the new Graffiti Fetish Edition UE BOOM speaker
Logitech has just unveiled the latest member in its ever-growing UE BOOM range of portable speakers, the new Graffiti Fetish Edition UE BOOM. This is the fifth version of the UE BOOM where Logitech has collaborated with artists for a custom-look on its speaker.
The new speaker is now celebrating "the fusion of two art forms" with music, and graffiti gifs. Logitech explains the new speaker as "art, graffiti, fetishism, and desire collide in the Graffiti Fetish edition UE BOOM, a vivid and vibrant print by London street artist Insa". The new Graffiti Fetish Edition UE BOOM can be purchased directly from Logitech's UE BOOM website for $199.99 sometime later this month.
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Elite: Dangerous played on 3D screens, touch panels and head tracking
Markus Boesen has built himself a dream PC gaming setup, the kind that you see on fan websites photo-shopped up as someones dream. Set to provide himself with the best gaming experience possible, Boesen has taken these ideas and brought them to reality.
Utilizing three 3D monitors running at a combined 5760 x 1080 resolution, he's also installed touchscreen inputs, voice recognition, head-tracking and carefully arranged Saitek joysticks to ensure this gaming pad is more of a cockpit than a regular desktop setup.
Elite: Dangerous is the current game of choice, giving a full life-like experience to the gamer - thanks to all of the extras that have been added. The only thing missing here is a seat that pivots and turns with the game play action, but I daresay that it might start to make you sick.
Continue reading: Elite: Dangerous played on 3D screens, touch panels and head tracking (full post)
The Apple iPod Classic is now becoming an expensive collector item
A few months ago, Apple had sneakily removed their Apple iPod Classic devices off their online stores - bringing a silent end to its longstanding history and reign as the first legitimately useful flash portable music listening device.
This came about with their site upgrade thanks to the iPhone 6 release, with speculation stating that the old iPod's are no longer needed in today's market - mobile phones are becoming larger and larger in capacity, people are adding massive SD cards to their Android devices and much of our music is now streamed online. All of these factors start to render our old favorite a little bit useless.
Confirmed by CEO Steve Cook as "a declining business" the iPod Classic saw a swift removal from all online portals. But now they're becoming a bit of a rarity, seeing fans paying up to four times the originally listed price. This is said to be not only just due to their limited nature, but the capacity that they hold.
Continue reading: The Apple iPod Classic is now becoming an expensive collector item (full post)
George Lucas hasn't watched the 'Force Awakens' trailer
The 88 second trailer for 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' might be inching towards the most viewed movie trailer of all time, with over 72 million views in a week, but one man in particular hasn't seen it - the creator of the franchise, George Lucas.
Speaking to PageSix, Lucas revealed that he hadn't seen the trailer and won't see any part of the movie "Because it's not in the movie theater. I like going to the movies and watching the whole thing there." Lucas sold the rights to the 'Star Wars' franchise, along with his whole LucasFilm company, back in 2012.
Unless he changes his mind, Lucas will get a chance to check the entire film out when 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' opens worldwide on December 18th, 2015.
Continue reading: George Lucas hasn't watched the 'Force Awakens' trailer (full post)