Lining up with the predictions of pretty much every Tom, Dick and Harry, Samsung has gone ahead and stated that it expects smartphones to make up 29 percent (or 500 million devices) of the mobile phone marketplace in 2012. As things currently stand, smartphones account for 14 percent (170 million devices) of all mobile phones, a figure which is steadily increasing (despite a World-wide recession) thanks in part to high consumer and corporate demand for feature-rich devices. What’s more however, is that Samsung is betting touchcreens will be featured on 50 percent of mobile phones by 2013. Sammy also says OLED displays will become all the rage with an estimated 50 percent market share in the next five years on all mobile devices, including but not limited to mobile phones, PMPs, GPS navigation units and digital cameras. Guess that means that while many will be looking forward to the future with outstretched arms and wide-open wallets, Stevie Wonder will be pretty PO’d unless some solid progress is made where the V.I. UX is concerned.

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According to The Commercial Times/DigiTimes, Apple has rounded up Taiwanese-based computer parts manufacturer Wintek to make displays for an upcoming touchscreen notebook. Rumors of a touchscreen Apple netbook are nothing new, but this one is quite specific in that it specifies that the displays will be passed along to Quanta who will be entrusted with the manufacturing of the netbook itself. Of course, details don’t mean a rumor has even the slightest bit of truth to it, but considering The Commercial Times/DigiTimes has a pretty decent track record (you know, when it’s not predicting Blu-ray Xbox 360s) and outed the first-gen iPhone, we’re willing to give this rumor the benefit of the doubt. As for when this alleged launch will happen, it is said that shipments should start in 2H of this year, meaning that there are still a few solid months left for everyone to speculate the hell out of this thing. But just think – Steve Jobs comes back to Apple in June, a new iPhone or two is expected, and a touchscreen netbook might be on its way. We’ll see…

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Until today’s event we had a pretty good idea of what was coming as far as the refreshed MacBook and MacBook Pro had to offer, but little was known about the mysterious Cinema Display that Apple was thought to have in store for us. The rumors indeed turned out to be true however, and it really is a pretty cool little display. Little? Not so much… Apple’s new Cinema Display packs a 24-inch LED backlit screen sporting a 1920 x 1200 pixel resolution. It features a cable with three connectors: a MagSafe connector that will power your notebook, a standard USB 2.0 port and a mini display connector. Other notables include a built-in iSight camera along with a mic and integrated stereo speakers. It’s really not a bad companion product at all, in fact you might just find a few at BGR headquarters come November. Apple’s sexy new 24″ Cinema Display will be available in November for $899.

Have you ever been caught checking your Facebook at work and had your boss giving you the evil eye? Or perhaps you were working on your soon-to-be-huge screenplay at Starbucks and the girls sitting next to you were giggling at your space alien love story? Well, LG has come to your rescue. The electronics giant has developed a new 14.1″ screen that allows the visibility to be adjusted by angle. While it’s capable of a 175-degree viewing range, it can be adjusted to just 60-degrees to help avoid those wandering eyes. Typical LCD screens have subpixels for the three primary colors while the LG screen has extra subpixels to control this effect without affecting coloring on your screen. Pretty cool, eh? Now your IM fights with your girlfriend or pr0n pop-ups from those questionable sites you visit won’t be so embarrassing anymore.

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First the Mini 9 netbook and now this tiny little pocket projector – isn’t everything supposed to be bigger in Texas? Geared towards the “road warrior” according to the copy on Dell’s product page, the Texas-based PC slinger has finally made its latest creation available to the public. The M109S is a teeny tiny projector measuring 3.64″ x 4.12″ x 1.46″ and weighing in at a feather-light 0.80 lbs. Well, maybe it’s not feather-light but Lauren Greenfield might still have some perfectly understandable objections. With an 858 x 600 SVGA resolution and an 800:1 contrast ratio, this little scrapper is capable of projecting a clear image up to 60″ diagonally; definitely more than impressive for a projector this small. It also has a host of features such as auto keystone, vertical adjustment and password protection. The only set back with this little gem might be the price point: $499. Hey if your clients can’t afford to have a projector waiting for you when you get to their offices, you’re likely taking them to the cleaners and $500 is nothing.

Oh and Dell people, what’s up with the heading on the product page?

Yeah, we get it. It’s a Dell.

[Via Your Blog]

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Recently at the NVISION2008 conference, ViewSonic unveiled a 22 inch 120Hz monitor targeted at gaming and digital entertainment. The prototype monitor promises blur-free performance and a 3D viewing experience for games, motion video, and computer animation. It boasts a 1680×1050 resolution (whaaa? No 1080p?, 3ms gray-to-gray response time, 300 nits of high brightness and a 1000:1 contrast ratio.  According to the press release, “When coupled with NVIDIA’s GeForce Stereoscopic 3D technology, the ViewSonic 120Hz display provides game enthusiasts with realistic depth, intense motion, rich graphics and detailed images that literally leap off the screen. ” So BGR readers, weigh in. Is this revolutionary or is it just hype? We doubt you could beat our 55″ Sony XBR8 in terms of gaming… Oh wait, we weren’t supposed to say we had one.

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Looking for that perfect addition to your 550 square-foot New York City Bachelor pad? Sure you might have to shift a couple of feet to the right to keep up as the action moves down field, but might we suggest an 82 inch LCD TV from Samsung? The feisty electronics manufacturer literally brought out the big guns this year at the Society for Information Display (SID) International Symposium, Seminar and Exhibition, unveiling three king-sized flat panels for our viewing pleasure. The first, pictured above, packs “ultra definition” 3,840 x 2,160 pixels into its massive 82 inch LCD display. This giant TV also sports a 120 Hz refresh rate and a 120 fps picture. Samsung is also touting an 82 inch “e-board”; a multitouch display panel intended to replace whiteboards and projectors. We’re not sure an 82 inch touch panel will address the same market as a whiteboard, but what do we know. Wrapping up the trifecta, Samsung brought along a multi-view Digital Information Display (DID) that displays 3D images without the need for those stylish red and blue 3D glasses. We miss them already.

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We’ve all heard and seen so much about the Microsoft Surface over the past few months and now we’ll be able to see it in action in the wild. Tomorrow, Microsoft and AT&T will be showcasing the Minority Report-like interface system at five exclusive AT&T stores across the country. Want to know if one of the locations is in your neck of the woods? Here are the spots:

New York City
381 Madison Ave
New York, NY 10017

350 Park Ave
New York, NY 10022

Atlanta
3429 Lenox Road NE
Atlanta, GA 30326

San Antonio
13127 San Pedro Ave
San Antonio, TX  78216

San Francisco
1206 El Camino Real
San Bruno, CA 94066

If you make it to one of the stores tomorrow, definitely snap some pics and email us with your impressions.

[Thanks anonymous tipster!]

Ummmm, for real? If we didn’t see photos of this thing with our own eyes, we would’ve called shenanigans faster than Madonna can jump on a genre bandwagon. Remember the 3mm XEL-1 OLED display that Sony showed off late last year? Yeah, that thing is a fatty compared to this puppy. How thin is the latest OLED display showcased by Sony? 0.3mm… As in 0.0118 inches! Not many details are available for this wonder of a display, but we do know that the resolution is 960 x 540 pixels and the picture is surprisingly crisp. Imagine the range of applications that a high-quality display could have with a thickness of less than 1mm. As far as when we might see a display like this come to market, Sony said that it could easily happen within two to three years.

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Market trends as far as displays are concerned continue to go in the proper direction; quality and size go up, price comes down. If only every industry would follow the same progression. Those in the market for a new display should make note; love them or hate them Dell is probably your spot. Take its new 2009W for example. The UltraSharp 20-inch widescreen just issued by the Texas-based hardware manufacturer is a good step up from the E207WFP it replaces, but it maintains the exact same price point of $289. Solid.

• 20-inch WSXGA 1680 x 1050 HD Display
• 102% Color Gamut
• 2000:1 Dynamic Contrast Ratio
• 5-Millisecond Response Time
• Fully-adjustable Stand
• 4 integrated USB 2.0 Hi-Speed Ports

It’s certainly not the ultimate gaming display but the 2009W also won’t cost you an arm, a leg and an eviction notice. Respectable performance, UltraSharp quality and 20-inches of pixels for $389? Sign us up. Granted the only available connections are DVI with HDCP and VGA, but you can’t win them all.

[Via Engadget]

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Here’s a crazy hybrid device from the folks over at Sony. The Sony VAIO LT HDTV/PC (product name VGC-LT29U) is a device with a bit of an identity crisis. At heart, it’s an all-in-one personal computer, with clean lines and a classic Sony design. The computer sports 1TB of on-board storage, on-board Blu-ray player / writer, and an Intel Core 2 Duo T9300 CPU. It is, however, much more than that. Sony is positioning this as a modified HDTV. It’s wall-mountable, and also sports an on-board CableCard TV tuner that allows you to capture and view HD content. We like the design, and we could definitely see this thing resting comfortably on the wall in a small living room or entertainment center. Heck, are these in stores yet? You all know the drill by now. Hit the gallery for the action shots!

Click on over to our Sony VAIO LT HDTV/PC gallery!

Among the gems to come out of CES is this monster display prototype from Alienware. We hope that the booth attendants laid some towels down on the floor to soak up all of that gamer-drool. Featuring a 2880 x 900 pixel resolution and a ridiculous 0.02ms response time, the display has a wraparound form that enhances viewing by expanding the peripheral range. No, it’s not a flat panel, but this should make potential buyers happy as it will be much more attainable as a rear projection, of course. The set up at CES was displaying the popular first-person shooter Crysis and reportedly doing a stellar job of it. Alienware claims that its curved creation should be commercially available sometime in the second half of the year and pricing info is not yet available. Like the rest of the Alienware lineup, we’re sure that this puppy will be very awesome and very expensive.

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Dell debuted their Crystal Monitor at CES 2007 and now it will finally become available a full year later. Was it worth the wait? If you’re looking for the perfect monitor to round out your gear set up and have $1,200 to blow on it, then yes it was worth the wait. Dell’s 22" widescreen work of art is surrounded by 4mm-thick premium grade ultra-clear tempered glass that also houses four integrated speakers and a 2-megapixel center-mounted webcam. Of course this beauty can’t have your run-of-the-mill plastic stand, so the support structure is comprised of a chrome-plated zinc alloy tripod. If you decide to actually focus on the display for a few moments while this puppy is sitting on your desk, you won’t be disappointed there either. The Crystal sports a WSXGA+ 1680 x 1050 pixel screen with TrueColor technology, 2ms response time and a 2000:1 dynamic contrast ratio. It looks like the press release might have slipped out a bit early as dell.com/crystal isn’t live yet, but expect this fantastic to become available around CES.

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Now this is a cool emerging technology. Last week Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) debuted their latest advancement that represents a big technological leap for "digital paper". ITRI’s 10.4-inch flexible color display consists of two plastic substrates with a combined thickness of less than 10mm! Coupled with a flexible LED backing unit for illumination, this new display is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of where this technology will go. ITRI also demonstrated a flexible monochrome display that is 3.5-inches wide and can be manufactured with any length making it ideal for large public displays. Aside from its potential to slow deforestation (while unfortunately sustaining our dependency on oil), digital paper represents an exciting future that is limited only by the imagination. Low cost 3D displays, wearable displays and even flexible portable electronic devices are just the tip of the iceberg.

[Via coolest-gadgets]

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