Gadgetell | Tech News, Reviews, and Interesting Things

That thing on the right is “The Aquos Experience,“ a Christmas tree made up of 43 Sharp televisions and it’s at Grand Central Terminal in New York City.  What’s the gimmick?  Sharp is running a sweepstakes where you can win one of the televisions in the display. 

While it’s a rather cool display, it’s pretty much the antithesis of being “green.“  However, the sweepstakes helps a good cause.  When you register for the sweepstakes, The HOPE Program will receive a dollar donated by Sharp.  More pics after the break.

Thanks for the tip, mLife

Read [TheHOPEProgram]

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After a bit of a delay, Dish Network has confirmed that they will be releasing the DTVPal DVR mid-December.  However, you can pre-order it starting next week.  Originally introduced as the EchoStar TR-50 when it was shown at the Consumer Electronics Show the beginning of the year, the slightly modified HD personal video recorder now has a spiffy new name to match its new look.  Continued after the break.

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The pre-Black Friday deals keep pouring in.  Not satisfied with actually making all their money on the day after Thanksgiving, some companies have been cutting prices early. 

If you’re in the market for an HDTV, 6th Avenue has the Panasonice Viera TH-42PZ80U 42” 1080P Plasma HDTV for just $807 and free shipping.  If you’re a NY or NJ resident, your price will be higher since you have to pay sales tax up front.  That’s a pretty good deal on this TV since it usually runs for about $900-$1300 at various stores. 

To get the TV at that price, go to 6ave.com and make sure you use the coupon code AFL5 at checkout for 5% off. 

Go get the TV at [6thAve]
via [BFads.net]

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You’ve got to feel bad for YouTube.  After becoming the Internet’s darling for such fun gags, it wants to get a day job.  No longer content with just the clearing house for pranks and short clips, it wants to be in the full length movie business as well as the TV show business. 

YouTube served up this kind of content at one time but was forced to take most of it down over copyright claims.  Now YouTube is working with Hollywood to gain their trust and their content.

But it isn’t an easy road.  Sure YouTube has the traffic, 81 million folks in September but they also have the baggage.  And it’s more than just past indiscretions.

Find out what’s next for YouTube.

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Sections: Video, Content, Web, Websites, Online Music/Video

Samsung is treating our friends from Korea with the release of a new version of the Samsung OMNIA called the Samsung T*OMNIA.  But aside from modifying the name of the phone, Samsung is also introducing three new features which we didn’t see with the internationally released Samsung OMNIA.

These new features include a larger 3.3-inch screen, a higher screen resolution up from 240x400 of the OMNIA to 480x800 and a DMB TV Tuner or what is more commonly known as a digital TV Tuner.  The last feature will allow our Korean friends to have mobile TV and quick Internet access on the T*OMNIA phone.  More details after the break.

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We all know, love, hate and possibly do our best to ignore Black Friday.  For deals on gadgets and tech, you’d expect the main electronic stores to participate: Best Buy, Circuit City, maybe even Wal-Mart and Target.  You can add one more to that list that you probably wouldn’t expect: Walgreens.  Yeah, I wasn’t expecting it either.

Of course, a store like Walgreens doesn’t have a whole ton of electronic deals, but there are a few.  Some of its not too surprising, like a 10” LCD TV for $99, a 9 megapixel Kodak camera for $79 and a 2 GB MicroSD card for $9.  While they are good deals, their what you’d usually expect from a store like Walgreens.  However, there are two surprising additions.  One is an 8MP HD camcorder from Aiptek for $79.  The other being an $89 Nextar GPS.  Sure, they aren’t really big brand names, but what do you expect from Walgreens?

With the economy the way it is, and tech becoming more popular, I wouldn’t be surprised to see more of these types of deals from other retailers for Black Friday.  Last year the big push was for HDTVs, which it could be this year as well.  One thing is definite, though, people like finding good deals on tech.

Read [BFads.net]

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It is important that we all do our part to help the environment.  Our normal, daily activities are soon becoming more and more energy efficient.  Recently, the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) has issued a new guideline for all TV manufacturers to follow.  This new guideline is set to reduce the amount of energy each TV uses by 30% in efforts to help save the environment and will save you some money on the monthly electric bill.

With the holiday season approaching quickly, many consumers will be shopping for brand new HDTVs, whether it be for themselves or a gift for a loved one.  These TVs, as you can imagine, use up an enormous amount of electricity - some TVs can use up to 500 kWh annually.  Continued after the break.

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Despite uneasy feelings on Wall Stre5et, electronic gadgets are predicted to gain in sales by 3.5 percent over last year’s Q4.  While overall spending is set to decline on holiday shopping, gadgets are somewhat immune.  According the CEA (Consumer Electronics Association), specific gadgets will still do extremely well this holiday season.

Smartphones

Any product that increases connectivity with friends and loved ones will be spent on more heavily according to the CEA report.  Consumers will forgo other luxury spending to get smartphones that can handle e-mail, texting, phoning and even Internet browsing.  Consumers can justify the expense easier as the phone becomes integral to daily life.

See what other electronics can withstand this economy after the break.

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Unlike most product releases today, Western Digital has released their TV HD media player with no extravagant advertising.  The tiny device allows you to plug in external USB hard drives, up to two simultaneously, and play any video content stored on them, on your TV. 

It outputs video to your TV in either plain old 480i format via the composite interface (and included cables) or in 1080p HD via HDMI.  The TV HD Media Player ships with “media converter software” leaving it suspect as to what formats the device actually supports.

For $129.99, you can get an easy way to watch your movies on your gorgeous HD TV.

Buy [Best Buy]

• Sharp TV Christmas Tree in Grand Central
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Broadcast television is taking a backseat to Hulu.com.  “30 Rock” is premiering this Thursday on Hulu, a full week before NBC will air the episode. 

This is not the first time NBC has shown off its television shows online before the television broadcast.  The short-lived “Andy Barker, P.I.“ debuted on NBC.com several weeks before ever appearing on television.  That show didn’t catch on, but this is “30 Rock,“ one of NBC’s bigger properties. 

NBC probably has seen an increase in traffic to both Hulu and NBC.com with the upcoming presidential election and Tina Fey’s spot-on Sarah Palin impression.  Seeing this trend, perhaps NBC actually understands that the online component of television is viable. 

I’m sure some will opt to watch the broadcast in HD over watching on Hulu, but this is a good step for NBC.  Hopefully, other networks will follow suit.

Watch [Hulu.com]

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Sections: Video, Web, Web 2.0, Websites, Online Music/Video