Date:21/09/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/09/21/stories/2008092160411300.htm
Front Page Movies on the move - or on my wall? Anand Parthasarathy - Photo: Anand Parthasarathy IS THAT PC OR TV?: A visitor at the Hong Kong showcase, tries out HP's new HDX18 entertainment notebook which plays high definition Blu-ray movies with Dolby digital sound. Bangalore: The 'sangamam' of the separate worlds of the personal computer and the television set that everyone has been talking about, has finally happened. And it has kicked off another confluence - of customers' urge to work and play, on the same platform, even at the same time. Last week's launch event in Hong Kong, for Hewlett Packard's new line-up of personal systems, drove these twin trends home, with products that virtually erased the distinction between the PC and TV experience. The new model - the IQ800 series - in the TouchSmart desktop PC range first launched last year, has a touch-sensitive screen, over 25 inches across. This makes it larger than the 20-inch TV that is what most of us still have in our homes. In addition to a cordless mouse and keyboard, the PC which is a Windows Vista (home premium) machine fuelled by a dual-core Intel chip, comes with a TV-style remote. This is neat, because the monitor is flat and light enough to be mounted on the wall. If you still want to get up close and personal, touch technology allows one to select all standard PC options and even open picture, music or movie menus with one finger brushing the screen. Built-in Dolby stereo speakers complete the theatre experience while a TV tuner and a Blu-ray DVD drive allow one to use the IQ800 as a normal TV or a high-definition movie player. The international price of the IQ800, which the witty are dubbing a 'walltop,' is $1,799. For those who want their "infotainment" on the move, the new HDX range of entertainment notebook PCs, bring almost all these video features to an 18.4 inch laptop screen, including high-end graphics from NVIDIA and a Blu-ray drive, but minus the 'touchy' controls. Also being launched, are smaller-screen versions like the HDX16 where the video quality is short of true high definition; but is simulated by what is known as 'upscaling' - adding more dots to bring the resolution up to 1,080 pixels. This costs about $200 less than the asking price for the HDX18 which will leave little change for $1,700. By the time the products are offered in India towards the year-end their prices may be in the Rs.65,000-Rs.85,000 range - so clearly not for the budget conscious. Prices will fall once competition hots up. The early bird gets the pricey worm. Join Access India convention: For updates on it visit: http://accessindia.org.in/harish/convention.htm September 21 &22!! To unsubscribe send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in
