Samsung new LEDs - chio!

Get ready to put on your 3D glasses and watch Wayne Rooney leap up in 3D to score his latest headed goal. If electronics behemoth Samsung is to be believed, you will be watching 3D programmes that seem to jump off the screen instead of the current flat images we have known for decades.

So confident is the Korean firm that it will launch more than 20 TVs featuring the 3D feature this year. The first models, demo’d today at a regional showcase of its entire line of electronics, will go on sale here in Singapore this month.

Most of the 3D TV models will be out by 2Q 2010, and will include LED, LCD and plasma TV screens.

British hi-fi speaker maker Bowers & Wilkins has come up with its first pair of computer speakers, which it says will provide “hi-fi” sounds from laptops and PCs hooked up to them.

The MM-1, a little reminiscent of Bose’s earliesr PC offerings, looks the part and is now up for pre-order here in Singapore before it ships in April 2010. Each pair will cost you a handsome S$899 – the cost of a PC – at B&W distributor Eighteen 77.

As part of the product pre-launch promotion, you get 10% discount for buying of one unit and 15% discount for two units. Promotion ends on 2 Mar 2010, according to Eighteen 77.

… a Logitech Harmony 1100 universal remote.

Logitech Harmony 1100

Yes, the holidays are still two months away, but hey, we can always start dreaming about new gizmos that we can get our wives and girlfriends to buy for us with their bonuses, right (since the economy seems to be recovering)?

For me, the Harmony 1100 better be in these shores by Christmas. Now available in the United States, the latest top-end, touch-screen remote from Logitech promises control for all your AV amplifiers and DVD players sitting snugly in your packed TV console.

You can actually walk through the halls without squeezing past sweaty people – well, in most parts – at this year’s Comex show at Suntec City.

At nearby Raffles City, there was even ample parking – many empty lots – at about 6pm on Friday when I visited this year’s third quarterly computer and electronics bazaar.

So, what are the good deals that Techgoondu recommends you check out? I’d say the usual stuff were in store – large-screen TVs and portable hard disks – but there were one of two surprises, like Audio Technica’s headphones.

I’ll be honest and say that I was a little skeptical about Seagate’s FreeAgent Theater when the test unit was recently sent for a Goondu check-out.

Why, in a time when people are streaming videos at home with an Xbox or Playstation 3, or playing back DivX movies on compatible DVD players, would they turn to another media player, this time from a hard disk manufacturer?

Well, I got my answer when I finally fired up my first two movies – The Spartans and Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle – on my LCD TV in the living room.

Samsung's B7000 - looking good

Like many shoppers who’ve been to an electronics store lately, I’ve had a look at Samsung’s incredibly slim B7000 LED TVs (also known as its Series 7 LED TVs) and been pleasantly surprised.

With a depth of under 3cm for the 40-inch model, these svelte beauties never fail to get a reaction when you stare at them from the side – even my parents, non-techies that they are, were shocked to see how thin a screen has become these days.

Yet, looks aside, I never expected to be wowed by the equally stunning image quality on the B7000, which I had a chance to check out closely when Samsung sent us a 40-incher.

Communic Asia has been a busy week, with IDA press updates on the iN2015 rollout, extension of wireless@SG for another three years (yay!), and launches of phones by both Sony Ericsson (Satio) and Samsung (Jet).

But sometimes just walking the showfloor can uncover interesting technology gems and surprises, and I came across some cool stuff at Broadcast Asia 2009, a sister event to Communic Asia held concurrently at Expo. At the Singapore pavilion at Broadcast Asia in Hall 8, I came across the 3M Vikuiti rear projection film technology being distributed by Singaporean firm GG Alliance.

3M Vikuiti film on display

What you’re seeing is a video being projected on a glass panel that has the 3M Vikuiti film stuck to it, a thin film layer (about 0.3mm) that can be cut to any shape and stuck to any glass panel from the inside. The projection is behind the glass panel (not in front as I originally thought), and the film is easy to both apply (self-adhesive) and remove.

Sweaty crowds, loudspeakers and lelong prices. What else would you expect from the latest quarterly IT bazaar happening at Suntec City from today to Sunday, right?

Crowds at the ongoing PC Show seem thinner than the previous IT Show in March, perhaps due to the fears over the H1N1 swine flu, or maybe the bleak economy is finally getting to some folks. Sony, noticeably, did not turn up with a bang as before – there were no Level 2 booths you’ve come to see at Suntec City.

Still, there are bargains to be had. And here are my own few Goondu recommendations.

1. LG 32-inch HD-ready TV (S$499)
With 37- and 40-inchers going for as low as $899, the smaller screens are obviously free-falling in price. One deal I saw at the LG booth was an HD-ready 32-incher with a built-in terrestial DTV tuner going for a mere S$499.

I have written about this pair of Japanese-branded headphones before, but after a particularly draining jogging session yesterday, which I must have sweated buckets over 2 hours and thoroughly drenched the ‘phones, I feel I must give it another round of props for being one of the toughest and better sounding headphones for those who like to run. I’ve never have a pair of headphones able to take quite as much abuse or serve the runner as well: the Audio Technica “ONTO” ATH-ON3 fits like crazy glue around my ears, has a fab wire head band that is unobtrusive and feels lightweight enough for marathons. Sweat attack? Just dry the earpieces with kitchen paper towels and the headphones are good to go for your next run. Let’s hope Audio Technica won’t discontinue it anytime soon.

MobileOne girls in orange - out in force early in the show

Are we in the worst recession since the 1930s? Doesn’t seem like it when you see the long lines of people waiting to sign up for a StarHub line or those snapping up LCD TVs like there was no tomorrow at the IT Show.

When I turned up at around noon, the Suntec area was was already a nightmare to drive around. Was going to give up after being stuck in my car, when I finally managed to enter Marina Square from the back (near Ritz Carlton), and guess what, there were dozens of empty carpark lots. Amazing how the security folks just happily block off all the carparks in the area and list them as “full”.

Anyway, I walked around and found some bargains – not downright dirt cheap, but somewhat tempting, especially if you are in the market for some of these gadgets.