I’d thought of posting this small roundup of the best of IFA, but have been stuck with work and fighting a flu. Well, better late then never, right? …

Now that contrast ratio and “black” levels have become too high to have any real attraction or meaning on paper, TV makers seem to have seized on another craze – slimness.

At this year’s ongoing IFA electronics show in Berlin, Korean manufacturers, in particular, are showing off future TVs that are as thin as a piece of paper.

The slimmest screens I’ve seen so far are LG’s OLED TVs on display here, which measure just 2.9mm. Yes, that’s the thickness of a piece of paper. …

The biggest bet for TV makers this year – 3D – is taking longer to take off than expected, despite fast becoming a mainstream feature, said Korean electronics giant LG, at the IFA electronics show in Berlin, Germany.

Sales have been slower than anticipated, due to high prices and a lack of 3D content to watch on these newfangled TVs that started shipping earlier this year, said the number two TV maker. …

When some Microsoft folks recently asked me how users and techies felt about its upcoming Windows Phone 7 OS, I told them “you’re lucky to still be in the news”.

Until the past few weeks, when favourable first-looks of Microsoft’s totally rebuilt smartphone OS came online, the only OSes that anyone was talking about were Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android.

For an example of how fast a dominant OS can fall in interest level, look at Nokia’s Symbian OS that now powers most of its phones, as it transitions to the more advanced MeeGo. Who thinks anything great of Symbian now?

And compared to Nokia, Microsoft was worse off a few months ago – it only showed glimpses of what Windows Phone 7 was about at February’s Mobile World Congress and nothing more.

So, it was with a bit of surprise when I saw how well Windows Phone 7 was built, during a hands-on preview at the Microsoft offices here in Singapore last week.

Having lost crucial market share to Android and iOS, Microsoft has clearly done the right thing by building its new OS from ground up. Gone are the clunky “halfway house” touch offerings on Windows Mobile 6.5. Absent too is any lag that you get while moving around menus. In fact, pretty animations accompany most actions – without slowing things down. …

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. …