LG will be launching its Cinema 3D range (3D LED, 3D Ultra Slim LED, 3D Home Theater systems, 3D Blu-ray players and the futuristic 3D OLED TV) in India over the coming months. We have already explored the major new features of the 2012 range of Cinema 3D products. Check out our earlier coverage for a hands-on first impression, if you haven’t already. Listed below are the Cinema 3D LED TV models that LG will be launching along with their launch date, price, and major features.

LG Cinema 3D 72LM9500
Features: LED Plus, Cinema 3D, MCI 1000 (Motion Clarity Index), Full HD 3D, 2D to 3D, Magic Remote, Dual Play, Smart Share Plus, 2nd Display, Skype.
Launch Month: June
Price: Rs. 700,000

LG Cinema 3D 55LM8600
Features: LED Plus, Cinema 3D, Cinema Screen, MCI 800, Full HD 3D, 2D to 3D, Magic Remote, Dual Play, 2nd Display, Skype.
Launch Month: June
Price: Rs. 265,000

LG Cinema 3D 55LM7600
Features: LED Plus, Cinema 3D, Cinema Screen, MCI 800, Full HD 3D, 2D to 3D, Magic Remote, Dual Play, Skype.
Launch Month: June
Price: Rs. 201,000

LG Cinema 3D 47LM7600
Features: LED Plus, Cinema 3D, Cinema Screen, MCI 800, Full HD 3D, 2D to 3D, Magic Remote, Dual Play, Skype.
Launch Month: May
Price: Rs. 144,000

LG Cinema 3D 42LM7600
Features: LED Plus, Cinema 3D, Cinema Screen, MCI 800, Full HD 3D, 2D to 3D, Magic Remote, Dual Play, Skype.
Launch Month: May
Price: Rs. 110,000

LG Cinema 3D 55LM6700
Features: LED Plus, Cinema 3D, Cinema Screen, MCI 400, Full HD 3D, 2D to 3D, Magic Remote, Dual Play Ready, Skype.
Launch Month: June
Price: Rs. 174,000

LG Cinema 3D 47LM6700
Features: LED Plus, Cinema 3D, Cinema Screen, MCI 400, Full HD 3D, 2D to 3D, Magic Remote, Dual Play Ready, Skype.
Launch Month: May
Price: Rs. 124,000

LG Cinema 3D 42LM6700
Features: LED Plus, Cinema 3D, Cinema Screen, MCI 400, Full HD 3D, 2D to 3D, Magic Remote, Dual Play Ready, Skype.
Launch Month: May
Price: Rs. 102,000

LG Cinema 3D 47LM6690
Features: LED Plus, Cinema 3D, Cinema Screen, MCI 400, Full HD 3D, 2D to 3D, Magic Remote, Dual Play Ready, Skype.
Launch Month: May
Price: Rs. 124,000

LG Cinema 3D 42LM6690
Features: LED Plus, Cinema 3D, Cinema Screen, MCI 400, Full HD 3D, 2D to 3D, Magic Remote, Dual Play Ready, Skype.
Launch Month: May
Price: Rs. 102,000

LG Cinema 3D 47LM6400
Features: LED Plus, Cinema 3D, Cinema Screen, MCI 400, Full HD 3D, 2D to 3D, Magic Remote, Dual Play Ready, Skype.
Launch Month: June
Price: Rs. 114,000

LG Cinema 3D 42LM6400
Features: LED Plus, Cinema 3D, Cinema Screen, MCI 400, Full HD 3D, 2D to 3D, Magic Remote, Dual Play Ready, Skype.
Launch Month: June
Price: Rs. 95,000

LG Cinema 3D 32LM6400
Features: LED Plus, Cinema 3D, Cinema Screen, MCI 400, Full HD 3D, 2D to 3D, Magic Remote, Dual Play Ready, Skype.
Launch Month: June
Price: Rs. 59,000

LG Cinema 3D 65LM6200
Features: LED, Cinema 3D, MCI 400, Full HD 3D, 2D to 3D, Dual Play Ready, Skype.
Launch Month: June
Price: Rs. 400,000

LG Cinema 3D 55LM6200
Features: LED, Cinema 3D, MCI 400, Full HD 3D, 2D to 3D, Dual Play Ready, Skype.
Launch Month: May
Price: Rs. 165,000

LG Cinema 3D 47LM6200
Features: LED, Cinema 3D, MCI 400, Full HD 3D, 2D to 3D, Dual Play Ready, Skype.
Launch Month: May
Price: Rs. 104,000

LG Cinema 3D 42LM6200
Features: LED, Cinema 3D, MCI 400, Full HD 3D, 2D to 3D, Dual Play Ready, Skype.
Launch Month: June
Price: Rs. 87,000

LG Cinema 3D 32LM6200
Features: LED, Cinema 3D, MCI 400, Full HD 3D, 2D to 3D, Dual Play Ready, Skype.
Launch Month: May
Price: Rs. 55,000

LG Cinema 3D 42LM3410
Features: LED, Cinema 3D, MCI 100, 2D to 3D, Dual Play Ready.
Launch Month: June
Price: Rs. 70,000

LG Cinema 3D 32LM3410
Features: LED, Cinema 3D, MCI 100, 2D to 3D, Dual Play Ready
Launch Month: June
Price: Rs. 46,000

LG Electronics India Limited (LGEIL), which is the current 3D TV leader in India with about half the market share, is gearing up to launch its new 2012 series of Cinema 3D Smart TVs. Mr. Soon Kwon, MD of LEGIL, heralded the 2012 lineup as “a significant step forward, thanks to a series of new and upgraded 3D features”.

LG Cinema 3D 72LM9500

There are three principle techniques employed by 3D TVs to provide a perception of depth. They are – Shutter, Color Anaglyph, and Polarized. While the latter two are called as passive 3D, the former is dubbed as active. 3D TVs from the likes of Samsung and Sony fall into the first category. These TVs essentially use glasses that are synced with the TV and have a shutter that alternately opens and closes to deliver different frames to different eyes. The problem with this technique is that the glasses require batteries as well as an infra-red sensor to be able communicate with the TV set. This makes them both heavy and expensive. This technique also reduces the effective refresh rate of the TV. Anaglyph 3D content has two differently filtered colored images, one for each eye. The glasses are specially tinted to allow only one image and block the other. Thus, each eye receives a different image. Anaglyph glasses don’t have any complicated circuitry, and hence are lighter and cheaper. The disadvantage of Anaglyph is that due to the tinting, the viewer often gets a dimmer image with poor contrast and color reproduction. Moreover, since both the images are delivered at the same time, there is a possibility of artifacts being present. Polarized 3D TVs work in a similar fashion; however, instead of altering the color, it alters the frequency of the image. Polarized glasses are expected to alleviate contrast and color reproduction issues; however, it still can suffer from the presence of artifacts.

LG’s Cinema 3D display uses polarization technique (they prefer to call it Film Type Patterned Retarder 3D or FPR). As a result, LG Cinema 3D is able to deliver full 240 Hz refresh rate, which on paper means that you shouldn’t observe any flickering. The glasses are also super light (15 grams) and extremely comfortable. For folks with spectacles, there is a clip-on lens that’s even thinner and lighter.

LG Cinema 3D FPR Glasses

LG Cinema 3D FPR Clip-On Glasses

Now that we understand how LG’s Cinema 3D works, let’s have a look at some of the new features it will be introducing in its 2012 line-up.

Cinema Screen: In its LED 3D TVs, LG has managed to trim the bezel down to a phenomenal 1 mm. Thus, the actual display almost extends from edge to edge. LG is calling this Cinema Screen, since it believes that the new design will facilitate a seamless and immersive viewing experience à la the big screen.

LG Cinema 3D LM8600 with Cinema Screen

2D to 3D Conversion: 3D content is still pretty rare in the market. In order to tackle this problem, LG developed an algorithm to convert 2D content into 3D on the fly. The new models will feature an improved 6-step algorithm that should offer better 3D viewing experience.

Dual Play: Last year, we saw Sony allowing gamers to play PS3 games against each other on the same television screen by using special glasses. Now, LG is following suit with Dual Play for Xbox. As discussed earlier, 3D TV essentially works by displaying two different images to two different eyes. Somewhat similarly, dual play works by displaying two different images to two different players.

Magic Remote: LG has enhanced its remote by adding gesture support and a scroll wheel to it. The latter is particularly handy while surfing the web, while the former makes issuing complex command simple.

Smart Share Plus: While most current generation TVs come with DLNA for displaying multimedia content from mobile phones, tablets, and PCs on the big screen, LG has added support for a host of new technologies to differentiate itself. MHL (Mobile HD Link) allows compatible smartphones to be connected to the TV through micro HDMI to play HD content on the big screen. WiDi (Intel’s Wireless Display) enables fast and easy connection between TVs and Laptops without any wires or internet network. Wi-Fi Screen Share enables the content on the TV screen to be shared with multiple devices including smart phones and tablets. And finally, 2nd Display enables you to watch TV programs or Blu-ray content on your smartphone or your tablet PC, even if that content is not being displayed on your TV. So, you can watch a cricket match on your tablet, while your mom is watching her favorite soap on the television. This feature will not be present out of the box, but will be made available by mid-2012 through an automatic software update.

LG Cinema 3D in Action

So, the LG Cinema 3D displays are packed to the brim with fun and useful features. However, how does it perform in real life? Earlier this week, I got a brief opportunity to check out the new displays in action, and the good news is that when it comes to picture quality, LG’s offerings perform mostly as advertised. Brightness, contrast and color reproduction, which have been some of the major caveats of 3D TVs, are excellent. Flickering also didn’t rear its ugly head. However, I can’t vouch if LG has managed to address the headache issue, without using the 3D displays for prolonged periods. The 2D to 3D conversion is quite neat and adds a perceivable amount of depth to existing content. However, I didn’t get a chance to check out the 3D conversion algorithm in action on a live stream. LG only had a music video for demonstration purposes. I am told that the effectiveness of the conversion process is heavily dependent on the quality of the source material. LG allows the user to control the intensiveness of the 3D effect. As you move the slider towards the right, depth of the picture increases; however, so does the amount of observable interlacing. Presets are available to help you tune the conversion settings according to the content that you are watching.

Spring break is over and summer is coming, which means many younger students still have a lot of catching up to do in the academic sphere while returning college students are beginning the next term. Since many students spend a lot of time using their smartphones for non-productive activities (Angry Birds, anyone?), now is a great time to improve productivity and academic performance through student-friendly apps.

1. iStudiez Pro

Despite the misleading spelling, iStudiez Pro is a very smart and helpful way to organize your entire class schedule and workload. The app features color-coding to make your schedule easier to scan, as well as an attachment feature that allows you to keep track of assignment due dates according to each course.

2. Share Your Board

With this app, students can take a picture of the classroom whiteboard and quickly save it into an easy-to-read PDF. Include your own notes and send the file to your friends for better studying efficiency.

3. CliffNotes

Though I wouldn’t recommend substituting this for reading the required text in your Literature class, the app can be incredibly helpful for students who want to gain a better grasp on difficult works. If you’re spending a day at the park reading, just make sure to have this app by your side as a helpful guide.

4. RealCalc

Are you an English major with just one more semester of Statistics left before leaving the math world behind for good? RealCalc allows you to skip out on shoveling out $100 minimum for a scientific calculator by providing user-friendly functionality for absolutely free. The app includes a unit converter, and is designed to handle algebra, trigonometry, combinations, and more.

5. Cram

Very few students are able to achieve excellent academic performance at college without at least a couple of cram sessions for upcoming tests. The Cram application allows users to create flash cards and multiple-choice tests to gauge information retention skills and ensure a better test score. Cram even allows you to share these study aids with friends for more effective study groups.

6. Foursquare for Universities

Stay connected with peers, staff and alumni at your institution through the social networking application, Foursquare for Universities. With this app, students can earn rewards for being active on campus and gain more school pride by learning about the history of different parts of the campus area.

7. iTunes U for iPhone

Want to gain more information on your course subjects from an outside resource? iTunes U allows students to download podcasts, lectures, e-books, and more from the top universities around the world.

8. Mindjet

When you’re having trouble organizing your thoughts to complete a project for Biology or can’t seem to create a quality introduction for your Russian Literature term paper, Mindjet helps you organize your thoughts, brainstorm and ultimately come to a clear and concise conclusion.

9. Wikipedia

Your instructor might kill you for using Wikipedia as your primary source for a research paper, but that doesn’t mean you can’t use it for gaining a surface understanding of important figures and concepts that you might appear throughout the course.

10. BigWords

Saving students from the burdensome cost of textbooks, BigWords allows users to search for their required textbooks with a price comparison search engine.

Although self-discipline might play a role, having more educational apps on your smartphone will likely result in less use of time-wasting alternative apps. Keeping these handy will help you get more out of your education and enjoy better organization from the first day to final exams.

==== About the Author ====
Matt Herndon is a freelance writer living and working in the Indianapolis area. His undergraduate and graduate work was done in Upper East Tennessee where he studied communication and institutional leadership. He writes on behalf of American InterContinental University.

It might be tempting to get the hot new gadget right now, but truthfully, it’s an awkward time to pick up a little techie something-something. If you’re smart, you’ll hold off on buying these electronics. We’ll tell you which ones, and why.

Televisions and Home Theatre Systems:
It’s best to wait until mid-2012 to pick up the very latest for your home theatre, May at the earliest. The 2012 TV lineups will be reviewed around then, and you’ll be able to see what cool new things Samsung will have to offer on their new line of plasma television sets. For now, the Panasonic ST50 is still at the top of the list on the top of the line range, better than last year’s bests, at the price of last year’s mid-range sets. The same goes for blu-ray players and receivers, which haven’t been reviewed this year.

The iPhone:
It’s very, very enticing, we know, but good things come to those who wait. The new one is mere months away from being released, and you don’t want to be stuck with a 4 model when everyone’s getting the follow-up to the series. If you really think about it, the 4S is just a variation on a design that’s about 2 years old at this point. A few months more won’t really hurt, will it?

Laptops:
Wait until the release of Windows 8 and the Ivy Bridge, coming in Fall and Late Spring of this year, respectively. Ivy Bridge is the name of Intel’s new chipset and it’s slated to be faster, more efficient, and have better onboard graphics capabilities. Laptops equipped with these new goodies should hit the market as soon as next month or the one after that, so hold off for a significantly better return on your investment, technology-wise, and more bang for your buck. The new laptops will also be equipped with USB 3.0 instead of USB 2.0, a significant change that will spell all the difference now that everyone’s upgrading to HD and multi megapixel files. The new chipset will also be better equipped to handle the heavier load of Windows 8 once it releases.

High-End Mirrorless Cameras:
DSLRs are all the rage right now, and they sure are fantastic, but not really worth it for people who only want something a little better than a simple point and shoot. Mirrorless cameras are a great new alternative for this market: they come with interchangeable lenses like DSLRs but in a body that’s light and convenient for carrying around. The best in this line has to be the Sony NEX-5N, which has a much better sensor quality than others from Olympus or Panasonic that use the Micro 4/3 format. While it’s far from perfect (lacking in solid manual controls and the lens selection still isn’t stellar), it’s still packing the equivalent image quality of a $1500 DSLR in a $700 gadget. It’s a phenomenal deal.

There you have it, the top 5 techie things it might be good to hold off on for a few more months. Cling to your wallet with both hands and don’t shell out the cash until the new releases have been unleashed onto the market. You’ll thank yourself later.

==== About the Author ====
George Shaw is a gadget freak and and a design consultant for Cardprinting.us, a provider of plastic cards and key tag printing services.

Acer, one of the world’s largest PC maker, has started rolling out the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich for its Tegra 2 packing Iconia Tab A500. Acer had initially stated that it will start rolling out the ICS update for the A500 28th April, but it looks like someone inside the company plugged the plug on the update a couple of days early.

The ICS update bumps the Android version to 4.0.3, and not Android 4.0.4, so technically Iconia A500 users will still not be running the latest version of Ice Cream Sandwich.

Reports from A500 users over at XDA forums suggest that the ICS update is still not yet available for the “Gen2″ variant of the handset. Also, if you own the A501 variant of the Iconia Tab instead of the A500 variant, there is some bad news for you. Acer does not plan on updating the A501 variant to Ice Cream Sandwich. The A501 variant of the Iconia Tab is sold by AT&T in the United States, and is also available in Canada, Mexico, Brazil and Latin America.

It is surprising to see that small tablet makers like Asus, Sony and Acer have already updated their tablet to Ice Cream Sandwich, while there is still no ICS in sight for Samsung’s popular Galaxy Tab series.

Via – XDA

Microsoft has introduced the Bluetooth Mobile Keyboard 5000 for the Indian market making it one of the first multi-platform Bluetooth keyboards to be launched in India.

At less than three-quarters of an inch thick and 400 grams in weight, the Bluetooth Mobile Keyboard 5000 is a slim and sleek alternative helping you get rid of pesky wires, docks, or trans-receivers. I’ve been using the Microsoft Arc keyboard for several months and have been looking for an alternative that takes away the need for a trans-receiver. The small unit can easily be lost and also occupies a USB port all the time. The Bluetooth Mobile Keyboard 5000 is very easy on the hands and has an ergonomic Microsoft Comfort Curve design. The design promotes a more natural wrist position whether you are working on a desk or in a casual posture.

“Microsoft Bluetooth Mobile keyboard 5000 is especially designed for people on the move and as the market for mobile products such as the Tablets and Laptops increases; this is poised to become an accessory consumers would definitely want”.

- Mr Satish Parreddi, Senior Product Marketing Manager, Retail Sales & Marketing, Microsoft India

The compact keyboard offers full functionality of a keyboard and is compatible with both tablets and PCs, although it is small enough to slip into a bag. Priced at an attractive price of INR 3350 in India, the Bluetooth Mobile Keyboard 5000 works equally well with Microsoft Windows (Windows Vista and Windows 7), iPad, iPad2, and many Android devices. Available only in black color, the keyboard requires the standard AAA batteries.

Asus has started rolling out (again!) a new software update for the original Transformer (TF101) that improves the stability of the device, and adds some new features. The update mainly aims at improving the overall performance and stability of the device, along with fixing the random FCs and reboot issues that were plaguing many Transformer owners post the Ice Cream Sandwich update.

Below is the change-log of the update -:

• Improves system stability
• Improves email stability
• Improves AppBackup App
• Improves MyLibrary stability
• Supports Wi-Fi Direct
• Supports unzip in File Manager
• Add restore tab function in Browser

The update is already live in most regions of the world, and most of the Transformer owners have already got the OTA update notification on their tablet. Asus is perhaps the  only Android tablet maker out there that continuously pushes out software updates for its devices. In fact, I don’t think any other company has rolled out so many software updates for any of their product(s) throughout its lifetime as much as Asus has done for the Transformer and Transformer Prime in just a few months.

Kudos to Asus for their continuous support and top-notch Android tablets! Hopefully, the company will be able to provide some stiff competition to Apple’s iPad in the tablet market sooner than later.

If you’re a space nut like me, then you are going to love what I am about to tell you. You can now own a piece of history buy purchasing a thermal tile from the Space Shuttle Columbia.

Image Courtesy of Space.com

Several retailers carry these cool collectibles. You can see an example pictured above. This particular tile was found at Space.com in their store section. It is a 1.65 inch square section cut from thermal tile material used in the Space Shuttle Columbia program. It comes with a nifty display case and certificate of authenticity.

Space shuttle tiles were an amazing invention. Lockheed Missiles and Space company were the first company to introduce the material. Because of the extreme heat generated by atmospheric reentry, something had to be done to insulate the aluminum construction of the shuttle or else it would fail. These thermal tiles were a great solution. They were very lightweight composed mostly of air, believe it or not. As a matter of fact, only 10% of the tile is composed of the insulating material which is silica fiber. Pictured below, you can see a breakdown of the tile with its components labeled.

Courtesy WikiPedia

Of course, for many of us, these tiles cause us to remember the Columbia disaster in which the thermal protection system failed on reentry due to damage done at launch. Space.com makes a point on their site that none of these tiles were a part of the destroyed shuttle. There is no doubt that the invention of these tiles were a significant reason the Space Shuttle program could achieve all it did. Lockheed has since developed material that can withstand more than 2 times the heat of the originals.

RIM (Research In Motion) has started rolling out a new software update for its now forgotten tablet, the PlayBook. Yes, people actually brought the PlayBook! The new PlayBook OS update does not bring any major changes whatsoever, but there are some speed and performance improvements.

Below is the relatively short change-log of the PlayBook OS 2.0.1 as provided by RIM -:

• Browser enhancements to address performance with some websites
• Improvements to support Android apps
• Optimizations to Video Chat, PIM and BlackBerry Bridge applications
• And much more!

Samsung recently announced two new multimedia devices in its popular Galaxy family, the Samsung Galaxy Player 3.6 and Galaxy Player 4.2. Both the devices runs on the Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) Operating System. These media players has all the all the features of a smartphone, except the calling capabilities.

You might have already guessed that the Galaxy Player 3.6 comes with a 3.6 inch WVGA display, while the Galaxy Player 4.2 comes with a 4.2 inch WVGA display. These devices will be available for purchase from next month in the US. Check out the complete specs after the break.

The Samsung Galaxy Player 3.6 features a 3.2 inch WVGA display, sporting a resolution of 480 x 320 pixels, 1 GHz processor, Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) OS, TouchWiz 4.0 UI, 2 megapixel rear-facing camera, VGA front-facing camera, Music Player with SoundAlive, Front Stereo Speaker, 3.5 mm headset jack, Bluetooth 3.0, USB 2.0, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, 8 GB internal memory, MicroSD card slot, 32 GB expandable memory, 512 MB RAM and a 1500 mAh battery.

The Samsung Galaxy Player 4.2 features a 4.2 inch WVGA display, sporting a resolution of 480 x 800 pixels, 1 GHz processor, Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) OS, TouchWiz 4.0 UI, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, 2 megapixel rear-facing camera, VGA front-facing camera, Front Stereo Speaker, Bluetooth 3.0, USB 2.0, Samsung Apps, Social Hub, Readers Hub, Music Hub, Game Hub, Google Play Store, 8 GB/ 16 GB internal memory, MicroSD card slot, 32 GB expandable memory, 512 MB RAM, Samsung ChatON, Samsung Kies and a 1500 mAh battery.

The Samsung Galaxy Player 3.6 is exclusively available for purchase at Best Buy for $149.99. On the other hand, the Samsung Galaxy Player 4.2 will be available for purchase from May 13 for $199.99. It will also be available for pre-order, starting from May 4.