FLO TV Personal Television gets official: $250 plus a monthly fee you'll never pay

You know, considering just how unappreciated FLO TV's mobile television services are here in the US of A, you'd think the company would do its best to keep the losses at bay. For whatever reason, suits at the outfit have it in mind that the answer to their woes isn't to throw in mobile TV gratis and find revenue streams from other sources, but to produce a dedicated TV that will only appeal to those looking to actually carry more portable devices with them. Brilliant, no? The oft-rumored FLO TV Personal Television finally got official tonight, with an aim to bring live and time-shifted content directly to the 3.5-inch capacitive touchscreen for up to five straight hours on a single charge. To its credit, it weighs just 5 ounces and features an integrated kickstand and stereo speakers, but with a $249.99 price tag and a required $8.99 monthly plan (or more, if you're not a fan of locking yourself into an absurd 3-year contract), we can't exactly see this thing selling well. Or at all, really.

Gallery: FLO TV Personal Television gets official: $250 plus a monthly fee you'll never pay

Mitsubishi debuts power-saving RDT231WLM-S 23-inch monitor

We know it's been tough finding a 23-inch, full HD monitor that's just nondescript enough to cause not so much as a passing glance, but it looks like Mitsubishi finally has the monitor for you. In addition to that 1,920 x 1080 resolution, its new RDT231WLM-S model packs a decent 5 ms response time, a 1,000:1 contrast ratio, a full range of ports including HDMI and DVI, and an "ECO Professional" mode to cut down on power consumption whenever possible. Unfortunately, it also makes use of a TN panel, and it eschews any modern conveniences like a built-in webcam or USB hub -- but, hey, at least it's one monitor that won't collect fingerprints left and right. No price or release just yet, but we'd expect those details to be fairly inexpensive and fairly soon.

gCubik shows off its good side, and every other while it's at it (video)

Remember gCubik? It's been a few months, but to recap, it's a cube developed by researchers from NICT that features textured surfaces that present you a different view on the "internal" image based on viewing angle, giving the illusion something is physically in the box. Theoretically, at least -- it's pretty low-resolution and in the early stages of development. We stumbled upon the device at the CEATEC showfloor this week and decided to snap some video while there. There were moments when the effect was lost, and getting too close completely blurred what we saw to the point of incomprehension, but again, this shows a whole heap of potential that's fascinating to us. See it for yourself after the break.

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Funai Eco Scan projector adds multitouch capabilities to your bedroom wall (video)

Here's hoping every pico projector outfit on the planet is paying attention to what's going down at CEATEC, otherwise they can pretty much forget about competing with what Funai is boasting. Seen here in Japan, this prototype projector utilized a Nippon Signal MEMS scanner and a great deal of top-secret technology in order to actually add multitouch capabilities to whatever surface is lucky enough to receive the projected image. You read right -- if you use this PJ to beam up an image on your bathroom wall, school whiteboard or any other surface, you can count on that surface having multitouch capabilities while the image is live. Once projected, users simply twist and turn the image in order to have it modified in real-time, and while there are obviously far more enterprise-based uses for this than consumer-based uses, there's no denying the awesomeness. Have a peek of the beamer in action after the break, and expect it to go commercial sometime in 2010 (if we're lucky).

[Via Tech-On!]

Gallery: Funai Eco Scan projector adds multitouch capabilities to your bedroom wall

Sony has a long history of VAIO all-in-one machines, usually taking the party line by offering swank aesthetics combined with slightly cringe-inducing price tags. When we went hands on with its latest, the VAIO L, we found it to look just as good as those earlier ones, but its $1,300 price tag to be rather fair. Built into a 24-inch, 1920 x 1080 (1080p) touchscreen it's meant to serve as both an HDTV and a PC, featuring an HDMI inport where you can plug in your PS3. Yes, that's what mom calls it before she starts rocking out with the kiddos in the video after the break. It has a 500GB drive for your apps and for DVR recordings through Windows 7 Premium, packs a Blu-ray writer, a Core 2 Duo processor, and "loads of RAM." Sure, there are cheaper ways to get an all-in-one, but only one comes standard with an inport.

Sony Delivers New Touch-Screen HD PC/TV

Mitsubishi's modular, scalable OLED display goes 155-inches at CEATEC, could go way bigger (video)

Something tells us that whenever we do round two of our Time Square signage Engadget Show, Mitsubishi's modular OLED display will be amongst the highlights. Aimed at outdoor applications (but obviously ready for your living room), the scalable prototype shown here at CEATEC was 155-inches in size. The wild part, however, is that it could grow infinitely larger -- at least in theory. The whole panel that you notice from afar is crafted from smaller OLED blocks that snap together like a puzzle; the more you add, the larger your screen can be. Unfortunately, resolution is still relatively low and longevity is a definite concern, but if you can manage to stand a few feet back, the result is simply stunning. Hop on past the break for a new take on "immersive."

Hitachi's face-recognizing display turns off, saves power when you look away (video)

CEATEC is a breeding ground for new innovations, and Hitachi made sure to get its name on the A-list with a simple face-recognizing television that seeks to save power whenever you glance away. Essentially, the prototype plasma on display packs an inbuilt camera that notices when your face is peering at it, and whenever you glance away, a power-saving mode goes into action. Unfortunately, that means that the panel goes black, and while we understand the point here, we can envision such a feature causing all sorts of rage around the house, particularly if you've got a handful of viewers trying to keep watch from a few feet further away than yourself. Hit the read link to have a look at how things work in practice -- here's hoping you can opt for the sound to stay on throughout the blackout, at least.

Vuzix Wrap 310 video eyewear actually isn't the ugliest thing of all time

Could it be? Could it really be? Has Vuzix actually deployed a video eyewear solution that isn't completely unsightly in every imaginable way? Our eyes may be deceiving us, but we're going with "yes, amazingly" for the time being. Unlike the company's iWear line -- which looks pretty much exactly like the specs worn by Geordi La Forge -- the unpriced Wrap 310 resembles a set of sunglasses. Now, these aren't apt to be mistaken for Aviators or those patented Kayne joints, but at least you'd look halfway civilized if caught in public with these on your face. Packing a pair of video displays and promising a virtual 55-inch image, these get juiced by just two AA cells and can play nice with pretty much any video source, iPod and iPhone included. There's also an expansion port that'll give it VGA / component outputs in the near future, and if you subscribe to science fiction, it could also be used to read minds in around a score.

Dell curiously announces ST2210 and ST2310 LCD monitors

Oh, Dell. Oftentimes we wonder if you guys even want consumers to know that you've got new kit for them to ogle. Shortly after we discovered that the ST2410 LCD monitor was both a) real and b) on sale, we're now having to turn to YouTube in order to catch wind that two smaller models have also been announced to accompany it. The ST2210 is a 21.5-inch panel with a 1080p resolution, 50,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio (we know, we know...), 250 nits of brightness, a five millisecond response time and HDMI / VGA / DVI inputs. The 23-inch ST2310 is essentially a larger version of the 2210, with screen size being the only real differentiating factor. We should note, however, that unlike many Dell LCDs of the past, these two go Apple-style and ditch the ability to adjust height up or down; you can angle the LCD forward and back, but that's it. Both are available now for $259 and $229 in order of mention, and yes, that does mean that you can get more for less.

[Thanks, John]

Read - ST2210
Read - ST2310