PREVIEW OF NEW ENERGY TV

CES showcasing slimmer, energy-saving TVs
(Franklin Paul, Gabriel Madway, Anupreeta Das, Sinead Carew, Tiffany Wu), January 8, 2009 (Reuters via Yahoo Tech)

"…Sony, Samsung, LG, Panasonic, Toshiba and others trotted out high-definition TV screens on Wednesday designed to pull videos, photos and other content off the Web and into the living room…

"Many stressed the eco-friendly, power-saving abilities of their latest TVs -- a key selling point at a time when households are tightening their belts. Unlike in past years, not one company tried to outshine the competition with the physically biggest screen.

"The new TVs can siphon content off Internet sites…and allow messaging of friends on social networks…Yahoo unveiled a big push to marry the Internet and television -- something no company has successfully pulled off thus far -- through deals with the main Asian TV makers…Since the dawn of the Internet age, companies have been promising "convergence" of online and TV universes -- but failed to connect with consumers…

"The new TVs, which use Intel's CE1000 chip, will offer up an array of Widgets -- small Internet applications -- that run alongside TV content, but not over it.

"Gone were the 150-inch TV behemoths that once lorded over the show floor and attracted hoards of curious.

"Instead, executives sang a different tune, preaching smaller and sleeker is better, as Samsung did with its one-inch thick TVs that use light-emitting-diodes (LEDs) rather than cold cathode fluorescent lamps as their primary light source…Sony estimated that such screens use 40 percent less power than traditional LCDs."