I’m here at IFA in Berlin, a stone’s throw away from my temporary base of operations in Barcelona. The show itself—think CES, just run by a bunch of well-dressed Europeans—starts this weekend, but a few companies are having hip-hip hooray press conferences a bit early, announcing new products then quickly putting them back behind a curtain, saying how great they are, etc. Panasonic did as much today, showing off a few items that might interest you. First up, a 58-inch “neo PDP” plasma TV that’s only 1-inch thick. (Neo-PDP is an unreleased, next generation plasma technology that’s twice as efficient as current plasma TVs. Power consumption is cut in half, cabinet profiles can be reduced, etc. Everyone wins.) It’s still only a prototype, so Panasonic’s not talking release dates or prices quite yet. Basically, it was an opportunity for the Panasonic guy to hold up a €2 coin to demonstrate how thin the TV is. → Read More
Word “got out” a few days ago that Griffin has revised its iTrip line of FM transmitters for the iPod. First up was the iTrip Universal, which, shockingly, works with any device with a 3.5mm audio jack. Second up is the iTrip Auto, which is being showed off right now at IFA in Berlin. Griffin says it’s been redesigned from “the ground up,” which is fair to say. That is, it looks really different than the previous model. The functionality is largely the same: you hook it up to your iPod, then it transmits The Game’s LAX (“Bulletproof Diaries” is the best West Coast hip hop song in quite some time) or whatever to your car’s stereo while simultaneously charging your iPod. If you have a car and an iPod this is probably the iTrip to get. She should start showing up in stores in next month for around $60. → Read More
