Samsung LED High-Definition TVs
At CES 2009, Samsung showed off a slew of new HDTV models, including a family of sets lit by LED backlighting. The new Samsung 6000, 7000 and 8000 Series LCD HDTVs will benefit from the LED light source as it draws less power than traditional CCFL lighting. It also power up quicker, and displays a darker black pixel, which improves the contrast ratio and the look of the colors on the set. LED backlighting should provide some environmental improvements, as well.
TV Widgets from Yahoo
 All of the new Samsung LED HDTVs also get some sort of internet connectivity. Samsung will supply a wireless, Wi-Fi dongle to attach to one of the television's USB ports. Once connected, the 7000 Series and the 8000 Series will have access to the new Yahoo Internet @TV service. Internet@TV will provide an interactive, connected experience, with a focus on RSS-like access to feeds, as well as the ability to run standard Yahoo widgets on the TV itself. The most predictable widgets will be available from an online gallery, including weather widgets and stock reporting widgets, but with third-party developer support, we expect to see widgets for Twitter, MySpace and plenty of other popular Web destinations.
Faster in motion
 The new 8000 Series LCD HDTV will get a speed boost in its refresh rate. While a basic HDTV might redraw the screen at a rate of 60Hz, the 8000 Series will refresh at 240Hz. This faster redrawing should help with fast-moving action, and this is an especially popular feature among gamers. Even the 6000 Series and 7000 Series HDTVs will get a bit of a speed boost, and both families will be capable of 120Hz refresh rates.
 Finally, the new sets will get Samsung's Touch of Color (ToC) styling cues. We had a chance to check out the new sets on the CES 2009 show floor, and they look great. The Samsung ToC styling is very subtle, but still helps the TVs to stand out from the crowd. The 8000 Series fades from black through chrome accents to a transparent edge. The 6000 Series and 7000 Series benefit from the ToC ruby accents, for a nice gradient black-to-red look. The look may be decidedly masculine, but that only means we appreciate it more.
The World's Thinnest Blu-ray Player
 We'd been missing Samsung's "World's Thinnest" claims for a while now, as the company used to brag to no end about its svelte mobile phones. At CES 2009, Samsung unveiled the world's thinnest Blu-ray player, the Samsung BD-P4600. It's a wall-mountable Blu-ray player, and it comes in at a slight 1.5-inches thin. With its black and ruby highlights, the Samsung BD-P4600 should fit in nicely with a Samsung Touch of Color splurge. In fact, the Blu-ray player can communicate intelligently with Samsung's newest TVs, and it uses an auto-adjusting feature to optimize the look of the television to match the quality of the Blu-ray player.
The Samsung BD-P4600 will also use a Wi-Fi dongle to access the internet. As is the craze in Blu-ray these days, the Samsung BD-P4600 will be able to stream content from the internet, including movies from Netflix and music from Pandora. The slim player uses touch-sensitive controls on its face. Pricing and availability have yet to be determined.
It's Expensive to Be Jeff Gordon
 What do you do if you can't race a car to save your life, but are exceedingly rich? You splurge on a SimCraft APEX SC830 racing simulator, of course. The new racing simulator debuted here at CES flaunts a price tag that surpasses an '09 Vette convertible. To be fair, the SimCraft APEX SC830 is designed for professionals like law enforcement trainers and real racecar drivers. Driving in the SimCraft APEX SC830 was a true bolt of exhilaration, and we didn't want to unbuckle ourselves. SimCraft's puropose for appearing at CES? They're planning on sizing down the technology to provide a consumer model to replace that dusty Nordic Track of yours within the near future.
Motorola Aura luxury phone
 The Motorola Aura reminded us more of a Rolex Submariner than a Moto RAZR, especially with that sleek, sapphire crystal face. The perfectly smooth, rounded screen seems to bubble out of the phone, and the interface is designed to take advantage of the striking, circular form. The phone feels heavy and luxurious in the hand, and swings open with the smoothness of a Ferrari changing lanes. Of course, the Motorola Aura costs $2,000, which makes it something like the antithesis of the more contemporary-minded Motorola Renew, but for the luxury crowd, it's certainly a design worth showing off.
Bar Games in Your Kitchen
 The new JVL Encore countertop entertainment system brings high-definition, touch-screen gameplay into your house. Aside from looking like futuristic gambling machine, the JVL Encore has a 22" screen and digital music streaming capability, just like modern jukeboxes. We were barely amused with the games, though the touch-screen interface was highly responsive. We dig the technology, now let's see Super Mario Bros on the JVL Encore, rather than "Gone Fishin'".
Philip Berne and Mike Perlman contributed to this CES 2009 story.
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