We're still pondering the difference between Toshiba's Cell-based Resolution+ technology and its "good enough for everybody else" XDE tech, but we got a look at Resolution+ today -- featured in Toshiba's new ZF575 Regza TVs -- and it seems to work well enough. Unlike XDE, which is designed with DVDs in mind to mess with contrast and colors, in addition to sharpness, Resolution+ just focuses on sharpness, for a multitude of SD inputs, and seems to do a decent job of it. Comparison shots up ahead, don't poke your eye on any jaggies!

Toshiba is pulling an EyeToy, minus a diabolical plan to actually sell the thing and make a killing off of collectable elemental decks. The company's Cambridge-based Research Lab has some new video camera-based feature they're prototyping for possible eventual TV implementation. The real highlight is a fist-based cursor control -- just stick out your hand, make a fist, and control a cursor on-screen for navigating the TV's functions. You can also put up your palm to stop the madness, and even rotate 3D images on-screen, but it's all a little shaky for now. Another thing we saw was picture recognition: hold up a cue card to the TV with an image on it and the TV recognizes it and performs a pre-assigned function. Tosh is also working on speech recognition and some other things; not really changing the world, but some fun stuff all the same.

In a stunning attempt at making us afraid to pick up another Samsung DAP ever again, Samsung's set-up for its new YP-Q1 and YP-U4 players was in the ass end of the huge Samsung hall at IFA, with lights enough to cook a chicken and some technical errors to boot. For starters, the Q1 (pictured) is just a pain to use, with capacitive touch controls that only work through tapping in the four directions (or center for select), instead of a more natural scrolling motion. The screen is nothing special, and the interface seems a step back from Samsung's other full-featured DAPs. If we were to say anything positive, the Q1 does feel nice and solid in the hand, but it's nowhere near as thin or sexy as it could / should be. The U4 we tested wasn't charged, and had rather infuriating surface and side controls that made us a little happy it wasn't. It's nowhere near as sexy in person as it was in those press shots, and could really do to lose a few millimeters here and there. Wake us when you're ready to start trying, Sammy.

There's no nice way to say this, Fujitsu-Siemens: your Amilo Mini's keyboard flexes like a trampoline. Sure, there's an Atom processor inside here, a great 9-inch screen and some other fine tech specs, but in general this netbook just feels like a shoddy piece of work, and we expect more from a top-tier manufacturer (you do desire to be a top-tier manufacturer, right?) Take those trackpad-flanking mouse buttons, for example: how are we supposed to work 'em? Have you ever attempted to use this laptop? Let's hope Dell's Inspiron 910 can lift this form factor up from the mire and give it a shot at actually outlasting this faddish stage -- netbooks like this just aren't going to cut it.

While Panny's 150-inch plasma from CES gets its very own room at the Panasonic booth, the new "budget-friendly" TH-103PZ800 103-inch plasma was relegated to a bit part in the back row of an artsy, rock garden-planted collection of displays. We don't have much to say about the actual display, and we're sure that anyone planning to drop $50k on one will be doing a bit more than taking our word for it anyways, but trust us when we tell you that the 150-incher makes the 103 look like a tiny pretend television for tiny pretend people.

Update: According to the card identifying all these displays, we were looking at the TH-103PF10, not the new 103PZ800, contrary to what we were told. Maybe Panny got the card wrong, but we're gonna have a long talk with some Panasonic reps if we every make it back by the booth.

It's a little difficult to delay a device that hasn't gotten a more specific release window than "the second half of 2008" (from official sources, at least), but Sony Ericsson is doing its darnedest. The scuttlebutt at IFA is that the XPERIA X1 has been delayed to the end of the year, and a Sony rep confirmed to us that it's looking like December 2008 or January 2009. To blame is the software, specifically Windows Mobile 6.1 (or perhaps SE's implementation of it), which appeared to be actively destroying the display units Sony has on display at IFA -- of the three devices, one had some green status lights, one didn't work at all, and one turned on briefly, only to crash hard and never return again... a pretty poor showing for day one of the show. Some hands-on shots are below, glaringly void of actual device usage.

We got a look at Sony's new HD-shootin', 10.1 megapixel Cyber-shot T500 today, and it seems to do what it says on the box. There was no Memory Stick in the display version, so we couldn't test out any HD recording, but the touchscreen interface did seem responsive, and mode switching from stills to video is a snap. Perhaps it was the lighting we were under, but the large LCD did seem to flicker a bit, and wasn't stunningly bright either, but otherwise we're big fans of the build quality of the device. Fashioncam this is not -- there's some heft, bulk and sharp edges here that will keep it away from your skinny jeans -- but the T500 is a fine entry from Sony, and at $399 it's pretty well priced for what it can do.

A spec sheet is well and good (and trust us, these spec sheets are that), but when we're talking Blu-ray players it's really becoming a question of price: when will they drop? Well, if these Europe prices for the DMB-BD35 and DMB-BD55 from Panasonic are any indication, Panasonic's answer is "not yet." The BD35 is being priced at 399 Euro, while the BD55 will go for 499 Euro. Our guess is the conversion rates ($588 and $735, respectively) won't apply here when these get shipped over to the States, but even at $399 and $499 these well-specced players aren't doing themselves any favors in a Blu-ray market dominated by the PS3. There's really nothing to say about actual "hands-on" impressions of these two, though we would like to say that we scoured Panny's booth for the DMR-BR360V Blu-ray / VHS combo and were sad to come away empty handed, our tattered copy of "Titanic" unwatched.

Just when you thought manufacturers couldn't possibly manage another refresh of 22-inch LCDs, Samsung shows up at IFA with two of them. The 2233Hz (pictured) and the 2243Hz (after the break) SyncMaster desktop LCDs share a screen size, 1680 x 1050 resolutions, 300 nits of brightness and 5ms typical response times. Both displays also feature Samsung's new Enhanced MPAII to drop Motion Picture Response time from 27ms to a mere 9ms, which should give ghosting-phobics some relief. Sadly, there's no mention of DisplayLink, but of course there are DVI plugs with HDCP. The only differences we can find between the displays is four USB plugs (instead of two) on the 2243Hz, plus MagicRotation for pivoting the display. No word on when these will be available or for how much.

We heard the YP-Q1 was brewing, and now Samsung has confirmed the new player, along with a followup to the U3 thumbDAP, the previously rumored YP-U4. The U4 borrows a few design cues from Samsung's TV lineup, but while it's certainly sexier than the previous generation, we can't help but think it looks a bit frumpy given the teensy grey OLED screen and stingy 2GB and 4GB capacities. The players boast 16 hours of playback, DNSe 2.0, and come in rose, purple and blue flavors. Meanwhile, the Q1 (pictured) seems to be frump grown up, with a 2.4-inch QVGA LCD and those purported 4, 8 and 16GB capacities. Samsung is also touting its DNSe 3.0 in the new player, which can "upconvert" audio to improve quality... supposedly. You can score one in October in black, white or silver, while the U4 (pictured after the break) should be shipping nowish.

We're not just staring down a boring press release of Samsung's new X360, we actually got to fiddle around with it for a few minutes and came away fairly impressed. It has a build somewhere in-between the plastic-ish Voodoo Envy 133 and the rock-solid ThinkPad X300, though probably closer to the latter, and the sheen of Silver Nano Technology on the technology saves us from bacteria but adds a slightly cheap flavor to the keyboard. The isolated keys aren't as deep as those found on Sony's latest models, nor not quite as crisp as an Apple keyboard, but should make for a comfortable typing experience. The port layout seems reasonable, the LED-backlit screen bright and not-too-terribly-glossy, and the brushed metal finish on the back is surely a nice touch. We didn't play much with the Korean OS, but Samsung claims the next-gen 128GB SSD offers a 25-50 percent boot time bump. Up against the MacBook Air the X360 is significantly thicker, but actually a tiny bit (3 ounces) lighter. We'll leave it to you to decide the victor while we swap USB devices willy nilly in an attempt to finish this post.

Newsflash, Samsung: your (previously rumored) new X360 laptop isn't actually lighter than air. Also newsflash: it's still pretty special. Samsung shouted a resounding "me too!" today with its new X360 13.3-inch ultraslim / ultralight / ultraportable laptop. Weighing in at 2.8 pounds and measuring as thin as 0.66-inches (1.2-inches on the fatter end), the laptop is based on a Centrino 2 ULV processor and is built to compete. 1GB of RAM is standard -- there's room for up to 4GB -- and you can pick a 64GB or 128GB SSD, or opt for a 5400RPM 120GB HDD if you're feeling boring. Graphics come from X4500 integrated graphics, and the screen runs at 1280 x 800. The best and worst news comes with the inputs and outputs; Samsung didn't integrate an optical drive, but did find room for a 7-in-1 card reader, three USB ports, PCI ExpressCard/34, HDMI, VGA, LAN and a docking port. There's naturally WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0+ EDR and a 1.3 megapixel camera. Battery life is specced at 6 to 10 hours, but we're guessing the upper end of that spectrum will add considerably to the weight. No word on price or availability, but as far as we know Samsung hasn't gone backsies on its "no computers for those dirty Americans" policy, so it looks like we're stuck with the other dozen or so similarly specced laptops out there.

On the audio front, Philips just launched a pair of Network Music Players, the NP2500 and the NP2900. They're color-screened followups to January's monochrome NP1100, and the NP2500 does audio out (including coaxial digital audio) just like is forebear, while the NP2900 (pictured) includes built-in speakers. The players work with internet radio, your PC's music library and some online music services like Rhapsody. No word on price or release date.

While our primary drool allotment will be directed at Philips' new 8mm LCD concept, Philips also has some new for-realsies LCDs here at IFA potentially worth your time. Leading off the pack is the LED-backlit 42PFL9803 FlatTV (pictured), a 42-inch set with 128 segments of LED for a purported 2,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio. The set runs at 100Hz, has a 17-bit "Color Booster" for a wide gamut, and even does a bit of 2nd gen Ambilight for good measure. Essence (42PES0001) is another 42-inch, 1080p display, but stakes its claim on thinness, measuring 38mm (1.5-inches) deep, and has a single cable running to a connectivity hub which doles out the audio, video and power. 100Hz and wide color gamut are all here. Finally, Philips is doing up a new generation of Aurea sets with new 37-inch and 42-inch 1080p displays, which offer up "Active Frame" transparent frames to reflect the Ambilight surrounding the set. The displays also offer 100Hz, 30,000:1 contrast ratios and 2ms response times. No word on price or availability for any of these, which is starting to sound like the official theme of IFA 2008.

These look to be aimed directly at enterprises and other no-frills applications, but we're still intrigued these new all-in-one touchscreen PCs from NEC. With Atom under the hood, 512MB or 1GB of RAM and a 80GB hard drive, you can pick between the 12-inch 12PNC-W2/B2 (white or black) or the 15PNC-W2/B2 (same), you won't be able to walk away with one of these tablet-style, but it sounds like the power draw will be akin to a laptop. The PNCs run XP Embedded or Vista Business for Embedded. No word on price.