Daily Marauder

TECHNOLOGY

Lenovo introduced its first consumer desktop in the U.S. this week. The low-priced IdeaCentre K210 features facial-recognition technology to enable users to forgo the need to enter a password to log onto their computer. (InformationWeek 6/30)

Nikon’s D700, priced at $2,995, packs the considerable abilities of the company’s hefty $5,000 flagship, the D3, into a more svelte 2.2-pound device. (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/01/technology/personaltech/01camera-web.html?ref=technology 7/1)

New laptop bags approved by the Transportation Security Administration make it possible to go through X-ray inspection without having to take the laptop out. (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/01/business/01road.html?ref=technology 7/1)

LG Electronics plans to introduce a frameless Plasma TV, which is said to be an industry first. The Plasma TV – PG61 is designed to look like a seamless black sheet of glass and features invisible speakers that have been tuned by audio expert Mark Levinson. (domain-b.com 7/1)

Samsung apparently wants to make sure it is not left behind in the race to manufacture AM-OLED displays, as it has set aside $529 million — six times its current budget — for producing the organic light-emitting diode screens. The active-matrix-OLED monitors are thinner, more energy-efficient and considered to be of better quality than today’s LCDs, but Samsung, like all manufacturers, still faces challenges in cutting production costs and increasing screen sizes before it can roll out the technology across a broad enough range of products. (Reuters 6/30)

New laptops that support 802.11n wireless networking have fueled sales of routers and other products for the emerging standard, according to Infonetics, a research firm that says manufacturers are reporting sudden gains in sales for 802.11n hardware. The good news for vendors is that 802.11n products are more expensive, so their revenues rose for the first quarter even though sales for other wireless LAN devices tailed off. (Techworld/IDG News Service 6/30)