Strategy Session

There’s something about a 70-inch LCD HDTV that’s showing an action movie that makes me want to sit glued in front of it for several hours. If you’ll indulge me for just a minute, I want to mention a few of the products that Samsung Electronics showcased last week in New York—yes, the 70-inch was one of them.

I went to Samsung’s “Holiday in July” event to interview Scott Birnbaum, vice president of Samsung’s LCD business in the Americas, for a story I’m working on. After the interview I took advantage of seeing the latest products from Samsung’s consumer electronics, telecommunications, IT and semiconductor divisions in the interesting environment of 632 on Hudson. When it comes to combining function and fashion in product design, Samsung has it locked. I’m focusing primarily on the LCD HDTVs now, with their trademark “piano black” high gloss frames. I saw the new 71 Series LCD HDTV with “blur-eliminating” 120Hz processing. As I watched a split screen demo that was set up, I saw what a roller coaster careening down the tracks looks like with and without the Auto-Motion Plus technology; I could see the difference. The TV’s design is impressive: high-gloss finish, chrome plating, hidden speakers and swivel stand. Available in August, the 46-inch model has a price tag of $3,399.

Sick of the wires from your wall-mounted TV? Samsung introduced a new line of wireless plasma HDTVs, which it says is the first of its kind in the U.S. market. The 94 Series Full HD 1080p plasma HDTVs use 802.11n wireless technology (in 50-and 58-inch, availability is scheduled for the fourth quarter). Also on display was a compact hybrid flash memory/DVD camcorder (available in October for $599.99), which lets users burn their video directly to a DVD within the camera itself using the unit’s own battery. Other products included The Upstage by Samsung, which is a phone on one side, MP3 player on the other in black and red; the UbiCell, an in-home cellular base station targeted primarily to cell phone users in rural areas with limited coverage (but even urban dwellers can have trouble getting a strong signal), and the Q1 Ultra, a PC in a mobile 1.5-pound package.

As the consumer electronics industry gears up for the holidays, consumers will have plenty of choices—which is exactly what consumers need to feed their ever-changing desires.