2007
seems to be the year of the LCD. In TV land, liquid crystal displays
have always played little sibling to plasma technology. The most
obvious form of tutelage: They have literally been small in comparison.
At last year's CES, for example, Panasonic unveiled a plasma TV
measuring 108 inches diagonally. Meanwhile Sharp introduced the largest
LCD panel—at "only" 65 inches. This
year, Panasonic was still pimping its 103-inch TV, while Sharp stunned
everyone by debuting a 108-inch panel. For the first time ever, the
biggest TV in the world is an LCD. Size isn't all that matters, though. Companies also introduced technologies to zap LCD's other weaknesses vis-a-vis plasma:

Motion video is a classic problem.
Liquid crystals move sluggishly compared to fast-firing plasma pixels.
So in action scenes, images on LCD sets tend to have a smeared look
because the screen can't refresh fast enough. Until recently, 8
milliseconds was considered fast for an LCD pixel to turn on and off.
This year LG Electronics showed off TVs with a 5ms response, and Sharp
set the record with 4ms. The faster pixels allowed Sharp to double the
screen speed from 60fps to 120fps. Philips and Samsung also showed off
120fps sets. Demos of panning video with the old and new technologies
made the improvement clear.

Contrast ratio is another weakness.
LCD screens usually cant produce dark tones as well as plasma, because
some glow from the fluorescent backlight always leaks through the
screen. With grayish blacks, the ratio of light to dark is reduced, and
LCD images lack the depth found on plasma. But Sharp claims its new TVs
hit a contrast ratio of 15,000 to one by dimming the backlight as
needed. Plus, the faster pixels can shut down all the way before
switching to the next frame of video. Samsung bested this performance
by using a grid of light-emitting diodes as a backlight. It can
selectively brighten or dim the lights behind different parts of the
screen to deepen shadows and brighten highlights. With it Samsung
claims a 100,000 to one contrast ratio, and its side-by side comparison
of old and new technologise was dramatic. But Sharp doesn't take that
lying down. Using undisclosed technology, it demonstrated a prototype
TV that hits a million to one ratio.

LEDs are also expanding color.
Until recently, no TV could produce all the hues called for in the US
television standard, but plasma came closest to 100 percent. With LEDs
instead of fluorescent bulbs behind their screens, LCDs are now beating
plasma and going beyond the old TV standard. In fact, Sony is backing a
new system called x.v.Color that takes advantage of the newly expanded
color gamut. LG and Samsung are also bringing out LED-illuminated LCD
sets. —Sean Captain

In true Apple fashion, Steve Jobs and co. annually ditch the biggest electronics trade show in the world in favor of their own party, Macworld.  The strategy seems to be working out just fine, because today most everyone here in Vegas is talking about the much-ballyhooed and now bona fide iPhone, and with good reason: This phone is hot.

As expected, it's a phone. It's a video iPod. It's an Internet device. It's a mobile OS X computer. And it's beautiful. The sleek phone is all screen, featuring an adaptable touch-based interface that, if anything like the iPod's ingenious scroll-wheel, promises to change the way people control their mobile devices. And beyond the interface, the iPhone packs in practically every high-end mobile phone feature and more: Wi-Fi, EDGE data capabilities (via Cingular, Apple's exclusive partner through 2009), full iTunes integration including CoverFlow, free push email from Yahoo, a Google Maps application, and, well, the list keeps going.

Playing second fiddle is Apple TV, the living room media box announced last September which also debuted today. But it's clearly the iPhone's day in San Francisco. And judging by the amount of people here in the press room watching Steve Jobs's keynote on their laptops, it's the iPhone's day in Las Vegas, too. —John Mahoney

Looking for our CES coverage? PopSci's editors are currently scouring the floor bringing you the best tech from the 2007 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Find photos, video and more at popsci.typepad.com/ces2007.

Things are a teensy bit weird here in Detroit. It's a cross between Wacky Wednesday and Alice in Wonderland: Nothing is as it should be, and some things are downright trippy. Aside from the weather, which veered from drearily lukewarm and rainy to all snow and freezing wind, the true delirium began when you stepped inside. Within the main halls at Cobo Conference/Exhibition Center, guarded by a 15-foot-tall statue of boxing champ Joe Louis, things have taken a turn for the surreal. Consider:

LG, the Korean consumer electronics giant, made a big splash early this CES with the unveiling of the Super Multi Blue player, capable of playing both of the warring high-def disc formats, Blu-Ray and HD-DVD. Teamed with the Chocolate music phone, the #1 CDMA handset in the U.S. and a solid line of HD TVs, LG has quickly become a force to be reckoned with. —John Mahoney

Take a quick tour of the booth below and click the individual images for captions.

Im here at CES, camped out with the rest of the PopSci.com team at an envy-inducing sweet spot in the back corner of the pressroom—probably one of about five female reporters in a roiling sea of hundreds of thousands of gadget-loving dudes. Ive spent my entire career working for mens magazines, so being the only chick around isnt a new experience, but the sheer volume of testosterone up in here could drive a girl to wear a burqa. Adding to the vibe are the facts that the Adult Video Awards are coming up this week, and that many of the ladies hanging out in the casinos at night are escorts. So theres this silent question hovering in the air whenever a good-looking girl walks by: Porn star?

Anyhoo, walking the halls today, weve spotted a number of trends, toys, and funny stuff that well be hitting on throughout the week in a series of video posts (Jonathan Coulton and Future Girl Live at CES!) to give you a taste of the Vegas craziness.

My faves among the goodies Ive seen so far today have been 1) the awesomely tiny, full-functioning Model 02 PC from OQO: its about the size of a Sidekick, but it acts like a laptop, and its the first mini computer to run Windows Vista; 2) the Wildcharge conduction plate charger that powers up cell phones and other wireless gadgets wirelessly (right now this device requires model-specific docks for various cell phones, iPods and PSPs, which is less than ideal, but it's a good first-gen version of a breakthrough technology that could become the standard for chargers);  and 3) the Garmin Astro GPS dog tracking device, which lets you connect to several dogs at a time and is meant to help hunters keep track of their retrievers and quarry. The transmitter piece is kind of big and clunky—I wish they'd make a smaller one I could put on my cat to see where he goes on his daily prowls, but at $650, the Astro's much less a toy and more a serious device for locating valuable animals. —Megan Miller