HP has announced the TouchSmart tx2. The laptop will be able to distinguish between voluntary pinching with two fingers and any accidental input. You can also use the bundled stylus to enter data. The tx2’s 12.1-inch screen is fully multi-touched up, but not in the iPhone/iPod touch way. It uses capacitive touch, which enables more accurate input, also brushes and swipes and two-handed gestures. You can use two hands to crop photos for instance.

Some other features are: integrated digital TV tuner, dual core AMD Turion X2 processor and ATI Radeon 3200 graphics. The screen can be twisted and folded all the way around; converting the standard notebook into a tablet PC. With a digital pen you can make notes and your writing will be converted to editable text. The HP TouchSmart tx2 will be available in January 2009 for about $1,150.

Dell has a computer for every need and more than one type of computer user can see benefit from the new Intel Core i7 CPUs. The benefit to gamers of a fast CPU is obvious so it makes sense to see the i7 CPU in a gaming rig. However, Dell is also putting the processor into computers not aimed at gamers.

Dell announced a new Studio XPS PC that uses the new Core i7 processors with pricing starting at only $949. At that price you can be the CPU used is the low-end Core i7, but it should still offer good performance.

When it comes to affordable, big picture widescreen movies and gaming the route to take is a projector. With a projector, you can get HD images as large as traditional HDTVs for a fraction of the cost. To get a 100-inch image on a plasma or LCD TV would run tens of thousands of dollars where a projector can easily do it for a few thousand dollars.

ViewSonic has introduced a new projector aimed at used looking for widescreen resolution and full 1080p image quality. The projector is called the PJ359w and offers 2000 lumens of brightness and a 1280 x 800 WXGA resolution.

Want to turn your iPod into a TV? How about one of those old TV/VCR combos? I can think of a better choice of TV, but at least this will increase your screen size and give you more volume. This mini TV-set magnifies your iPod’s screen up to 2.8 inches. The iPod Nano 3G TV will be available soon for the retail price of about $23. Your iPod slips into the back as shown. It probably would have been cooler if it slid in the VHS slot.

It wasn’t too long ago that to get a second display often meant adding a second video card. For notebook users adding a second display was often impossible. When DisplayLink technology came to market adding more displays became much easier.

The latest DisplayLink LCD on the market comes from a Koran company called Nanovision. The company has announced a line of 7-inch DisplayLink LCDs that gets power and connectivity from the host PC over a single USB connection.

Looks like Western Digital has entered the world of HD media streaming. The WD TV HD Media Player is said to “turn your USB drive into an HD media player, allowing you to watch your favorite HD movies on your TV.” So, basically it lets you plug in a USB hard drive and play multimedia clips up to 1080p on your HDTV via HDMI/composite outputs. Comes with a remote control and browsing software. The small 1.6- x 4.9- x 3.9-inch box is pretty portable and the $129.99 price doesn’t hurt too much.

No one can deny that Apple’s iTunes store is seriously popular. The store is the single largest music retailer and has one of the largest collections of music available. The App store is wildly popular and the iTunes movie rental, sale, and TV show market is booming. It seems that Apple can’t do wrong with iTunes.

In fact, Apple has announced that it has now sold over 200 million TV show episodes via iTunes. Apple also says that over 1 million of those shows sold have been in HD resolution. Major networks all contribute programs to the iTunes store including FOX, CBS, ABC, and CBS.

Sharp dropped their AQUOS DX series, the first LCD TVs with built-in Blu Ray Disc Recorders. It’s a series of 16 new models ranging in size from 26-Inch to 52-Inch screen sizes in a variety of colors. All are compatible with BD-RE V2.1 (Single / Dual layer), BD-R 1.1 (Single / Dual Layer) recordable disc, and most available playable discs. The HDTVs also feature the Digital W Tuner which allows you to watch TV while recording programs. The Kameyama LCD Panel will provide smooth picture quality. It will cost you from €1200 to €3600.

We had the opportunity to check out the Epson MovieMate 55 all-in-one projector, which offers a high-quality projector, a CD/DVD player and stereo speakers in a portable unit. Epson’s goal with the MovieMate 55 seems to be to offer consumers an affordable, easy and convenient home entertainment console that goes anywhere. Did they succeed? Read on.

Many of us remember when projectors were bulky things the size of a suitcase. Not anymore. Now they are phone sized. NTT Docomo is getting into the act too. They unveiled a prototype cell phone that doubles as a video projector and demonstrated it at CEATEC JAPAN 2008. The projector would give you a 20-inch image from a distance of about 80 centimeters and roughly 100 minutes of viewing time, which is enough to watch TV shows, podcasts and short films, if not 2 hour movies.

Red, green and blue LEDs are used as the light source. Pixel count is 480 × 320 (HVGA), and its luminance is 7.5lm. The power consumption is about 3W. The company plans to have a working version of the device ready for market in about three years. The way the tech in these projector phones is shaping up, I wouldn’t be surprised if it took half that time.

Pioneer intros not one, not two, but four new GPS navigation devices at once. Collectively they are the HRZ099, HRZ088, HRV022, and HRV011. They all share the same specifications including a 40GB storage capacity, 1Seg TV, 7-Inch LCD Screen and they can play WMA, MP3, AAC, and DivX file formats. As you might expect, hey are also compatible with iPods.

The Pioneer HRZ099 is the High-End model of the litter, equipped with a 800 x 480 resolution. The others are 480×234. The Pioneer HRZ099 and HRZ088 also feature a built-in Amplifier with a maximum output of 50W x 4ch. Aside from these 7-Inch GPS devices, the company also introduced a 5.8-Inch GPS which sports 8GB of Flash Memory, a built-in amplifier (50w x4), 1Seg TV tuner, an SD card slot and USB Port. It can also reproduce DVD/WMA/MP3/DivX/WAV/MPEG-4 files.

One of the newest Viewsonic displays to market is a combo unit which is friendly with PCs and DVDs. It is called the N2201w and you’ll find it listing at retail around $430.

The Viewsonic N2201w is a 22-inch display which pulls triple duty as a computer display, HDTV and DVD player. It has a HD resolution of 1680×1050, 5ms response time, 1000:1 contrast ratio and wide viewing angles. It also sports multiple inputs, including for ATSC/NTSC/QAM digital TV tuner and HDMI as well as PC.

Here’s an odd sight. A PC with a built-in 7-inch touchscreen that looks more like a microwave or other appliance. We are used to bulky PC’s that have to be tucked under desks well away from your external monitor as if they are mortal enemies in some secret war. But now it’s as if the two are enjoying a nice soft cuddle, with the Shuttle D10.

As you might expect, it only has a resolution of 800×480, so it won’t replace your current PC. Well, unless the one you’re using is reallllly old. But it might be a good PC for those odd places, like the kitchen, or in an RV or something. It will be available in Japan this week for under $500. I don’t think it’s a great idea personally. Did we not learn from TV/VCR combos?

If you want a really big picture for your home theater, there are several ways to go about it. You can spend tens of thousands on a really big LCD of plasma TV screen. That’s far outside the capability of most of us. Or you can opt for a projector and get about 100-inches or more of home theater goodness.

Sanyo has announced a new projector called the PLV-Z3000 that would make for a great home theater. The Z3000 can throw an image 100-inches from 10 to 20 feet away from the screen. The projector also features the first utilization of 5:5 pull down that allows users to watch broadcast TV and more in movie theater quality.

Good old Thanko, who has been known to give us all kinds of quirky and craptastic gadgets has released something that may actually be useful in the apparel department. Whether you want to look like an X-Man or just need a cool pair of shades. It’s the All-in-One portable media player sunglasses.

They sport UV protection against the sun, plus you’ll also get some other features like: Support for MP3/WMV audio files, Supports MP4/MPG/AVI (Divx3/4/5&xVid)/ASF video files, miniSD memory card slot, USB 2.0 connectivity, Four EQ presets - Rock, Classic, Normal and Bass. Sure they look a tad dorky, but movies will seem like they are on a 50 inch tv directly in front of you when you watch them on these glasses. The price is around 270€.