It's round, white, and floats in the tub and goes by the name XDV-W600 --
the latest Bravia TV to numb the mind. The little 1-Seg set features a 4-inch, 16.7-million color, 272 x 480 pixel LCD; AM/FM tuner; 2GB of internal memory to record up to 10-hours of 1-Seg television broadcasts; and up to 23-hours of viewing off the internal rechargeable + 2x AA alkaline batteries. It also carries an IPX7 and IPX6 waterproof rating making it submersible for up to 30 minutes at a depth of 1-meter and capable of withstanding penetration by your Jacuzzi's water jets. Although it would likely distort the video into a fisheye view, we really wish that advances in curved and circular LCDs had progressed to the point of mass production -- that square display kills the aesthetic on these ovular TVs. Ships in Japan on October 30th for an expected ¥39,800 (about $368).
There's a select group of red flags that appear when a product is, or is dangerously close to becoming, vaporware, and we've seen just about all of 'em when looking at McPerson's I-TV. Apparently, this so-called do-it-all LCD TV first appeared last year, but now it sports a different look and a flashy website that will make you wish your speakers were inoperative. The set supposedly functions as a home automation controller, DVR, DVD player and Media Center PC, and just in case you doubted its prowess, this thing is somehow Viiv-certified and able to run OS X. Specs wise, you'll find a 37-inch 1080p panel, dual 40-watt speakers (um, right), 7.1-channel audio out, built-in WiFi / Bluetooth, gigabit Ethernet and a slew of ports. Considering McPerson threw nearly everything in here save for the proverbial kitchen sink, it's not all that shocking to find a £3,924.49 ($8,235) pricetag floating around the intarweb, and if anyone has any actual proof that this thing exists, feel free to dash our doubts in comments.Japan's Segnity: the talking TV
If you've ever dreamed of a cute little television which 
would speak to you (and we're pretty sure you have), you're in luck. Thanks to E-Revolutiona and Takara Tomy, that dream is now a reality. The two companies have gotten together and produced a 2.7-inch, QVGA TV called the Segnity which runs on AAA batteries or USB power, features a 1seg tuner (a a mobile terrestrial digital audio / video / data broadcasting service in Japan), and... talks to you. Apparently, the little display (which comes in black or white) will asking you things like, "Are you leaving already?" when you attempt to switch it off. No word on whether it whispers subliminal messages to you while you sleep, or threatens to kill you if you return it -- but we can certainly hope. Available at the end of September for about ¥10,000 (or $86). Check the video after the break to see the annoying device in action. [Warning: read link not translated]
Philips to launch Ambilight successor Aurea
Consumer electronics manufacturer Philips will demo their successor to Ambilight-- the ambient lighting technology that generates light effects on the sides of a television -- at European expo IFA on August 30. The new technology, named Aurea, will be featured using a film by director Wong Kar called Seduction by Light. From early photos, the new sets incorporate the lighting directly into the frame, instead of using the previous method of a glass frame around the set.
700MHz band: future home to worldwide mobile broadband standard
If you've been losing sleep over not knowing precisely what was going to happen to all that spectrum space that will be freed up when the imminent analog-to-digital cutover takes place, your insomnia is about to be (at least partially) cured. The US of A apparently pushed hard for a worldwide consensus on spectrum use -- suggesting that a common approach was more reasonable than each nation choosing separate frequencies for next-generation services -- and sure enough, it ended up getting exactly what it wanted. Apparently, the 700MHz band will now be reserved for a mobile broadband standard accessible throughout much of the globe, including most of North America, Central America, South America, Europe, China, India, South Korea and Japan. Of note, Europe was able to land a concession that enables it to offer up "about half of the bandwidth available for mobile services in their region" compared to what is offered elsewhere, but the agreement definitely makes the forthcoming auction that much more interesting.
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