panels

Analysts are increasingly upbeat about Apple's prospects for the TV market. But iTV may not be the name for this next-gen television. Are you ready for iPanel?

Jefferies analyst Peter Misek has raised his estimates for Apple and said that shares could hit the $800 mark. That price target comes just a few days after Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster said Apple could be worth $1 trillion in market capitalization, or $1,000 a share.

Misek expects Apple to ship 2 million TVs in the December quarter and pull along iPad and iPhone sales. The catch is that the … Read more

Various applications in OS X support changing the color of elements such as text, annotations, and other markups or drawn objects. For instance, in Pages or TextEdit you can highlight a section of text and then set the color of that text using the color box in the toolbar.

This option is not uncommon, but while some programs offer a small selection of colors to choose from or have their own color settings implementations, those that use Apple's core technologies may give you access to the OS X color panel. This panel provides a variety of options for finding … Read more

First off, congrats to Rick S. of Wylie, Texas, for winning two LittleBits starter kits in last week's giveaway.

Now, how does a free 40-inch TV sound? Not bad, eh? This week, we're giving away a Samsung LN40D550, an entry-level non-LED TV that CNET reviewers say stands tall among budget TVs for its deep black levels, ample shadow detail, uniform screen, and stylish looks.

Note that this particular set has been lightly used during our review process, which also means you're getting a TV that's been touched by the very hands of CNET's David Katzmaier and/or Ty Pendlebury (never, ever clean it).

Normally, a Samsung LN40D550 flat-panel TV costs approximately $575, but you have the chance to get one gratis. How? Well, there are a few rules, so please put down the remote for a moment and read them carefully. There will be a test. … Read more

Skygrid is a fun-to-use, visually slick app for browsing through recent news from multiple sources.

Skygrid isn't tied to any particular news outlet, and you can't see much more than a short blurb and a thumbnail image for any particular story--so whether you're checking out a story from PBS NewsHour, CNET, TMZ, or WebMD, you'll have to click through to the source's Web site to read the whole story. Even so, Skygrid makes surfing the headlines fun, with a streamlined grid (of course) interface that lets you swipe through different sections and stories, with the … Read more

A Chinese manufacturing company is producing replacement back panels for your iPhone 4 or 4S that include a thin light strip and a transparent Apple logo that will make your iPhone's logo glow, similar to Apple notebook computers.

K.O Gadget claims the hardware hack can be done in 5 minutes, at home, using the $42 kit it supplies.

Editors' note: At the time of writing, the regular site was downed by heavy traffic; a substitute purchase link was posted on the company's Facebook page.

A hardware hack done in 5 minutes seems a little unreal, but the … Read more

South Korea's antitrust watchdog has fined six LCD makers $176 million for conspiring to artificially inflate prices for flat-screen monitors.

Samsung Electronics and LG Display were among the companies that colluded from 2001 to 2006 to control the prices of panels for TVs and personal computers, the Fair Trade Commission said. The cartel, which also includes AU Optronics, Chimei Innolux, Chunghwa Picture Tubes, and HannStar Display, held 200 secret meetings to discuss cutting or suspending production to prevent prices from declining, the FTC said.

"They colluded on minimum prices of panels, pricing policies on each product type, timing … Read more

The solar industry is in for a dire quarter as falling government subsidies and low volumes further drive down equipment prices at a time when oversupply has already led many sector players to lower their full-year profit outlook.

A pickup in demand for solar panels, widely expected by industry players for the second half, failed to materialize, pushing several U.S. companies, most notably panel maker Solyndra, to file for bankruptcy in recent months.

European players have been cutting their outlooks on falling demand in Germany, among them SMA Solar, the world's No.1 maker of solar inverters and … Read more

While I regularly write about ultra-high-end gear that's made in the U.S., I also cover as much affordable stuff as I can find. Grado Labs in Brooklyn manufactures some of my favorite headphones priced from $79 and phono cartridges from $60. My friends at Schiit Audio in Newhall, Calif., make headphone amplifiers and digital-to-analog converters with prices starting at $249. As for speakers, Zu Audio makes gorgeous-sounding models priced from $1,200 per pair. These companies aren't just based in the U.S., they also manufacture their products here.

If $1,200 doesn't qualify as affordable, … Read more

MAKUHARI, Japan--What if every window of your home or office could generate power? See-through solar films developed by 3M also make your windows shatter-resistant.

At the Ceatec 2011 electronics trade show outside Tokyo, the company was showing off its green-tinged, flexible transparent photovoltaic films on regular and curved glass surfaces.

It was the second time the tech was being displayed, following a brief showing that unfortunately coincided with the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

The films stick onto windows, making them less susceptible to breaking in quake-prone Japan. They consist of five layered sheets and an organic photovoltaic substance.

They also help keep interiors cooler by absorbing more than 90 percent of infrared light, reducing the need for air conditioning in summer. At the 3M booth at Ceatec, there was a 13-degree C difference on one side of a window compared to the other, which was heated by powerful lamps but plastered with the sheets. … Read more