Panasonic

Updated 06-26-2007: Of Panasonic's 2007 plasma lineup, we've reviewed three models so far this year: the TH-42PX77U, the TH-50PX77U and the TH-42PX700U. If those model numbers don't mean much to you, relax. We'll take you through the company's 2007 plasma lineup from least- to most-expensive, and when we can't give actual reviews we'll provide our take on step-up features and how the models relate to one another.

Panasonic TH-PX75U series

This is Panasonic's entry-level plasma series. We haven't reviewed any of these sets, but they should offer similar picture quality to … Read more

Mobile computing can be a haphazard business, and new notebooks from General Dynamics and Panasonic give their owners permission to drop them (from a reasonable distance) as often as they like.

General Dynamics' GoBook MR-1 claims to be the smallest fully rugged ultramobile PC, and it may very well be. It weighs 2 pounds, and is about the size of a small jewelry box. It was made to have all the same features and capabilities of the full-size GoBook XR-1 but in a more compact form factor. That means four wireless connections: Wireless LAN, Bluetooth, GPS, and Wireless Wide Area … Read more

In a move bound to surprise no one after both Casio's and Sony's recent announcements, Panasonic has announced a new 12-megapixel compact camera called the Lumix DMC-FX100. However, this new Panasonic distinguishes itself from the competition with a 3.6X optical, 28mm-to-100mm, f/2.8-to-f.5.6 zoom lens, which should prove useful for snapshooters trying to compose photos of friends in tight quarters, such as a crowded nightclub. The new Lumix also includes Panasonic's Mega O.I.S. optical image stabilization, as well as a 2.5-inch, 207,000-pixel LCD screen.

Panasonic has reached new heights … Read more

Panasonic took a leap into the in-dash navigation market this month with the release of its catchy-named Strada CN-NVD905U. The touch screen device uses a 30GB hard drive to store mapping data, and can be used to play a variety of digital audio formats as well as DVD video. Check out our slide show.

Among the first-generation Blu-ray players, Panasonic's DMP-BD10 was remarkable for its higher-than-average price tag ($1,300 versus the $1,000 norm) and the company's promise of a future firmware upgrade that would unleash the full sonic power of Blu-ray audio soundtracks. Having made good on the firmware upgrade in April, Panasonic has now shaved 54 percent off the price. In addition to sporting the upgraded firmware, the newly christened DMP-BD10A will retail for $600 and include five Blu-ray movies--Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Transporter, Fantastic Four, … Read more

I love press releases for really geeky stuff like image sensors, especially the releases declaring amazing breakthroughs. They're fun because there's usually some really interesting development buried in it, but the people who write the releases have no idea what it is. Ditto for many of the Web sites that write about them. So you end up with some verbatim quotes that are so dense, an electron couldn't tunnel through them. This brings me to today's announcement from Panasonic, featuring a rugged, new image sensor designed to withstand the deterioration caused by weather, heat, and ultraviolet … Read more

Because Crave leads such an active social life (read: we can't stop playing World of Warcraft), we're very rarely around to watch TV. This means Freeview hard-drive recorders are absolutely invaluable. One of our faves was the excellent Panasonic DMR-EX75, so we're overjoyed to see an upgrade: the DMR-EX77, which allows digital recording to either DVD or its built-in 160GB hard drive.

The EX77 also has a built-in Freeview receiver, so there's no messing around with those pesky Scart leads to plug in your Freeview receiver and suffering a loss in quality as everything is converted … Read more

Panasonic doesn't much care for LCD. It's often telling us how much better plasma is than the liquid crystal displays of other manufacturers. But you have to admire Panny--even though it thinks the technology is inferior, it still produces great televisions using it. The Viera TX-32LMD70 is one such success story--it has made Crave froth with a rabid technological hunger.

The TX-32LMD70 is certainly a handsome-looking machine. Finished in a tasty matte black that says a big "no thank you" to the rather uncouth trend towards shiny piano black. We think the styling is a winner. … Read more

We first heard about Panasonic's new line of plasma televisions at CES in January. Since then I've gotten a chance to review one of the new models, the 42-inch TH-42PX77U, and I mostly liked what I saw. Today the company is holding a press event in New York where it will detail its full 2007 lineup, so here's a summary of the press release.

The two baseline series mentioned at CES, the entry-level TH-PX75U series and the step-up TH-PX77U series, all received official MSRP pricing today, although that often has little to do with the actual selling … Read more