Though it's only July, Samsung decked out the Clift Hotel in downtown San Francisco this week with its holiday lineup of gadget gifts.
Pictured here, for example, is a camera that's compact but also packs a nice punch. Not only does it have touch-screen controls and a nice swivel handle, which allows easy, lower shooting angles, but it shoots video in 720p. Samsung says it went with progressive (the "p" in 720p) instead of interlaced (720i) for its first high-definition camcorder to allow better slow-motion replay of home movies. The camera also has 8GB of flash memory built in, along with an SD card slot. The camera should go on sale in early October for $795. (Video here.)
Samsung also announced it is making a dual-format high-definition DVD player, known as the Duo HD Player. Like the LG player, the Samsung device can play both Blu-ray and HD DVD discs. However, the Duo HD Player will be able to play both formats' interactive menus, a shortcoming of LG's SuperMulti Blue. The player begins shipping for $1,049 at the end of October. FYI, it's still cheaper to buy one HD DVD player and one Blu-ray player and glue them together.