This has been a big year for HD. The first generation of HD DVD players have arrived (with Blu-ray fast on its heels), more channels are offering HD content than ever before and televisions capable of displaying all that content at its eye-searing maximum resolution are finally available.

While HDTV displays have typically only supported images up to 1366 x 768 pixels (sometimes referred to as 720p or 1080i), new sets, like Sony’s recently-released 40-inch KDL-40V2500 Bravia LCD, can go up to 1920 x 1080 pixels (also known as 1080p), the HDTV standard’s maximum resolution. At The Geek Beat we refer to this resolution as “True HD,” because this is how the HDTV standard was meant to be viewed. (more…)

When I first heard about Doghouse Electronics Inc.’s personal media player (PMP), I couldn’t believe it. Not because I thought it was impossible to build a lightweight, full-featured audio/video player that’s literally all screen; but because I couldn’t believe a company no one had ever heard of would be the first to do it. (more…)

Users of Skype, the global Internet telephony company owned by eBay, can finally cut the cord – that is, the USB cord to their computers.

A variety of wireless Skype phones are hitting the market and getting noticed, especially since eBay’s recent announcement that it has hired Google to sell advertising. That partnership will enable customers to contact sellers and advertisers using Skype and Google Talk. And it’s bound to drive demand for gear that makes talking over the Internet smoother and easier. (more…)

The granddaddy of Internet-enabled cell phones, the T-Mobile Sidekick 3 combines a full-fledged web browser with POP e-mail, instant messaging and a variety of more mundane phone and PIM functions into a well-integrated package about the size of a bar of soap. With each new generation the Sidekick’s creator, Palo Alto-based Danger Inc., continues to hone it device’s capabilities, which may explain why Generation Three continues to be the best wireless communicator on the market. (more…)

If you’re in the market for a barebones computer, you probably won’t be interested in the eMachines T6534 desktop computer. Yes, its $449.99 sticker (after $50 mail-in rebate) makes the T6534 about as cheap as it gets. But with an AMD Athlon 64-bit processor, 200GB hard drive and 16x Dual-Layer DVD-RW drive, it can hardly be considered barebones. (more…)