It seems that 3D images with real depth are the future for gaming monitors, and now Zalman is getting ready to join the fray.

While we're waiting for the first 120 Hz screens which require special glasses connected to the graphics card, Zalman has already released its own 3D product.  We met some of the Asian manufacturer's staff at the IFA in Berlin who showed off the new models.

They accept that the market will get more competitive with the arrival of models from both ViewSonic and Samsung, and that they don't yet have a 120 Hz of their own on the way.

Nevertheless, they are ready to launch two 24 inch 3D screens, based on the same principle as their ZM-M220W.   The pair includes the Zalman DS-243N, on the left, and another screen, right, which looks very similar to the Hyundai W240D.

Google released its own browser on Tuesday, and yesterday saw the first full day on the web for Chrome.  The new program's speedy navigation, great tab handling and simple good looks have already attracted more than convert.

And here's the proof: after just one day on the market, 5.3% of visitors to DigitalVersus were using the new browser (dark green).

A natural shift from Firefox to Chrome?

We had thought that Google Chrome would pull in much of its audience from Firefox.  Even though it’s far too early to make a definitive judgment, and even though we’re basing this on the not exactly representative sample of our readers (who are all excellent people, nonetheless!), it seems that this early assumption is not true.  Amongst our readership, the number of people using Firefox 3 actually went up yesterday by 1.3% to 39.2% (red).

So who's going down?

Stock market, style, here are yesterday’s results:  Firefox 2 down 4.7% (light green); Internet Explorer 6 down 0.8% (dark blue and barely visible); Opera down 0.2% (purple).  Other browsers hung in there, with Internet Explorer 7 (orange) not budging an inch.  

Worth noting too is the arrival of the beta edition of Internet Explorer 8, which accounted for 0.1% of our readers yesterday.  Granted, the 90 or so people concerned represented a 527% rise from one day to the next, but Microsoft’s new browser Is very much still in its infancy.

Normally, we'd report the arrival of a new product by telling you what it is first and then telling you how much it costs second. The price tag on the new range of XS1 TVs from Sharp, however, is so hefty that we’re going to give it here, and quite a few of you might want to give up reading this now. The 52" Aquos LC-52XS1E will be a snip at 9 000 euros, while the even bigger Aquos LC-65XS1E will bring you 65" of viewing pleasure for 12 000 euros.

If you're curious, optimistic or rich enough to read on, then you'll want to know that these screens are very high quality Full HD TVs, described by the manufacturer as luxury products.  This is explained by the touch-sensitive brushed aluminum case that wraps around a 12 bit panel.

The whole thing is only 2.3 cm thick, thanks to LED backlighting, which also allows these reasons to achieve dynamic contrast levels of 1000000:1 with a 4 ms response time.  The on board speakers have been carefully developed with the help of engineers from Pioneer, and, of course, the built in digital tuner is compatible with HD.

Both models will be available from October 2008, and come with a 2 year on site guarantee.

If you’re in the market for a seriously large television, you might like to check out our ongoing survey of screens larger than 50”.

 

The Nikon D90 is the first reflex camera which can also record video clips, and what's more, it does so in HD.  We first got our hands on it late yesterday, and have been trying it out ever since.  A full test will follow soon.