On CE - For Dealers, Distributors and OEMs of Consumer Electronics throughout EMEA

Razer announces the Razer Blade, calling it "the world's first true gaming laptop" to make gamers and developers "return to the PC as the primary gaming platform of choice."

It comes in a portable package-- 22.5mm thick and weighing 3.2kg-- with a 17" display, 2.8GHz i7 processor, 8GB RAM, 320GB SATA HDD and a GeForce GT555M video card.

Razer also includes its Switchblade interface-- x10 adaptive tactile keys (like the Optimus Maximus) and a multi-touch LCD panel acting as either mouse replacement or in-game information display.

But is it truly the first gaming laptop? After all, Alienware offers a range of equally capable (if not as thin or light) machines, while gamers might complain about the lack of SSD storage and the choice of video card.

There's also the matter of pricing-- ranging at around $2800.

The Blade will be available on Q4 2011. Meanwhile we're still curious about Razer's earlier announcement, the Switchblade 7" mini-gaming laptop concept.

Go Razer Blade

Go Gaming PC as a Portable Console?

HMV prepares a promotional campaign for its new "Fast Forward" technology store format, hoping to turn around declining sales on the lead-up to the holiday season.

More than 25% of trading space in the new format stores carries CE devices, with product displays on wall units and presentation tables.

The initiative follows a successful trial in 6 shops throughout H1 2011.

The promotional campaign uses the tag line "Play It, Touch It, Live It," showcasing products from the likes of Apple, Beats, Bose and Samsung.

HMV plans to have 150 "Fast Forward" stores by 2011's end.

Go HMV Group

GfK's latest Consumer Electronics Market Index (CEMIX) shows a growing German market, with H1 2011 showing 4.3% Y-o-Y growth.

The report tracks the following segments-- classic CE (showing -6.7% Y-o-Y growth), privately used Telecommunications (43.9% growth) and privately used IT products (4.5% growth).

Gfk says the apparent decline in classic CE is primarily due to the "extraordinary sales" in H1 2010-- this time last year the German market went through HDTV changeover, the Olympics and the FIFA World Cup.

The CEMIX CE market results also show strong growth with the home audio and A/V accessory segments, while increasing smartphone demand drives growth within the telecommunications segment.

Go Germany: CE Market Displays Sound Growth in H1 2011

Toshiba will demonstrate its latest TVs at IFA 2011-- now carrying its multi-processor platform, the Cevo Engine.

The company says each of the Cevo engine's individual components carry out specialised tasks to ensure optimised performance, improving image quality and 3D as well as networking and recording functions.

Tosiba's IFA stand will house its Personal-TV concept-- using face recognition to identify users before setting picture and sound to their individual user profile.

Also on show is a slew of 3D displays (either with or without 3D glasses) using both 3D sources and generating 3D content from 2D sources.

Go Toshiba Cevo Engine