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If my wife and I hadn’t just had a baby, right now I’d be in NY at Samsung’s annual product showcase, where I would have seen, in person, these drool-worthy new products. The quick list is new Touch of Color LCD monitors, Series 7 Plasma HDTVs, Series 8 LCD HDTVs and Series 9 LED-backlit (yesss!!!!) LCD HDTVs. More after the clicky thingie…

Touch of Color Monitors

These babies are available now, which means that you have to decide whether to forgo food, clothing or shelter for the near term. Unlike normal computer monitors, these HD series monitors also include ATSC tuners, HDMI inputs and of course Samsung’s Touch of Color bezels. The one that’s trying to itch some cash out of my bank account is the T260HD, with a 26″ widescreen running at 1920 x 1080. Oooooooh. It’ll set you back about $600.

Series 7 Plasma HDTVs

Although the Series 7 LCD HDTVs have been out for a while, a couple of new Plasma TVs in the same range will hit stores soon. Sizes include 50″, 58″ and 63″ with some key features being Touch of Color (red), dynamic contrast ratio of 1,000,000:1 (yeah, we know, we know), Ultra Filter Bright anti-glare, DNIe Pro, day-time/ night-time calibration, InfoLink RSS, USB 2.0 (for displaying MP3, JPG, XviD & MPEG4 files on the TV), DLNA compatibility and four HDMI 1.3 inputs with CEC. Model numbers for the three sets are PN50A760 ($2,799.99), PN58A760 ($4,499.99) and PN63A760 ($5,499.99) from smallest to biggest. Available in August. Full specs and the official release here.

Series 8 LCD HDTVs

The Series 8 line includes 46″ and 52″ models in two color options for Samsung’s Touch of Color bezels: The previously-available red and a new “deep blue”. This is good for all of those people who have A/V components with blue lights on them, because, despite their use in K-Mart stores, everybody knows that blue lights are the coolest of them all. The Series 8 TVs are also very thin, at just 1.9″ at their widest point. Other features include 50,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, 4ms response, Auto Motion Plus 120Hz, Ultra Clear Panel, DNIe Pro, down-firing speakers, SRS TruSurround XT, InfoLink RSS, internal flash memory, USB 2.0 port (2 on the 860 models) for viewing MPEG4, XviD, MP3 and JPEG content, DLNA-certification, NTSC, ATSC and ClearQAM tuners and 4 HDMI-CEC 1.3 inputs. The 850 models have the red, er, rose bezel and the 860 models have the deep blue ones. Model numbers and pricing are LN46A850 (46″, rose, $2,699.99), LN46A860 (46″, deep blue, $2,799.99), LN52A850 (52″, rose, 3,399.99) and LN52A860 (52″, deep blue, $3,499.99). It would seem that blue plastic costs more than red plastic. Feh. Full specs here.

Series 9 LED-Backlit LCD HDTVs

If you set your wayback machine for somewhere between two and three decades ago, you’ll remember a time when LED watches and handheld electronic games started to give up their LED innards for the magic of LCD. These days, however, the two not only co-exist, but make each other better. Take for example this final lineup of HDTVs from Samsung, which use the LED-backlighting first introduced last year with Samsung’s 81 series HDTVs. LED backlighting gives the Series 9 models, using Samsung’s LED SmartLighting technology, a contrast ratio more like plasma than traditional LCD TVs, rating in at 1,000,000:1 (which, hopefully, although not standardized, is at least internally-consistent within Samsung). The Series 9 Touch of Color bezels are charcoal gray…it would seem that Samsung doesn’t want to charge top dollar for red- or blue-bezeled TVs. Go figure. Also on-hand are things you’d expect at this point such as Auto Motion Plus 120Hz, an Ultra Clear Panel, InfoLink RSS, USB 2.0 (see other models above), four HDMI-CEC 1.3 inputs and that all-important EnergyStar rating so that all the folks in California with zillions of dollars will happily justify purchasing one of these. Which I would do if I had zillions of dollars. Or $4,200, which is about how much the 55″ version will set you back. Models and pricing are LN46A950 (46″, $3,199.99) and LN55A950 (55″, $4,199.99). Full specs here.

If the picture quality of the Series 6 and Series 7 LCD TVs from Samsung is any indication, these new models should prove to be absolutely spectacular. Can’t wait to see them in action!