By James Wells at CES

LAS VEGAS, USA: In what will no doubt be regarded as a classic marketing pun, Toshiba has demonstrated its strength in the PC and display market with the launch of the Cell TV, which actually features a Sony brain.

With the Cell TV, Toshiba is targeting one of the only segments displaying growth at the moment – the LCD category in 55-inch and 65-inch. At the heart of the television is the Cell Broadband Engine. This is actually a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment and is one of the core technologies within the PlayStation3 console.

The major features of the TV is its ability to upscale 2D content to 3D, 1,000 cd/m2 brightness, 9,000,000:1 contrast ratio, 1TB hard disc, 480Hz frame rate, home conferencing over IP, wireless technology.


“Creating a TV around the CELL Engine has removed previous limitations and allowed Toshiba to create an ultra-premium TV that is also an easy to use home entertainment server,” said Ramirez.

“By combining the CELL Engine with the new KIRA2 LED panel technology, Toshiba engineers have developed all-new levels of stunning performance and comprehensive functionality.  

“CELL TV provides more brightness, more contrast, more detail, more 3D, more robust connectivity, and more fun than anything we have ever created.  CELL TV is the new gold standard,” he said

In a half-hour press conference, that was dominated by a barrage of statistics and Toshiba’s sponsorship of the new year celebration in Times Square New York, Cell TV was the only major product announced.