The PDP-5020FD is the latest plasma screen coming from Pioneer. We just got the press release in our inbox and here’s the hightlights:

* Improved black levels reducing the idle luminance and improving black levels five times over the previous 2007 KURO models.
* Pioneer KURO televisions are now only 3.7 Inches thick, reduced by nearly 20 percent
* New remote control and redesigned high definition graphic user interface for ease-of-use and seamless integration with other A/V equipment
* Networked Home Media Gallery for playback of digital assets such as HD movie, music and photos from a PC or via USB
* Pioneer KURO televisions are DLNA compatible and Windows PlaysForSure™ compatible

The 50 inch ($4000) and the 60 inch ($5500), both full HD screen will be out in June.

Full press release from Pioneer after the jump:

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This is a funny present for the person who already has everything - the Meat Mark-It, a tool that will let you mark those steaks with pride! It would be quite cool to put the guest names on all the steaks during the next barbecue. The asking price is $26.

Meat Mark-It [Amazon.com]
via [gadgetking.com]

One of the most influental games ever, DOOM, will ’soon’ (well, at least they have started working on it) get a new, fresh version - DOOM 4. id Software hasn’t really said anything worth knowing, but they published the following a short statement on their homepage today:

Production has begun on DOOM 4™, the next journey into the legendary DOOM universe. We are expanding our internal team and are currently hiring to work on this highly anticipated title.

“DOOM is part of the id Software DNA and demands the greatest talent and brightest minds in the industry to bring the next installment of our flagship franchise to Earth,” said Todd Hollenshead, CEO, id Software. “It’s critical for id Software to have the best creative minds in-house to develop games that meet the standards synonymous with our titles.”

The DOOM franchise is one of the most recognizable and important in gaming history, having been named “one of the ten most influential games of the decade” by PC Gamer and “the #1 game of all time” by GameSpy. DOOM 4 will join the award-winning series which has consistently topped sales charts throughout the world.

Oh yes, and please bear in mind that ’soon’ will probably mean that it will take at least 1.5 years before DOOM 4 is out in a store near you.

idsoftware.com

Wouldn’t it be nice to leave your home to get some tools and come back with _this_? I have never in my life seen such a massive tool set…! It aint exactly free though…$8599.

Craftsman 1470 pc. Professional Tool Set [sears.com]
via [Uncrate]

AppleInsider has just published a bunch of new photos posted at a Chinese language mobile community earlier today. They match a description of 3G phone published over at at iLongue a few days ago. I think it looks fake though…

More would-be 3G iPhone photos [appleinsider.com]

If you look at the sales figures showing how many standalone blu-ray players that have been sold the last couple of months, you can see that the sales figures have dropped almost 40% between January and March - and that is quite a surprise since at least I expected to see a dramatic increase when the format war ended. It will be really interesting to see how long it will take until standalone blu-ray players reach the price level of around $100…

Blu-ray hits bumps in the road to HD market dominance [arstechnica.com]

Today Vodafone announced that they will launch the iPhone in ten markets, and those markets are Australia, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, Italy, India, Portugal, New Zealand, South Africa and Turkey. I was expecting a new iPhone from Apple that would come independently from any operator…

Vodafone to Offer Apple’s iPhone in Ten Markets [vodafone.com]

The Sorapot is one of the most original and beautiful teapots I have seen so far. It is designed by Joey Roth and made from stainless steel, borosilicate glass (Pyrex), and food-grade silicone. The Sorapot measures 8″L x 6″H x 5″W and can be yours for $179. Nice one!

sorapot.com
via [Uncrate]

The South-Korean designer Kwangho Lee has spent the last couple of years turning lamps inside out, ie. getting rid of the body and shade while adding a lot of cable length. Not really my cup of tee but I found them interesting, what do you think?

Like a forest of wire [mocoloco.com]

Apple is supposed to announce that they have struck a deal with all major studios (Fox, Walt Disney Studios, Warner Bros., Paramount, Universal, Sony Pictures, Lionsgate and New Line) and enabling Apple to launch the movies on iTunes the exact same day as they are released on DVD or blu-ray.

Studio films going day-and-date at iTunes Store [yahoo.com]

Update! Now it’s official. Press releae after the jump.

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