Getting a Look at Allio, The First High Def LCD TV PC

Just a few weeks ago, an obscure company in Boulder, Colorado announced the first LCD TV PC, Allio by Visionman. So we naturally wanted to see the unveiling at CES, but it was harder to find than we expected. All the big names had enormous set-ups in the Central Hall. It took us 30 minutes to find Booth # 26937 down in the back of the South Hall adjacent to no-name electronic accessory companies. But make no mistake, the Allio is the first High Def LCD TV, Blu-ray player, PC on the market with attractive product extensions to come in the next six months.



Today Allio is available in 32" and 42" displays with a price tag of $2799 for the larger size. You can watch television in one window, a Blu-ray movie in another and surf the web in a third, or go full screen for any one function. Here are the highlights:

• Allio runs Microsoft Vista Home Premium 64-bit. That means no new User Interface to learn if you are a Windows PC user.


• 1080p resolution for HD TV


• Integrated Blu-ray player


• 7.1 Dolby Surround Sound support


• 1TB Hard Disk


• 4GB memory


• Wireless 802.11b/g


• And, the TV and PC functions run independently. If you get a virus that interferes with the PC, your TV still works.

Allio is now available online at alliotv.com and amazon.com.

If this wasn't enough, Allio's coming attractions are even better. Next month, Allio will launch a gamer model. According to Allio's CEO Tre Cates, "Allio Extreme will be powerful enough to watch TV, play a Blu-ray movie and Crysis at the same time." That's right, Crysis, one of the most graphically demanding games available. We were stunned that they were audacious enough to make such claims, but if it turns out to be true, that's when we'll really be picking our jaws up off the floor.

Consumers also want bigger TVs and Allio is moving to meet the demand. By June, Allio will be available in 50" and 65" models.

Merging is inevitable. Even without recession induced cost-consciousness, consumers want all-in-one. We've seen the rise of the smart phone projected to capture more than 50% of the cell phone market by 2010. Steve Ballmer, Microsoft's CEO, predicts the three screen merge, smartphone, PC and TV albeit through Windows 7 OS. But what we didn't see at CES was the launch of any truly merged big devices by any of the big players. Why buy two devices when you can buy one?

My message to the TV and PC giants Sharp, Sony, Samsung, LG, Dell and HP: Your half-assed attempts at internet TV don't cut it. We want more than a selection of friendly widgets powered by your proprietary partnerships. Traffic reports, stock market updates and all the Netflix in the world aren't enough. We know the technology is available, and it's taken a small company, Visionman, to bring it to market.

For more discoveries plucked from CES obscurity, try:

Palm Pre Hands on (almost)

Alioscopy at CES: Is 3D in Our Future?

Garmin Forgets to Bring Nuvifone to CES?

JVC Reveals Magnetic TV, Obsession with iPod

ioSafe Demo Wows Journalists, Stings Nostrils