Samsung may be spinning off its LCD business, but that doesn't mean that the company won't be releasing plenty of new TVs for 2012. We got to take a look at the new LED and plasma TVs at CES, but we now have the full pricing and availability info for each set, and unfortunately, they cost more than the rumors suggested.
Samsung's 2012 LED TV lineup is headlined by the ES8000 series — which comes in 46-inch to 65-inch models and ranges from $2,999.99 to $5,099.99 — and the plasmas are topped off by the E8000 series, which'll come in 51-inch to 64-inch sizes and cost between $2,199.99 and $3,949.99 when they're released later this month. All of the TVs in the ES8000, E8000, and the cheaper ES7500 series will come with facial recognition as well as voice and gesture control, which lets you operate the sets by waving your hands or talking to the TV. We tested the feature out at CES and again more recently, and it still seems to be more of a novelty than a practical control method. Thankfully, these premium sets come with a traditional remote and the new Smart Touch Control remote which has a microphone as well as a touchpad. If that's not enough, Samsung has announced a new optional wireless keyboard that, like the Smart Touch Control, has a trackpad for navigating with. The addition of a touchpad to both remotes definitely makes working through menus and the TV's WebKit internet browser much easier.
All these sets also have dual-core processors that seem to keep menus moving snappily along and allowed for a pretty neat multitasking feature that lets you quickly switch back to a previously-used app or channel — if you're using the TV's tuner and not a cable box. If you're willing to opt for these high-end sets, Samsung promises that you'll be able to keep your TV up-to-date up to four years down the road with Smart Evolution packs that'll add whatever it takes to let the TV do what future models can.
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If those TVs are a bit too rich for your tastes (or wallet), Samsung's offering a vast array of less expensive sets. Thankfully you don't need to be in the upper echelons of the lineup to get some of the new features. Micro dimming, which helps improve contrast, is now present down to the ES6600 LEDs, and the company's Real Black filters, which, as the name suggests, keep blacks black, are now present on all of the plasmas. All of the company's smart TVs also support AllShare Play, which lets you share content from your phone, computer, and other devices on your TV. 2011 may have been the year of 3D, but Samsung's sticking with the technology, and now every 3D-capable TV will come with either two or four sets of active shutter glasses.
We didn't get to see any of Samsung's lower-end sets yet, but the ES8000 and E8000 both had 3D performance that seemed better than what we've seen on most other sets — crosstalk has been greatly minimized, the 3D effect persisted even at extreme angles, and, best of all, it didn't hurt our eyes! Blacks on the marquee plasma looked great as well, and while we weren't impressed with the smart interactions, we really liked the new on-panel controls that the ES8000 offered. Instead of a column of hard-to-use buttons, the back of the TV had a joystick control that was fast and pretty simple to use by touch.
Be sure to check our product database for the full specs on all of Samsung's new LED and plasma TVs, and scroll down to see the pricing and availability info for each set. Unfortunately, we're still waiting on more info on the super-thin 55-inch OLED TV that's expected to be released in Q2 of this year.
Series/Model
| Size Class (inches)
| Estimated Selling Price
| Availability
(Est.)
|
ES8000
| 65
| $5,099.99
| TBA
|
ES8000
| 60
| $4,399.99
| March 2012
|
ES8000
| 55
| $3,749.99
| March 2012
|
ES8000
| 46
| $2,999.99
| March 2012
|
ES7500
| 60
| $3,999.99
| March 2012
|
ES7500
| 55
| $3,379.99
| March 2012
|
ES7500
| 50
| $2,929.99
| March 2012
|
ES7500
| 46
| $2,599.99
| March 2012
|
ES7100
| 60
| $3,799.99
| TBA
|
ES7100
| 55
| $3,149.99
| May 2012
|
ES7100
| 46
| $2,399.99
| May 2012
|
ES6600
| 60
| $3,379.99
| TBA
|
ES6600
| 55
| $2,719.99
| March 2012
|
ES6600
| 46
| $1,929.99
| March 2012
|
ES6500
| 65
| $3,899.99
| TBA
|
ES6500
| 60
| $3,179.99
| March 2012
|
ES6500
| 55
| $2,519.99
| March 2012
|
ES6500
| 50
| $2,079.99
| May 2012
|
ES6500
| 46
| $1,729.99
| March 2012
|
ES6500
| 40
| $1,499.99
| March 2012
|
ES6500
| 32
| $999.99
| TBA
|
ES6100
| 60
| $2,899.99
| April 2012
|
ES6100
| 55
| $2,199.99
| March 2012
|
ES6100
| 50
| $1,729.99
| June 2012
|
ES6100
| 46
| $1,399.99
| March 2012
|
ES6100
| 40
| $1,199.99
| March 2012
|
EH6000
| 65
| $2,649.99
| TBA
|
EH6000
| 60
| $2,099.99
| February 2012
|
EH6000
| 55
| $1,549.99
| February 2012
|
EH6000
| 50
| $1,249.99
| June 2012
|
EH6000
| 46
| $1,079.99
| February 2012
|
EH6000
| 40
| $849.99
| February 2012
|
EH5300
| 50
| $1,199.99
| June 2012
|
EH5300
| 46
| $1,019.99
| March 2012
|
EH5300
| 40
| $799.99
| March 2012
|
EH5300
| 32
| $579.99
| March 2012
|
EH5000
| 50
| $1,149.99
| June 2012
|
EH5000
| 46
| $979.99
| February 2012
|
EH5000
| 40
| $749.99
| February 2012
|
EH5000
| 37
| $649.99
| February 2012
|
EH5000
| 32
| $549.99
| February 2012
|
EH4000
| 32
| $419.99
| February 2012
|
EH4000
| 26
| $329.99
| February 2012
|
Series/Model
| Size Class (inches)
| Estimated Selling Price
| Availability
(Est.)
|
PN64E8000
| 64
| $3,949.99
| March 2012
|
PN60E8000
| 60
| $3,079.99
| March 2012
|
PN51E8000
| 51
| $2,199.99
| March 2012
|
PN64E7000
| 64
| $3,399.99
| March 2012
|
PN60E7000
| 60
| $2,529.99
| March 2012
|
PN51E7000
| 51
| $1,649.99
| March 2012
|
PN60E6500
| 60
| $2,199.99
| March 2012
|
PN51E6500
| 51
| $1,519.99
| March 2012
|
PN64E550
| 64
| $2,529.99
| March 2012
|
PN60E550
| 60
| $1,919.99
| March 2012
|
PN51E550
| 51
| $1,199.99
| March 2012
|
PN60E530
| 60
| $1,649.99
| March 2012
|
PN51E530
| 51
| $999.99
| March 2012
|
PN51E490
| 51
| $799.99
| February 2012
|
PN51E450
| 51
| $719.99
| February 2012
|
PN43E450
| 43
| $549.99
| February 2012
|