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NEW YORK–Want a Samsung 4K TV? Well, it will cost you. $40,000, to be exact.
The Korean electronics giant today talked up new features of its 2013 lineup during an event in New York. We also now have information about pricing and availability for Samsung’s other TVs, including its LED 8000-series and its plasma 8500-series TV sets. (Check out the handy chart for LED and plasma TVs below). Many of those products are already popping up at online and brick-and-mortar retailers.
Samsung also said it has added three new apps to its smart TV portfolio — Fox, Spotify, and Univision.
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Joe Stinziano, executive vice president for Samsung Electronics America, told CNET at the event that the new apps should be available on most Samsung TV sets released in the past couple years.
“Generally speaking, a lot of those apps are available on 2011 and 2012 TVs,” Stinziano said. “There may be some little technical thing where one app can’t go back two years, but we generally always try to update them so that someone who has a 2011 TV can use Spotify or Fox.”
Samsung’s 4K ultra high-definition TV, the S9, will be available for preorder on Samsung’s Web site at the end of March for $39,999. The 85-inch TV includes ultimate dimming capabilities and allows users to up-convert HD content to a near-ultra HD level, among other features.
Stinziano said that Samsung also should have an OLED TV on the market this year.
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Samsung announces 2013 AV range, pricing
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Samsung also will start selling its Evolution Kit for $299.99 in May. The product offers a way for consumers to update their TVs with the latest technologies and features. It fits into a slot on the back of 2012 Samsung 7500 and 8000 series LED TVs, as well as Samsung series 7000 and 8000 plasma TVs. 2013 F7500 LED and above and F8500 plasma TVs also include a Smart Evolution slot.
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We now have pricing and availability information for Samsung’s mainstream TVs, many of which are already available online. For example, Samsung’s best 60-inch 3D plasma smart TV, part of the F8500 series, currently sells for $2,997.99 at Amazon and other retailers, 21 percent less than the list price of $3,799.99. In comparison, the list prices of the highest-end 60-inch plasma models from Panasonic, models TC-P60ZT60 (available May, $3499.99) and TC-P60VT60 (April, $2999.99) are a few hundred less.
Meanwhile Samsung’s best 55-inch 3D ultra slim LED TV, part of the F8000 series, is offered on Amazon for $2,697.99, below the $3,099 list price.
The Korean electronics giant hosted an event today at New York’s Museum of American Finance on Wall Street. Along with Samsung executives, the company had a few special guests: football player Eli Manning, model Kate Upton, and singer Flo Rida.
The guests showed off a few of Samsung’s smart TV features, such as the ability to easily search for shows.
Shara Tibken/CNET
Samsung’s smart TVs include a redesigned Samsung Smart Hub that offers five menu panels to help consumers manage and navigate different types of content and S-Recommendation, which helps consumers find the content they want by learning their viewing habits over time. Smart View lets users move content from the TV to connected devices and back in real time, and Smart Interaction allows consumers to control the TV through voice and gesture recognition.
“We promised we’d bring the wow back to the TV experience,” Dave Das, Samsung vice president of home entertainment, said at the event.
Here are charts with LED and plasma TV pricing:
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Updated at 11:05 a.m. PT and again at 12:05 p.m. PT with comments from Samsung EVP and information about mainstream TV pricing. Updated March 21, 5:40 a.m. PT with plasma TV pricing and comparison information.
