14 DAY TRIAL // Once in a while, a company or another will make such an announcement that something close to shock will settle over the IT industry, and Toshiba may have just accomplished something of the sort.
Toshiba has definitely not been idle, especially with this year's IFA trade show, but its releases, so far, have been relatively tame, all things considered.
The Portege Z830 Ultrabook might stand out through the nature of Ultrabooks in general, but not enough that the effect on onlookers would leave them gaping.
Likewise, the AT200 Tablet and WiFi-Equipped 8GB Memory Card, while impressive in their respective ways, are still within the realm of expectations.
The new TV that Toshiba made, however, cannot boast of being so easy on one's mind, the same way it is definitely not going to show mercy to one's finances.
The screen size of 55 inches may not the the greatest encountered in the world, but it is still large, especially for a panel with support for 3D.
Indeed, the ZL2 3D TV, as it is called, has 3D capabilities, although one should mention that there is absolutely no need for glasses of any sort.
Though passively polarized or active shutter eyewear is usually a must for such things, Toshiba substituted them with a technology that, by using tiny lenticular lenslets, sends the images directly to one's eyes.
The other major asset that puts this beast in a category of its own is the native resolution of not HD (1,366 x 768 pixels) or Full HD (1,920 x 1,080 pixels), but 3,840 x 2,160 pixels (LED-backlit QuadHD resolution).
All in all, this is the first glasses-free 3D TV of this size and the resolution definitely seals its status as unique.
Unfortunately, there is no chance for anyone, save the truly wealthy, to land ownership of this beast, considering the price of 7,999 Euro, which roughly translates into $11,500.