The Samsung Syncmaster 2494HS may be missing the Samsung-standard glossy black bezel, but it still sports some serious attributes.

The screen is 23.6-inches and the matte black motif manages to merge business with, well, business rather effectively. The resolution clocks in at 1,920 x 1,080 and the SyncMaster offers 300 nits of brightness. There is also a 5-millisecond response time, 50,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, inbuilt stereo speakers and DVI / VGA / HDMI inputs.

The LCD goes on sale next month in Japan for approximately ¥40,000 ($423). It is rumored to be coming to the USA and European Union shortly thereafter.

ASUS has announced two new laptops today: The 14.1-inch N80V and the 15.4-inch N50V. Both laptops have the option of T9400 / P8600 / P7350 Intel Core 2 Duo CPUs, up to 4GB of RAM, and an NVIDIA GeForce 9300M GPU with 512MB of VRAM. The N80V offers up to 320GB in hard drive space while the N50V ascends up to 500GB. The N80V includes a WXGA display and the N50V offers WXGA / WXGA+ / WSXGA+ options. Each laptop also offers eSata, HDMI and a selection of USB ports. No word on price or availability as of yet.

ASUS has announced the 14.1-inch B80A business laptop, just months after their business-minded B50A was released. The B80A will only be released in an all-black model and offers a 14.1-inch WXGA (or WXGA+) display, a choice between several Intel Core 2 Duo processors, and up to 4GB of DDR2 RAM. The computer also boasts a SATA hard drive ranging from 160GB to 250GB, a dual-layer DVD writer, 1.3-megapixel webcam, Bluetooth 2.1, WiFi and a 6-cell battery. In addition the unit will feature a consumer-friendly HDMI output, a backlit keyboard and a fingerprint reader.

ASUS has yet to come clean on pricing or a release date.

Western Digital recently strayed from its platter-based roots and released an HD media streaming unit. The WD TV HD Media Player claims to "turn your USB drive into an HD media player, allowing you to watch your favorite HD movies on your TV." Basically, it allows you to plug in your USB key or USB hard drive and play back multimedia clips up to 1080p on your HDTV. The unit works via the HDMI / composite outputs. The box is sized at 1.6- x 4.9- x 3.9-inches and is priced at $129.99. The company unveiled the product with little fanfare, as it’s already sitting on store shelves.

Belkin and Monster announced that they won’t be able to make their deadline of Winter CES to showcase their new wireless HDMI technology.

The wireless system is said to be able to toggle between 6 different audio/video sources, up to full 1080p, wirelessly across the room and through walls.

Sony showcased similar technology recently that is limited to Sony products but the Belkin/Monster solution is universal. Latest release date is 2Q 2009.