CES: Vizio's 2010 line up (Part 1)

I'm dividing my Vizio post into two because Vizio has a ton of new products slated for 2010. Here's a quick rundown of some:

E-Series
This is their "everyday" (budget) series of HDTVs. Many of them will feature a 120Hz refresh rate although none of them are Internet-enabled. They'll be sold at Target and Walmart.

M-Series
Their mid-tier offerings. This is where things get interesting. These models are available in 55", 47", and 42" sizes. The 47" and 55" models will come with VIA (Vizio Internet Apps), meaning they'll give you access to tons of Web apps. **All** TVs with VIA will feature both 802.11n and an Ethernet port. To my knowledge, they're the only company offering this. (Most companies require you to buy a dongle for wireless support). All of the M-Series TVs will also have a 120Hz refresh rate and edge-lit LED backlighting. (Edge-lit lighting allows for a thinner profile — in this case 2"). The 55" and 47" models will also come with a Bluetooth universal remote with a built-in sliding QWERTY keyboard.

Of all the Internet-enabled TVs, Vizio's VIA apps have impressed me the most. In addition to the usual apps like weather and Twitter, VIA also offers Vudu, Netflix, and Amazon VOD. You have absolutely no need to ever leave the house again. The interface looks very clean and intuitive. You press the VIA button on the remote and a dock pops up on the bottom of the display. You simply select the app you want, launch it, and depending on the app, it'll show up as a column (that's how Twitter shows up) or take up the entire display (in the case of Vudu, Netflix, etc).

Headphones
Yup, you're reading that correctly. Vizio is branching out into the headphone biz. (As you can see from the adjacent pic.) They'll connect to any Bluetooth audio source and some of them will include a built-in LCD on each earpiece. The LCD will display album cover art or any other image you want it to show. They're expected to debut in the next 3-4 months.

Mobile TVs
Vizio is also coming out with its own line of portable/mobile TVs. They'll range in size from 7", 9", and 10". All of then are LED backlit. There's also a 24" Wi-Fi Portable TV.

Premium HDTVs
On the premium side, Vizio will debut a 56" quad HDTV. It'll have a 3840x2160 resolution. Obviously, there's no quad HD content out there, so Vizio will be aiming this model at photographers looking to view their high-res digital images on a TV. No details on pricing or an exact release date.

There will also be a 58" LED-based Cinema TV with a 21:9 display. This aspect ratio eliminates the black borders you currently see when you're watching a DVD, so the entire screen displays your movie. It also has a slightly higher resolution of 2560x1080.