Plasma TV You may be surprised at just how tuned in to TV many Americans really are. A recent survey found that not only do half of all Americans want a Plasma TV, but many of them will go to great lengths to get one. Here’s a closer look:

She Said

Plasma TV Forget chocolate, it seems that women are craving their favorite shows in high definition. A third of women said they would give up chocolate for 12 months in exchange for a plasma television.

He Said

Plasma TV

Forty percent of men surveyed said they would endure a 48-hour “chick flick” marathon, if it meant they would be rewarded with a Plasma TV. One-fifth of the men surveyed said they would give up all sports-related activities: watching, playing and reading about their favorite sports and athletic heroes. (continue reading…)

“Don’t throw the past away. You might need it some rainy day.”

-Peter Allen, from the song “Everything Old Is New Again”

During the late ’90s and early ’00s, the hype bubble grew large about a number of ideas that never reached critical mass. WebTV was going to democratize the Internet, but it devolved into a market niche after being acquired by Microsoft. WiFi providers such as MobileStar and later Cometa Networks hoped to build vast WiFi networks that would compete with cellular plans. Those bubbles popped back in the day, but curiously, companies are now willing to pump some energy back into them. The question is whether they are in any better position to float this time around.

We’ve been keenly tracking the progress of these 3D displays from Samsung, from their pre-CES tease — where we were first told they were TVs, then monitors, then it turned out they were monitors with optional TV tuners — through their official launch and now to their first pricing and availability. South Korea is the unsurprising debut market for the 950 and 750 Series, both 27-inchers, discernible by their design, which in the 950′s case is asymmetric and in the 750′s is all about the thin bezel. A 1,000:1 contrast ratio, 2ms response time, 1080p resolution, and a litany of input ports await the buyer of either one, but he’d better bring a well-fed wallet to this party — the 27TA950 reportedly costs 890,000 KRW (nearly $800) whereas the 27TA750 is an 840,000 KRW outlay (just over $750). Not exactly value models, but those prices will likely change when the pair go international at some point later this month.

Remember Google TV? It’s still kickin’, but El Goog still has quite a few content distribution quibbles to solve before it can be taken seriously — at least in our estimation. Logitech was one of the first outfits to buy into Google’s scheme to take over the television, with the Revue first out of the gate to provide Google TV access to existing sets. We had our fair share of gripes with the box, and while it definitely enabled quite the unusual videocall in a prior episode of The Engadget Show, we were never convinced said fun was worth the price. Enough about us, though — how’s your Revue treating you? Has it revolutionized the way you consume television content? Anything you’d change about it? Tweak the user interface? Broaden compatibility? Change up the keyboard? Let us know in comments below — something tells us Google’s still listening up for input.