Last week, Samsung introduced the first 3D televisions to market (despite the fact that there’s no 3D content yet available), and there’ll soon be some competition. On Wednesday, Panasonic will follow in Samsung’s footsteps and introduce its own 50-inch 3D model in the U.S. The new television will retail for $2,500 and will be available at Best Buy. Panasonic and Best Buy will be jointly marketing the new 3D offering, with Best Buy reserving a special part of its showroom floor for customers to view and try the 3D sets.

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Ready for 3D? Well, you won’t be able to enjoy it yet, but you can begin your preparation by purchasing the first 1080p 3D television sets to hit the market: the Samsung UN46C7000 and UN55C7000 LED units. The televisions are now available for order online at  Amazon, Sears and other retailers.

The initial 3D sticker shock isn’t so bad; the 46-incher will cost $2,600 and the 55-inch will cost $3,300–the non-3D, 6000-series Samsung  UN55B6000 actually costs the same as the UN55C7000. Of course, the active shutter glasses, 3D Blu-ray player, 3D cable package and other accompanying equipment will quickly drive that initial cost straight up, making the sticker aftershock a little more painful. Plus, none of those other little conveniences are yet on the market, so early buyers will have to endure a brand-new 3D television set without the 3D television.

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One of the big question marks surrounding the surge in 3D technology at this year’s CES was just how much it would cost. Manufacturers were eager to show off their 3D displays and speak about general availability, but prices remained under wraps. Panasonic came out with Japanese pricing for one of its upcoming 3D TVs today, giving us a glimpse at how much its new technology will cost.

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With all the talk of 3D television and ultra-slims, it’s easy to forget where we came from. Luckily, LG is committed to reminding us of those not-so-long-ago days of lugging huge, boxy CRTs up and down flights of stairs and around the home.

Complete with rabbit ears, the LG Serie 1 Retro Classic TV is a retro-chic throwback to the CRT days of yesteryear. With looks straight out of the 1960’s, this one is sure to bring back nostalgia for the days of classic television programs like The Twilight Zone and Batman. It’s hard not to fall in love all over again with its boxy shape, manual dials, chrome legs and colorful styling.

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With the growth of Wi-Fi, radio/infrared transmitters and streaming, home theaters have become increasingly less wire-dependent. Until now, the loss of wires has been limited largely to  component and speaker connections. With this new television, Haier is extending the wireless concept to the power cable.

Working on technology developed by MIT spinoff WiTricity, the television cuts the power plug in favor of a magnetic wireless power system that includes an electric coil in the back panel that can receive 100 Watts of power at distances of up to 1 m.

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The Samsung C9000 LED television, debuted at CES,  could impress most any TV afficionado on its own: a brilliant, pencil-thin display housed in brushed aluminum. Making the television all the more tempting is a Wi-Fi-based LCD remote that allows you to view content from other video sources. So while your wife is busying watching All About Steve on Blu-ray, you can pretend to be enjoying it with her while watching the playoffs on your remote–we’re hoping a headphone jack is included. The remote includes a touchscreen interface with haptic feedback and connects to the television via your home Wi-Fi network.

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Frankly, I’m pretty convincedthat television simply isn’t good enough to take anywhere. In fact, sometimes I leave the house just to avoid the awful onslaught of programming awaiting on the other end of the cable.

But if you disagree, Vizio’s got your back with three new mobile LED TVs. The series is called the Razor and it comes in 7, 9 and 10-inch varieties, each of which is less than an inch thick. The 9- and 10-inch models have a built-in antenna capable of receiving broadcasts via new mobile ATSC-M/H signals (in addition to ATSC and NTSC signals). The 7-inch is limited to ATSC and NTSC signals.

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We all knew this would be coming–companies ceasing production of tube televisions one by one, in favor of sleek flat-panels. The curtains are slowly closing on the big, boxy monsters many of us grew up with, and Panasonic is the latest to end its production, after 55 years of being in the CRT business.

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Wii users–this one’s for you. It’s also for anyone with small, disobedient children with a penchant for throwing tantrums–and for college roomates that have spontaneous, drunken wrestling matches that result in broken doors and holes in the wall. Frankly, it’s for anyone who’s spent a good chunk of a month or two’s paycheck on a beautiful flat panel television and is worried that some piece of their life is going to end up completely destroying that crystal-clear 1080p screen. Even if you’ve never seen a television screen break in your life, you should probably aim to keep it that way.

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