It was only a few years ago when television manufacturers Westinghouse Digital and Vizio were almost laughed off the floor at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. 

Most pundits scoffed at these start-ups when they said they planned to take on the big guys like Sony, Panasonic, Toshiba, LG and Samsung. Now, the last laugh is on the rest of us. Not only do Vizio and Westinghouse Digital have a significant market share in the television realm, but their products include 1080p, 240 Hz, and all the other features and ratings previously owned by the established CE makers.

If you happen to find yourself lost in the back of Central Hall of the Convention Center, you might find another CE company who has set their sights on that same market. SOYO is launching high-end HDTVs, 3D TV and a hybrid HDTV PC under the licensed name Honeywell. SOYO is a ten year old PC OEM product maker that has established a beach head portfolio that will soon be available at Best Buy and several regional CE makers.

Starting with a 32-inch LCD HDTV up to a 50 inch, the Honeywell branded TVs have all the requisite features like top flight contrast ratio. Honeywell’s line of Altura TVs will be priced at about $200 below the competition.

And there’s some buzz about Soyo-Honeywell’s 3D HDTV. In its preview yesterday, the 3D images were clearer, sharper and as motion sensitive as those we saw from Mitsubishi, Samsung and Sony. While executives wouldn’t divulge the complete source of their 3D technology, priced at a little over $3,000, SOYO-Honeywell expects this unit to be in full retail distribution in the next 60 days.

The more innovative and possibly risky venture, is the company’s HDiPC, a Linux based all-in-one device. The device will sell for only $300 at many mass market stores.

“We’ve seen the early success of the Netbooks and think this all-in-one unit will also be ideal for dorms, second bedrooms and some other unusual places for this very convenient and very budget conscious product,” says Craig Bird, the company’s marketing director.