Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Windows 8 a 'giant sadness'

Windows 8 a 'giant sadness' says gaming boss

Microsoft's Windows 8 was like a "giant sadness", Gabe Newell, chief executive of gaming company Valve, has said.

Windows 8 borrows design elements from the Windows Phone operating system.

By Shane Richmond, Head of Technology (Editorial)

Newell, whose company is known for the Half-Life game series and runs the Steam games store, said Windows 8, the new Microsoft operating system, was "unusable".

"Windows 8 was like this giant sadness. It just hurts everybody in the PC business," Newell told The Verge. "Rather than everybody being all excited to go buy a new PC, buying new software to run on it, we’ve had a 20-plus per cent decline in PC sales."

Before founding Valve, in 1996, Newell spent 13 years working on Windows for Microsoft.

Last year, Microsoft announced that it had sold 40 million Windows 8 licenses in the first month after launch, an improvement on Windows 7, which sold 60 million licenses in its first two months. Earlier this week, Microsoft said sales of Windows 8 had reached 60 million.

Valve is working on a Steam Box games console that will bring its games into the living room but also act as a networked games device for the whole home.

The Steam Box will run on Linux but Newell says it will be possible to install Windows on it. "We're not going to make it hard," he said.
Newell said the company was not planning to release a motion controller for the Steam Box but was interested in the possibilties of controllers that utilise biometric data.
He said: "Biometrics on the other hand is essentially adding more communication bandwidth between the game and the person playing it, especially in ways the player isn’t necessarily conscious of. Biometrics gives us more visibility."
Newell added: "Also, gaze tracking. We think gaze tracking is going to turn out to be super important."
Valve has not yet revealed a release date for the Steam Box or how much it would cost but Ben Krasnow, an engineer at Valve, said the company had no plans to announce anything this year.

source : http://www.telegraph.co.uk

Google Nexus 5

Google Nexus 5: launching next month?

LG dropped heavy hints last week that it was working with Google on a new phone.

By Matt Warman, Consumer Technology Editor

LG's Nexus 4 has sold so well retailers have struggled to maintain supply

Speaking at the company’s press conference at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Senior Vice President James Fisher claimed that the LG Nexus 4 is just "the first of many" products LG is working on with Google.

Google uses the Nexus line of smartphones and tablets to promote development of its products. It has worked with a range of manufacturers including HTC, LG and Samsung, although not yet Motorola, which it now owns. Previous rumours have also suggested that Google has discussed a Nexus device with Sony.

Fisher claimed, "Through our collaboration with Google, we launched the LG Nexus 4 smartphone. This is the first of many devices to come from our growing partnership with this very selective company."

Although Fisher added that the firm will be launching its next generation smartphones in Barcelona next month, Samsung’s equivalent follow-up to its Nexus device was not another direct collaboration with Google. It launched the Galaxy S3 smartphone after the Galaxy Nexus, and LG is also widely expected to update its Optimus range of devices. Fisher said that "at Mobile World Congress next month and throughout the year, you'll see us bring to market more tier-one premium handsets in various screen sizes".

The International Business Times, however, claimed that LG has already begun to wind down production of the Nexus 4, in preparation for a new device. It added that recent rumours say the successor of LG Nexus 4 will offer a more powerful 2GHz quad core processor and a new Android operating system, called Key Lime Pie.

source : http://www.telegraph.co.uk

Raspberry Pi – The $35 Pocket PC

When the Raspberry Pi launched earlier this year, it got a whole lot of attention, selling out in seconds with over 350,000 orders placed in its first month.

What Is The Raspberry Pi?

The Raspberry Pi is a $35 computer that is the size of a credit card. It can be connected to a TV, keyboard and mouse, allowing you to surf the web, watch Full-HD films, and pretty much everything else you would do on a normal PC. It went on sale in April

Raspberry Pi Specs

The Raspberry Pi is powered by an 700MHz ARM CPU, and has support for Blu-ray quality videos such as H.264 @ 40Mb/s. It isn’t exactly a powerhouse, but with that video support it can have many practical uses, like being a multimedia PC that plugs directly into your TV.
CPU & GPU:

Broadcom BCM2835 700MHz ARM CPU
FPU and Videocore 4 GPU with support for Open GL ES 2.0, OpenVG, and 1080p playback (H.264)
GPU has a throughput of 1Gpixel/s / 24GFLOPs with texture filtering and DMA

Memory & Connectivity:

256MB RAM
Bootable SD Card
Ethernet Ports (LAN)
HDMI connector (output)
2x USB 2.0 Ports
RCA Video Connector
3.5mm stereo jack for audio output

Something A Bit More Powerful

Meet the Cotton Candy USB PC from FXI. The Cotton Candy comes in at a meagre 21 grams, but packs a powerful punch with its 1GHz A9 CPU from Samsung, an ARM 1.2GHz Quad-core GPU, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and a HDMI output.
It decodes MPEG-4, H.264 and other video formats and display HD graphics on any HDMI equipped screen.
Although it comes pre-loaded with Android, it can run multiple other operating systems, including Windows, Ubuntu, and other variations of Android.
It can be controlled in a number of ways – over Wi-Fi using an app on your smartphone, or with a Bluetooth mouse and keyboard.
At $200, it’s a lot more expensive than the Raspberry Pi offering, but the Cotton Candy’s specs speak for themselves.

NFC – Near Field Communication

NFC … or is it called KFC? This article definitely won’t show you the newest technology of frying chicken, but the newest upcoming technology in the mobile phone industry.

NFC - Near field communication

What is NFC?

NFC (Near Field Communication) is a program allowing sending bits of data from a hand device to a machine, which is able to read and process that information. NFC is actually supported by hardware embedded in the latest generation of smartphones. By 2014, it is estimated that around 300 million of mobile devices will have NFC, which would be around 20% of the current total amount of smartphones. Basically, the technology would enable customers to pay for their purchase simply by swiping their mobiles at the till. For instance, Starbucks, amongst others, have started a trial period for NFC at selected stores in the USA and UK.

NFC’s use in hotels

The biggest Georgian and Victorian doors manufacturer, Yale Door, has successfully conducted a trial with a Swedish hotel chain, which allowed guests to use their smartphones to access their rooms. Imagine, avoiding long queues at the check-in counters. At the Clarion Hotel in Stockholm, Yale Door used the NFC technology in order to enable guests to check-in remotely. The hotel reservation is made as usual via the website or through any travel agency. On the date of arrival, a welcome text on your phone includes a web address, where customers can check-in whenever they want. Once this stage is confirmed through the company’s free app, the room key is sent directly to your phone. So instead of waiting at the counter, when you arrive at the hotel, you can just walk past that and access directly your room by simply holding the phone against the lock.
Moreover, it is possible to complete a quick self-checkout by simply touching the checkout point located at the front desk. Besides making the stay for the guests more enjoyable, it enables the staff to spend more time with individual guests instead of having to deal with check-ins and check-outs. A great way to increase the so-called guest experience!

NFC’s future

This is in fact the first time in the world that “mobile keys” were used in such a way. No worries my interested readers – NFC will soon be available for private use. Hold tight, this will allow users to assign temporary mobile keys to WHOEVER they want to. Nanny forgot her keys – you quickly sent her a mobile key via text message – problem solved! However, old nannies will have to keep up with the technique, in order to stay in business – No offence

New Technology 2013

This is New Technology 2013 – Part 2, where we’ll be showing you some more of the most cutting-edge technology that we can expect to see in the year ahead.

Bendy Screens

In the very near future your smartphone, tablet, or potentially your HDTV will be even more flexible than they are today – quite literally!
Flexible screens are something that a lot of us have already read about after concept models were showcased at CES 2012. However, Samsung is expected to unveil flexible display technology at CES later this year that’s a lot closer in terms of technical specifications to what we’re currently using in our smartphones. The rumour mill has it that we’ll be seeing a flexible display of 5.5-inches with a high definition resolution of 1280 x 720 (267 PPI).
It is believed that the technology is currently without a touch-screen lens at present, which leaves some doubt as to whether it can be realistically used in place of current technology inside of 2013, unless Samsung has something up its sleeve that is.

4G and 10-Gigabit in 2013

The end of last year saw the roll-out of the substantially faster mobile 4G networks. With significant improvements to overall browsing speeds, roaming and bandwidth management, our mobile devices will be far closer to that of a home broadband connection. 2013 should see the new network standard more more widely available to the consumer in both the US and Europe, giving us access to applications and HD media with far less lag. However, we’re not just looking at mobile networks; the communications giant, Marvell Technology Group, launched a new networking product called ‘AVANTA’, which will bring 10 gigabit networking into the home – What does that mean for us? Well not a a lot in terms of the speeds we experience on the internet. However, for those of us that use games consoles, network storage (HDD), file-sharing, or smart TV’s on their home networks, we can expect LAN speeds of up to 100 times faster than we have at present!

The World’s Largest UHDTV

2011 was the year of 3D, 2013 is the year of 4K Ultra-HD, which is why Samsung wont be letting CES 2013 pass by without a grand show of strength. The South Korean technology giant set a world record in Las Vegas on Tuesday by unveiling a massive 110-inch UHD (ultra high-definition) TV, the largest UHD TV to date.
With more than 8 million pixels, the UHD TV delivers a resolution of four times higher than that of the HD TVs that a lot of us have in our homes today. As well as the 110-inch flagship model, we’ll also be presented with a smaller 85-inch model.
Sounds amazing, right? It certainly does, however, while all is good and well having a display capable of such high resolutions, the limitations of the media we currently use in the home today will prevent us from taking full advantage of the UHD display.
It’s only a matter of time before the average consumer will have access to content created in such high definition, but we don’t expect it to be any time soon.

Read more: http://techod.com/new-technology-2013-part-2/#ixzz2Il1xaRyj

Thursday, January 10, 2013

What does a $700 ‘iPod’ sound like? Our first listen with iriver’s Astell & Kern AK100

January 10, 2013 By Ryan Waniata

Hands on with iriver's Astell & Kern AK100

With the Astell & Kern AK100, iriver targets a tiny niche of audiophiles willing to shell out 0 for ulta-high-fidelity sound. But is it worth it?

At $700, iriver’s Astell & Kern AK100 is easily the most expensive music player on the market. But as you might imagine, the AK100 is not a normal music player, which is why we didn’t call it an MP3 player. Playing “mastering quality” music at a maximum sample and bit rate of 192KHz and 24bits respectively, the AK100 plays music files that are eons above not only your regular low-fi MP3s, but also way beyond even CD-quality WAV files.
As we got the unit in our hands, we were less than impressed with its user interface. Far from the smooth intuitive experience of an iPod or iPhone, the AK100 reminds us more of Microsoft’s first attempts at MP3 players. It’s square, clunky, and a bit slow. It also leaves out features that we’ve all come to take for granted, like onboard speakers, a camera, and a high-resolution screen. But none of that really matters to iriver, or presumably to its target consumer audience. As iriver explained, the company isn’t going for the 99 percent who want cheap, convenient music on their sleek device. Instead, it’s chasing that slim margin of the public that is completely fed up with the anemic, thin representation of the music they love, and want to actually have an experience – and that’s exactly what the AK100 delivers.
We were very skeptical about the AK100, not only because of the price, but also because we’ve seldom heard music that has been transferred well into the high-bit and sample rate. Also, there are questions about how to obtain the hi-fi content the device needs. For now Astell & Kern is partnered with HD Tracks, and although it offers a decent amount of content, it’s nothing compared to what’s easily available in MP3 format. Basically, we just weren’t sure the difference between WAV files and the super hi-fi FLAC files on the AK100 would be that noticeable. But we’re here to admit, we were very, very wrong.
At first we tried to listen critically, as we usually do with new audio gear, trying to hear the long sustain of cymbals, the definition of percussion hits, and the breadth of the low bass tones. All were very impressive through our AIAIA TMA-1 headphones, but nothing really extraordinary. But as the music progressed, we began to realize that listening to content at this high level is much more about an emotional experience than a regular listen. Our aural exploration of the high-rate rendering of Led Zeppelin’s “Dazed and Confused” can best be described as almost psychedelic. We’ve heard the song more times than we want to think about, and yet at the high rate we were soon covered in goosebumps and feeling every note of the song to our core. As we moved on to a cello concerto, we were also amazed by the ridiculous clarity that was provided, while still delivering a smooth and organic overall tone. We heard every string twitch, and even every breath the performer took as he intensely performed the complicated piece.

We’re still unsure if even the audiophile market is ready to pay $700 for portable sound, no matter how high the quality. And aside from the no-frills design of the device, for now content issues will be a problem for some listeners. But as bigger industry players like Neil Young and others begin to craft new resources for the hi-fi sound file market, the AK100 should become more and more useful as a device. We walked out of the suite and stared at the brand new iPhone 5 in a whole new light. As they say, you can’t un-listen, and we have a feeling it’s going to be a very long time before we get used to the cold, weak sound of our paltry MP3 files again. Unfortunately, for now we are the 99 percent.

Pentax MX-1: retro good looks on the outside, high-end components within

January 10, 2013 By Les Shu

Using a brass body, the MX-1 features a new CMOS sensor that enhances performance. Plus, the Q10 goes color crazy and we discuss trends with Pentax.

Pentax’s new camera announcements at CES were light this year, but its introduction of the new MX-1 makes up for it. The solidly constructed metallic-and-synthetic-leather camera is made with brass covers at the top and bottom. The color of the brass will age over time, and owners of old-school Japanese rangefinder film cameras will find this aging patina familiar. Like Fujifilm’s new X-Series models, the MX-1 falls into a category of its own: far more advanced than your ordinary point-and-shoot in image and build quality, but not as flexible as an interchangeable lens camera. The ideal buyer would be someone who wants the advantages of a DSLR but needs the compact form factor, like a street photographer or a pro’s backup cam, for example. The camera was named after Pentax’s MX film SLR, which had the same design cues as the MX-1.

Inside the MX-1 is a newly designed 12-megapixel 1/1.7-inch back-illuminated CMOS sensor that Pentax says offers a balance of fast performance and cost. It also notes that the sensor’s low-light handling is impressive. The 4x optical lens is fast at F1.8-2.5 (allowing for fine exposure and depth of field control), with a range of 28-112mm. The MX-1 has a hybrid shake-reduction system that utilizes a mechanical sensor-shift with digital compensation to prevent camera blur. The DSLR-like qualities include RAW image capture, a high ISO of 12,800, and focus down to 1 cm. The camera can shoot high-definition video at 1080p/30 fps or 720p/60 fps. The tilting 3-inch LCD is rated at 920K dots.
In our brief hands-on time with the MX-1, the camera looks great. Construction wise, we think Fujifilm’s new X-Series models offer a higher quality build, but the Fujifilm models feel far heavier than the MX-1. Specs wise, the Fujifilm models are also stronger, of course, it’s too early to compare performance. We especially love the mode and exposure compensation dials at the top. We find that these physical dials allow for faster setting changes than having to go through the menus, which makes shooting that much easier. The MX-1 will go on sale in early February for $500.
In another announcement, the Pentax Q10, the smallest interchangeable lens camera that was announced last September, is now available as a custom-order model available through Adorama and the Pentax website. Customers will be able to choose from 100 color combinations; the order is sent to Japan and then to the factory, where the camera will take four-to-six weeks to build. For people who love the ability to customize their stuff, it’d be worth the wait. Pentax says there won’t be an extra fee for this service, and the camera remains at $600 with a kit lens.

Customized Q10 cameras line the wall inside the Pentax briefing room.

A close-up look at four of customized Q10 cameras.

During our meeting with Pentax, we asked about industry trends and where the company is heading. Pentax acknowledges that the low-end digicam sector is in transition as smartphone usage continues to rise, and that they are pursuing markets that don’t overlap with smartphones. Essentially, they will focus on features that smartphones can’t offer, like weather sealants and fast optical zooms. When asked about wireless connectivity, Pentax says smartphones have the advantage there. They are exploring that feature, but currently have no plans to introduce wireless models.

Read more: http://www.digitaltrends.co m

Gigabyte’s ultra-small desktop PC makes the Mac Mini look like a giant

January 10, 2013 By Mika Turim-Nygren

Due for release around April, Gigabyte’s new, as-yet-unnamed desktop computer is smaller than most paperback novels, yet supports up to Core i7 processors.

Although still in pre-production, Gigabyte’s newest mini PC debuted at CES, packing a lot of hardware into a tiny chassis. At 0.3 liters (or 10 fluid ounces) and 4” x 4” across, it’s a bit reminiscent of the Genie from Aladdin: “Phenomenal cosmic powers… itty bitty living space!” For purposes of comparison, the much-beloved Mac Mini measures 7.7 inches square, almost twice the size.
The unnamed Gigabyte model builds upon the Intel NUC, a mini-PC platform developed by Intel, but adds several compelling perks. Most notably, there’s now support for i3, i5, or i7 Intel Core processors, as well as USB 3.0 ports. Up to 8GB of RAM and up to a 256 GB SSD provide the finishing touches for a rather robust system.
Additionally, the teacup-sized desktop boasts a brushed-aluminum body and low-power design, making it a green product—and therefore potentially attractive to LEED-certified buildings and businesses looking to round out their environmental credentials. Although Gigabyte has yet to set a pricetag, they have hinted that the entry-level model should be competitively priced, according to Liliputing.

Read more: http://www.digitaltrends.com/

The revolution will be 3D printed

The revolution will be 3D printed: Makerbot brings its latest machine, the Replicator 2X, to CES

January 10, 2013 By Molly McHugh

Makerbot is the face of the emerging 3D printing market. At CES it introduced us to its latest machine, the Replicator X2, and revealed it was releasing its Thingiverse API so developers can create apps to help us create products. It’s very meta, and very cool.

3D printing has gone from niche hobby of the ultra-creative to breakthrough technology that is increasingly approachable, and is revolutionizing the design and production industries. At the helm of this revolution is Makerbot, which took home the award for “Best Emerging Tech” at CES 2012. And Makerbot is back – and bigger – this year. Despite the company’s massive growth and 3D printing prestige, the team is sticking to its roots.

“Makerbot is an innovation company,” CEO Bre Pettis tells us. “We innovate ourselves to empower other people to innovate. Our mission is to jumpstart the next industrial revolution.”
Part of that mission will be accomplished by the Makerbot Replicator 2X, the company’s latest release. To offer a little perspective, Pettis says that while the Replicator 2 (the company’s previous release) is super accessible and user-friendly to anyone with product design dreams, the Replicator 2X is for the mad scientist types out there, ready to really dive into 3D printing.

The 2X uses ABS Filament, a plastic designers’ favorite, but is more difficult to work with than PLA (which the Replicator 2 uses). The X2 features a heat-capturing hood that makes sure that the plastic doesn’t curl or crack while its cooling. Other improvements include a re-engineered extruder that makes loading easier and the ABS-feeding process smoother, causing less wear and tear on the unit.
Also worth noting: the X2 allows you to load two different colors. Things just got real. The 2X will begin shipping in mid-March and cost $2,799 (the Replicator X costs $2,199, for comparison).
The 2X isn’t all that Makerbot brought to CES. A new addition to its Thingiverse platform, where people can share their creations or find things to make, is being opened up to the public. The brand is also unlocking its Thingiverse API to allow developers to create apps for the Makerbot ecosystem. “It’s a little Inception-like,” Pettis said. “We have an API for our platform that allows people to create applications to create things… and then we have the new Customizer App that allows users to customize those things.” For instance, if you want to create an iPhone case you see on Thingiverse, you can choose how thick the lines on the triangles you have patterning the case are. This is product personalization to the Nth degree.
So, to connect all those dots, Makerbot is allowing you to make things that help you make things that you can then make into very specifically customized things. And around and around we go.
As to the supposed hardware slump CES and the electronics industry is said to be in, Pettis says it’s all part of a cycle. “When things change, people freak out, and one of the things we’ve seen at CES in the last four years is that big players are losing touch with being able to connect with their customers and consumers. But you’re seeing all these small innovators coming out – this is the year of the entrepreneur at CES.”
“People want to kick off the next industrial revolution – but that won’t work unless you make it easy for people to change the world.”

http://www.digitaltrends.com

man’s Google Glass: the Vuzix M100

Meet the poor (like, broke) man’s Google Glass: the Vuzix M100

January 10, 2013 By Molly McHugh

When Google first premiered Project Glass last year, it inarguably struck a chord. The augmented reality device is but-yet a prototype, only making it into the hands of developers and a handful of elite “beta testers” (looking at you, Diane Von Furstenburg and co.).
Despite the impossible-to-kill hype around this project, Google has more or less been the only pioneer seriously attacking the wearable interface market – or at least the loudest. But there are other, smaller, quieter cotenders in the space. At CES, a company called Vuzix had its M100 smartglasses on display… sort of. The unit that Vuzix is showing off is a non-working prototype. When wearing the M100s, your right eye sees a homescreen of apps that you would select actions from. But that’s all we were able to do with the device.

The unit itself is incredibly light-weight, in fact they’re a little flimsy feeling. The viewable display is surprisingly clear, however. But it’s hard to determine how well Vuzix works given the fact they are little more than a prop right now. Actually, it’s not just hard: It’s impossible.
Still, given the fact that we haven’t had a chance to go hands-on with Google Glasses, this is the next best thing. Apparently, being the next best thing is sort of what Vuzix is banking on. The platform is, more or less, planning to piggyback on Google Glasses. They will run Android, and a rep tells me that apps built for the Android market – and by extension, augmented reality apps developers are working on for Project Glass – will work on the M100s.

Basically, the smartglasses will be like a second, wearable screen for your smartphone. You can wear the unit and stare straight ahead into the display and operate your Android phone after connecting them via Bluetooth. The augmented reality part only comes in if you’re using specifically designed augmented reality apps – so those dreams you have of wearing these glasses and reaching out in front of you, touching thin air, interacting with apps? That’s only going to happen once developers create programs that support this type of function. Luckily, Project Glass has invited, encouraged, and inspired a whole ecosystem to do just that.
Vuzix plans to capitalize on this. And why not? Let a brand like Google, with deep pockets, infinite resources, and no shortage of name recognition do the heavy lifting of starting a consumer market around wearable interfaces. It’s going to be the bargain smartphone of the augmented reality accessory industry. Vuzix is shooting straight for the middle.
Which, really, might not be such a bad business plan. If wearable computing devices and augmented reality take off like more and more analysts are predicting they will, then there’s going to be a whole industry around these devices. People will want options, and different price points. Apple isn’t the only one making smartphones, after all: While the iPhone has an inarguable grip on the market, it’s not like Samsung and Nokia aren’t making money.
A rep tells us that the M100s will be available in the second half of the year and will cost less than $500.

http://www.digitaltrends.com

Incredible Misty Touchscreens

Displair, Projector/Water Vaporizer, Turns Displays Into Incredible Misty Touchscreens (VIDEO)

by Jason Gilbert

LAS VEGAS -- Just when you thought Fruit Ninja and Angry Birds couldn't get any cooler: Now you can play them on a touchscreen made of misting water.
A Russian company called Displair has brought its bizarre, wholly innovative vaporizing projector machine to this year's Consumer Electronics Show, and the gizmo is unlike anything else at the enormous tech convention: Basically, you can connect a touchscreen device to a projector, which puts out a touchable image of your device's screen onto a constantly misting wall of vaporized water. You can then interact with the device by running your finger on that wall of mist. It's a strange and totally innovative way to interact with a typical tablet or computer.
Below, you can see how it works as I play a quick game of Fruit Ninja on the Displair's mist-screen:

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/LRSrv0rqJ6E?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I'm playing Fruit Ninja above, but hypothetically you can do anything you'd do on a touchscreen device on the Displair. In the video, a camera attached to the tablet powering Fruit Ninja is tracking my finger movements on the misting wall -- in other words, anything your fingers can do on a tablet, your fingers can do on the Displair. Games like Fruit Ninja and Angry Birds just happen to be perfect uses for the Displair, since gameplay consists mostly of simple gestures. You could also check your email, surf The Huffington Post or watch a YouTube video on this magical misting wall, should you really want to.
For now, Displair remains something of a curiosity, albeit an incredible one. One unit costs about $10,000 (plus one to two liters of water per hour). The product will be available for purchase in the second or third quarter of this year, but if you need one immediately, a company spokeswoman noted that the Displair is available for rent for about $1000 per day.
Displair is pitching its machine as a unique public presentation device or as an eye-catching display advertising unit -- a way to attract pedestrians or passersby into a store or a booth (kind of like a super high-tech wacky waving inflatable tube man. A Displair spokeswoman said that the machine will become available for consumers in about five years. For now, the company is focused on businesses.
That's a shame, because playing Angry Birds on a wall of soft mist is really a unique pleasure that no other business, large or small, can offer you. It's a curiosity, yes, but a delightful one.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com

Samsung Takes CES by Storm

By Richard Adhikari

Samsung rolled out a series of new television sets that make use of smart technology and offer better resolution than previous models. The plethora of new features made analysts work to figure out which of them might have the most impact. "The focus seems to be on 4K," said Paul Gagnon, director of global TV research at NPD DisplaySearch.

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Samsung has unveiled a slew of smart TVs and related technologies at the 2013 CES being held this week in Las Vegas.

Samsung's 85-inch UHDF TV

Samsung has unveiled a slew of smart TVs and related technologies at the 2013 CES being held this week in Las Vegas. They include a redesigned Samsung Smart Hub TV center, S-Recommendation Technology, advanced Smart Interaction technology motion control; and the Samsung Allshare content-sharing software.
Television sets unveiled by the Korean electronics giant include three with quad-core processors -- the S9 UHD TV, the F8000 and the F7500; and the F9500 OLED TV, which is the first to let two people watch different full-HD 3D content simultaneously on the same screen with corresponding audio and controls.
Samsung also unveiled the F8500, which has a plasma screen and is one of the first TVs with native support for high efficiency video coding.
The company also announced a Smart Evolution kit for its Smart TVs. This consists of a redesigned Smart Hub, enhanced voice interaction and motion control, and a quad-core chipset. It fits into a slot at the back of the TV.

Samsung's Offerings

The Smart Hub now arranges content in five categories and displays them as thumbnail images to make selection easier. These are: On TV -- what's currently playing and the most relevant suggestions that may be airing based on a consumer's viewing habits; Movies and TV Shows; Photos, Videos and Music; Social; and Apps.
The Smart Hub also recognizes hand gestures.
S-recommendation is a recommendation engine that lets consumers search for TV programs, premium video on demand, apps, social content and locally-stored content on personal devices. It also offers customized content recommendation. This feature is available on smart TVs, smart home theaters and smart Blu-ray players made by Samsung this year.
An Advanced Smart Interaction feature lets users employ everyday language and casual gestures to find content or command and control the TV. This is a beefed-up version of the feature, which was launched on TVs by Samsung last year.
Samsung's SmartView lets consumers move their content between devices in real time, while Allshare will connect TVs to compatible mobile devices and home appliances wirelessly and create a smart center for media and whole-home automation. It also lets users view their TV content on compatible Samsung Galaxy tablets and smartphones.

What's the Buzz?

The plethora of new technologies from Samsung made analysts work to figure out which of them might have the most impact.
"The focus seems to be on 4K," Paul Gagnon, director of global TV research at NPD DisplaySearch, remarked. "OLED TV is also present, but it seems it's not as prominently featured as it was last year."
4K TVs have a horizontal resolution of 4,000 pixels. The technology's also known as ultrahigh definition. It has twice the horizontal and vertical resolution of the 1080p TV format. This year, 4K LCD TVs will outpace OLED TV shipments, NPD has forecast.
Samsung "is one of the leaders in Smart TV and they've unveiled some pretty good work on that," Gagnon told TechNewsWorld.
"To me, the two interesting developments are in UltraHD and OLED," David Mercer, vice president and principal analyst for digital at Strategy Analytics, said. However, OLED TVs are not delivering ultraHD just now, and "OLED is a very tough technology to crack, getting costs to come down is challenging."

Smart TV, a field in which Samsung "has developed into a major player," is getting traction now for a number of consumers, Mercer told TechNewsWorld. The service potential of smart TVs is built around video "so we're seeing interest in services like Netflix."

Cupertino Gets Smoked

There has been much speculation around whether Apple will introduce a TV set that will shake up the industry, but Mercer dismissed the idea.
"We've been speculating about Apple TV for many years, and we've always been fairly skeptical about Apple's plans," Mercer said. "Apple's an incredible company for personal technologies and the one-to-one experience, but TV is another ball game."
Apple has described the Apple TV as a hobby, and, "as far as TV is concerned, Samsung has a huge lead over Apple and is the world market leader in smart TVs," Mercer stated.
Overall, however, TV sales have been falling, and, while the new TVs demoed at CES "give consumers another reason to buy TVs, it's not going to happen overnight," Mercer remarked.

http://www.technewsworld.com

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

5 smartphone trends from CES

Products on display this week in Las Vegas from Sony, Huawei, and ZTE show where the smartphone market is heading

By Mikael Ricknäs | IDG News Service

In 2013, a high-end smartphone should have a full-HD 5-inch screen and a 13-megapixel camera to remain competitive, if products launched at International CES in Las Vegas this week are an indication of the state of the art for mobile devices.
CES may not be a mecca for new smartphones, but this year's show offered interesting products from Sony, ZTE, and Huawei, which underlined some of the hardware trends from the end of last year, including the move to full-HD 5-inch screens.
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Even though the smartphones introduced at CES are similar in many respects, vendors are trying to find ways to differentiate their products. For example, Huawei's Ascend D2 has a 3000 mAh battery; Sony's Xperia Z uses HDR (High Dynamic Range) for video as well as photography, and ZTE's Grand S is only 6.9 millimeters thick.
Here are five of the main trends:

1. Full-HD 5-inch screens

HTC Droid DNA

Sony's Xperia Z

Huawei's Ascend D2

ZTE's Grand S

Alcatel One Touch

Following the footsteps of the HTC Droid DNA, also known as Butterfly, Sony's Xperia Z, Huawei's Ascend D2, and ZTE's Grand S all have 5-inch screens with a 1,920-by-1,080-pixel resolution. In addition, Alcatel One Touch and Vizio also presented full-HD 5-inch smartphones in Las Vegas.
Bigger screens and higher resolutions have been among the main features highlighted by vendors to convince consumers to buy a new device, and the success of the Samsung Electronics Galaxy Note family has shown that there is users interest. The original Galaxy Note has a 5.3-inch screen and its successor, the Note II, has a 5.5-inch screen.

At CES, Huawei also launched the Ascend Mate, which has a 6.1-inch display. But the screen's resolution is only 1,280-by-720 pixels.

The one worry with a bigger screen and more pixels is shorter battery life, and the Droid DNA has been getting mixed reviews in that regard. The Xperia Z and the Ascend D2 both have bigger batteries than the HTC smartphone, at 2,330 mAh and 3,000 mAh compared to the Droid DNA's 2020 mAh.

2. Quad-core processors
Smartphone vendors appear to be going all-in with quad-core processors this year. The Xperia Z and the Grand S are both powered by a Snapdragon S4 Pro processor from Qualcomm, while Huawei chose to rely on a quad-core processor developed in-house for the Ascend D2.

The processor makers were also busy at CES: Qualcomm, Nvidia, and ST-Ericsson all launched quad-core processors. Qualcomm's Snapdragon 800 processors will offer up to 75 percent better performance than the Snapdragon S4 Pro. The processors also have integrated support for LTE and 802.11ac, the company said. The first smartphones based on the processors will start shipping during the second half of the year.

Qualcomm's processor will compete with Nvidia's Tegra 4, which is the first quad-core processor to use ARM's Cortex-A15 design. The Cortex-A15 is already used in the Nexus 10 tablet, in a version with two cores.

3. Battery-saving plans
The combination of a big high-resolution screen with a quad-core processor doesn't bode well for battery life. But, in addition to equipping their smartphones with larger batteries, Sony and Huawei have also implemented battery-saving features to extend it.

Sony's Battery Stamina mode improves standby time by automatically shutting down battery-draining apps whenever the screen is off and starting them up again when the screen is back on. The more applications a user has installed, the bigger the effect of the feature, according to Sony.

Huawei lowers battery consumption by automatically turning off the transmitter circuit when data transmission is not in use to keep the Ascend D2 going for longer, it said.

4. Protection against dust and water
Sony and Huawei are also hoping to convince users to pick their new models over competing products by offering protection against dust and water. Provided that all ports and covers are firmly closed, the Xperia Z is protected against "low pressure jets of water from all practicable directions, and can be kept under 1 meter of freshwater for up to 30 minutes," the company said. The Ascend D2 has a lower level of water protection, but it can still withstand water sprayed against the device.

Sony and Huawei aren't the first vendors to add protection against dust and water. For example, Panasonic launched the Eluga smartphone at Mobile World Congress last year, in a bid to break into European market that ultimately failed. Whether dust and water protection becomes a feature that will catch on among users remains to be seen.

5. Higher-resolution cameras
The new phones from Sony, Huawei and ZTE also share the same camera resolution; all three have a rear-facing camera with a 13-megapixel resolution. The Xperia Z and Grand S also have a 2-megapixel camera on the front, which allows users to shoot video at 1080p.

As mentioned above, Sony has implemented HDR for both video and still images on its new flagship phone. With HDR, the camera captures the same image at different exposure levels and layers them to create one optimized end-result, according to Sony. The technology allows users to shoot video clips in front of a window or when the sun is directly behind the subject, the company said.

Users of the Sony smartphone can also take pictures while shooting a video, and there is a burst mode for taking 10 pictures per second at a 9-megapixel resolution, which can be continued until there is no more storage.

http://www.infoworld.com

CES 2013: Samsung Unveils 8-Core Exynos 5 Octa Processor

By Chloe Albanesius

LAS VEGAS—Samsung today took the wraps off an 8-core processor known as the Exynos 5 Octa.
Stephen Woo, president of Samsung's System LSI business, said during a keynote address here at CES that the Exynos 5 Octa will offer a "level of pure processing power never before seen in a mobile device."
That will enable "heavy-duty multi-tasking" on a mobile gadget, Woo said. A device running the new processor would be able to look up a good dinner spot, while simultaneously downloading an app to make a reservation and retrieving GPS and mapping information - "all without lag or disruption," Woo said.
An Exynos 5 Octa-powered device will also "easily" handle HD movie streaming with "no dropped frames [and] razor-sharp picture quality," he continued.
It was designed with high-end smartphones and tablets in mind. "The bottom line is, when you want multiple applications to perform at their best, you want the best processor available," Woo argued.

The processor takes advantage of ARM's Big.Little technology, which pairs the small, energy-efficient ARM Cortex-A7 chip with a larger, more powerful Cortex A-15 multicore chip. ARM announced Big.Little in Oct. 2011 and said at the time that OEMs, OS vendors, and application vendors will select which processor to use for certain tasks, turning each on and off to meet the power and performance needs of each function.
Woo invited Warren East, CEO of ARM, to join him onstage, who said that it "can't rely on incremental improvements" to chipsets going forward in order to keep up with the rapid evolution of mobile. "We must look for new ways to accelerate processors."
One approach is the Big.Little concept, of course, which East said "provides roughly two times the performance with half the power consumption."
Woo said something like mapping data would be handled by the "little" processor, while graphic-intensive gaming would switch over to the "big" guys.
Samsung unveiled the Exynos 5250 System-on-a-Chip in late 2011, and took the wraps off the Exynos 4 Quad chip in April 2012, which has powered its latest Galaxy device.
Also at today's CES keynote, meanwhile, Samsung showed off a flexible display prototype that would let users bend their smartphone screens back and forth.

http://www.pcmag.com