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Notes From CES: Here Are Gadgets You’ll Be Talking About In 2013

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Friday January 11, 2013 @ 5:20pm PSTTags: consumer electronics, HDTV, Ultra HD

The 2013 International CES was a lot like last year’s show: Manufacturers concentrated on updating existing technologies, adding more processing power and online connectivity wherever possible, instead of introducing brand new inventions. Still, there were a lot of eye-catching products for those who like to own the hottest gadgets, and have money to burn. Here are a few of the stand-outs. But remember: Consumer electronics makers are notorious for showing off products at CES that never make it to retail shelves, or take far longer to do so than companies envision:

Lenovo’s IdeaCentre Horizon Table PC: Want to liven up family game night? Lenovo’s marketing this Windows 8 device with a 27-inch, HD display as a multimode “table PC.” It lays horizontally so that multiple users can play knock hockey, Monopoly, or video games. It comes with e-dice and four joysticks. First models are expected to be available this quarter for about $1,600.

Harmon Kardon BDS-577: Here’s a Blu-ray disc player that’s also designed to serve as an all-in-one centerpiece for a home entertainment system that accommodates everything from the highest resolution TV sets to comparatively lowly MP3 files on a smartphone. It handles 3D videos. But it also boasts great sound with 5.1-channel digital high fidelity amplifiers, decoding for Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD surround-sound, AirPlay music streaming, wireless transmissions to home theater speakers. In addition it has  Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and support for YouTube. READ MORE »

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Samsung’s New TV Enables Two Viewers To Watch Different Shows Simultaneously: CES

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Monday January 7, 2013 @ 3:21pm PSTTags: CES, Samsung, Ultra HD

This surprised me. Samsung said at the International CES confab today that its new OLED TV sets make it possible for two people to watch different shows on the same screen at the same time. The company pulls off that trick when viewers wear special glasses, with earbuds, that isolate the program that the viewer wants. It seems the OLED models can handle all of those moving images because the screens refresh 1,000 times faster than conventional HDTV screens. The company says it will show that off in addition to a voice command feature it calls S-Recommendation: Users can use natural language to ask for different programming characteristics, for example an actor they like, and the TV set will offer suggestions based on what’s available on conventional TV, online, and on the DVR. Recommendations will adapt to a user’s tastes over time. Read More »

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TV’s “Second Screen” Wins Respect As Ultra-HD Scores The Hype At CES Confab

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Sunday January 6, 2013 @ 6:54pm PSTTags: Consumer Electronics Association, HDTV, Tablet TV, Ultra HD

Never mind the ballyhoo about ultra-high definition televisions that Samsung, Sony, Sharp, LG, Panasonic and other consumer electronics manufacturers will generate this week at the annual International CES gadget confab in Las Vegas. Only a few consumers have the money and desire to buy one of these beautiful but pricey sets which pack four times as many pixels as a conventional HD television: U.S. consumers will buy just 1.4M ultra-HD sets in 2016, accounting for 5% of all sales, the Consumer Electronics Association projected today. But it looks like the more meaningful announcements for ordinary TV viewers will come this week from companies that want to help them harness their small screens — smartphones and tablets. CEA Senior Analyst Shawn Dubravac says that consumers are becoming “digital omnivores,” adding that “the second screen is now robust.” Dish Network, which likes to use CES to unveil its new technologies, apparently agrees: It’s teasing Read More »

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Are You Ready For “Ultra HD” TV?

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Thursday October 18, 2012 @ 2:54pm PDTTags: Consumer Electronics Association, Ultra HD

That’s now the official name for the next generation of television sets that will offer so-called 4K images — 8M pixels of resolution — the Consumer Electronics Association just announced. “Ultra HD is the next natural step … Read More »

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