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Showing posts with label ces 2009. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ces 2009. Show all posts

Friday, May 22, 2009

CES to expand Apple section

The Consumer Electronics Association, which hosts CES in Las Vegas every year, said Thursday that the trade show will expand its Apple section from 4,000 square feet to 25,000 square feet.

Apple CES

CES is devoting more floorspace to Apple this year. But will Apple attend?

(Credit: Tom Krazit/CNET)

It's called the iLounge Pavilion and will be an exhibition area for products related to the Mac, iPod, and iPhone. This year, for the first time, there will also be a section for applications for use on Apple products.

The original 4,000-square-foot space sold out within days of the announced availability to retailers, developers, and accessory makers looking to exhibit their wares and services, according to the CEA. That led to the decision to expand the floor space.

After Apple announced that the 2009 MacWorld Expo in January would be its last participation in the event, speculation arose that the company might choose to appear at CES--which is held around the same time--instead.

But despite the CEA's decision to create the Apple section, first announced in January, Apple has not yet commented on whether it would participate or not. The reason that the company bowed out of MacWorld--that it doesn't really need to participate anymore--would seem to preclude a similar type of presence at CES, where it would be one of thousands of companies on display.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

A Guitar Hero-ic Game for Real Guitar: The Holy Grail of Music Gaming

By Eliot Van Buskirk Email

LAS VEGAS -- This year's Consumer Electronics Show saw the unveiling of the first ready-for-primetime music game that involves real instruments, rather than plastic ones. We captured some footage of Disney Star Guitarist so you can see how the game is played.




Hands flailing wildly with Toshiba Spatial Motion Interface


Given a year to work on its gesture control technology, Toshiba has upgraded from the simple implementation of 2008 to a new 3D interface that rotates and zooms photos and videos with a flick of the arm. Useful? We're not completely sold. Still ridiculous to use, or watch someone else try? Of course, video's after the break.

Monday, January 12, 2009

Solar and Wind Powered Portable Charger Debuts at CES

Not to be mistaken for a solar powered desk fan (which is what I thought it was), the crafty Kenisis K2 is a solar and wind powered 2-in-1 charger for all your USB needs.

It can power a typical cell phone 5-times over on a full charge! Um, where do I sign up?

And while it’s designed to harvest the power of nature, it’s also quite practical. It also includes an AC adapter for when Mother Nature isn’t cooperating.

You can stand the device up or hang it from your bike. I like that idea since I sit next to a big sunny window at work - though I wish the wind turbine would also operate as a fan.

The device is expected to run for about $100. Engadget has a nice video of the device from CES here. LED indicators let you know how much juice the device has, and it has internal storage for multiple adapter tips.

Image: Kinesis.com

TiVo Redesigns Search Function, Wants to be the 'Google of TV'

By Jose Fermoso Email

Newtivosearch1

A little less than two years after TiVo debuted its swivel video search engine, it is now killing it in favor of a better integrated search whose biggest improvement is visual.

Announced this week at CES 2009, the new TV search works similarly to the search bar in the Firefox address browser. You type in the first few letters of a show in the 'discovery bar' and relevant recommendations of shows on TV satellite and broadband networks come up. At the same time, you get a nice looking new column arrangement of information about a show, including episode description, rating, and relevant art.

The new appearance, according to TiVo reps, was created to fit to the longer length of HDTV's. The old swivel search had no visuals and didn't provide immediate information that could help a user choose efficiently. Still, this is a feature that is most helpful during passive browsing – if you're the type that already knows what you want, the new search will look much nicer but it won’t make a huge difference.

Already, some are saying that the search function is not fast at all but TiVo reps promise they're working on boosting that speed. That’s an important development that is critical if the company really wants to make this feature the "Google of TV search."

Newtivosearch2

There are three other updates with search that are interesting. Results now come up through the most popular of the day automatically, and you can also browse shows by the season. This is especially helpful for serial shows like The West Wing, where I’m constantly confused about where it falls in line.

But the one I like the most is the Wish List feature, which takes a show that is not currently available anywhere and holds a search on your behalf so that when it’s finally offered, it will record it. It will be even better if you end up forgetting about it and will show up one day like a present you didn’t expect. I will be adding the “Rebels of Oakland” HBO documentary from a few years ago because I can never find it anywhere. C'mon HBO, you can have three docs about the Red Sox in two years, but can't manage to release the Rebels? Get on it, please.

TiVo's search update is in now in beta and available to Series 3 and HD TiVos.

Sunday, January 11, 2009

New SDXC Memory Card Spec Supports 2TB Capacities

By Sean Fallon

The SD Association has announced a new card spec dubbed SDXC (eXtended Capacity) that can support memory capacities up to 2TB with read/write speeds to 104MB per second.

According to their calculations, that would mean you could store 100 high-def movies, 60 hours of HD recording, or 17,000 fine-mode photos on a portable device. Again, keep in mind that this is spec at this point—not an actual product. But we could see something based on it as early as next year. Obviously, there aren't many devices out there that could make full use of it right now, but a card with this kind of capacity and bus speeds could pull the industry forward.

SDXC SIGNALS NEW GENERATION OF REMOVABLE MEMORY
WITH UP TO 2 TERABYTES OF STORAGE

SDXC Memory Cards Provide Consumers with Massive Storage,
Incredible Speed in Familiar, De Facto Standard

LAS VEGAS – CES Booth South 3 #31277 – Jan. 7, 2009 – The next-generation SDXC (eXtended Capacity) memory card specification, announced today at the 2009 International CES, dramatically improves consumers' digital lifestyles by providing the portable storage and speed needed to store weeks of high-definition video, years of photo collections and months of music to mobile phones, cameras and camcorders, and other consumer electronic devices. The new SDXC specification provides up to 2 terabytes storage capacity and accelerates SD interface read/write speeds to 104 megabytes per second this year, with a road map to 300 megabytes per second.

The SDXC specification, developed by the SD Association, leapfrogs memory card interface speeds while retaining the world-leading SD interface. Specifications for the open standard will be released in the first quarter of 2009. SDHC, Embedded SD and SDIO specifications will also benefit from the new SD interface speeds.

"SDXC combines a higher capacity roadmap with faster transfer speeds as a means to exploit NAND flash memory technology as a compelling choice for portable memory storage and interoperability," said Joseph Unsworth, research director, NAND Flash Semiconductors, at Gartner. "With industry support, SDXC presents manufacturers with the opportunity to kindle consumer demand for more advanced handset features and functionality in consumer electronics behind the ubiquitous SD interface."

Turning mobile phones into media centers
SDXC allows users to enjoy more from their mobile phones. Larger capacity and faster transfer speeds allow for expanded entertainment and data storage. A 2TB SDXC memory card can store 100 HD movies, 60 hours of HD recording or 17,000 fine-grade photos.

"With SDXC, consumers can quickly download higher quality content to their phones, including games, video and music – giving consumers a richer media and content experience," said James Taylor, president of the SD Association. "The SD interface already has proven itself valuable in mobile phones. Now, SDXC memory card capabilities will spur further handset sophistication and boost consumer content demand."

Shooting pictures at the speed of life
SDXC is also the first memory card specification to provide 2TB storage without hindering the high-speed performance necessary for high-end photography. It will provide maximum speeds even when the SDXC specification achieves its maximum 2TB storage capacity.

"SDXC is a large-capacity card that can store more than 4,000 RAW images, which is the uncompressed mode professionals use, and 17,000 of the fine-mode most consumers use. That capacity, combined with the exFAT file system, increases movie recording time and reduces starting time to improve photo-capturing opportunities," said Shigeto Kanda, general manager at Canon. "Improvements in interface speed allow further increases in continuous shooting speed and higher resolution movie recordings. As a memory card well suited to small-sized user-friendly digital cameras, the SDXC specification will help consumers realize the full potential of our cameras."

SDXC will enable camcorders to provide longer, professional level HD video recording with a small form factor.

The SDXC specification uses Microsoft's exFAT file system to support its large capacity and interoperability in a broad range of PCs, consumer electronics and mobile phones. The exFAT system was designed for increased compatibility with flash media, from portability of data to interoperability with multiple platforms and devices on removable media.

"The SD Association is committed to answering and anticipating consumer demand for easy-to-use memory card storage that is interoperable in any device with a matching SD slot," Taylor said. "The SDXC card gives consumers a new, yet familiar, high-performance card that will be used in hundreds of manufacturers' device offerings."

SD Association
The SD Association is a global ecosystem of more than 1,100 technology companies charged with setting interoperable SD standards. The association encourages the development of consumer electronic, wireless communication, digital imaging and networking products that utilize market-leading SD technology. The SD standard is the number one choice for consumers and has earned nearly 80 percent of the memory card market with its reliable interoperability and its easy-to-use format. Today, mobile phones, Blu-ray players, HDTVs, audio players, automotive multimedia systems, handheld PCs, cameras and camcorders feature SD interoperability. For more information about SDA or to join, please visit the association's web site, www.sdcard.org.

Thursday, January 8, 2009

CES 2009: World's thinnest television unveiled

The world's thinnest television was unveiled on Tuesday measuring just 6.5mm (0.26inches).

World's thinnest television unveiled: CES 2009
Electronics companies are expected to unveil even thinner televisions in the near future. Photo: AFP

The wafer thin television, which was created by the South Korean company Samsung Electronics, is being hailed as the world's slimmest television ever created.

Its features include a LCD (liquid crystal display) screen as well as an LED (light emitting diode) backlighting system, to which its creators attribute its record slimline structure.

A prototype of the new flat-panel television is to be displayed during the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas which opens on Thursday.

Global economic turmoil and diminishing demand for goods has intensified competition between global electronic companies battling to produce the world's thinnest, smallest and lightest products.

During the Las Vegas show, the Japanese company JVC will also unveil what it claims is the world's lightest 32-inch LCD TV, which is fractionally thicker than Samsung's creation at 7mm (0.28inches).

The new generation of slim televisions eclipse streamlined models such as the Philips 8mm (0.3 inches) prototype LCD television unveiled in Berlin last year, Sony's 9.9mm (0.4 inches) set which is currently on sale and Samsung's Bordeaux 850 LCD TV.

Electronics companies are expected to unveil even thinner televisions in the near future based on new screen technology known as organic light emitting diode (OLED).

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Lenovo IdeaCentre 600: Thinnest (Hottest?) All-in-One PC on the Block

Lenovo's IdeaCentre 600 is a pretty splashy debut: Its first ever all-in-one is a simple curved slab that's supposedly the thinnest all-in-one in the industry.

Beyond the form factor—which borrows liberally from the new Star Trek and the iMac (the frameless black bezel looks like it was copy and pasted)—it's actually a disappointingly standard all-in-one affair, with a smallish 21.5-inch screen and nothing you can't get on the new Vaio LV. And it's missing, at least from the spec sheet, one of the Vaio's killer features—HDMI in, which would let it be a total bedroom TV replacement. Still, it does have an awesome Swiss Army knife of a remote—it's an air mouse, accelerometer controller for games and Skype VOIP handset (it acts like a cordless phone).

It starts at $999, but all the cool stuff (like Blu-ray) is add-ons, so it'll probably get pricey pretty fast.

IdeaCentre A600 All-in-One Desktop

Lenovo brings consumers the next generation of desktop computing with the IdeaCentre A600 – Lenovo’s first all-in-one desktop. The new, sleek IdeaCentre A600 all-in-one features a 21.5-inch frameless screen, and provides discerning space-conscious and style-conscious users a modern design that measures only one inch at its slimmest point, making it the slimmest all-in-one in the industry2.

For the entertainment enthusiast, the all-in-one offers a true Hi-Def experience featuring a 16:9 aspect ratio screen for cinema-like viewing and support for 1920x1080 full HD resolution delivering outstanding image quality. The integrated speaker system includes a bass sub-woofer and Dolby® Home Theatre™ audio certification, while the optional Blu-ray player completes the home cinema experience. Users can also take advantage of a digital TV tuner for watching and recording their favorite TV programs. Users can opt to include the Microsoft Vista Media Center for easy recording of TV programs and interactive navigation between videos, music and TV programs.

For gaming enthusiasts, Lenovo developed the first-of-its-kind 4-in-1 optional remote controller. It is the first to bring PC users the ability to play games using the remote control’s ‘motion drive’ feature, which controls on-screen objects according to the movement of the remote.

Unlike competitor’s remotes, the Lenovo 4-in-1 remote controller can also be used as a VOIP handset3 to make and receive phone calls over the Internet, similar to a typical cordless telephone. The remote also serves as a media center/TV remote, and with Microsoft Vista Media Center users can use the controller to operate DVDs, movies and TV. Additionally, the remote also functions as an “air mouse” so it can be used to operate the cursor on the screen, eliminating the inconvenience of using a wired mouse.

At the core of the all-in-one is a powerful desktop computer with choices of Intel® Core™2 Duo processors, optional ATI Radeon™ graphics card technology with DirectX10 support, up to 4GB of fast DDR3 memory for improved multitasking, and up to 1TB (1000GB) of hard drive space for storing hundreds of videos, music and other documents. Equipped with the latest high-performance mobile processor technology, the all-in-one runs whisper-quiet even when performing intensive tasks.

The IdeaCentre A600 all-in-one offers several connectivity options including high-speed WiFi, a 6-in-1 media card reader, side-mounted USB and FireWire ports with additional USB ports on the rear of the panel. The all-in-one also features VeriFace™ facial recognition technology which allows users to use his/her facial image as the logon password.

IdeaCentre A600

21.5-inch frameless screen, full HD resolution 1920 X 1080 resolution

Intel Pentium Dual Core & Intel Core 2 Duo mobile processors

Intel G45M Chipset

DDR3 1066MHz, 1GB-4GB and up to 1 TB (1,000 GB) of HD space

Integrated graphics with support for DirectX10 , Optional DX10 256M OR 512M OR ATI graphics

Connectivity – Intel a/b/g Optional a/b/g/n, Ethernet

VeriFace 3.5 facial recognition

Dolby Home Theatre

Optional Blu-Ray DVD player

Optional hybrid analogue/digital TV tuner

Touch sensitive controls

Optional 4-in-1 remote control

6-in-1 card reader

6 USB 2.0 ports and 1 firewire (1394)

1.3 or 2 megapixel camera

Vista Premium, Vista Basic

WinDVD (for Blu-ray ODD), Motion drive games, Veri-face 3.5, PC Care 1.1, Rescue System 2.0 (OKR5.7), Live tool bar, Power2Go, Windows Home Premium SP1 32 , Home Basic SP 1 32bit