CES 2012 Brings an Abundance of Super Thin TV’s, Smart Home Technology, Cameras, and Thinner Laptops
CES never seems to disappoint. Nearly all of the major electronics brands (aside from Apple) are showcasing new products this year. Day two was full of new technologies and product innovation. An abundance of super thin TV’s, Smart home technology, cameras, tablets, and thinner laptops seem to make up the show. A few of the highlights from the day are shown below.
TV’s
There seems to be a battle going on among companies to see who can make the thinnest, smartest, and highest resolution TV. Sharp, LG, and Samsung all showcased products that caught our eye in the TV realm.
Sharp displayed their 8K LCD, which is sixteen times HD resolution. At 85 inches, the TV is a monster. The images literally pop off the screen and feel almost 3D like. Sharp doesn’t expect anyone to start producing TV’s with this resolution for a number of years, but it was pretty amazing to see.
Another TV that caught our eye is the Samsung 55-inch super OLED TV. It uses organic light-emitting diodes, or OLEDs, instead of plasma or liquid crystals and allows manufacturers to make thinner and lighter sets. It is so thin, only 0.6 inches, and has stunning picture quality. The TV allows users to control it by voice and motion control, as well as a face-recognition feature.
“For example, users can turn the TV on or off, activate selected apps or search for content in the web browser simply by speaking in any of the 20 to 30 languages that are supported by the technology,” Samsung said in a statement. “With a wave of their hand, they can browse and choose a link or content via the web browser.”—from L.A. Times
LG’s 55-inch OLED TV is very similar in size to Samsung’s OLED, however, it is even thinner at 0.4 inches. This makes it nearly impossible to have a bad viewing angle.
LG also introduced its plasma PenTouch TV that allows users to write and draw on the screen with a special stylus. You can also organize and browse through photos and videos, and surf the web.
Fitness Gadgets
Motorola’s MOTOACTV is a pretty great device for helping people to get in shape. It is the first GPS fitness tracker with a smart MP3 player built in. At about the size of a Nano, you can upload all of your music and during your workout, the device can pick songs that help you perform better. It even allows you to upload your workout routine, tracks your movements, and analyzes the workout for you.
Cameras
Cameras were also a big item at the show. Sean Kim, our Manager of Industrial Design and in-house photographer, had a chance to check out Nikon’s newest camera, their $6000 D4 DSLR. The camera boasts a completely overhauled video recording mode and several ergonomic improvements. Nikon also featured a display of their future product concepts (shown in the photo below on the right).
Smart Home Technology
Virtually every major consumer electronics brand was showing their products as part of a smart home eco-system. Consumers want a more connected and eco-friendly lifestyle. The photos below are LG (left) and Toshiba (right) plans for a smart home.
LG’s Smart technology for their line of home appliances has come a long way in the past year. From a smart washer/dryer to an even smarter oven and refrigerator, their entire line of home appliances has Wi-Fi capabilities that allow the user to stay connected. The Smart HOM-BOT is a remotely controlled vacuum cleaner that uses the Smart Access feature and allows users to control it from a Smartphone and use the camera-eye on the vacuum to monitor its progress. LG’s Smart ThinQ technology brings convenience to the home, while also helping with energy consumption and electricity bills.
Toshiba’s new Life Design box is a home-control gateway—focusing mainly on entertainment and responsible energy usage.
Thinner Laptops and Monitors
Samsung announced a new line of 3D monitors using its own proprietary 3D technology. The AIO Samsung Series 9 desktop has a unique aesthetic design with an extremely thin screen and wider base. We really like the look of it.
Thinner laptops are in. The ultrabooks seem to have an Apple-like design and aim to compete directly with the MacBook Air. The new ultrabook offers a significantly thinner, lighter, and faster start-up than traditional laptops. Asus (shown in the photo below), Samsung, HP, Acer and Lenovo are just a few of the companies that have introduced these models at the show.
Automobiles
If you’re a fan of cars, you’ll be impressed with the Audi Urban Concept car—an all-electric, carbon fiber beauty designed for city life. CES has an entire car show featuring vehicles of the future, audio systems, and high-tech applications to enhance your driving experience. This car was one of our favorites. It may go into production as early as 2013.
Celebrity Endorsements
Several celebrities are known to attend CES each year to promote specific brands or products. At Monster’s booth, Xzibit was showing off their TRON T1 headphones and gaming headset. We weren’t able to get close to Justin Bieber unless we wanted to wait in line for 4 hours, so we took the photo below using major zoom. He was in the Robotics TechZone, appearing with an “innovative entertainment robot” from TOSY Robotics.
It was another great day at CES!
Read more about the highlights from CES 2012 by downloading our recap below.
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