CES 2013: Samsung UN85S9 Ultra HD looks stunning

LAS VEGAS--It's been a few CESes since we've seen a "world's biggest" something, and while the UN85S9 misses out on world's biggest 4K (UHD) screen this year, it does practice a bit ofone-upmanship on the LG competition by being a whole inch bigger.

The most striking thing about the S9 is the design: this is a floor-standing television mounted on what looks like an artist's easel and the TV is designed to tilt up and down.

The S9 TV features upgraded smarts with improved voice interaction and a quad-core processor to speed things along. If you wanted gesture control on this 4K TV -- or, even more usefully, Skype integration -- then unfortunately the F8500 misses out.

Meanwhile, the Smart Hub application has been enhanced with more content -- movies, videos, and music -- and a new TV program guide. This augments Samsung’s new S-Recommendation engine, which lists suggested content in thumbnails at the bottom of the screen.

The flagship TV incorporates a quad-core processor that should assist with the speed of the Smart TV interface as well as provide grunt for picture-processing tasks such as the Frame Rate Conversion engine and the Motion Judder Canceller.

[Source: CNET - Click here to read the full story]

CES 2013: Kensington offers a tracking solution with the Proximo Tag Kit

Kensington is in attendance at the International CES here in Las Vegas this week, and the company kindly sat down with TUAW this afternoon to show off some of its latest products. The most interesting of their recent offerings is something called the "Proximo Fob and Tag Kit," which is a relatively cheap tracking solution designed to work over Bluetooth 4 with your iPhone 4S or iPhone 5.

We've seen tagging kits like this before, but Kensington's, now available, offered a nice set of features at a very reasonable price. The idea is that you can use an included key fob or a tag (just the tag is available for $24.99, while a full fob and tag kit is $59.99) by attaching it to whatever object you'd like to keep safe, whether that's your keys, a purse, or even a kid or a dog. Then, you can use Kensington's free app to get alerts whenever that item moves out of range of your phone, so if you ever walk away and leave your keys at your desk, or if the dog wanders out of the yard, you'll know right away.

[Source: TUAW - Click here to read the full story]

CES 2013: Panasonic HC-X920 Hands on

Panasonic's new flagship consumer camcorder for 2013 looks very much like Panasonic flagship consumer camcorder for 2012. Don't be fooled by its appearance though as the Panasonic HC-X920 has three major upgrades over last year's Panasonic HC-X900.

First and foremost are the upgrades to the 3MOS sensor array. This now uses BSI (backside illuminated) sensors with superior low-light performance. The raw resolution of the sensors has also increased from 6.57 megapixels in total to 8.49 megapixels. We were shown some examples of footage shot with the camcorder, and it looked more composed with less glare at 100 lux (bright conditions) and had far less noise at 10 lux (low light) - that's compared to last years model. Of course we'll have to see what Sony has up its sleeve for 2013 before making any final conclusions though.

The lens looks to be identical to last year's at first glance, but it has a new nano surface coasting apparently, but we're not clear on what benefits this provides.

Another major upgrade to this year's model is Wi-Fi support. This allows for real-time broadcast of events via the popular Ustream service. It can even send email out to preregistered addresses to inform them the live broadcast is beginning. Great for sharing event footage with family and friends in distant locations. A smartphone app is also available for Android and iOS, which lets you see the footage from the camcorder and control the zoom and other functions.

[Source: Expert Reviews - Click here to read the full story]

Sharp’s New TVs Let You Surf the Web and Watch TV at the Same Time

Sharp announced during its CES 2013 keynote that it’s introducing dual-core processors into all of its connected TVs released this year. It will also launch iOS and Android remote control applications, include built-in Wi-Fi and offer the “best apps” on the televisions. A new “split screen TV and web” feature allows you to watch TV and surf the web at the same time. In other words, you can watch the Lakers game and surf TechnoBuffalo at the same time.

The remote control feature for iOS and Android allows you to flick photos, videos, music and other features right to your TV for showing off the media to friends and family. A Netflix “second screen” feature allows you to find a phone to watch on your smartphone and then play it on your Sharp AQUOS TV immediately.

A wallpaper mode turns the television into “your home’s largest digital photo frame.” Sharp is also integrating a built-in subwoofer with Yamaha signal processing for bass and new thin designs with brushed aluminum materials for the frame around the screen.

[Source: TechnoBuffalo]

Panasonic to Introduce 32 New TV Models in 2013

Panasonic just announced that it will introduce a total of 32 new HDTVs this year, including 16 plasma TVs and 16 LED TVs. The plasma TVs will range from 42-inches to 65-inches in size, and the LED TVs will be available in 32-inches to 65-inches in size. The flagship of the LED line is the Smart Viera WT Series television, which features LG’s brand new personalization options. The Plasma flagship is a new Viera VT series device, with similar features.

All of the TVs reduce power consumption by 15% from earlier models and will meet new Energy Star 6.0 certification.

[Source: TechnoBuffalo]

ASUS gets into the Google TV game with the Qube

ASUS today at CES in Las Vegas officially announced the ASUS Qube -- a Google TV device that's been strongly suggested for the past few weeks, both from the FCC as well as Google. ASUS is promising more info today, but so far all we've got is this single picture, the fact that it's a Google TV device and it has access to Android apps and movies and TV and whatnot, can be controlled via a smartphone or tablet app -- and has some sort of "rotating on-screen cube shape," which immediately makes us think of failed Windows Mobile UIs. (Chances are ASUS has done better here, but seeing is believing.)

And that's it for now. More on the Qube as we get it. We've got the whole of the announcement after the break.

Qube with Google TV - Bring the world of entertainment to your TV

Instantly add Google TV to your HDTV with the ASUS Qube.  Qube with Google TV offers both motion control and voice search that integrates Google Play, Chrome™, YouTube™in one compact device. With access to over 100,000 movies and TV shows* from Netflix and Amazon Instant Video, plus numerous apps, videos and games from Google Play, ASUS Qube with Google TV is the perfect media content device.

[Source: Android Central - Click here to read the full story]

LG announces new 'Panorama Note' feature coming to Optimus Vu: II

LG is set to show off a new "Panorama Note" feature for its stylus-totingOptimus Vu: II at CES 2013. The feature takes features of LG's current note apps that take advantage of the large 4:3 screen on the Vu, and combine it with some of the fundamentals of a panoramic photo. Basically you'll get a 3:1 scrolling note that you can move and edit, meaning you'll have more effective real estate for note taking. Like using a big pad of paper, and working on just one area at a time.

When using the app you'll be able to zoom all the way in -- up to 5.8x -- to view specific content, then back out again to see the entire scope of the note. LG will surely be showing off this feature at its CES booth here in Las Vegas, and we'll be hoping to get a hands-on look at it in the coming days.

[Source: Android Central - Click here to read the full story]

Griffin PowerDock 5 is One Charger to Rule Them All

Griffin has introduced a new charging dock which may take some of the pain out of juicing up all of your gadgets at once.

Introduced at CES, Griffin has unveiled the PowerDock 5. This new charging solution will keep all of your gadgets organized, and your desk clutter free, while charging them. The new charging solution is capable of handling an iPad even in a thick case, so no need to unsheathe your tablet while charging it. While all of the images include images of iDevices, since it based off of USB you can obviously plug in any device you would choose to do so.

The PowerDock 5 will be released this spring with a suggested retail price of $99.99.

[Source: TechnoBuffalo]

Acer announces Iconia B1-A71, a wallet-friendly 7-inch Jelly Bean slate

Acer is expanding its tablet lineup with a new budget-minded 7-inch slate running Jelly Bean. The Iconia B1-A71 pairs a dual-core 1.2GHz processor from Mediatek with 512MB of RAM for a machine that certainly wont set any benchmark records, but wont hurt any wallets either. The rest of the specs, like the WSVGA screen, 8GB of storage and lone 0.3-megapixel camera are certainly also helping keep costs down. At 11.3 ounces and 11.3mm thin it's a pretty svelte device, especially considering its expected starting price of under $150. Sadly there's no concrete time frame for release.

[Source: Engadget]

HP's Envy 27-inch IPS monitor with Beats Audio features high-quality sound, extremely long name

LAS VEGAS--A monitor's picture quality is its most important attribute, and sound quality (if it actually does sport speakers) rarely factors into the overall rating. That however may change once I get my hands on the HP Envy 27-inch IPS monitor with Beats Audio.

With the Envy 27-inch IPS monitor with Beats Audio, HP not only breaks the record for longest monitor name ever (to be honest, I didn't confirm that), but according to HP, it also marks the first time a standalone monitor has used Beats Audio.

The monitor's built-in speakers are angled upward and according to HP, deliver high-quality midrange and high frequencies as well as rich bass. Monitors with built-in sound don't usually deliver the highest quality sound, so I'm curious as to how this monitor's sound will be any different.

[Source: CNET - Click here to read the full story]

Gamers, D-Link has a router for you!

LAS VEGAS -- There might be a real solution to your online gaming at home after all, thanks to D-Link.

The networking vendor announced today at CES 2013 the first 802.11ac-based router designed specifically for gamers, which it aptly calls Gaming Router (model DGL-5500). In a way this is the first major upgrade to the first router of this type, the DGL-4500 GamerLouge, that D-Link released more than four years ago

And this seems an upgrade that's worth the wait.

[Source: CNET - Click here to read the full story]

Nvidia announces own 'Shield' gaming device at CES

Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang unveils Nvidia Shield, a brand-new gaming device that leverages Android and the Tegra 4 quad-core processor.

(Credit: James Martin/CNET)

LAS VEGAS--Who says you can't teach an old chipmaker new tricks? Not Nvidia. At CES, the company announced its own gaming device, Nvidia Shield, which will bear its brand name as well as its quad-core Tegra 4 processor.

• Tegra 4, gaming dominate Nvidia's 2013 plans
•  Nvidia unveils muscular Tegra 4 quad-core chipset
• Nvidia's GeForce Experience auto-optimizes gameplay
• Nvidia Grid pushes gaming to the cloud

Project Shield is small -- smaller than a Wii U controller. Fittingly, it looks like a portable Xbox controller with a small flip-up screen. It's got analog joysticks, buttons, and controllers. Nvidia promises between 5 and 10 hours of gameplay on Shield.

Still a prototype, the final name and design could change before the product goes to market, as soon as in a few months, an Nvidia spokesperson said.

"It's pure Android," says Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang. There's nothing proprietary about it; all jacks are standard and the platform is open. It comes with a microSD card slot.

Shield can connect to the cloud to play Android games, TegraZone games, and PC games for PCs with compatible GeForce graphics cards. It also supports multiplayer mode.

[Source: CNET - Click here to read the full story]