Some Cool Things to Expect at CES 2010
CES 2010
Lenovo IdeaPad
With all the hype over what to expect from manufacturers in the tablet realm, this hybrid netbook/tablet from Lenovo (maker of the ThinkPad) is bound to wow everyone. The current model, the S10-3t is the industry’s first multitouch capacitive convertible netbook tablet. It is built with Lenovo NaturalTouch responsive fingertip touch screen technology versus pressure touch technology, creating an optimal netbook user touch experience.The 10.1-inch screen on the S10-3t can swivel 180 degrees and fold over to transform into a touch tablet. The Lenovo IdeaPad S10-3t features N450 1.66GHz Intel Atom Processor, 250GB HDD, 1GB RAM, 802.11n and Windows 7 Starter. he S10-3t also features DirectShare, so you can quickly synchronize your files with another notebook without connecting to the web. When you do need the internet, Quick Start 2.0 will get you online in seconds with its ‘instant on’ function that lets you access the web, multimedia files and other applications without booting to the desktop operating system. However you use the S10-3t, you’ll find it easier, more interactive and more adaptable than any netbook you’ve ever seen.
You can pre-order the Lenovo S10-3t on Amazon and it is only $499.99. Sounds like a winner.
The Samsung Moment
Samsung Moment™ will display a mobile phone demonstration of the North American mobile digital TV broadcasting standard at CES. Samsung Moment, exclusively from Sprint, will receive live digital TV using Samsung’s Mobile DTV Chip, the world’s first single-chip solution for the recently approved Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) Mobile Digital TV standard. The ATSC Mobile Digital TV chip will allow Samsung Moment to receive live TV programming from local broadcast stations, including prime-time network programs, local news and sports and emergency alerts.
The companies also announced that the Mobile DTV-equipped Samsung Moment was chosen to be showcased with Sprint customers in the Washington, D.C. and Baltimore markets during the first quarter of 2010 . This will be the first-ever consumer showcase of such technology. According to a Samsung representatives:
Moment was selected because of its 3.2-inch AMOLED display screen, which delivers crisp colors, bright pictures outdoors, and wide viewing angles. Samsung was the co-developer of the ATSC standard that is making mobile digital TV broadcasting possible on mobile phones, laptops, USB drives and other mobile devices. Samsung’s single-chip implementation of the standard—the world’s first—enables reception at lower power, size and cost than previous multi-chip solutions which separate the tuning and decoding functions between two or more chips.
Tivit
Tivit, the pocket-sized box,smaller and lighter than a deck of cards,at only about 2″ x 3.5″ in size, less than a half-inch thick, and weighing only 2.8 ounces. Battery powered and able to run for three hours of continuous TV reception, the Tivit comes equipped with a USB connection for charging and with a standard wall-plug charger. Tivit claims to stream television to a number of WiFi-enabled devices, including Windows laptops, Motorola Android phones (no clue why other Android devices wouldn’t be in the running here), WiFi-equipped BlackBerrys, and even iPhone 3G / third-gen iPod touch (software via related App Store download). One charge gets you three hours of reception. It is set to cost $120.00. The transmission standard for Mobile DTV was just adopted by the Advanced Television Systems Committee in October, and there are currently some 30 TV stations in America broadcasting with the new standard. Many hundreds more are expected to begin simulcasts of local programs in 2010.
Boxee
“Connected TV” and “smart TV” are two terms that already are being tossed around CES this year.Enter Boxee, a company trying to make it easier for people to surf through mountains of online video in one sleek interface. The company started on the Web by aggregating TV from sites like Hulu and Amazon into a Web interface with free open source software. Now they’re headed for living rooms with the Boxee Box, which is expected to sell for $200 starting later this year. Less than the cost of Apple TV.
In addition to pulling in Web video, the small, cube-shaped device, which was apparently on display Tuesday, also connects wirelessly to home computers, music catalogues and online social networks like Twitter and Facebook — allowing TV watchers to chat about their favorite programs, even as they’re happening.
The Boxee Box, which is made in partnership with D-Link, also will feature a remote control with a QWERTY keyboard on the back. Company spokesman Andrew Kippen said that feature is needed because on TV screens, using a standard remote control is “the bane of peoples’ existence.”
3D TV
Last Year at CES 2009 #D TV was introduced but more as a novelty. The difference this year is, of course, that many TV manufacturers are behind the idea, and we’re going to see lots of new TVs, comfortable eyewear, and even some 3D Blu-ray content (and maybe players). New 3D technologies, such as the upcoming HDMI 1.4 specification and the recently-approved Blu-ray 3D, are on the way. Both could help make 3D television more common. You’ll need a 3D TV to get the most out of Blu-ray 3D, for example; and the 2010 World Cup soccer tournament will be broadcast in 3D.
Perhaps most exciting is the Mitsubishi 3D TV system that does not require glasses. Here is a video recorded by engadget at the show.
AR.Drone
I have seen more postings and rumbles on this gadget from those at CES 2010 this week so far. The AR.Drone is a flying toy that syncs with an iPhone or iPod Touch to create an unusual gaming experience.
A French company, Parrot, developed the device. It is about twice the size of a Frisbee and hovers quietly above the ground, propelled by four rotors and an on-board computer. Users steer the Drones with their iPhones, which act as remote controllers.
A camera mounted on the AR.Drone sends a live video feed to the iPhone, meaning that you see what the Drone sees. Parrot is creating augmented-reality video games for the open-source device and is encouraging outside developers to do the same.
The company expects the AR.Drone to cost less than $500 when it goes on sale in the summer.
Here is one of the videos hosted on the Parrot website:
enTourage eDGe
This comnbination or “dual” as they call it Tablet/Netbook/eReader is one of the most awesome revelations at CES. We reported about Microsoft’s prototype Courier tablet which had a dual screeen LCD on one side and reader on the other. Well now it seems as if that plan has been squashed (in accordance with Steve Ballmer’s Keynot,e which we livestreamed on our BlogTalk Radio TechTalk in a special presentation on Wednesday). Well, to me it also seem that in true Microsoft style they may have been “using” information and features garnered from the enTourage. But the enTourage, at a proported cost $490.00,is way cooler, using a wacom touch screen that enabes writing and drawing with a stylus, full integration with the Internet and LCD side of the tablet, thousands of books and capabilities of a full netbook including video and audio. Well, nothing says it like this kind of cheesy but very informative promotional video from enTourage.You can also check out a cool demo on the http://www.entourageedge.com/edge-demo
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