Multiple LG models discovered in benchmarks
A number of unannounced LG smartphones discovered in recent benchmark tests are leading many to believe the handset maker could soon introduce a gang of models. And, with Mobile World Congress less than two months to go, it makes sense that these sort of things happen.
The new models popping up on the radar include the following:
- LG-D830
- LS740
- LG-D410
- LG-D320
- LG-MS323
What’s notable about each of these devices is that each runs Android 4.4 KitKat. Historically, LG has announced multiple devices at MWC, spreading them out from low-end to high-end. It’s this time of year when we may see successors and variants of the G2, G Pro, or Optimus lines. Based on some of the model numbers we suspect that some of these are bound for the United States.
HTML5Test 1, 2, Bluetooth SIG via PhoneArena
The post Multiple LG models discovered in benchmarks appeared first on AndroidGuys.
CES 2014: Audio roundup
Imagine the footsteps of thousands and thousands of people. Now add in hundreds of booths showing loud promo videos, playing music and giving demos over microphones. That is the literal sound of CES. The theoretical sound of CES will come from some of the products you see below. We feel this selection of products gives you a pretty good feel for the trends we’re likely to see in 2014. Enjoy.
Desktop audio
Usually, this isn’t a category that gets too much attention. Digital audio interfaces may come in all shapes and sizes, but they are ultimately fairly utilitarian devices. Korg, however, tried to spice the genre up a little with its AudioGate USB DAC line. What’s different about these guys? Well the larger model certainly has an eye-catching design, but it’s the companion software that offers high-resolution DSD audio output that we think will make it an appealing prospect.
Home entertainment
The thing with audio is that it’s often a feature of something else, rather than a gadget’s dedicated function. Case in point? LG’s new SoundPlate (LAB540W). Part soundbar, part Blu-ray player, the SoundPlate has 4.1 audio (and an external subwoofer) that cranks out your movie soundtrack at 320 watts. WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity only serve to add virtual cherries onto the metaphorical cake.
Headphones
Sifting through the many, many new pairs of headphones on show at CES would be nigh on impossible. But, through all the noise, a few pairs do tend to bubble up into our consciousness. 50 Cent’s new line of Star Wars-themed and sport-friendly cans is one such example. In particular, the water/sweat-proof wireless sync models that offer cable-free comfortable training look like a winner. DJs, on the other hand, might want to take a look at Sennheiser’s new line of DJ headphones. Purpose built with spinners in mind, these things look and feel solid — oh, and they sound great, too.
Accessories
Audio accessories usually come in two categories: cheap and crazy expensive. B&O’s Essence falls into the latter category, but we won’t lie: We’re curious about it. As far as we can tell, it’s a fancy-pants physical audio controller for the audio lover that has everything. And that’s OK. Why shouldn’t these things exist? Essentially, you can place these around your home and seamlessly control your music as you saunter from room to room. Or just have one in your man/woman cave. You’ll need some B&O gear for it to work with, of course, but if you’re at all in the market for thing like this, we imagine you already have that covered.
Filed under: Home Entertainment
CES 2014: HDTV & home theater roundup
Every year, CES is filled wall to wall with flat-screen televisions and the things that plug into them. 2014′s show brought its own variations to that theme. Curved TVs, OLED TVs, Ultra HD TVs or some combination popped up wherever we looked, and unlike last year, many of them will go on sale soon. Big manufacturers like Samsung, LG and Sony dominated news for high-end sets, but others like Vizio are promising an unprecedented slew of features at value prices.
Ultra HD/OLED
When even Polaroid has an Ultra HD television to announce for CES, it’s probably fair to say there’s a trend occurring. Of the ones we saw that are likely to ship this year, Vizio’s jump off the page first — both for their quality and extremely reasonable prices. Sony demonstrated black levels on its LCDs that must be seen to be believed, plus a unique new design that brings a new level of quality to integrated TV speakers. The battle to the death between LG and Samsung reached new levels of absurdity as both showed off flexible, bending displays, one LED and one OLED. Meanwhile, Samsung curved its new 9000 series UHD TVs and LG whipped up a sweet, new version of webOS for its line. Sharp’s answer? Something between 1080p and 4K, while Panasonic spiced up its TVs with voice and face recognition. This was CES 2014 for TVs… and it was bizarre.
Sony’s new UHD TVs are built to support Netflix in 4K when it arrives
We just got to watch Samsung’s big-ass 105-inch curved TV
Panasonic ups its smart TV game with the VIERA Life+ Screen, complete with voice and facial recognition
Sharp Aquos lineup for 2014 bears 1080p and 4K TVs, a revamped SmartCentral platform and the new Quattron+ Series
Vizio’s HDTV plans for 2014 focus on Ultra HD, in sizes going all the way up to 120 inches
LG’s latest 84-inch 4K TV breaks cover at CES
LG’s 105-inch UHD TV isn’t coming to CES alone: flat 65-, 79-, 84- and 98-inchers on the way
LG’s bringing Ultra HD OLED TVs in more sizes to CES, ramping up production
Samsung announces its curved 78-inch UHD TV: runs faster, works smarter
Samsung: cheap OLED TVs won’t be ready for three to four years
Samsung’s 105-inch curved UHD TV and 85-inch bendable screen hit retail this year
Samsung shows off its 85-inch curved TV that bends with the touch of a button (video)
Sony’s new Bravia HDTVs get a wedge-shaped redesign (update: hands-on photos)
Kogan’s ultra-budget 4K TV and 3G tablet arrive at CES
Toshiba enters 2014 with extra-bright 4K TVs, simpler streaming media hubs
Sceptre’s showing off 4K TVs, Roku Ready displays, earbuds and pretty much everything, ever at CES
Smart/Connected TV
Internet-connected and highly personalized services for our TVs and the devices connected to them have gone from a curiosity to the norm. Now, we may be finally entering the period where there’s enough reason to separate the wheat from the chaff and decide who has the best smart TV platform. LG is showing its hand with webOS and Roku integrating directly into TVs, but it may be another 12 months before we can pick a winner (or at least top three).
Hands-on with LG’s smart TV running webOS (video)
LG teases webOS for most of its smart TVs, Lifeband Touch with Android, iOS sync
Dish’s ‘Virtual Joey’ is a streaming app for smart TVs that takes the place of a set-top box (video)
Samsung’s new TV remote for 2014 has a new pebble shape, 80 percent smaller touchpad
Roku renews bid for the living room with streaming-ready Roku TVs
Android TV at CES 2014 highlighted by Chinese manufacturers Hisense and TCL
Netgear’s NeoMediacast is an Android-powered TV set-top on a stick
Streaming
Streaming could move from a secondary service to a top priority, with a bevy of new and smarter TVs and connected devices, plus the availability of 4K content before it hits broadcast. Is this the end for traditional pay-TV or does that market have some life left in it yet? That will be one of the many, many stories we’re following in 2014.
Netflix confirms it will stream House of Cards in 4K this year, posts full season two trailer
Samsung’s Ultra HD TVs will stream 4K video from Amazon, Comcast, DirecTV, Netflix and more
Hulu’s original TV shows for 2014 are a mix of new series, new seasons and foreign transplants
YouTube to show off lower-bandwidth 4K streaming at CES
Plex website relaunches as Plex.tv, one-stop home for all of its media streaming abilities
Panasonic will bring Firefox OS to your smart TV this year
GoPro to launch extreme sports channel on Xbox One and 360
Prototype
Flexible displays, network DVRs and ultrawide Ultra HD — this is the place to check it out.
TiVo prototype DVR recordings stay in the cloud, watch them anywhere on any screen
Toshiba cares not for 4K, has an ultra-wide 5K TV ready for CES
Take that Samsung: LG’s got a 77-inch OLED UHD TV that bends on command (video)
The projector section
We love projectors, but Sony and LG took them in an odd direction this year, courtesy of lasers.
LG sneaks a new version of its ‘Laser TV’ projector into CES 2014
Sony’s $30k+ Life Space UX projector all-in-one puts a 147-inch 4K screen on any wall
Sony’s Life Space UX demo envisions projectors, screens everywhere
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD, Samsung, Sony, LG
CES 2014: Household roundup
Alongside the TVs and tablets, CES is also home to the future of… homes. LG had smarter washing machines and robot vacuums that you can turn on by texting with everyday language, while Samsung introduced an entirely new ecosystem: one it’s inviting third-party hardware companies to join. Qualcomm had a similar proposition with AllJoyn: Some companies are looking to dominate smart homes. This tech will come to your house. In Vegas, however, it’s often the smaller companies that pique our interest. Don’t we all want an appliance to automatically marinate our meat?
Smarter homes
LG and Samsung are old stalwarts of the household sector of CES, but we also saw the likes of Panasonic staking a claim, with a new voice-activated pendant that allowed you to control TVs and other internet-linked appliances (not only Panasonic ones). With it, a “good morning” could open your curtains or turn on the TV to your favorite morning fare. Again, Panasonic promises it’ll understand natural language, too. Beyond your home theater and kitchen, Sleep Number’s x12 smart bed monitors sleeping patterns, heart rates and — most importantly — features a Partner Snore function that will raise the guilty party’s head, and hopefully jog them out of it.
SmartThings has taken its series of sensors and added richer app interfaces, buddying up with Sonos, WeMo and Philips Hue, making the notion of low-energy sensors and unobtrusive installation — you just stick the sensor where you need it — an even better proposition. We have several editors already testing out (and in love with) the SmartThings system.
Smarter cooking
Alongside the explosion in wearables, sensors and processors are also elbowing their way into smaller household appliances. From a distance, Belkin’s Crock-Pot WeMo slow cooker looks a lot like any other slow cooker, but this one ties to a WeMo app that lets you adjust temperatures and set timers without being in the kitchen. Belkin is also promising more WeMO-compatible devices (including space heaters) very soon.
Then there was Mr. Marinator. It’s not all that smart, but it marinates meat. It revolves your favorite cut in a soup of deliciousness. For however long you want. It should probably win some kind of award.
Live from the Engadget CES Stage: LG EVP Jim Clayton
LG’s certainly not the only player in the wearables game at this year’s CES, but this isn’t the company’s first horse race. This time out, the company’s showing off the Lifeband Touch, a new fitness tracker that pairs nicely with the company’s heart rate headphones. Jim Clayton, the company’s EVP of home entertainment and new business development will be joining us on-stage to discuss LG’s play in the space.
Unleashing the tech show hype beast
There’s a technological revolution going on; innovation is at all-time high; and we’ve seen it all before. While many of the devices we’ve seen this week are new and even exciting, the unending hymn of hyperbole that echoes through the halls of the LVCC is an old standard. For months leading up to the big show, small startups and tech giants flood the inboxes of tech journalists, attempting to catch their attention with bold and often ridiculous claims. And on the show floor, sprawling booths from the likes of Samsung and LG boast laundry lists of “world’s firsts.” Each year, we put all of that aside to bring you only the freshest goods CES has to offer — until now. It’s time to unleash the hype beast!
A war of words
You know something fishy is going on when Pizza Hut is touting itself as a technological tastemaker. The fast food chain was at a pre-show event celebrating the 20th anniversary of “the first physical good ever purchased over the internet.” It’s a mouthful, but that’s the sort of subtle phrasing that’s necessary to set yourself apart in a sea of “world’s firsts.” Samsung and LG are the kings of this sort of nuance. The Korean tech giants both claimed a slew of ultimate achievements, but the devil is in the details. Samsung’s booth featured the “world’s thinnest ultra narrow bezel,” while LG had the “world’s narrowest bezel 3.5mm video wall.” We didn’t bust out the measuring tape, but as you can see, there’s a fine line when it comes to promoting even the tiniest of things.
Believe it or not, bezels weren’t the main attraction at CES. The real confusion came in the 4K TV space. While LG presented its “world’s first 4K flexible OLED TV,” Samsung was just a few doors down showing off its own flexible 4K display. This one, however, was of the LED variety. The outfit didn’t publicly promote the TV as a first, but a Samsung rep told us it was the “world’s only one.” Both companies had a number of other claims scattered about their booths, with LG touting firsts with HD portable projectors, an Ultra HD 3D wall, an ultrawide QHD monitor and the world’s largest Ultra HD display at 105 inches. Nearby, Samsung staked claim to the first curved UHD TV and the world’s largest Ultra HD TV at 110 inches. It even carried the hyperbole over to its household appliances with the “world’s largest washer and dryer” and the “world’s only sparkling water refrigerator,” serving up SodaStream bubbles from its door.
Samsung’s and LG’s were among the biggest booths on the show floor both in terms of size and bombast. However, one of their biggest competitors for show floor real estate took a subtler approach to pushing its products. Sony’s booth relied more on its products than marketing jargon to set itself apart. The booth, which covered a massive corner of the LVCC, featured a number of new and impressive devices like its diminutive $2,000 4K camcorder, but there wasn’t a single proclamation of a world’s first, smallest, biggest or thinnest. Instead, three slogans featured relatively subtly above a series of the Japanese manufacturer’s new wedge-shaped 4K TVs, promoting the best brightness, color and picture ever.
World’s firsts you didn’t know you didn’t need
When it comes to hype, size doesn’t matter.
When it comes to hype, size doesn’t matter. The big brands often dominate CES coverage, but there are hundreds of smaller companies jockeying for headlines on the show floor and they’re often just as quick to yell: FIRST! This year’s show played host to an enormous amount of “revolutionary” innovations that claimed to do something no one else had. More often than not, these devices fill a gap that no one knew existed, like iToy’s “first connected fighting mini robots” or the Phantom 2 Vision, the “world’s first consumer quadcopter with a built-in high-performance camera capable of high-quality photography out of the box.” Also on display this year: Nymi’s “world’s first cardiac ID technology” that aims to replace passwords and PINs by using the wearer’s ECG as a biometric for authentication and RJ Reynolds’ “world’s first digital vapor cigarette.” Unfortunately, neither Stephen Dorff nor Courtney Love was on hand to provide a celebrity endorsement.
The Official Hype Machine of CES 2014
It wouldn’t be CES without a few grandiose statements from the CEA itself. In years past, the organization has sent out a press release just days after saying attendance has reached an all-time high. That may not be the case this year, but that hasn’t stopped the wheels of hyperbolic sentiment from turning. The CEA claimed a “record amount of innovation” in 2014 (something that’s clearly hard to measure) with 3,200 exhibitors covering 2 million square feet. In an email, it also touted itself as “the world’s largest mobile technology event.” That’s not a distinction we would have bestowed ourselves. The big brands are abandoning the trade show circuit for their own launch events, and Sony was the only major player to launch a phone at CES this year. One area where we’re more than willing to give the CEA credit is in the growth of autos. In a November 18th press release, it proclaimed a record number of automotive exhibitors. Given, that number is nine, but they came correct, so we’ll let that one slide.
If you ask the CEA, it will tell you this is the greatest show on Earth, and given the media circus surrounding it, we’d have to agree.
Lead image by Will Lipman
Filed under: Cellphones, Displays, Misc, Home Entertainment, Robots, Transportation, HD, Mobile, Samsung, Sony, LG
BBC rolls out enhanced ‘Red Button’ features to major Smart TVs
The BBC’s Connected Red Button service promised a new level of interactivity when it launched in the UK a year ago, including news and weather overlays, recommended viewing (curated by actual, real-life humans) and alternative streams during live sports events. The downside was that it was originally only available to Virgin TiVo customers, but the Corporation promised to extend it to more platforms and, finally, this seems to be happening. As of today, owners of Samsung and Sony smart TVs should both have access to a beta version of the service when they press the red button on their remotes (although a few Sony-heads may have already noticed this going live just before Christmas), while LG smart TVs are on track to gain access early this year. A long list of compatible devices can be found at the source link below, but there’s still no sign of any standalone Freesat, Freeview or YouView set-top boxes, which were supposed to get improved Red Button access in 2013.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet, HD
Source: Connected Red Button TV models
LG sneaks a new version of its ‘Laser TV’ projector into CES 2014
Last year at CES, LG introduced the Cinema Beam HECTO Laser TV projection system that could produce a 100-inch screen from just a couple of feet away, and now it’s showing off a new version. HECTO2 keeps the same 100-inch screen size, but uses an upgraded laser system to provide a claimed 10,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio that is 10x greater than the original and only needs six inches of space. Just like the earlier iteration and Sony’s new Life Space UX laser projector, the Cinema Beam brings speakers, smart TV apps and more as an all-in-one package. Other than a likely still-astronomical price — the original launched at about $10k — there’s probably one big reason this isn’t getting a ton of hype. It’s still 1080p, and at a show that’s all about Ultra HD, LG may hold off on the laser-projection push until it can squeeze a few million more pixels in.
Filed under: Displays, Home Entertainment, HD, LG
LG’s Pocket Photo 2 can handle your selfie prints in 60 seconds (hands-on)
From time to time, you snap a picture while on the go that deserves a bit more than just social media posting. For those more elegant snapshots, LG’s Pocket Photo 2 can output 30 photos before needing a recharge and refill the requisite paper. We took one for a spin at CES in order to observe the results. Once the LG G2 being used for the demo was paired via NFC/Bluetooth, we were off to capture an image. From there, you can use LG’s app to edit — which includes adding filters, captions, QR codes, borders and more. When our tweaks were complete, we just laid the G2 on top of the small printer and let the wireless connections transfer the file. In about 60 seconds, the task was complete and our portrait has been preserved in physical form.
The Pocket Photo 2 has slimmed down a bit from the previous model, and the difference is noticeable. A button to open up the casing is situated on the bottom edge, allowing access to swap out the paper stack. Around to the right side, there’s a power toggle switch alongside the charging port. On the front, LED indicators for power, battery and low paper levels are located on the right side and silver circles for the opening hinge are up top on both sides. As far as the prints go, the final product is a 3 x 2-inch rectangle that’s a little smaller than a business card and the quality is on par with what we’d expect for a device like this. It’s OK for really quick prints, but that’s about it. When the device arrives, pink, yellow and white color options will be yours for the taking. There’s no word on pricing just yet, but the Pocket Photo 2 is set to make its debut in Korea later this month. For now, jump down to the gallery below for a closer look.
Filed under: Misc, Peripherals
Introducing the Best of CES 2014 finalists!
CES 2014 is only just officially beginning, but the show has already been an eventful one for us. To select finalists for the Best of CES Awards, Engadget’s senior editors have been pounding the pavement at the Las Vegas Convention Center to find top contenders for the 13 categories in the running, from best mobile devices to the coolest maker-friendly technology. Now, we’re happy to present our finalists. There’s some great stuff here — just head past the break to dive in. We’ll save our analysis of the biggest CES 2014 trends for another post, but suffice it to say that plenty of innovative tech is in store for us this coming year.
And we want to know your favorite new product, too. That’s why we’re opening up the People’s Choice category to our readers, giving you a chance to select your top choice from our pool of finalists. Head here to our poll; the product that receives the most votes will be honored in our winner’s ceremony tomorrow.
BEST STARTUP
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An MIT spin-off with 17 employees, FINsix has one of the smallest AC adapters on the market — we’re talking about four times smaller and six times lighter. Its 65W brick comes with a USB port in addition to a laptop plug, and a MacBook-compatible MagSafe version is in the works, too. |
This seven-person startup from Denmark is behind a wireless HDMI dongle that ports your computer screen to your TV, projector or monitor sans cables. Airtame’s raised almost 500 grand on Indiegogo, so they must be doing something right. |
BEST DIGITAL HEALTH & FITNESS PRODUCT
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We’ve seen plenty of activity trackers, yet LG’s Life Band Touch still manages to stand out for its smartwatch-style features. Its OLED display shows activity info such as calories burned, but it also pairs with your smartphone to notify you of incoming calls and texts. |
Essentially, it’s an activity tracker in bed form, with sensors built in to monitor your heart rate and sleeping habits. Best of all: a Partner Snore feature lets you raise your significant other’s headrest to (hopefully) quiet him or her down. |
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Like the Life Band Touch, the Nabu combines the features of an activity tracker and a smartwatch. Unlike LG’s device, though, this guy sports two OLED screens: a small one to display notification icons and a larger one to show you texts, emails and other more in-depth personal data. |
Jaybird Reign fitness wristband
Jaybird’s $199 Reign is more than just an activity tracker; it also tells you when it’s time to work out, or when your body could really use a rest. It pairs with an Android or iOS device via Bluetooth, offering up app-based checkups whenever you click. |
BEST AUTOMOTIVE ELECTRONICS PRODUCT
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Bavarian Motor Works has taken accident-prevention to a new level. If you’re hydroplaning, for example, the system will bring the car back under control by braking individual wheels and adjusting steering — no driver input required. |
Corvette Performance Data Recorder
With Chevy’s system, your route, speed and a slew of other stats are superimposed on a Bing map on the in-dash display. Oh, and audio and video recording let you evaluate your racing chops — or simply make a badass YouTube compilation. |
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How lucky are we to live in a world where you can jump-start your car with a tiny (think hardcover-sized) power pack? The JumPack has enough power to give your auto a few jumps, and a USB port lets you charge up your gadgets as well. Not a bad value for $130. |
Hyundai’s in-car tech lets you remotely unlock your vehicle, navigate via both specific locations and general search terms and more, with Verizon providing the cell signal. One downside: it’ll cost you $100 per year for navigation services. |
BEST AUDIO PRODUCT
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Meet the Vertu of PMPs. Sure, it’s pretty much the definition of “aspirational,” but the AK240 is the quintessential media player for the serious (and loaded) audiophile. |
It’s one of the best-looking soundbars we’ve seen to date, and it has a 3D Blu-ray player built in. Need we say more? |
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It can’t compete with LG’s option on the Blu-ray player front, but Samsung’s HW-H600 is pretty much the sleekest soundbar ever. |
ClearView Clio
ClearView got literal with the Clio, creating a speaker that’s completely see-through. Its near-invisible design is classy, and the speaker’s tech allows sound waves to disperse evenly across a room. |
BEST VIDEO PRODUCT
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It’s a smart TV app meant to replace your set-top box; provided you buy select LG smart TVs, you’ll be able to watch live TV and DVR content without any extra hardware. |
Sharp Aquos Quattron +
Sharp’s new Aquos Quattron+ line includes sets from 60 to 80 inches, all of which include Active 3D tech and the company’s new Revelation technology for higher picture quality. The biggest draw: It starts at $3,000, much lower than the company’s 4K products. |
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LG’s 77-inch OLED beauty morphs between flat-screen and curved modes with the press of a button. We don’t want to even guess the price, but a future filled with flexible living-room sets is certainly enticing. |
This 78-inch curved TV packs an impressive feature set: it’s UHD, outfitted with a quad-core core processor to support the hi-def visuals and it supports gesture controls for switching channels and adjusting volume. |
BEST SOFTWARE
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LG’s ported webOS to the big screen, and what a good idea that was. The UI puts content front and center, with discovery options and Hulu and Roku integration on board. |
Game-streaming services have disappointed in the past, but PlayStation Now looks to be a step in a new direction. Playing The Last of Us on the Vita ran without a hitch, and we can’t wait to try Now out on mobile devices. |
BEST EMERGING TECHNOLOGY
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Oculus Rift ‘Crystal Cove’ prototype
How’s this for emerging technology? Take an OLED headset, add an external camera and improved depth perception, and you have the most immersive gaming experience to date. Playing EVE Valkyrie, we could lean forward to read text on cockpit controls. VR gaming is suddenly a full-body experience. |
Wearables are here to stay, and Intel has the guts to power them. Edison is a mini-computer with built-in WiFi and its own app store. The company even has a small collection of “Nursery 2.0″ devices on hand at CES to demonstrate the possibilities. |
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Here’s another take on next-gen headsets: gear that projects images directly onto your retina. It’s less for gamers and more for movie-watching — it even has a fancy pair of headphones built in. |
BEST MOBILE TECHNOLOGY
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Samsung’s largest Android-powered tablet to date sports productivity features to make the best of the 12.2-inch screen, including a four-window view and remote PC access. We’re also fans of the new Magazine UX, which divides your screen into three customizable panels. |
It’s Lenovo’s second 8-inch Windows tablet, and it’s definitely a winner, thanks to a brilliant display, a well-made aluminum body and a capable quad-core processor. |
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Unlike most “mini” phones, the Xperia Z1 Compact isn’t a watered-down version of a flagship handset. Like the original Z1, it offers a 20.7-megapixel camera and waterproofing. We hope other phone makers follow suit and stop killing the high-end specs on iterative products. |
BEST GAMING PRODUCT
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2014 is the year when Steam Machines go viral, at least for PC makers like Gigabyte and Origin PC. It’s a sure sign the gaming machines will take off this year. |
It’s a contender in software, but it’s obviously set to revolutionize gaming as well. PlayStation Now eliminates the need for a dedicated gaming console, bringing the titles you want to almost any device you have. |
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Oculus Rift ‘Crystal Cove’ prototype
The Oculus Rift is a completely new gaming experience, with a bevy of sensors on board to bring you into the world of the title you’re playing. It’s something you really have to try to understand — and we can’t wait until it hits the market. |
Project Christine even looks like the future; the modular-computing prototype consists of pods that can be used in several setups depending on your gaming needs. It’s customization 3.0. |
BEST OFFBEAT PRODUCT
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Creepy? Yes. Useful? Yes. The Mother looks like a cross between a Russian doll and a demonic bowling pin, but it’s meant to make your life easier with associated sensors that monitor your home, your child or your pet, for example. |
It can’t fly, but it can jump more than two feet in the air, and that’s an awesome party trick if you ask us. The Sumo is controlled by your smartphone or tablet, though it currently only supports Apple devices. |
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Most of us can agree that on-screen keyboards will never be as good as the real thing. Dock your phone into the TrewGrip’s curved, grippable body, and you have a set of hardware keys in the familiar QWERTY layout. |
BEST KID-FRIENDLY PRODUCT
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Fuhu partnered with DreamWorks to make an Android tablet with original art-focused apps. The included stylus works with built-in software to teach kids how to draw Kung Fu Panda and other familiar characters. |
The Kolibree toothbrush lets your little ones know how well they’re cleaning those pearly whites. You’ll even get stats like stroke count — and an evaluation of how well teeth have been cleaned — on your smartphone. |
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Intel had us at “smart baby onesie.” Intriguing idea aside, the practicality is undeniable. Parents can monitor their babies’ body position, activity level and temperature via a smartphone app. |
BEST MAKER-FRIENDLY TECHNOLOGY
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It’s the chance to print yourself and the ones you love in edible, sugary form. Enough said! |
The latest version of MakerBot’s desktop 3D printer is faster than ever before, and a new “Smart Extruder” alerts you when you need more material. |
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The iSense is a 3D scanner that clips onto your iPad — a welcome product for DIY types who couldn’t use the Windows-only Sense. |
BEST PC
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This modular setup may be a look at the future of gaming, but it’s also a beautiful piece of hardware that could find a place in next-gen customizable computing. |
Samsung updated its already-excellent ATIV Book 9 to include lossless audio and a higher-res screen. For those reasons alone, this Ultrabook is at the top of our list. |
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Lenovo ThinkPad Carbon X1 (2014)
With an “adaptive” keyboard that includes context-specific controls and up to a 2,560 x 1,400 display, Lenovo’s business Ultrabook is looking better than ever. |
LG brings ChromeOS to the desktop in a sleek, but simple 21.5-inch package. We imagine it finding a comfy place on your kitchen counter, for following along with recipes or streaming some Netflix while you cook. |
Filed under: Announcements, Samsung, Sony, LG, Intel, Lenovo
AIVAnet 