Motorola’s new 4G Droid Razr Maxx for Verizon is built for longevity, with 21 hours of talk time — or the streaming of eight movies — before the unit needs to be recharged.
The company unveiled the phone at CES, just hours before Intel announced Motorola as one of the first mobile providers that had agreed to use its Atom chip (however, the Droid Razr Maxx will not be using the Intel chip).
The 3300mAh battery just about doubles the industry average (roughly 1700-1900mAh).
At 8.99mm the Maxx is slightly thicker than the 7.11mm of the prior version.
Other specs remain largely unchanged: a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED display, dual-core 1.2GHz processor and Android Gingerbread 2.3.5 (upgradeable to Android’s next gen Ice Cream Sandwich).
Motorola is also touting Motocast, an app the company describes as a “personal cloud,” allowing mobile devices to access content on a home or work PC. Both the Droid Maxx and the Droid XY Board tablet feature Motocast. An IR transmitter on the Board enables it to control the television.
In August, Google announced its intent to purchase Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion.
From a 5.5-pound, 20-inch portable LCD TV that runs on batteries — to an 8K home cinema super-screen that offers 16x the resolution of HD, Sharp heads into its 100th anniversary year with guns loaded.
While the 85-inch 8K (7680×4320) prototype is on display, there’s no ship date yet. However, consumer product marketing officer Mark Viken says it’s definitely headed for the home.
Sharp’s splashiest ready-for-market offering is an 80-inch 3D LCD TV. The 1080p Wi-Fi display features Sharp’s Quattron technology and 240Hz to virtually eliminate blur.
Connected TV: Sharp announced that all new 60-inch class and larger AQUOS models will come equipped with Wi-Fi enabled SmartCentral for full-screen Web browsing and access to popular apps.
The company also introduced the free Beamzit app, which will allow TVs to share content from iOS or Android devices.
Sharp jointly developed with I-cubed Research Center the ICC-4K LED TV, which “intelligently” up-scales from HD to 4K, providing four times 1080p resolution.
Portability: The AQUOS Freestyle is a line of slim and light HD sets from 20- to 60-inches. The Wi-Fi enabled Freestyles are designed for “plug-into-a-wall-socket-and-play” capability.
Energy-sustainability: Sharp’s 80-inch AQUOS TVs cost just $22 per year to operate, according to the company.
At its press conference, Panasonic announced the new ruggedized Toughpad will complement last year’s Toughbook, and will be useful for people using tablets in harsh environments.
MyLink, developed in partnership with GM, is a hands-free voice activated automotive environment and media control system that will be in the 2013 Malibu and later in the Chevy Equinox and Volt.
The company says 2012 will be the year 3D breaks through; 93 plasma TV models and 40 LCD TV models will be 3D.
Panasonic will continue to sponsor DirecTV’s n3D programming.
Panasonic has partnered with NBC/Universal to produce 200 hours of 3D programming for the 2012 Olympics, including both the opening and closing ceremonies.
The new Panasonic Z10000 dual lens 3D video camera can shoot close-ups as near as 18-inches.
Panasonic introduced a dedicated portable Skype communications device.
Connectivity: 90 percent of Panasonic’s 2012 products will be Web enabled in some way, so content and online resources are key to their success.
NPR has debuted an app designed specifically for Ford SYNC AppLink, the voice-activated platform that works by connecting smartphones to vehicles.
The deal is interesting on two fronts: as a case study in how traditional content “networks” might make their products available a la carte — and for Ford’s hands-off positioning as third-party technology enabler that is facilitating cool uses for smartphones while leaving it largely to the handset manufacturers to upgrade and maintain the platform environment.
Ford AppLink allows developers to create in-vehicle mobile applications that assume unique functionality when Android, iPhone and Blackberry devices are docked to the dashboard via USB. Android devices also work via Bluetooth.
Ford’s apps feature a variety of sports, information and financial programming.
NPR is “one of the most popular features on iTunes, accounting for 7 out of 10 downloaded podcasts,” according to the network’s Kinsey Wilson.
Ford’s SYNC Services launched in 2009, providing voice-activated access to a cloud-based network of information including traffic, news, sports, weather and more. In 2010 Ford added SYNC AppLink — allowing smartphone-equipped customers access to a growing number of popular apps.
Where to see it: North Hall, Grand Lobby, Lower Level 2230
NVIDIA CEO Jen-Hsun Huang focused Monday’s CES press conference on the new line of devices utilizing the Tegra 3 processor, stressing the variety of mobile solutions companies have to offer individual users with different needs and expectations.
Billed as a quad-core device, the Tegra 3 actually has five CPUs. The fifth processor, or “ninja” core as it’s affectionately called by its creators, provides the key to the new variable symmetric processing.
Huang said the processing makes it possible to maintain or increase computational power while maintaining low power consumption.
The company also demonstrated its prism display technology that enables devices to maintain image fidelity as backlights are dimmed to save power through a reprocessing of each individual pixel’s brightness and color.
The company unveiled another new feature of the Tegra 3, Direct Touch, where the ninja core is used to directly sample data at roughly triple the rate of a traditional capacitive touchscreen.
Huang highlighted Tegra 3’s support of Android Ice Cream Sandwich as well as the new OS’ ability to unite the development process and user experience across platforms, from mobile phones to tablets and ultrabooks.
Half of Samsung Smart TVs will offer 3D in 2012. Product line highlights include a 55-inch Super OLED TV and ES8000 LED TV.
TVs will come in sizes as large as 75-inches with thin bezels. The company also previewed voice control and a gestural interface for its display technology.
To future proof its TVs, Samsung announced plans to offer an evolution kit that would allows users to add new features and increase performance.
New feature “All Share Play” is designed to allow content to move seamlessly across devices.
Samsung Mobile launched the Galaxy Note 4G-enabled smartphone with 5.3 inch HD AMOLED screen and “SPen” control; and 4G LTE-enabled Galaxy Tab 7.7, a new tablet that the company suggested could be used as a universal remote.
In digital imaging, the company launched Samsung Smart cameras and camcorders with Wi-Fi.
Samsung will also offer a technology demo of a 4K TV.
Wormhole Switch from J5create is a single USB cord that enables Windows and Apple computers to exchange files. There is also a version that connects Windows machines with Android platforms.
No software is required; the cord — priced at $24 to $39 — does it all.
Data transfer rates are USB 2’s standard 4.8 gigabytes per second, “so file size is limited only by the size of the hard drive. You can drag and drop a 1 terabyte file,” a company rep explained.
The Wormhole Station accomplishes the same thing via a docking device that also enables multiple units (like tablets and iPads) to share a keyboard.
Where to see it: Innovations Design and Engineering Showcase, LVCC Grand Lobby
Tobii Technology’s eye-tracking system enables you to control your computer with just a look.
After calibrating on your eyes, the Swedish company’s “gaze interaction” technology moves the cursor to the screen location where you are looking.
However, you still have to press the touchpad or click the mouse to trigger an action.
At CES, the company is demonstrating software connected to Microsoft’s Windows 8 so that attendees can demo its capabilities with games, Word documents and more.
Tobii plans to make the system available to the professional market — CAD, artists, etc. — in a year, and to the consumer market in two years. The company also has medical applications in mind for the technology.
Samsung’s new inTouch enables wireless Internet connectivity for HDTV sets at 1080p, allowing users to view YouTube, Hulu and other online content in big screen splendor.
The tiny Android device connects to a TV via a single HDMI cable (no software required) and syncs to the home Wi-Fi network.
It features a built-in camera and microphone for multi-user 720p Skype videoconferencing on a grand scale.
Comes with mini keypad that company reps are touting as a much easier browser interface than a remote control.
Expected to ship in March, priced at $199.
SlashGear has a 1-minute video demo from CES Unveiled.
Where to see it: Central 12004; Innovations Design and Engineering Showcase, LVCC Grand Lobby
At CES, Broadcom will demonstrate system-on-a-chip components to build an Android-based set-top box that would feature DVR functionality from EchoStar and wireless “place-shifting” from Sling Media.
The new system would deliver OTT services alongside cable channels and, according to ReadWriteWeb, “could be the formula behind the phrase, ‘Goodbye, TiVo.'”
STB features expected to be demonstrated at CES: Android-based apps ecosystem enabled through a partnership with Myriad Group (maker of the Alien Vue), 3D environment for graphical on-screen program guides, built-in videoconferencing, interactive supplemental content (“similar to the BD-Live content on Blu-ray movie discs, by way of Adobe AIR for the Digital Home”), the ability to utilize expanded bandwidth to receive up to six simultaneous HD channels, and faster channel changing and scanning ability via a Broadcom standard called FastRTV.
“Existing OTT program services such as Google TV and Roku are already being integrated into Alien Vue; and to that end, Roku today announced its own partnership with premium channel Showtime for a kind of ‘previewing app’ for premium content,” notes RWW.
Netflix is expected to face significant challenges in 2012, as its customer-satisfaction ratings have fallen below those of Amazon and new competitors continue to emerge with original video plans.
“There’s many more digital players that will command the attention of studios and consumers in 2012, from would-be Netflix rivals to those sporting entirely different business models and aiming to deliver TV programs and movies to every screen in U.S. homes,” reports Variety.
The success of the Netflix model has led to a new category known as subscription VOD, which is expected to spawn imitators. “Hulu, for one, built an SVOD component, Hulu Plus, off its massive ad-supported base that has nabbed 1 million subs in over a year,” notes the article. Both Netflix and Hulu have commissioned original content and continue to secure exclusives on catalog fare.
Amazon’s SVOD spinoff could present a challenge to Netflix, as Amazon Prime is also closing catalog deals. And Verizon “may enter the space in conjunction with Redbox.” We may also see SVOD models from Walmart’s Vudu and Dish Network’s Blockbuster.
The article cites the possible impact of a la carte digital rental options, such as iVOD offerings through Apple’s iTunes, and the one-off movie offerings Facebook has been testing.
Variety notes an additional possibility: “Microsoft’s Xbox Live was the first to try a third digital-distribution model for video that everyone from Verizon to Sony has been reported considering: the virtual MSO model, which bundles a bunch of linear channels akin to how a cable operator does, but with much fewer channels at a much lower price point. All the while, Xbox stays in the iVOD biz via its Zune marketplace.”
The migration from Internet Protocol version four (IPv4) to Internet Protocol version six (IPv6) has already been underway for over a decade, reports TVTechnology.
“The current system, which uses 32 bit IP addresses, is being replaced with a system that uses 128 bit IP addresses. IPv6 also uses a completely different packet header than IPv4,” indicates the article. “These differences mean that IPv4 devices cannot communicate with IPv6 websites and vice-versa. Fortunately, both protocols can work over existing Ethernet and other low-level networking technologies, so there is no need to replace the physical infrastructure of LANs or carrier networks.”
Content providers, including broadcasters that run websites, may one day need to address users who only have IPv6 addresses. “To support these users, many websites are employing a ‘dual-stack’ approach, where Web servers are configured to have interfaces for both IPv4 and IPv6 traffic.”
Additional challenges for broadcast facilities include “the added overhead of the larger IP packet headers,” and “the cost in both time and support fees that could be required to update and verify all of the specialized equipment used inside a broadcast facility, including video file servers and editing workstations.”
The transition to IP V6 will be like a slow Y2K event. It will enable major opportunities in tagging content and devices, but it will not be fully backward compatible with existing Web data, formats, and metadata.
Onkyo has announced that its 2012 line of AV receivers will include InstaPrevue technology from Silicon Image and HDMI ports leveraging Mobile High-Definition Link (MHL) technology.
“When consumers connect an MHL-compatible smartphone or tablet to an MHL-equipped AV receiver or directly to an MHL-equipped TV, they can stream 1080p HD video and 7.1-channel surround sound from the mobile device to their home theater system,” reports TWICE.
“The HDMI port of the AV receiver or TV will also charge the portable device, and consumers will be able to use their TV or AVR remote to control the playback of content streamed from their MHL-enabled mobile device.”
According to the MHL Consortium, 23 smartphones currently feature MHL technology including the Samsung Galaxy S II, Samsung Infuse and HTC’s EVO 3D. In terms of tablets, the HTC Flyer and EVO 3D View 4G also feature MHL.
“Silicon Image’s InstaPrevue technology will be demonstrated at CES in a private booth in South Hall 2,” notes the article. “Onkyo will demonstrate both technologies at a public suite at the Venetian.”
CNET speculates what trends will emerge at January’s CES regarding networking and storage technologies.
Wireless: “Just a while ago, Broadcom, one of the major makers of networking chipsets, showed me a preview of the new 802.11ac standard that brings the top speed to up to 1.4Gbps, almost 50 percent faster than a Gigabit connection, that is. And if that’s not fast enough, Velocity also recently introduced the first chipset based on WiGig Alliance-backed 802.11ad 60Ghz wireless standard that offers up to 7Gbps ceiling throughput speed.”
“Networking will also be available in more home appliances, such as TVs, refrigerators, ovens, microwaves, and even cars,” adds the article. “Broadcom said it will also be demoing for the first time a new Ethernet-based solution for the rear-view camera, which not only enhances the quality of the image but also makes the whole solution more affordable and lighter.”
In terms of the Cloud, expect to see routers that come with mobile apps for control from smartphones, and personal cloud developments from hard drive and NAS server vendors.
CNET also predicts: “In terms of data transfer speed, hardware vendors will introduce their versions of Thunderbolt-enabled storage solutions.”
At next month’s CES, Myriad will demo its new Alien Vue, which allows TV and set-top box manufacturers to bring Android apps to their existing products.
Alien Vue also brings a branded app store, Web browser and portable device control to your TV.
Myriad enables Android apps on other non-Android devices such as iOS and MeeGo.
“This new release supports apps designed to run on GoogleTV and HTML5, including YouTube, Netflix and Twitter,” describes the press release. “Apps, content and services appear and function as they would in their native environment with no disruption or loss of performance.”
Motorola’s new 4G Droid Razr Maxx for Verizon is built for longevity, with 21 hours of talk time — or the streaming of eight movies — before the unit needs to be recharged.
