The smartphone continues to grow in popularity and power as the always-on processing unit of choice. Quad-core units, phones with screen displays of 1080p and outsized “phablets” are expected to take center stage at the 2013 International CES. There’ll be a wow-factor, like the 5.5-inch flexible screen Samsung prototype, and a now-factor, like wireless pocket chargers from Energizer and Lilliputian that provide up to 20x life. Continue reading CES 2013: Phones to Tout Quad Cores, 1080p and Flexible Screens

Apple’s 2013 Mac lineup will reportedly include a range of updated internal features and hardware, including a potentially significant chipset upgrade — the inclusion of 802.11ac networking for super-fast Wi-Fi connectivity. Sources have told The Next Web that Apple has partnered with chipmaker Broadcom to deliver 802.11ac chips in the new Macs. “This will provide a much-needed boost for the standard, which is currently undergoing revisions, as electronics manufacturers look to introduce new consumer products capable of supporting high-speed networks,” explains TNW. Continue reading Apple Partners with Broadcom to Bring 5G Wi-Fi to Macs

While it commonly takes significant time to complete a motion picture, the process does not typically involve 15 years. That’s how long it took writer-director Chris Sullivan to complete his animated featured “Consuming Spirits.” Why so long? In addition to raising a family and working as a film professor, Sullivan is an “obsessive artist who animated three-fifths of its 129 minutes with his own hands, using puppets, tracing paper and miniature models shot on 16mm film,” explains the Wall Street Journal. Continue reading Chicago Filmmaker Pours 15 Years into Dark Animated Feature

The second annual Year End Stats Report from social media intelligence platform Trendrr indicates that 2012 saw a major surge in social interaction involving TV programs, with significantly increased chatter across Twitter, Facebook and various social apps. Growing interest in social TV chatter was also evidenced by the recent Nielsen announcement to create the Nielsen Twitter TV Rating. Continue reading Report: Social TV Chatter Sees Dramatic Increase in 2012

Jeramiah Perkins of the IMAGiNE Group was handed a record prison term for illegal file-sharing. The 40-year old Perkins, who is the reported leader of the in-theater camcording gang, was ordered to serve a 60-month prison term. The sentence surpasses that of IMAGiNE co-defendant Gregory Cherwonik of New York, who received 40 months in November. “In all, five IMAGiNE members have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit copyright infringement for operating what prosecutors described as the world’s most prolific piracy release group between 2009 and 2011,” reports Wired. Continue reading Convicted File Sharer Recieves Record 5-Year Prison Term

Apple and Samsung continue to dominate the U.S. smartphone market, according to a new report from Tavis McCourt, technology analyst for financial services firm Raymond James. While iPhone retention remains roughly 86 percent, Samsung is consolidating the Android space domestically as it has already successfully achieved in much of the European market. Continue reading Apple and Samsung Tighten Control of U.S. Smartphone Market

With entertainment spending growing to $18.7 billion according to IHS Screen Digest, the entertainment industry is reaping the rewards of offering consumers more choice and options in how they consume content. TV Everywhere’s multi-channel, multi-device approach is finally complementing rather than cannibalizing. The year saw strong growth in Blu-ray discs. UltraViolet’s 7 million households and 8,500 titles now position the format to grow significantly in 2013. Video streaming or SVOD tripled in the first three quarters of the year to an estimated $1.7 billion. And studios continue to experiment with their windowing strategies for electronic sell-through. In this environment, the CE industry continues to respond and innovate. Continue reading CES 2013: Entertainment Trends Drive New Technologies

The interest in 3D entertainment and augmented reality has inspired numerous new head-mounted displays and wearable technology. Using Bluetooth technology and wireless connections to offload processing, these displays come in a variety of shapes and sizes, but all have similar aims: to create an immersive entertainment experience or overlay relevant information onto our surroundings. We expect to see some compelling new products at CES. Continue reading CES 2013: Head-Mounted Displays and Wearable Tech

Ultra HD television sets will be featured at next week’s 2013 International CES. And while the technology promises four times the resolution of current TVs, pricing for these higher-resolution models are expected to range from $8,700 to $25,000. Additionally, there is little available in terms of UHD content, other than upscaled versions of existing content. Will consumers be excited about the prospect of Ultra HD? Continue reading CES 2013: Are Consumers Ready for the Cost of Ultra HD TVs?

According to Variety, 2012 was more about what didn’t happen than what did happen when considering the intersection of TV and digital media. As the multichannel world continues “begging for disruption,” the cost of the “average pay-TV subscription has skyrocketed 68 percent over the past 10 years,” notes the article. It seems something will definitely have to give, “but despite the fragility of their delicate bond, programmers and distributors didn’t face any real challenge in 2012 from any of the expected upstarts hoping to gain rights to live TV and package it in more innovative ways.” Continue reading In a Multichannel World, Pay TV Fought its Future in 2012

Heavy-hitting music-streaming company Deezer wants into the U.S. market in order to increase its overall market share. The Paris-based Spotify competitor launched a free streaming service in late December in more than 150 countries. The service currently allows users two hours of free listening per month on desktops and laptops, marking the first time the company has offered a free service backed by advertising outside its native France. Continue reading Spotify Rival Deezer Launches Wide, Seeks U.S. Partner

HuffPost Live was voted the most innovative media product to emerge in 2012 by Mashable readers, beating out other contenders such as Dark Sky, Flipboard, Timehop and RebelMouse. HuffPost Live is a Web-only video news service that launched in mid-August. It provides twelve hours of live video every weekday. Could it be a new direction for the delivery and consumption of news? Continue reading Innovation: Will HuffPost Live Reinvent Cable News for the Web?

Google Now “brings together virtually everything Google knows about you and where you are and then turns all of this information into a useful dashboard on your phone,” according to TechCrunch. The new product is a standard feature of Android Jelly Bean and up. It shows users information about their daily commute, appointments, local weather, upcoming flight and hotel reservations and much more. Continue reading Mobile: Google Now To Become Central Hub for Android

A new motion sensor glove device is being designed to recognize pen strokes made in thin air, registering them as text. While it still needs accuracy improvement, according to developers, it’s an exciting step in the forward direction for motion sensor technology. A prototype glove being designed at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany will recognize pen strokes made in the air, registering the strokes as actual text. Continue reading Prototype Glove Recognizes Pen Strokes Formed in Thin Air

The ETCentric team is excited to kick off 2013 with a fresh redesign of its website (now part of the new ETC site) and a more streamlined Daily Bullet email alert for delivering the latest media tech news and opinion each morning.

We’ll be previewing the new functionality and design with our reporting this week and look forward to our annual live coverage of the 2013 International Consumer Electronics Show beginning next week. To get everyone in CES mode, we’ll continue publishing pre-show reports over the next several days.

We welcome you back from the holidays and hope you enjoy our new site and email alert. As always, we thank all in our community for your continued support and participation. If you have any questions, concerns, suggestions — or want to provide a tip regarding a story to be covered — please contact us at tip@etcusc.org.

In the meantime, check out the new ETCentric and let us know how we can can help meet your news and information needs.