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

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

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?

In addition to the highly anticipated array of UHD TVs, new smartphones, Android devices, cloud developments and Internet-connected everything, next week’s CES promises interesting new products and services related to a number of sectors not yet drawing the same amount of press attention. Watch for news involving small flexible displays, green technology, home automation, home projections systems, 3D printing and more. Continue reading CES 2013: Trends Flying Somewhat Under the Radar

CEA predicts that Ultra High Definition (UHD) will be “prominently displayed” at the International CES. The surge in interest followed an International Telecommunication Union-led agreement on two UHDTV standards (effectively 4K and 8K). That occurred in August and since then the focus in the U.S. and the majority of countries looking at UHDTV has been on the 4K flavor (the main exception being NHK, which is developing its 8K Super Hi-Vision system). Continue reading CES 2013: Ultra High Definition TVs Coming to Las Vegas

LG has confirmed it will launch new Google TV offerings at CES next week, including 42-, 57-, 50-, 55- and 60-inch models from the upcoming GA6400 series, and 47- and 55-inch Cinema Screen panels from the new GA7900 series. Features include: Magic Qwerty Remote, natural language recognition via a built-in microphone, and built-in Google search functions. An updated Home Dashboard offers convenient access to content from HBO Go, YouTube and other apps. Continue reading CES 2013: LG to Unveil Seven Google TV Models

In a five-minute video interview with Beet.TV, Matthew Durgin, director of Smart TV Partnerships at LG, discusses the LG Cloud designed for interaction with LG Smart TVs, the emergence of second screen apps and new content partnerships for the company’s two-screen API. The API allows users to manage and interact with programming on their televisions using an app on their tablet or smartphone. LG has been making the two-screen solution available to some of its content partners who have been implementing it to enable surfing content on a smaller screen and then pushing the content to the main screen. Continue reading CES 2013: LG to Push Cloud and Second Screens in Las Vegas

Will the flexible smartphone screen change the face of mobile phone design in 2013 and mark the biggest change since the introduction of the touchscreen? Rumors suggest manufacturing rivals Samsung and LG are working on it. Speculation regarding flexible display development dates back to 2002, and in the last six years we’ve seen some interesting prototypes and low volume products at CES featuring E-ink and Electronic Paper Display technologies. To address slow response times (especially with video) and challenges with handling color, flexible OLED displays emerged. Continue reading CES 2013: Samsung and LG to Debut Flexible Smartphone Screens?

The Xbox 360 has it. Apple’s iPad and Samsung’s connected TVs have it. And now LG Smart TVs are also getting the Verizon FiOS TV app, bringing access to 75 channels and Flex View video on-demand.

“The expansive selection of channels from FiOS TV and on-demand content from Verizon’s Flex View library further strengthens LG’s Smart TV platform, giving consumers of all ages a virtually limitless amount of entertainment on TVs, Blu-ray players, PCs, even tablets and phones,” says Samuel Chang, VP of Smart TV and Innovation for LG Electronics.

According to the press release, FiOS TV’s Flex View “offers more than 25,000 on-demand movies and show titles for purchase or rent on any Internet-connected device, whether home on a TV or PC, or on-the-go on a mobile device.”

“As promised back at CES — when they said it would launch in the ‘first half of 2012’ — the app is of course customized for LG’s Magic Remote gesture control feature, and is available on all 2012 Smart TVs, plus the BP620 Blu-ray player via the Smart TV smart World app store,” reports Engadget.

“The good news is you can make use of it in a room with no cable box needed, however the lineup is still missing a few key channels (ESPN) that may be tough to do without,” notes the post.
Verizon also recently announced a partnership with NBCUniversal to expand its TV Everywhere offerings. “If [Verizon] can add a few more, the set-top box-less future may be within reach,” Engadget suggests.