Three companies have collaborated on a new e-ink digital display designed for artwork and photography. Available in sizes from 13.3 to 31.5 inches, the InkPoster display was demonstrated at CES this month, promising a gamut of 60,000 colors. The highly-efficient wireless product — which reportedly only requires a recharge about once every year — was developed by PocketBook of Switzerland, Sharp of Japan, and E Ink of Massachusetts. The smallest and largest models use E Ink’s Spectra 6 screen tech, and a third 28.5-inch version uses Sharp’s IGZO tech. Prices will range from $599 to $2,400, although availability has yet to be announced. Continue reading CES: InkPoster Wall Frame Offers New Take on Digital Displays

Lenovo’s “rollable” screen laptop packed a strong wow factor at CES 2025 in Las Vegas last week. In resting mode, the ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 looks like a conventional 14-inch laptop. But press a button (or wave a hand) and the flexible OLED screen extends upward to 16.7 inches, approximating portrait mode. That’s nearly 50 percent more useable display space, and Lenovo has equipped it for more than framing vertically scrollable video. It can be divided into two desktops — one for remote screensharing and one private. The extra space can also be used to display widgets. Continue reading CES: Lenovo ThinkBook’s Rolling Screen Opens to 16.7 Inches

Long billed as a manifestation of augmented reality (AR), the field of smart glasses has seen a wide range of products emerging on the market over the years. Notable products include the Ray-Ban Meta collection (a collaboration with Meta Platforms), Microsoft’s Hololens, and Vuzix’s entire product line. A survey at CES this year indicated the market of head-worn wearable computers is by no means a mature market. Our team found a few companies demonstrating their latest offerings. The principals of these companies believe their innovations differentiate from the current field with their own paths for solving specific use cases. Continue reading CES: Companies Present AR Use Cases for New Smart Glasses

TiVo owner Xperi is gearing up for the launch of TiVo OS-powered smart TVs in the U.S., with production beginning as soon as this month. The company revealed that a U.S. manufacturing partner will enter production sometime in November, with another partner expected to do the same shortly after. Xperi expects to achieve its target goal of at least two million TiVo OS smart TVs on shelves by year’s end, which is about double what is currently available. However, the company addressed shipment delays that could push monetization expectations to 2025. Xperi is projecting seven million TiVo OS smart TVs will enter the global market by the end of next year. Continue reading Xperi Plans Launch of TiVo OS Smart TVs by End of This Year

TiVo has indicated it will enter the North American smart television set market, announcing a “multi-year, multi-million-unit agreement” with Sharp that will see sets start to ship in 2024 beginning in Europe. The move to populate the TV ecosystem with hardware running Xperi’s TiVo OS pits the company against an entrenched group of smart TV competitors that includes Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Google TV, Roku, Samsung Tizen and LG Electronics’ webOS. Added to those is the Comcast and Charter Communications Xumo brand, and also Telly, which offers free TVs supported by ads. Continue reading Xperi Advances Its Plan for TiVo OS Smart TVs in Sharp Deal

Google debuted “Entertainment Space,” a feature on the left side of the home screen of Walmart tablets that the company dubs “a one-stop, personalized home for all your favorite movies, shows, videos, games and books.” It is soon to expand to Lenovo, Sharp and other manufacturers’ devices. Google Play product manager James Bender said that with Entertainment Space users will “save time and avoid having to hop between apps to try to figure out what to do.” Each family members can have their own profile on the hub. Continue reading Google Creates New Entertainment Hub for Walmart Tablets

Just prior to CES 2021, LG Electronics stated it spent $80 million to take a 60 percent stake in Alphonso, an advertising technology, data and measurement company, to advance its aim of building a streaming-TV advertising business. LG is buying out Manifest Investment Partners and other existing Alphonso investors. Founders, current and former employees and “various advisers” will hold onto the remaining shares. The company, which had a pre-money valuation of about $125 million, has raised $6.3 million thus far. Continue reading LG’s Major Stake in Alphonso Boosts Its Streaming Ad Goals

On China’s Singles Day, Alibaba Group reported it earned a record $75.1 billion this year, in part by extending the buying window to eleven days. This year, however, Alibaba, founded by Jack Ma, is under increasing pressure from regulators who suspended the dual IPOs of Alibaba’s Ant Group. Since then, according to Refinitiv data, the company’s shares on the New York market have dropped 16 percent, erasing $137 billion from its market value. Alibaba and JD.com said the U.S. was the top seller of goods to China. Continue reading Alibaba, JD.com Set Record Earnings for China’s Singles Day

Qualcomm unveiled its next step towards widespread availability of 5G-enabled smartphones. The Snapdragon 690 is a more economical mobile platform with 5G connectivity, and support for cameras with up to 192-megapixel photos and 30-frame-per-second 4K HDR videos, the latter two based on AI chip enhancements for high bitrates. Snapdragon 690 incorporates the X51 modem, which offers global 5G band and global multi-SIM support, although it’s only capable of connecting to sub-6GHz 5G networks, excluding millimeter wave. Continue reading Qualcomm Snapdragon 690 Will Enable Mid-Tier 5G Phones

As soon as this summer, said sources, Nintendo will introduce two new version of its Switch gaming consoles, which is entering its third year in the market. One new version will target gamers with relevant features, although hardware suppliers and Nintendo developers — who have access to a prototype — said it will not be as powerful as Sony’s PlayStation 4 Pro or Microsoft’s Xbox One X. The second version is aimed at casual gamers, and is intended as a replacement to its 3DS device, said the same sources. Continue reading Nintendo to Introduce Two New Switch Versions for Gamers

That’s what ROAM Consulting president Pete Putman asked in his HPA Tech Retreat discussion of the apparently out-of-nowhere rise of 8K. But the presentation’s title — “8K: Whoa! How’d We Get There So Quickly?” — was actually misdirection, as Putman showed in great detail how the development, research and plans for 8K go as far back as the 1990s. His advice for those considering a 4K television is that they won’t have to wait long to buy an affordable 8K one. (Although many in the audience preferred the purchase of a 4K TV with HDR.) “CES 2019 was full of 8K TV models,” he noted. Continue reading HPA Tech Retreat: How Did 8K Media Get Here So Quickly?

While the IFA conference in Berlin has traditionally targeted consumers in Europe, the show has recently become a global launching pad for products being readied for the holiday shopping season, one reason IFA has become more significant. According to TechCrunch, this year’s more notable announcements included Alexa routers from Netgear and Huawei; 8K TV sets from LG, Samsung, Sharp, Toshiba and others; smartphones such as the Sony Xperia XZ2, LG G7 One and HTC U12 Life; Polaroid’s new instant camera the OneStep+; and Lenovo’s Yoga Book C930 convertible, which features an E Ink display instead of a keyboard. Continue reading New Phones, 8K TVs, Alexa Garner the Most Attention at IFA

For 5G to take off, manufacturers have to produce devices that integrate the technology. To that end, Qualcomm has partnered with 19 device makers, all of which will be relying on the chipmaker’s new Snapdragon X50 5G-compatible modem in at least one of their devices. Qualcomm has inked additional partnerships with global carriers, which will also be using the X50 modem for their 5G trials. All four major U.S. networks will begin their rollout of 5G networks by the end of this year, with full nationwide coverage by 2020. Continue reading Qualcomm Inks Partnerships With 5G Device Makers, Carriers

Apple supplier Japan Display Inc. announced it plans to provide flexible LCD panels next year as part of an effort to take on its South Korean competitors. Samsung introduced the angled display for its Galaxy Edge series in 2014 using OLED tech. Rival LCDs were limited due to their glass layer, “which is why the LCD screens on Apple’s iPhone series — some made by Japan Display — are flat,” reports The Wall Street Journal. “Japan Display’s new LCD uses plastic instead of glass. While not as flexible as OLED screens, Japan Display’s chief operating officer, Shuji Aruga, said it is flexible enough to be used in Galaxy Edge-type designs.” Continue reading Japan Display Plans to Introduce Flexible LCD Screens in 2018

LG Display, a major panel supplier for Apple, will reportedly supply TV displays to rival Samsung as early as this year in a deal that is expected to replace the Sharp-Foxconn venture as a lead supplier to Samsung. A deal between LG Display and Samsung (the world’s largest television manufacturer) would mark a first for the South Korean rivals. Sharp and Foxconn are cutting back production of LCDs, which would also likely impact panel supply and display prices throughout the industry. Meanwhile, Sharp and Foxconn are considering expansion into the U.S. Continue reading LG Display Signs Deal to Supply LCD TV Panels to Samsung