Since 2008, Sony has attempted to gain a foothold in the smartphone market, trying everything from a mobile gaming phone built on their PlayStation brand to enlisting James Bond to market the Xperia TL. The company’s latest offering in the flagship Xperia line, the Z, might not need 007’s help to take on Apple’s iPhone and make waves in the ever-growing sea of Android phones. Continue reading CES 2013: Sony Mobile Dunks 5-Inch Xperia Z Android Phone

The Home of the Future was a popular theme at World’s Fairs and theme parks. Such a home would include centralized and automated control of appliances, voice commands, picture phones, and the use of computer technology throughout the house. That Home of the Future concept was in evidence throughout CES with connected solutions from companies including Samsung, Technicolor, Qualcomm and AT&T. Continue reading CES 2013: Internet of Everything Starts in the Connected Home

Qualcomm became the first mobile company to open CES Monday night, taking over the prized pre-show keynote spot, previously reserved for Microsoft. The move is symbolic of a new focus on mobile and the company’s efforts to show consumers that its chips power their favorite portable electronics and help make the “Internet of everything” movement possible. Continue reading CES 2013: Qualcomm Takes Over Microsoft’s Pre-Show Keynote

The man who sent the first email into space took to the stage to talk about technology’s role in improving the planet. Bill Clinton, 42nd President of the United States and ambassador for Samsung’s Hope For Children Foundation, was the closing act at the keynote presentation by Samsung Device Solutions President Stephen Woo at the Venetian Hotel Wednesday. Continue reading CES 2013: President Clinton Surprises at Samsung Keynote

Inside Lenovo’s tent, visitors challenged each other to a virtual game of air hockey on the company’s new IdeaCentre Horizon Table PC, which doubles as both an oversized tablet and desktop computer with a smart hinge system. The company also unveiled a sleek new 5.5-inch smartphone with an HD display and powerful cameras alongside a new ThinkPad convertible and IdeaPad ultrabook. Continue reading CES 2013: Lenovo Debuts Table PC, Android Phone and Laptops

Kazuo Hirai — who last spring was named Sony Corp.’s president and CEO, succeeding Sir Howard Stringer — opened Sony’s press conference, noting that his focus remains on digital images, games and mobile, as well as turning around Sony’s TV business. As expected, Sony put emphasis on its commitment to 4K, highlighted by the unveiling of a prototype 56-inch 4K OLED display. It is also expanding its 4K TV line with LED displays up to 65-inches. Continue reading CES 2013: Sony Shows 4K OLED Display, Emphasizes 4K Efforts

What began with the revolutionary touch screen on mobile phones now shows signs that almost anything can become an effective interface. With an expanded range of input, imaginative teams will undoubtedly create new experiences. Two companies — Atmel and Canopy — are exploring the potential range of touch technologies with two compelling products on display this week in Las Vegas. Continue reading CES 2013: Atmel and Canopy Explore Next Wave of Touch Tech

Intel announced a range of initiatives at its pre-show press event. Areas including smartphones for emerging markets, tablet computing performance and Ultrabook power usage are real advances in their technology offerings, but the most interesting announcement on many levels was the inclusion of touch as necessary for all 4th generation versions of the Ultrabook Core processor standard. Continue reading CES 2013: Intel Core Processor Pushes Touch, Uses Less Power

“Born Mobile” was the theme of this year’s pre-show keynote as Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs discussed how his company has been there from the beginning — creating modems, processors and chips that help power smartphones and tablets and connect them to the Web. Qualcomm’s biggest announcement was the company’s new quad-core Snapdragon 800 series of processors, the next step by the company to lead the “mobile generation.” Continue reading CES 2013: Qualcomm CEO Wants to Lead the Mobile Generation

Chinese manufacturer Huawei has been on our radar since rumors began buzzing about its long-awaited Windows Phone 8 handsets and a possible 5-inch smartphone/tablet hybrid announcement. Then news was leaked regarding its Android-powered Ascend Mate with 6.1-inch screen, designed to take on the 5.5-inch Samsung Galaxy Note 2. Well, it’s now official. The company announced today that its Ascend Mate has the largest screen of any smartphone in the world. Continue reading CES 2013: Huawei Unveils World’s Largest Smartphone Screen

The international viewpoint of CES was presented by CEA Director of Industry Analysis Steve Koenig during the State of the Global CE Industry pre-show event staged at the Mandalay Bay on Sunday, January 6th. While most major international markets suffered a 1 percent drop in GDP last year, it is expected that as developing economies improve we will still only see single digit growth during a modest recovery. Continue reading CES 2013: CEA Presents State of the Global CE Industry

In the first press conference of the 2013 International CES, CEA’s Chief Economist and Senior Director of Research Shawn DuBravac outlined trends anticipated for this year’s confab, including mobile devices moving away from their primary role as a communication tool, and mobiles transitioning from serving as a second screen to potentially a primary screen. He also estimated that 50 Ultra HDTV models could be unveiled this week. Continue reading CES 2013: CEA Chief Economist Presents Trends to Watch

A favorite pastime of analysts in recent years has been attempting to forecast what will prove to be the top trends emerging from the annual International CES confab in Las Vegas. Of course, this year is no different, as consumer electronics continue to branch out from purely an interest of the technorati, become more intrinsically tied to our lifestyles and subsequently draw more mainstream media attention. As we get ready to hit the show floor when the exhibition opens its doors tomorrow, we take a look at some of the more interesting forecasts recently published. (One of our favorite pastimes is discovering who will be right and who will end up missing the mark.) Continue reading CES 2013: A Look at Some of the More Interesting Predictions

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 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