During CES last week, representatives from television networks, software companies, cable providers and advertising firms gathered for the Second Screen Summit. 2012 was a busy year for second screens, as multiple companies, along with the Olympics, came out with companion products. But the direction and profitability of second screens remain in question. Continue reading CES 2013: Second Screen Use On The Rise, But Revenue Is Not

ETCentric correspondents Carolyn Giardina and George Gerba discuss the major trends on display at this year’s CES in Las Vegas. During the 5-minute video recap, Carolyn and George review this year’s breakout star — 4K — by discussing displays, content, cameras and upscaling technologies. They also address areas such as tablets, smartphones, second screen apps, and glasses-free 3D. Continue reading CES 2013: ETC Provides Show Recap, 4K Leading Trend (VIDEO)

Panasonic has taken an interesting route for a Windows 8 Pro tablet with its FZ-G1, another entry in its ruggedized Toughpad series. The company promises the 10.1-inch tablet can endure intense heat and sunlight, pouring rain and freezing conditions. Panasonic sees the FZ-G1 as a secure solution for industries in which a tablet may take a beating, such as food services, military, healthcare, public safety, utilities and more. Continue reading CES 2013: Panasonic Windows 8 Toughpad Gets Ruggedized

While Microsoft made a point of not having a CES booth this year, it quietly showcased its new Surface Pro tablet in a private suite. The unit is a full-on computer in a tablet, with an Intel i5 processor, true HD resolution of 1920 x 1080 on a 10.8-inch screen and a complete Windows 8 software suite. It’s due to ship January 26 with a retail price of $899 for 64GB of memory and $999 for a 128GB version. Continue reading CES 2013: Windows 8 Strong on Surface Pro, Ships This Month

The debut of the RCA Mobile TV Tablet made CES attendees sit up and take notice. Sporting an 8-inch HD (1024 × 768) screen, the device combines mobile DTV with over-the-air TV reception and doubles as a touch-based Android tablet. Equipped with dual cameras, Wi-Fi and GPS functionality, it is also being touted as the first dual-tuner mobile TV as well as the first integrated unit to feature the Mobile Content Venture consortium’s Dyle mobile TV service. Continue reading CES 2013: RCA Wins One for the Nipper with Mobile TV Tab

Chip manufacturer Broadcom unveiled a number of new technologies at CES, including the first Ultra HDTV home gateway chip, a decoder that will enable 4Kx2K resolution distribution to the home. The company, whose enclosed convention space at the back of South Hall was abuzz with activity, also showcased its first 5G Wi-Fi wireless IPTV set-top box platform, which enables carriers to deliver HDTV programming to more devices, reliably and with greater speed and range. Continue reading CES 2013: Broadcom Introduces UHD Home Gateway and 5G Wi-Fi

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

CNET announced the winners of its official “Best of CES” Awards program on Thursday morning. Hundreds of new products were judged by the CNET editors, while the People’s Voice Award was selected by an online audience. This year, both the Best of Show and People’s Voice Awards went to the $999 Razer Edge, a PC gaming-oriented Windows 8 tablet. Other winners included the Lenovo 27-inch Horizon Table PC, Samsung’s 4K UHDTV and the Android YotaPhone with e-ink display. Continue reading CES 2013: Razer Edge Takes Top Awards in CNET Best of CES

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

Samsung’s Wednesday keynote was a sizzler that built to an appearance by former President Bill Clinton, but it was the new Exynos 5 Octa Processor that was the star of the stage. Samsung Electronics’ Dr. Stephen Woo shared details of the company’s new mobile chip. The eight-core Exynos 5 Octa features two sets of four cores each, and is the first mobile processor to use chip manufacturing firm ARM’s big.LITTLE architecture, which toggles between each core depending on the application. Continue reading CES 2013: Samsung Mobilizing 8-Core Exynos 5 Octa Processor

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

Polaroid is reaching out to the next generation of digerati with a 7-inch Kids Tablet. Rugged and rubberized, it’s a three-button unit that won’t make parents’ hearts skip a beat when it’s dropped. The $149 model comes with 8GB of memory and a 2-megapixel rear camera. Parental controls round out the picture on the Android device (which is being unofficially marketed as “easy enough for an adult to set up!”). Continue reading CES 2013: Polaroid Launches Kids Tablet and Opens Fotobars

Despite making no mention of Ultra HD or 4K at its pre-show press conference on Sunday, Panasonic made a big splash at its keynote today announcing an ultra-thin 4K tablet that arguably manages to outshine the heavy 4K promotional push of rivals like Toshiba, LG and Sony. The company also unveiled a 56-inch 4K OLED prototype that it claims is the world’s largest of its kind that makes use of a new electronic printing technology. Continue reading CES 2013: Panasonic Premieres 20-inch Tablet and 4K OLED

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