The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is the world’s biggest tech event. With nearly 200,000 attendees flooding into the Las Vegas strip for a week in January. Newest event CES 2017 just started. CES is often the home to consumer product announcements and demonstrations of future technologies, so it is one of the most anticipated events of the year for technology enthusiasts and press.
I am not visiting the event, I am just briefly following the event from several different news sources.
News coverage:
CES 2017: Complete Coverage of the Best Emerging Tech – IEEE Spectrum
How to follow The Verge at CES 2017
The Verge CES 2017 live blog: unfiltered commentary on the biggest news from Vegas
Trends and predictions articles:
9 of the biggest trends to watch out at CES 2017
CES 2017: AR, VR, and IoT will be hot, 3D Printing Not – IEEE Spectrum
CES 2017: The Year of Voice Recognition – IEEE Spectrum
Selected articles related to recent tech announcements:
Acer’s new Chromebook is built to survive even the clumsiest owner article tells that for budget-conscious, yet accident-prone consumers, there’s a new option: Acer’s rugged Chromebook 11 N7.
CES 2017: Kingston unveils ‘world’s highest capacity USB flash drive’ | ZDNet article tells that small 1TB and 2TB USB flash drives are here.
New HDMI 2.1 spec includes support for Dynamic HDR, 8K resolution, and more article tells that HDMI specification is advancing in the aim to make your new TV old again.
LG’s new OLED TVs are so thin they have to be wall mounted article tells that LG new W-series 4K sets — “Picture on Wall” — TVs are just 2.6mm thin across their entire frame, they can be mounted completely flat against your wall.
CES 2017 News & Highlights: The best TVs, laptops and more from Las Vegas
CES 2017: NVIDIA Keynote Live Blog
LG CES 2017 Press Conference Live Blog
CES 2017 press day 2: How to watch Samsung, Sony and more, live
CES 2017: Samsung and LG TVs battle to blend in article tells that South Korean tech giants LG and Samsung have launched TVs that aim to better blend in to consumers’ living rooms.
76 Comments
Tomi Engdahl says:
Glyph is a portable movie theater powered by your smartphone
http://thenextweb.com/mobile/2017/01/05/glyph-is-a-portable-movie-theater-powered-by-your-smartphone/
Watching movies through a headset is going to happen for all of us at some point in the near future. You might think it’ll be a VR headset, like Oculus, but chances are the portable entertainment system of the future will be a lot more like Avegant’s ‘Glyph.’
The Glyph is a multimedia viewer that’s no bigger than your average set of over-the-ear headphones. In fact, it is a set of headphones
Inside each Glyph is two small eye pieces, chock-full of millions of ‘micro mirrors’ that provide resolution comparable to that of a high-end movie theater.
It’s already here. Avegant Glyph debuted the Glyph at CES last year, and this year’s version is compatible with more devices than ever — including drones!
Tomi Engdahl says:
BlackBerry branded phones with physical keyboard to drop at CES
http://thenextweb.com/mobile/2017/01/03/blackberry-keyboard-launch-ces/
Tomi Engdahl says:
CES 2017: Intel Press Event Live Blog
by Ryan Smith & Ian Cutress on January 4, 2017 7:01 PM EST
http://www.anandtech.com/show/10998/ces-2017-intel-press-event-live-blog
Tomi Engdahl says:
Wi-Fi Expands with .11ax at CES
http://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=36&doc_id=1331076
As we approach the yearly post-New Year’s Eve torture that is CES, one piece of good news is Wi-Fi is about to get better.
A new revision of the standard focused on supporting greater client density should begin to roll out in 2017 – 802.11ax. At CES 2017, we expect to hear about silicon support for 802.11ax and maybe see a few access points supporting it.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Qualcomm Unveils New SoC at CES
Snapdragon 835 seen as evolutionary upgrade
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1331077
Mobile chip giant Qualcomm announced its 10nm Snapdragon 835 at CES 2017. The new smartphone SoC sports upgrades across all its subsystems that analysts called impressive but evolutionary.
The 835 features an upgraded Kyro 280 eight-core CPU, Hexagon 682 DSP, 540 Adreno GPU, Qualcomm Spectra 180 ISP, Quick Charge 4.0, as well as an integrated X16 LTE modem with what Qualcomm calls “gigabit-class LTE connectivity.”
Interestingly, the 835 is also the company’s first ARM-based processor to support Windows 10 on a mobile device.
“This is big news, with Microsoft adding x86 emulation on ARM to Windows 10,” said Kevin Krewell, principal analyst at Tirias Research. “I see this as a real threat to Intel. It may also be a step in Microsoft bringing Windows server to ARM as well,” he added.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Maxim to Simplify Auto Head Unit Design
Introducing industry’s first remote tuner solution
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1331079
LAS VEGAS — As the automotive market has grown to be the most coveted segment among semiconductor suppliers, Maxim Integrated Products, Inc. believes it has hit the sweet spot with the right technology at the right moment.
William Chu, managing director of automotive at Maxim, told EE Times, “At a high level, we are hearing two big asks from automakers. One is that they need high-speed links capable of sending mega-pixel resolution images inside a car. Another is that they want to free up the space and shrink power budget currently used by head units, as they plan to pack different types of electronics more and more into them.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Intel Auto Puzzle: Where Do They Fit?
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1331078
LAS VEGAS — Intel Corp. is coming to the Consumer Electronics Show this week to recast the scope of its automotive business and tease its plans — including a new brand, “Intel Go,” and development kits for carmakers— for the auto industry.
CES will debut Intel’s first whole-hog automotive campaign, since it separated a nascent automotive team from its IoT group late last year.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Intel Buys Into Map Services Provider Here
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1331085&
MUNICH–Chipmaker Intel Corp. will acquire 15% of Here, a company that offers digital map services and real-time location-based services for the automotive industry. The move follows similar announcements from other major high-tech companies like Microsoft and Mobileye, an indication that services around digital maps are becoming the next major arena in the battle about the digital mobile consumer.
Tomi Engdahl says:
ZigBee Alliance Offers Universal Language for IoT
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1331086&
PARIS–At CES 2017, the Zigbee Alliance will demonstrate dotdot as a universal language for the IoT, making it possible for smart objects to work together on any network. Members of the zigbee alliance and Thread Group will also showcase the first demonstrations of dotdot devices running over Thread’s IP-based networks.
“Dotdot represents the next chapter in the Zigbee Alliance’s continued commitment to create and evolve open standards for the smart networks in our homes, businesses and neighborhoods,”
“The application layer that is the core language of zigbee devices has driven significant growth in the IoT,”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Samsung Claims Its New QLED TVs Are Better Than OLED TVs
https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/17/01/04/212251/samsung-claims-its-new-qled-tvs-are-better-than-oled-tvs
Samsung says its new QLED TVs are better than OLED TVs
This is Samsung’s flagship TV for 2017
http://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2017/1/4/14162106/new-samsung-qled-tv-announced-4k-ces-2017
Samsung is challenging the notion that OLED TVs represent the pinnacle of picture quality in the living room. Tonight at CES 2017, the company unveiled its latest flagship televisions, the QLED series. It’ll be available in three models: the Q9, Q8, and Q7. Samsung says that QLED TV represents its best achievement in image quality and viewing experience yet.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Sascha Prueter / Google:
Google Assistant coming to TVs running Android 6.0+ in “coming months”, and to Android Wear 2.0 and Android-powered in-car infotainment systems “over time”
Coming soon: Your Google Assistant on Android TV and more
https://blog.google/products/assistant/coming-soon-google-assistant-android-tv-and-more/
the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) — we wanted to share an update on just a few of the ways you can expect to interact with your Assistant in the coming year.
Android TV and more
The Google Assistant is making its way to Android TV in the coming months. As part of an upcoming update on supported TVs and set-top boxes powered by Android TV, you’ll be able to ask the Google Assistant for help so you can enjoy the content you love, faster than ever, on the best screen in your house. No more typing or struggling to get to what you’re looking for — just ask the Google Assistant for help and you’re off to the races.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Watch out, Wi-Fi systems! Comcast is transforming its Xfinity gateway to a smart digital home platform
https://www.cnet.com/news/ces-2017-watch-out-wi-fi-systems-comcast-is-transforming-its-xfinity-gateway-to-a-smart-digital-home/
Comcast’s new cloud-based platform will bring ease of use, whole home Wi-Fi coverage and useful features to its broadband customers.
Today at CES 2017 Comcast is demoing an all-new cloud-based platform for digital home that’s slated to make life better for some 10 million customers that are currently using the broadband Xfinity gateways
On the surface, this is Comcast’s effort to transform the existing gateways into a smarter a Wi-Fi solution to address the rise in popularity of cool solutions like the Google Wifi, the Eero or the Starry. Deep down, however, this shows the company’s ambition to dominate the Wi-Fi system market. It has been working on a completely new and more capable gateway, called Advanced Gateway, that’s due out in a few months. Powered by Intel Puma 7 SoC this new gateway is a full home mesh Wi-Fi system that will eventually replace all existing Comcast gateways.
The end result is similar to having a Wi-Fi system, like Google Wifi or the Eero
Easy setup: Customers can use the mobile app to scan a QR code on the gateway device and finish the initial setup process, including the device activation process, within a few minutes.
Better connectivity: Comcast says its new Advanced Gateway, apart from being a powerful Wi-Fi router itself, will support compact, zero-configuration Wi-Fi extenders that users can place around the home to automatically increase Wi-Fi coverage when necessary. This resembles the new Covr Wi-Fi system that D-Link announced yesterday
More features: Users can manage their home network with lots of practical features, including parental control, monitoring, scheduling, internet pause and so on.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Andrew Cunningham / Ars Technica:
Intel’s 94.5x55x5mm Compute Card with laptop level CPU can be inserted into all-in-one PCs, smart TVs, other devices; more details will be announced in June — Compute Card is intended as a more versatile replacement for the Compute Stick. — Intel mostly missed the boat on smartphones …
Intel’s Compute Card is a PC that can fit in your wallet
Compute Card is intended as a more versatile replacement for the Compute Stick.
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2017/01/intels-compute-card-is-a-pc-that-can-fit-in-your-wallet/
Intel mostly missed the boat on smartphones, but the company is trying to establish a firm foothold in the ever-broadening marketplace for connected appliances and other smart things. Intel’s latest effort in this arena is its new “Compute Card,” a small 94.5mm by 55mm by 5mm slab that includes a CPU and GPU, RAM, storage, and wireless connectivity.
The thinking with the Compute Card is to separate the smarts of various computers and appliances—all-in-ones, smart TVs, fridges, digital kiosks or signage screens, commercial equipment—from the rest of the hardware. You might want to keep a TV around for the better part of a decade, but the processing hardware inside it could start to feel slow three or four years in. With the Compute Card, one could simply eject the old card and slide in a new one instead of replacing the whole thing.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Darrell Etherington / TechCrunch:
Nvidia and Mercedes-Benz announce partnership for AI car technology, with first product expected to roll out within 12 months
Nvidia and Mercedes-Benz to bring an AI car to market within a year
https://techcrunch.com/2017/01/06/nvidia-and-mercedes-benz-to-bring-an-ai-car-to-market-within-a-year/
Nvidia already announced a partnership at CES to bring a AI self-driving car to production, and now Mercedes-Benz is also teaming up with the GPU-maker on a vehicle with AI on board. Nvidia and Mercedes-Benz are also setting an ambitious timeline for their goal; the two will field this new vehicle within the next 12 months, Nvidia confirmed to TechCrunch.
The news came out on stage at a talk between Mercedes-Benz VP of Digital Vehicle and Mobility Sajjad Khan, and Nvidia CEO and co-founder Jen-Hsun Huang on Friday at CES. It’s the result of a project the two began together three years ago, which helps explain why the car will be ready to get to customers by 2018.
Mercedes and Nvidia have been working together with a specific focus on deep learning and AI.
Co-Pilot also uses voice recognition, and a vehicle’s external sensors to track objects outside the car
Mercedes-Benz and NVIDIA Announce Partnership for AI Car Technology
https://blogs.nvidia.com/blog/2017/01/06/mercedes-benz-nvidia-ai/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Fitbit plans to launch its own app store this year
Another giant sign that a smartwatch is in the works
http://www.theverge.com/2017/1/6/14195088/fitbit-plans-app-store-wearable-fitness-tracker-ces-2017
Tomi Engdahl says:
Dina Bass / Bloomberg:
Renault-Nissan is the first customer for Microsoft’s Azure-based, rebranded Connected Vehicle Platform — Company shifts away from Windows in favor of flexible approach that lets automakers pick the tech they need — Microsoft Corp. is rebooting its push to sell software for cars …
Microsoft Drives New Car Software Push With Renault-Nissan Deal
Company shifts away from Windows in favor of flexible approach that lets automakers pick the tech they need
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-01-06/microsoft-drives-new-car-software-push-with-renault-nissan-deal
Tomi Engdahl says:
Lauren Goode / The Verge:
Misfit unveils Vapor, a touchscreen smartwatch with 1.4-inch full AMOLED display, GPS, and optical heart-rate sensors, expected to ship in late 2017 for $199
Misfit has made its first touchscreen smartwatch, and it’s called Vapor
Some people want to fill the world with smartwatches
http://www.theverge.com/2017/1/5/14172032/misfit-vapor-smartwatch-touchscreen-watch-fossil-ces-2017
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
Kanvas releases SDK to allow third parties to integrate its photo and video effects; the app now has 5M users, up from 1M when acquired by AOL in 2015
AOL’s Kanvas launches an SDK: now any app can use its photo and video effect
https://techcrunch.com/2017/01/06/aols-kanvas-launches-an-sdk-now-any-app-can-use-its-photo-and-video-effects/
Tomi Engdahl says:
The best PCs, gadgets, and wearables of CES 2017
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2017/01/the-best-pcs-gadgets-and-wearables-of-ces-2017/
The annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas tries to get consumers (and the media) excited for the new year with a treasure trove of new devices. Most of the big names in computing, gaming, fitness tech, smart home, and more show off some of their newest products that will come out later in the year.
Tomi Engdahl says:
CES17: Arduino Unveils LoRa Modules For The Internet Of Things
http://hackaday.com/2017/01/06/ces17-arduino-unveils-lora-modules-for-the-internet-of-things/
WiFi and Bluetooth were never meant to be the radios used by a billion Internet of Things hats, umbrellas, irrigation systems, or any other device that makes a worldwide network of things interesting. The best radio for IoT is something lightweight which operates in the sub-Gigahertz range, doesn’t need a lot of bandwidth, and doesn’t suck down the power like WiFi. For the last few years, a new low-power wireless communication standard has been coming on the scene, and now this protocol — LoRa — will soon be available in an Arduino form factor.
Also on deck at the Arduino suite were two LoRa shields. In collobration with Semtech, Arduino will be releasing the pair of LoRa shields later this year. The first, the Node Shield, is about as simple as it can get — it’s simply a shield with a LoRa radio and a few connectors. The second, the Gateway Shield, does what it says on the tin
Tomi Engdahl says:
CES2017: Really, Really Big SLA Printing
http://hackaday.com/2017/01/07/ces2017-really-really-big-sla-printing/
The UniZ zSLTV is a gigantic box, a little more than one meter wide, and a little less than one meter tall and deep. Open the lid, and you see a gigantic resin printer turned on its side. The idea here is to fill a gigantic tank with resin, (the build volume is 521 x 293 x 600 mm) and use it as a fairly standard UV LED / LCD resin printer.
Tomi Engdahl says:
CES2017: Monoprice Unveils Expanded Line of 3D Printers
http://hackaday.com/2017/01/07/ces2017-monoprice-unveils-expanded-line-of-3d-printers/
At CES last year, Monoprice introduced a $200 3D printer. Initial expectations of this printer were middling.
You might think Monoprice wouldn’t be able to top the success of this great little machine. You would be wrong. This week, Monoprice announced a bevy of new and upgraded printers. Some are resin. Some are huge. One will sell for $150 USD.
Last year, Monoprice announced a small, exceptionally cheap resin-based printer. It was never released, and for a good reason: it didn’t work very well. Monoprice went back to the drawing board and came up with a brand new design using a tiny 2k monitor and UV LEDs. The sample print quality was incredible, and this machine will work with Open resins, although Monoprice will be releasing their own line of inexpensive resins.
The Monoprice ‘MP Maker Prism Professional SLA Resin 3D Printer’ — that’s its full name — is Monoprice’s answer to the Form 1 and other pro-level resin printers.
The Inexpensive Ones
The standout printer from last year was the MP Select Mini, and over the last few months it’s gotten a few upgrades. The next version of this $200 printer will feature support for an E3D hotend out of the box, an improved extruder motor and drive system, a much more enclosed filament path, better part cooling, and a lot of other improvements from the community.
Tomi Engdahl says:
CES2017: Dissolvable Support Material
http://hackaday.com/2017/01/07/ces2017-dissolvable-support-material/
Over the last year, it seems the next big thing in 3D printing is dual and multi-extrusion. This gets you multi-colored objects, but if you have the right filament, it also allows you to print objects that would otherwise be impossible to print. This week, Airwolf 3D announced their HydroFill water soluble support material. They had a few sample prints and a fish tank, and yes this stuff does dissolve in water quickly.
Print the impossible with NEW HydroFill Water-Soluble Support by Airwolf 3D
http://airwolf3d.com/2017/01/05/hydrofill-water-soluble-support/
Tomi Engdahl says:
CES2017: Really Fast 3D Printing for Large Builds
http://hackaday.com/2017/01/08/ces2017-really-fast-3d-printing-for-large-builds/
Tomi Engdahl says:
CES2017: Lulzbot Has the Best Names for Stuff
http://hackaday.com/2017/01/08/ces2017-lulzbot-has-the-best-names-for-stuff/
Tomi Engdahl says:
CES2017: Complete Register Documentation For The C.H.I.P.
http://hackaday.com/2017/01/08/ces2017-complete-register-documentation-for-the-c-h-i-p/
Last October, Next Thing Co., makers of the popular C.H.I.P. platform unleashed the C.H.I.P. Pro, a very capable Linux system on a tiny board. The goal of the C.H.I.P. Pro is to be the brains of a project or product, similar to the Gumstix boards from an ancient era long before the Raspberry Pi.
The GR8 module is a complete Linux system on a chip, with an ARM Cortex-A8 processor and 256 MB of RAM, all on a relatively small BGA chip. This is a drop-in part that gives any piece of hardware a Linux brain.
At CES this week, Next Thing Co. brought what everyone has been asking for: an NDA-free complete register documentation for the core they’re using on the GR8 module. This is 400 pages of spiral-bound goodness that will tell you how to do everything with this chip.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nokia boosted 4G high-speed in Las Vegas
Las Vegas CES consumer electronics trade fair has become an important place to monitor the network equipment manufacturers. Nokia demoed trade fairs connected with T-Mobile’s LTE network data rates, which have already reached close to one gigabit per second.
Currently, T-Mobile’s network in the United States offered its best 400-megabit data connections
256 QAM modulated signal technology and data sent on a radio channel 4×4 in two different frequency bands (bands 2 and 66).
4.5g Pro platform, the Nokia launched in early September.
Source: http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5643:nokia-kiihdytti-4g-huippuvauhtiin-vegasissa&catid=13&Itemid=101
Tomi Engdahl says:
Wifi will accelerate to 10 gigabit
Wi-Fi chipsets have always been so, that the future standard for getting boards on the market long before the standard is completed. So it is now. New 802.11ax is nearing perhaps only in 2018, but Quanten already introduced new routers in last week’s CES show in Las Vegas.
802.11ax is a technique that combines a 4×4 MIMO-type link signal prior to more efficient modulation (1024-QAM). The result is theoretically more than 10 Gbps link, or about three times today’s fastest ac-type devices faster WLAN connection.
Source: http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5646:wifi-kiihdyttaa-10-gigabittiin&catid=13&Itemid=101
Tomi Engdahl says:
OLED TVs will finally take off in 2017
At long last, they’re within reach.
https://www.engadget.com/2017/01/09/oled-tvs-will-finally-take-off-in-2017/
After years of taunting consumers with incredible picture quality, but insanely high prices, OLED TVs are finally coming down to Earth. Prices are falling, there will be even more models to choose from and, at least based on what we’ve seen from CES this year, LCD TVs aren’t getting many upgrades. And of course, LG’s stunning new W-series wowed us so much, it won both our Best TV and Best of the Best awards at CES. If you’ve been holding out on a 4K TV upgrade, but haven’t had the budget to consider OLED up until now, expect things to change this year.
To refresh, OLED TVs offer many advantages over their LCD counterparts. In addition to being much thinner, they offer far better contrast ratios, thanks to OLED’s ability to produce pure black levels, and wider viewing angles. OLED sets typically look brighter than LCDs
The fact that Sony is also getting into the 4K OLED game could also drive prices down further, especially since they’re relying on LG panels.
Even as they’re getting cheaper, LG’s OLED sets still cost more than most 4K LCD alternatives.
Tomi Engdahl says:
CES 2017: What to expect at the biggest tech trade show of the year
TVs, drones, and self-driving cars invade Las Vegas
http://www.theverge.com/2017/1/2/14115956/ces-2017-preview-news-trends-predictions
Tomi Engdahl says:
Michael Brown / TechHive:
Linksys Velop Wi-Fi mesh router review: performs better than Google Wifi, worse than Eero when used with 1 or 2 nodes, has strong feature set but is expensive
Linksys Velop Wi-Fi router review: One of the best mesh network systems to date
It might be a little late to the mesh-networking party, but Linksys is showing a winner at CES.
http://www.techhive.com/article/3153993/network-router/linksys-velop-wi-fi-router-review-one-of-the-best-mesh-network-systems-to-date.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
Patented RF technology monitors wireless signals in the home for ‘camera-less’ security
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/2017/01/cognitive-aura-rf-security.html?cmpid=enl_CIM_CIMDataCenterNewsletter_2017-01-09
At the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Cognitive Systems Corp. (Ontario, Canada), an RF technology specialist, announced the launch of Aura, an intelligent home security system that uses the company’s patented spectrum analytics technology to detect and monitor motion. The patented technology is used to monitor the disruption of wireless signals caused by movement in the home, without the use of cameras.
The simple, two-piece Aura system provides full coverage for the average home, even in rooms where people are typically unwilling to place cameras. Household members are notified on their smartphones of unauthorized motion that occurs anywhere in the residence. The Aura system can also recognize the presence of known household members, show motion patterns in the home, provide a timeline of activity, deliver tailored notifications to homeowners’ smartphones, and interact with other smart home systems.
Tomi Engdahl says:
CES preview: 4K UHD HDR set-top boxes, PON media gateway, 11ac 8×8 wireless networking
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/pt/2016/12/ces-preview-4k-uhd-hdr-set-top-boxes-pon-media-gateway-11ac-8×8-wireless-networking.html?cmpid=enl_CIM_CIMDataCenterNewsletter_2017-01-09
CED is reporting that Sagemcom will demonstrate its 4K UHD HDR set-top boxes at next month’s CES in Las Vegas, and also highlight the 10 already deployed 4K projects it reportedly has with Tier 1 operators. On display at CES will be the company’s PON media gateway, delivering symmetrical 10 Gbps routed performance and integrating 11ac 8×8 wireless solutions.
“Reaching record speeds on cable up to 5 Gbps, the next-gen cable media gateway F@st 3890 operates simultaneously DOCSIS 3.1 and DOCSIS 3.0 32×8 and implements a superior Wave 2 WiFi,” Sagemcom says in a press release. “Already on the field, the best in-class DSL/FTTH gateways integrate DSL up to 35B (with RNC), G.fast, GPON, and LTE.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
‘OLED TVs Will Finally Take Off in 2017′
https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/17/01/09/203243/oled-tvs-will-finally-take-off-in-2017
OLED TVs will finally take off in 2017
At long last, they’re within reach.
https://www.engadget.com/2017/01/09/oled-tvs-will-finally-take-off-in-2017/
Tomi Engdahl says:
D-Link’s Covr Whole-Home Networking Solutions – Wi-Fi SON with Wi-Fi and HomePlug Backhauls
by Ganesh T S on January 5, 2017 5:00 PM EST
http://www.anandtech.com/show/11007/dlinks-covr-wholehome-networking-solutions-wifi-son-with-wifi-and-homeplug-backhauls
Tomi Engdahl says:
Qualcomm Releases Snapdragon 835 Chip Targeted at Mobile AR/VR
https://www.designnews.com/electronics-test/qualcomm-releases-snapdragon-835-chip-targeted-mobile-arvr/156756304147229?cid=nl.x.dn14.edt.aud.dn.20170105.tst004t
Qualcomm has released the Snapdragon 835, its first chip manufactured with a 10-nanometer manufacturing process that makes it ideal for next-generation mobile applications, including augmented and virtual reality.
Qualcomm has kicked off CES 2017 by announcing the release of the Snapdragon 835, the latest in its ubiquitous family of chips, and one that Qualcomm says will usher in the next generation of mobile devices, even those beyond smartphones.
Seeking to beat competitors to market, the Snapdragon 835 is the first mobile chip commercially manufactured using the 10-nanometer process, 10nm FinFET, which the company says allows it to put 30 percent more parts into the same space as a chip manufactured using the 14nm process, but with a smaller footprint. The new processor reportedly contains 3 billion transistors.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Lego’s Boost Kit Turns Your Bricks Into Robots. Robots
https://www.wired.com/2017/01/legos-boost-kit-turns-bricks-robots-robots/
The beauty of Lego has always been its simplicity. The iconic bricks don’t talk, flash or move—except in your imagination. Until now.
Lego just unveiled Boost, a clever kit that introduces programming and a touch of tech to the bricks you grew up.
Kids, and kids at heart, can attach any Lego bricks to Bluetooth-enabled programmable motors and sensors. A wheel module turns your car into a racer. A walking module makes your robot dance. An “entrance” module ensures that the gate guarding your castle rises. A host of sensors let you program your creation to make noise, light up, and react to motion.
Lego did not, strictly speaking, create an educational tool, but the $160 kit, available in August, does a great job sneaking learning into playtime.
Kids develop that understanding through an accompanying app, which offers 60 activities. A drag-and-drop coding language similar to MIT’s Scratch teaches the basics of programming logic by helping kids connect the code blocks needed to elicit a given behavior. Want your Lego cat to meow on command? Simply connect the audio coding block to a motion sensor block. Voila!
In a way, Boost is a simplified version of Mindstorms, Lego’s advanced programmable kits. Kent says the setup is basic enough for a 7-year old to figure out
Tomi Engdahl says:
Dell unveils 8K 32-inch monitor at CES 2017, and it’s shipping this year
https://www.extremetech.com/computing/242192-dell-unveils-new-8k-32-inch-monitor-ces-2017-shipping-year
It was only a few years ago that 4K panels were the cutting-edge technology on display at CES. For the last few years, we’ve seen 8K televisions popping up here and there, more as proof-of-concepts than actual practical products. Dell’s new display announcements aren’t just products the company plans to build some day; they’re cutting-edge hardware that’s coming to market this year.
First up, we’ve got the Dell UltraSharp 32 Ultra HD 8K monitor (UP3218K). This new 8K panel offers 33.2 million pixels in a 32-inch screen — that’s 7680×4320 — for an average pixel density of 275 PPI.
Dell hasn’t yet released any information on which GPUs this panel plays nice with. We’ll have to wait and see.
Are 8K games, monitors coming soon?
Given that it’s only been a few years since 4K panels were selling for over $1,000, it’s easy to assume the 8K revolution is going to arrive in the next year or two. This view, however, ignores three larger trends. First, the market forces that drive new display technologies tend to move at the speed of their slowest members. First, the iPhone 4 made high resolution displays desirable in very small devices in 2010. Over the next few years, high-DPI products proliferated across the smartphone industry, leading us to ask when monitors would follow suit — all the way back in 2012.
Four years later, 4K panels have become much more common, but they aren’t a majority of the market yet.
Ultra Blu-ray has only just arrived, streaming barely supports 4K (and you’d better be willing to jump through a lot of hoops to get it), and all the cable and digital television services in the US I’m aware of use 720p or 1080p for their services, often with some compression.
Second, there’s a fundamental problem of file size. H.265, aka HEVC, can cut file encodes by up to 50% while maintaining the same image quality, but 4K still packs 4x more pixels than 1080p. Moving to 8K quadruples that again. There’s no standard yet for how to encode files this large,
Third, we don’t have any GPUs that can plausibly drive this kind of resolution. GPU performance has been growing faster than CPU performance for years, but it’s still considerably off its early 2000s peak. Back then, Nvidia and AMD often doubled performance every 12 months.
For now, Dell is marketing this as a display for people working with graphics, advertising, image design, or possibly video editing, where its vast real estate could come in handy (no need to worry about running out of screen real estate when editing 4K video, for example).
Tomi Engdahl says:
HDR, 8K and beyond: 5 monitors that lit up CES 2017
By Kane Fulton 2 days ago Peri
http://www.techradar.com/news/hdr-8k-and-beyond-5-monitors-that-lit-up-ces-2017
Although you could argue that gaming laptops stole the show at CES 2017, it’s the monitor category that made us really sit up and take notice.
Whatever innovation you can think of from a few years back – be it 4K, 21:9 or curved – a new model emerged in Las Vegas this year that took it to the next level.
From vibrant HDR-equipped monitors to pinsharp 8K panels and monster ultrawides, the hardware on show left no doubt in our minds that the next evolution of display tech has well and truly arrived.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Week In Review: IoT
Qualcomm ships 1B+ IoT chips; CES is big scene for IoT; ZigBee Alliance speaks a new language.
http://semiengineering.com/the-week-in-review-iot-34/
Qualcomm reported before the official opening of CES 2017 that it has shipped more than 1 billion Internet of Things chips to date
NXP Semiconductors unveiled a batch of products at CES 2017. The chip company is working with Microsoft to improve IoT security.
Marvell Technology Group is demonstrating its connectivity, data storage, and networking chips at CES 2017
Rambus is in the Qualcomm booth at CES to demonstrate the Rambus CryptoManager security platform, working with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 820 processor and QCA4010 Wi-Fi chip, in a smart city application.
Qorvo this week introduced the GP695 system-on-a-chip device for smart home devices. The SoC supports the Bluetooth Low Energy, IEEE 802.15.4, Thread, and ZigBee 3.0 communication protocols for actuators and sensors in the home
AT&T is expanding its IoT Starter Kit for developers with one version for Amazon Web Services and another for Raspberry Pi
The Norton Core router is meant to provide better protection for IoT devices in the home.
Cypress Semiconductor and Verizon Communications are collaborating on wireless connectivity with end-to-end security for IoT developers.
The ZigBee Alliance introduced the dotdot language at CES, aimed at providing a standardized communication platform for IoT devices, regardless of the network being used by those devices.
Sierra Wireless has developed AirPrime modules for Verizon’s LTE Category M wireless network. Sierra’s Cat-M1 module is based upon Altair Semiconductor’s ALT-1210 LTE chipse
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Week In Review: Manufacturing
Samsung’s VC fund; CES; egg and donut robots; MEMS growth.
http://semiengineering.com/the-week-in-review-manufacturing-145/
At CES 2017, Samsung unveiled a wide range of new products, such as quantum dot TVs, smart appliances, gaming laptops and smartwatches. In addition, Strategy Analytics has a blog from CES on the latest drones, a flexible phone, and, of course, smartphones.
Robots are hot. Also at CES, several vendors rolled out robots, including one from Panasonic that is shaped like an egg, according to a blog from Strategy Analytics. Another robot looks like a donut.
Market research
Worldwide combined shipments of PCs, tablets, ultramobiles and mobile phones are projected to remain flat in 2017, according to Gartner. Worldwide shipments for these devices are projected to total 2.3 billion in 2017, the same as 2016 estimates.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Robert Scoble / Facebook:
Source at Zeiss says Apple and Carl Zeiss AG are working on AR, mixed reality glasses that may be announced this year — Exclusive news: Apple and Zeiss working together on augmented reality optics. — For the nerds who were at CES and not paying attention to all my posts.
Exclusive news: Apple and Zeiss working together on augmented reality optics.
https://www.facebook.com/RobertScoble/posts/10154881786139655?_fb_noscript=1
Tomi Engdahl says:
Continental AI Effort Stresses ‘Responsibility’
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1331121&
LAS VEGAS — Continental Automotive, an old-line tire company, is among a host of car suppliers at the Consumer Electronics Show, trying to get traction in automated driving. Company executives here this week told a packed media audience that, perhaps unlike some competitors, Continental has the manpower, the technical talent and the sense of mission necessary to make the transition.
As Kurt Lehmann, first Corporate Technology Officer, boasted, “We’re bigger than all the other OEMs. Engineering-wise, we’re bigger than almost everybody.”
Lehmann noted that Continental is a Frankfurt-based company of 220,000 employees, 30,000 of them engineers, with a major footprint in Europe, the United States and China.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Wi-Fi Providing Precision Time Synchronization
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1331108&
At CES today the WiFi Alliance unveiled a new feature for the popular wireless networking standard: precision time synchronization. This feature, which the Alliance is calling Wi-Fi Certified TimeSync, is the ability to engage in sub-microsecond coordination of operations among multiple wireless devices. The “killer app” for this capability is expected to lie in the audio/video market, where it will allow multiple wireless audio/video devices, such as smart TVs and speaker systems, to remain in sync during media playback. But the technology holds promise for industrial, automotive, healthcare, and IoT applications, as well.
In its explanatory materials on Wi-Fi TimeSync, the Alliance points out several industrial examples of this new feature. Distributed process control, for instance, can use TimeSync to synchronize the operation of motion-control systems in a production line so that all controllers work from the same clock. Similarly, widely-separated sensor systems can provide data collected to the same time base, simplifying analysis and diagnostics.
Wi-Fi CERTIFIED TimeSync™ brings precise synchronization to Wi-Fi® devices
New Wi-Fi capability enables accurately timed audio, video, and data output across Wi-Fi networks
http://www.wi-fi.org/news-events/newsroom/wi-fi-certified-timesync-brings-precise-synchronization-to-wi-fi-devices
“Time synchronized Wi-Fi connectivity will help drive the audio/video technology market by enabling unrestricted mobility with high-quality performance.” Mobile devices have reinvigorated the wireless audio market, which is forecast to reach 267 million units in 2018. With an average of nearly eight connected devices per home, there is increasing demand for whole-home networked audio and video systems. Forthcoming Wi-Fi Alliance programs in 2017 will deliver an elevated experience in home networks to provide a high-performance foundation for scalable, whole-home networked audio solutions. Wi-Fi TimeSync will build on the latest Wi-Fi Alliance technologies, bringing enhanced capabilities to the Wi-Fi Alliance portfolio.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Intel Optane a Poor Fit for PCs
http://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=36&doc_id=1331116&
At CES, Intel made the latest of several attempts to add a flash layer to PCs, an admirable goal but not one well suited to its Optane SSDs.
Intel kicked off CES with an announcement of Optane modules for the PC. These m.2-format SSDs sport a speedy PCIe/NVMe interface and use the new Intel/Micron 3D XPoint memory to provide faster performance than can be achieved using NAND flash.
Surprisingly the web page used for the kickoff hammers on a theme: “A hard disk drive coupled with Intel Optane memory affordably gives you SSD-like speed while maintaining large storage capacity.” Given that Intel is a leading SSD supplier, it is odd that the company would work to sell a technology that would serve to undermine its SSD business.
The idea of adding an SSD layer to accelerate HDD performance is not a new one to Intel. The company tried unsuccessfully in 2011 to encourage PCs to use a similar approach with its Ultrabook initiative.
http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/architecture-and-technology/optane-memory.html?cache=true
Tomi Engdahl says:
CES2017: Which Internet of Thing is Best Internet of Thing?
http://hackaday.com/2017/01/09/ces2017-which-internet-of-thing-is-best-internet-of-thing/
Tomi Engdahl says:
IoT-ify All Things: LG Has Gone Overboard
http://hackaday.com/2017/01/09/iotify-all-things/
If you been following Hackaday lately, you’ve surely noticed an increased number of articles about IoT-ifying stuff. It’s a cool project to take something old (or new) and improve its connectivity, usually via WiFi, making it part of the Internet of Things. Several easy to use modules, in particular the ESP8266, are making a huge contribution to this trend. It’s satisfactory to see our homes with an ESP8266 in every light switch and outlet or to control our old stereo with our iPhone. It gives us a warm fuzzy feeling.
But what happens when this becomes mainstream? When literally all our appliances are ‘connected’ in the near future?
This year, at CES, LG Electronics (LG) has introduced Smart InstaView™, a refrigerator that’s powered by webOS smart platform and integrated with Amazon’s Alexa Voice Service.
LG SMART INSTAVIEW REFRIGERATOR FEATURES VOICE CONTROL, WEBOS AND REMOTE VIEWING CAPABILITIES
http://www.lgnewsroom.com/2017/01/lg-smart-instaview-refrigerator-features-voice-control-webos-and-remote-viewing-capabilities/
Tomi Engdahl says:
CES2017: Astrophotography In The Eyepiece
http://hackaday.com/2017/01/09/ces2017-astrophotography-in-the-eyepiece/
If you’ve never set up a telescope in your back yard, you’ve never been truly disappointed. The Hubble can take some great shots of Saturn, nebulae, and other astronomical phenomena, but even an expensive backyard scope produces only smudges. To do astronomy properly, you’ll spend your time huddled over a camera and a computer, stacking images to produce something that almost lives up to your expectations.
According to the guys at Unistellar, this box contains a small Linux computer, camera, GPS, and an LCD. Once the telescope is set up, the module takes a few pictures of the telescope’s field of view, stacks the images, and overlays the result in the eyepiece.
Tomi Engdahl says:
New TVs from CES
http://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2017/01/05/las-vegasin-tekevisiouutuudet/
LG
http://ces2017.lgnewsroom.com/video/lg-ces-2017-press-conference-home-entertainment/
Samsung
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXBT5xBWR6g
Sony
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O46v8sYTz5c
Tomi Engdahl says:
CES2017 in YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=CES2017