Budget TV company Vizio will extend its reach into computing, beginning with a range of new models to be showcased at CES 2012 next week. CTO Matt McRae confirmed the segue and a June launch window – along with ”a price that just doesn’t seem possible” – to Bloomberg in an interview about the company’s PC plans, following up with a gallery of eye-catching desktop and laptop renders to whet our appetite ahead of the show next week. More details after the cut.
Samsung has announced record quarterly earnings for Q4 2011, with profit up considerably compared to last year, buoyed particularly by the company's success in smartphones. Although full results aren't yet available, Samsung is estimating sales of 47 trillion won with operating profit of 5.2 trillion won ($4.5bn) for the three month period; there's 200 billion in wiggle-room either way.
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Toshiba has previewed its CES 2012 intentions, promising to demonstrate the world's thinnest and lightest 10.1-inch tablet at the show next week, as well as 13.3-inch ultrabooks plus slates using OLED panel technology. Details are short and boasts are strong in the company's Japanese press release, but "thinnest and lightest" is a common mantra: Toshiba is looking to corner the market in slimline notebooks and innovative portable tech.
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LG Electronics will showcase their new TVs powered by Google TV at CES in Las Vegas next week. Running on their own L9 chipset, the LG Smart TV is a brilliant mash up between Google’s Android OS and LG’s Smart TV technologies. The Google TV will feature ARM-based chipsets, allowing for a reduction in power consumption.
For those that have never heard of CES, aka the Consumer Electronics Show, think of it like this: it’s like a comic book convention where everything is brand new and instead of superheros, there are robots, gigantic computer displays, and so many USB sticks we’ll never again have to buy a new one. The following is a very basic guide on what you should expect from it as it occurs this month. CES 2012 will be taking place in Las Vegas, Nevada, and will this year start on Monday the 9th of January, 2012, and end on Friday the 13th (bum bum bummm), but there will be events before (and possibly after) this depending on where we (SlashGear, the site you’ll be watching for the world’s greatest coverage of the events), decide ultimately to go. CES 2012 will have nearly 150,000 attendees this year, this including everyone from attendees to investors to analysts to representatives from manufacturers, developer groups, mobile carriers, and much, much more.
The folks at Broadcom have dropped a couple of silent bombs this week in announcements of deals with both SlingBox's EchoStar and with Myriad for their Alien Vue solution, these deals resulting ultimately in two things: a chip made by Myriad that allows for TV Everywhere NOT just limited to wi-fi in your own home and Android apps on your TV set-top box! With their deal with Sling, they're set to create their upcoming BCM7425 SoC (or chip, if you prefer) with embedded Sling place-shifting technology. With Myriad Alien Vue, Broadcom will be supporting Android apps on the set-top boxes which they power.
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Samsung has announced that it will be releasing an update to its Smart TV SDK this Thursday, January 5. The update will be to version 3.0 and will bring new support for paid apps and in-app advertising. This will finally allow developers and publishers to make money from their Samsung Smart TV apps and could stimulate developer support.
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Samsung is eyeing a return to the Japanese TV market, reports in the country have claimed, with a line-up of high-end LCD and OLED sets to grab marketshare as rivals like Sony flounder. The Korean company is considering launching a new Japanese range as early as 2013, the Nikkei [registration req] claims, seemingly targeting the top end of the market rather than getting mired in the over-competitive entry- and mid-level segments.
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Internet-based TV provider FilmOn has revealed a compact ATSC TV receiver dongle for iPhone, iPad, Android devices and Mac/PC users, the FilmOn AIR, promising mobile streaming and recording of free-to-air shows in the US. Set to retail for $95.95, or come bundled with a $149.95 annual FilmOn subscription, the FilmOn AIR comes as the company is embroiled in a lengthy legal battle with the traditional networks.
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If you’ve been following the latest rumors surrounding Apple’s television plans, you know that a new report claims the Cupertino, Calif.-based company is only planning to offer 32- and 37-inch options starting next summer.
One of the product categories that is always out in force during CES is the HDTV. Over the last few years, the normal HDTV has been joined by the 3D TV too. In the future, the resolutions that we know as HD today will look as bad as comparing SD to HD shows today. LG has a new set that will be at the show that is dubbed the largest 3D UD TV at CES 2012.
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Boxee's newest 1.5 update today essentially marks the company's transition from focusing their media-streaming service on the desktop, to that of devices. With that said, the app comes with a newly revamped interface, that provides faster access to the browser and the menu appearing as an overlay, along with an easier to access search function. The movie and TV sections have also both been updated, given more effortless navigation by genres and sources, and making it easier to check for previously unwatched video episodes.
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