CES 2012: IPhone 5 to Support T-Mobile Network

Forbes - Apple’s upcoming iPhone 5 will support T-Mobile’s network, giving the struggling fourth-place carrier an opportunity to gain ground on its competitors.

T-Mobile’s chief technology officer Neville Ray at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week told CNET and several other sources the chipsets in the new iPhone 5 will support the Advanced Wireless Services, or AWS, frequency the carrier uses in its 3G network.

Just because the iPhone 5 is capable of running on T-Mobile, however, doesn’t mean the companies will be able to strike a deal. Apple largely ignored past requests from the carrier to create an AWS-friendly version of the iPhone, and T-Mobile aggressively promotes Android phones it says are as good, or better than, the iPhone.

However, adding the iPhone 5 to its lineup would be a major boost for a network still reeling from its failed merger with AT&T. The company is reforming its business strategy after the lengthy nine-month process resulted in thousands of lost customers due to uncertainty about the carrier’s fate.

In addition to figuring out how to lure returning and new customers, T-Mobile is the only “big four” U.S. carrier that does not offer the highly coveted iPhone due to its HSPA+ network, which Apple’s device does not support.

More than its other challenges, lack of the iPhone is often cited as T-Mobile’s biggest hurdle to overcome, but that obstacle may be temporary.

Acquiring the iPhone is a costly move for a smaller carrier like T-Mobile. The carrier received a hefty $3 billion break-up fee from AT&T, giving it some cash to invest, but third-place rival Sprint will spend $20 billion over the next five years to sell Apple’s top-selling device and create a more data-friendly network.               More

CES 2012 Smart TV Round-Up

Slash Gear - Riding high on Android and with its expertise in search, Google should’ve swept the board when it first turned its hand to smart TV. Instead, Google TV was lambasted for its confusing interface, patchy functionality and ever-changing line up of content (made unpredictable by Google’s apparent refusal to pay for licensing deals but instead attempting to harness free online streams). With the second-gen system now ready for prime time, the search giant has managed to coax some big names back onboard, as well as tease gamers with the promise of OnLive for console-quality play without any extra hardware beyond a wireless controller.

Samsung, Sony, LG and Vizio were all expected to bring Google TV powered sets to the show, and all but Samsung delivered. LG spared us the heavy-duty specs, only saying that its two Google TV sets would drop later this year and use a homegrown quadcore ARM chipset. Like Vizio, which announced the R-Series of Google TVs, LG has reskinned the core Google UI to suit its own interface styling. Vizio also had two set-top boxes, one adding a Blu-ray drive, the VAP430 and VBR430, which promise to make Google TV more affordable.

Sony, meanwhile, took another approach, not bothering with fully-integrated Google TV HDTVs but instead looking to two new set-top boxes instead. It’s possible the company learned the hard way from its first-gen Google TV sets, though the new Network Media Player NSZ-GS7 and Blu-ray Disc Player NSZ-GP9 are arguably more useful given there are plenty of people content with their existing TV but still wanting a smart upgrade.



Finally, Marvell brought along its ARMADA 1500 chipset and a reference design Google TV STB to demonstrate it. The company is pushing the design to its hardware partners, along with a useful upscaling addition that promises to make lower-res content and UI look better on a 1080p Full HD display.

As for Samsung, it stuck with its homegrown smart TV platform for CES, though reiterated its support for Google TV and promised that “a forthcoming offering will deliver an entirely distinct experience in the category” later in 2012. That’s not to say its hardware this week has been underwhelming, however. Our playtime with Samsung’s 60-inch smart TV – which packs Kinect-style motion and voice control – suggested the non-traditional navigation may be gimmicky but the core software is very strong, while integrated DIRECTV support and the potential for hardware upgrades along the line shows services aren’t being left behind either.                 More

CES - Samsung’s Smart TV and Blu-ray players will be first to get FiOS TV App

Engadget - Although not the first to announce, Samsung and Verizon have officially announced that Samsung Smart TVs and Blu-ray players “will be the first consumer electronics manufacturer” to get live HD and video on-demand including Flex View from Verizon FiOS TV. The embedded release after the break doesn’t include a time frame, but the previously announced timeframe was the first half of 2012, so this would have to be released before that in order to, technically, be first — and everything in a press release is always true. At this point we’d be shocked if the Verizon FiOS TV App wasn’t on every app platform imaginable, other than TiVo and Google TV, by the end of 2012.             More

At CES, tablet obsession gives way to tech’s bigger picture

Crowds descended upon Las Vegas to see the latest gear 

at the Consumer Electronics Show

ars technica - Last year’s Consumer Electronics Show was dominated by tablets to what now seems like a ridiculous extent. Everywhere you looked were Android and Windows 7 tablets—with at least one device running both operating systems. There were tablets promising only three hours of battery life, tablets costing more than $1,000, and dual-screen tablets including an Acer Iconia monstrosity with two 14-inch touch screens.

If vendors thought they could make headway in the iPad-dominated tablet market with mediocre devices, they seem to have realized their mistake. Much CES press coverage has dwelled on the show’s declining stature and noted that the year’s premium products are likely to emerge later on, because vendors would rather announce on their own product development and marketing schedules than reveal all their best stuff at CES.

That may be true—Microsoft’s news-free keynote and CES exit supports the argument—but at the very least vendors at this year’s conference seemed to have a more coherent plan based around multiple products like Ultrabooks and smartphones and tying them all together with cloud services. More importantly, CES took on the great technology debate of 2012: The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and its potential impact on Internet freedom.

It all made for a show more focused on the bigger picture than in the previous year. Although Microsoft’s keynote was disappointing—I was on the verge of apologizing to readers during our liveblog—Intel made up for it the next night by detailing its plan for bringing x86 processors to smartphones, in what it hopes will be the company’s answer to ARM’s mobile success. Intel also showed a prototype Ultrabook/tablet hybrid with a keyboard that can be folded under the screen or used as a stand for watching movies.           More

CES 2012: The Hottest Smartphones

 

This Year’s Crop

 

Most of the hottest phones at CES 2012 have one thing in common: They run on Google Android–with a couple of Windows Phone 7 exceptions.

Motorola, Samsung, Sony, LG, and many others are clamoring to showcase their smartphone offerings for 2012. Here are the phones that caught our eye on the show floor this week.

Watch the Slideshow!

CES – Sony: No PlayStation 3 Successor in 2012

PCMag.Com - Don’t expect a next-generation PlayStation console to appear this year. Sony executive deputy president Kazuo Hirai dashed hopes that the company will unveil a PlayStation 4 this year at E3, or elsewhere.

Hirai, who heads up Sony’s consumer electronics and video game divisions, told the Wall Street Journal that the company believes the PlayStation 3 is a product with a 10-year life span. Sony launched the PS3 in 2006, so by that logic, the company won’t produce a new PlayStation for another four years.

Hirai’s words corroborated previous comments from Andrew House, head of Sony’s video game business, who recently said there won’t be a PlayStation 4 reveal at E3.    More

Apple Has 250 Ninjas Spying the Competition At CES

Gizmodo - Don’t think Apple is not at CES. They are there, everywhere. You can’t see them, but 250 stealth Apple employees are at CES 2012. They are not there to show things. They are there to voraciously analyze the competition.

Paid Content’s Tom Krazit bumped into none other than Greg Joswiak, head of iOS product marketing for Apple:

While wandering around the Central Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center Tuesday, I bumped into Greg Joswiak, head of iOS product marketing for Apple, just outside of Sony’s booth. Joz, as he’s known within the Apple community, grinned sheepishly upon being recognized by a reporter and stopped to chat for a few minutes.    More

Best of CES 2012

Sony's Xperia S is simple, but pretty. (Credit: Sony Ericsson)

CNET - LAS VEGAS–On the heels of launching its new Xperia Ion for AT&T, Sony gave us even more when it unveiled its new Xperia S smartphone the evening before CES officially began.

Not to be confused with last year’s Xperia Arc S, the Xperia S is the first smartphone in Sony’s NXT (next-generation) series. And, like the Ion, it drops the “Ericsson” name.

In its announcement, Sony made a point of stating that the handset is built with an “Iconic Identity” design. Sony is cagey about what that means exactly, but the company says that it “creates a simple strong look that is instantly recognizable.”

To its credit, Sony added some snazzy design elements that give the Xperia S a bit of class. At the bottom of the phones there’s a thin opaque panel that displays the icons for touch controls just above. Though the base also lights up when you get a call, it’s understated rather than tacky, and you can change the light color.

Sony Xperia S: Not your normal Android phone (photos)

 

QNX puts apps and the Web in the dashboard of one lucky 

Porsche Carrera at CES 2012. (Credit: QNX)

LAS VEGAS–It’s the classic show formula: put your product in the hands of an attractive model and people will look twice. In the case of QNX’s new mobile app platform, the attractive model is the Porsche Carrera sports car.

As the cars of tomorrow gain Internet connections and applications, they’ll need infotainment software that allows them to be as flexible and easily updated as your average smartphone. RIM subsidiary QNX Software Systems Limited thinks that the solution to that problem lies in the HTML5 framework and is showcasing its new HTML5-based QNX CAR 2 application platform at CES 2012.                   More

Roku's Streaming Stick packs all the functionality of a Roku 

box into USB drive-like stick. (Credit: Roku)

Roku announced the Streaming Stick this morning, which essentially squeezes all the functionality of a typical Roku box (including Wi-Fi, processor, and memory) into a a device that looks like a USB flash drive. It doesn’t require an additional power cable or a separate remote, instead allowing you to use your TV’s standard remote to navigate Roku’s software. Roku’s platform currently supports over 400 channels, including Netflix, Amazon Instant, Pandora, MLB.TV, HBO Go, MOG, and Rdio.

 

The Roku Streaming Stick connects to 

the back of your HDTV, but it requires an MHL port. (Credit: Roku)

Roku sees the Streaming Stick as an alternative to individual manufacturer’s Smart TV portals, which quickly become out of date and rarely receive updates a year after they’re released. Not only is it more likely the Streaming Stick will be updated more frequently, but it’s also a lot more affordable to swap in a new, improved Streaming Stick if the current hardware becomes outdated.      More

View all of CNET’s Best of CES 2012!

CES - Polaroid announces the Android-powered SC1630 Smart Camera

h/t - Robert Barrett

BGR - Polaroid shocked the Consumer Electronics Show on Tuesday when the company announced a new camera powered by Android. The Polaroid SC1630 Smart Camera is a 3.2-inch device, and it features a whopping 16-megapixel camera capable of 3x optical zoom on a 36-108mm lens. When connected to Wi-Fi, users can instantly upload their images to social networking sites and will also even have access to the Android Market.

No specific release date or price has been announced, however Polaroid has said the SC1630 Smart Camera will land sometime this year. Read on for the company’s press release.


Polaroid Announces the SC1630 Smart Camera Powered by Android™

Fusing the Feature Set of a High-End Digital Camera with the Power of Android*, the Polaroid SC1630 Makes Snapping and Sharing High Definition Digital Images an Instant Experience

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 10, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Polaroid today announced that capturing and sharing high-end digital images is now seamless with the Polaroid SC1630, an Android powered smart camera. The Polaroid SC1630 Smart Camera features a high definition 16 megapixel camera with built in 3X optical zoom, touch screen display and Wi-Fi, making uploads to social networks as easy as the touch of a button. Merging the optics of a digital still and video camera with the limitless power of the Android platform, the Polaroid SC1630 Smart Camera evolves the process of clicking, editing, uploading and tagging to an instant experience on one device.

With the Polaroid SC1630 Smart Camera powered by Android you will no longer need to choose between your smart phone and your point and shoot camera because it offers the best of both worlds. Delivering everything expected from a digital camera but powered by Android, the Polaroid SC1630 Smart Camera surprisingly packs all the features needed to conveniently capture, connect and instantly share beautiful HD digital images and video into one device, weighing a mere five ounces.

An ultra-portable, two-in-one instant sharing powerhouse, the Polaroid SC1630 Smart Camera leaves even the most powerful camera phones in the dust by combining an advanced imaging feature set with an unmatchable Android powered mobile platform:

Capture Like the Pros: Life’s quickest moments are no longer at risk to becoming blurry images from a basic camera phone. Built on a 16 megapixel CCD senor, the Polaroid SC1630 Smart Camera treats images to a 3X optical zoom – a feature not found in most mobile phones. Choose from 18 scene modes and then click and view crystal clear images – captured at 36mm or full 108mm magnification – on the Polaroid SC1630 Smart Camera’s 3.2” widescreen display.               More

CES 2012: Now You Can Check Facebook From Your Benz

ReadWriteWeb - In an age of smartphone addiction, you’ll find a Facebook user checking and updating from pretty much anywhere. But what about from the car itself?

Six months ago, the Mercedes-Benz engineering team began developing a Facebook app. The new product offers a way for drivers to access Facebook friends who are close, or nearby restaurants that their friends have “liked” on Facebook. The feature will be available in the 2012 SL-Class Mercedes this spring as part of the mbrace2 telematics system, which includes cloud-based apps, traffic and navigation assistance, speech recognition and Internet browsing. mbrace also features a smartphone app, which allows drivers to send information to their vehicle before actually stepping into it.

“Now that cars have screens that are intelligent, you would expect that more and more car manufacturers will want to make those screens capable of allowing people to connect with their friends and take advantage of the social context that comes along with that,” Facebook Vice President of Partnerships and Platform Marketing Dan Rose told Reuters.          More

JVC Everio Camcorders get built-in WiFi

Slash Gear - JVC has announced its 2012 lineup of Everio camcorders, which offers seven new models that span a wide range of needs from simple point-and-shoots to full manual controls. Four of the new models are now equipped with WiFi, which means that your videos and images can now be shared directly from your camcorder over a WiFi network. This combines the image and video quality of traditional camcorders with the convenience and ease of sharing that we get with smartphones.

The built-in WiFi allows you to share your images and videos in several ways and also adds other functionality. With a free app for your Android or iOS device, you can wirelessly transfer videos and still directly from your camcorder to your smartphone. This also lets the phone to be used as a remote control and have its GPS data used for geotagging. You can also email your images directly from the camcorder and there’s a function called Video Email that lets you send 15-second video clips to up to eight email addresses.             More

CES 2012 speaks out against SOPA

Slash Gear - It should come as no surprise that CES as an organization has spoken out against SOPA, it being a force that’s very much the opposite of what CES is all about. There’s been a massive bit of dissent on the web when it comes to fighting off SOPA, and CES coming out against it as well should be another big blow to those attempting to get it passed.      More

CES – Kinect for Windows: Five ways to put it to use

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer can get a little wound up about Kinect. (Credit: James Martin/CNET)

Microsoft’s grand plan: Charge developers only for the hardware and give away the software developer kit. It’s all about growing the ecosystem around Kinect. In other words, Kinect is going to be a lot more than fun and games. The company has been sprinkling around hints about what industries will work best for Kinect. Here’s a look at five industries likely to dive head first into Kinect development.

1. Health care. Microsoft clearly sees Kinect as a hospital and health care staple. On ZDNet Health, Denise Amrich noted how Kinect is helping hospitals practice so-called clean techniques. Amrich, an RN, noted that keeping a sterile environment is critical. Kinect is also likely to have surgical applications too. And Kinect is likely to be useful even at the lower end of the healthcare spectrum. The Wii is used in physical therapy. Chances are the Kinect will be too. (Also see: Microsoft foresees roles for Surface 2, Xbox, Kinect in healthcare)
2. Retail. Kinect also seems like a natural fit for the retail industry. Why? It’s a handy way to try things on virtually, browse kiosks and select products. Microsoft is also likely to pair up Kinect technology with its Surface efforts for retail use.                 More

CES – Samsung raises design bar with New Series 9 laptop

(Credit: CNET/Sarah Tew)

One of last year’s most head-turning laptops, the Samsung Series 9, is back, with an even slimmer, sleeker look.

Just one year ago, at CES 2011, the term “ultrabook” was never uttered. Instead, we saw a handful of very thin Windows laptops looking to duplicate the aesthetic and commercial appeal of Apple’s MacBook Air, but without the help of a new category name (or R&D fund) from Intel. Of those, the most eye-catching was the Samsung Series 9, a 13-inch thin laptop that had a lightweight duralumin case. At the time, we said it was as close to a MacBook Air as Windows users were likely to get.

Samsung’s second generation Series 9 (photos)

What a difference a year makes. Now, ultrabooks are lurking around every corner, and the Series 9 is back to reclaim the mantle of the hottest-looking superslim laptop. The original Series 9 fell a bit short on a few fronts–its trackpad wasn’t as good as a MacBook, it didn’t boot or resume as quickly as we had hoped, and the original price, around $1,650, was way out of line with what consumers were looking to spend.              More

CES – Eyes On Sony’s Insane Crystal LED Prototype Display

Gizmodo - Today during Sony’s CES press conference, Sir Howard Stringer oh-so-casually dropped news about this prototype Crystal LED display they have in the works. As it turns out, it’s probably the coolest thing Sony has at CES.

What sets the Crystal LED tech apart from other display technology is that instead of using LED’s to light up pixels, Sony up and replaced all the pixels with LEDs. That means that there are six million miniature red, blue and green LED’s lighting up and delivering a crystal clear, razor sharp picture to our eyes. And seeing it up close was impressive.                More

Motorola Announces Droid 4, Droid RAZR MAXX on Verizon Wireless

LAS VEGAS—At CES 2012, Motorola and Verizon Wireless have launched the Motorola Droid 4 and the Droid RAZR MAXX, two 4G LTE-powered smartphones for Verizon’s network.

The two companies are billing the Droid 4 as the thinnest 4G LTE QWERTY smartphone on the market—4G LTE and QWERTY being two things that usually lead to thicker phones. The Droid 4 measures 5 by 2.7 by 0.5 inches (HWD) and weighs 6.3 ounces. That’s no Droid RAZR, but it’ll certainly do given what’s under the hood. The new version looks a little softer and classier than the Droid 3. In addition to the five-row physical keyboard, which features sharp-looking, edge-lit keys, the Droid 4 also includes a 1.2GHz dual-core processor (bumped from the Droid 3′s 1GHz)and 1GB RAM.

The 4-inch qHD (540-by-960-pixel) display features “scratch- and scrape-resistant” glass, but is otherwise similar to the Droid 3′s panel. Motorola says the entire Droid 4 is enclosed in a water-repellant nanocoating as well. There’s still an 8-megapixel camera on board with 1080p video recording, plus 16GB internal storage, a microSD memory card slot, and a useful mirroring mode to throw images or video on a living room or hotel HDTV.



One annoying downside: The Droid 4 ships with Android 2.3.5 (Gingerbread), instead of Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich). Motorola is promising an upgrade to ICS in the second quarter of 2012, but we’re moving past the point where at least high-end phones should come preloaded with Android 4.0.

As a Motorola Android phone, the Droid 4 is another device that works with Motorola’s increasingly large array of convertible accessories, including the 10.1-inch Lapdock 100, the 14-inch Lapdock 500 Pro, the Vehicle Navigation Dock, and the HD Docking Station, plus Motorola’s Webtop mode, which runs a desktop version of Mozilla Firefox and sports task automation features. The keyboarded Droid 4 also keeps up Motorola’s business end of the equation, with support for government-grade FIPS 140-2 encryption for data security and a Citrix Receiver for Android client preloaded. It also sports a 4G LTE mobile hotspot mode that works with up to eight devices simultaneously with the appropriate Verizon Wireless plan.

View Slideshow

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All told, the sharp-looking Droid 4 gives the Droid3 the LTE radio it should have had, but is now stuck on an OS that the world is already moving away from, at least for a few months—presumably thanks to Motorola’s relatively heavy UI layer and all that Webtop mode stuff, it has to move over to ICS.                        More

CES 2012 – CNET Coverage

forbes.com

Samsung Galaxy Attain, LG Connect give MetroPCS an LTE boost
MetroPCS is doubling down on LTE this CES with two new Android 2.3 Gingerbread phones. more

Griffin’s Twenty amps up AirPlay for Apple’s Airport Express
Griffin’s upcoming Twenty accessory is an audio amplifier that uses an Airport Express to capture the AirPlay stream, decode it, then send the lossless, amplified sound through speakers. more

Elgato’s data-pumping SSD comes to Thunderbolt’s aid
Thunderbolt is a fast interface that so far has been available only on Macs. Elgato is joining the fray with new flash-based drives announced at CES. more


Flip’s gone, but Toshiba adds 3D and WiFi to Camileo mini camcorder lineup
Toshiba has introduced two new compact digital video cameras, the Camileo Z100, which has a 3D capture mode, and the Camileo Air10, a Flip-style camcorder that features built-in WiFi. more

Nuance Dragon TV roars for attention
The move by Nuance is especially notable given all the chatter about Apple someday delivering a TV connected with its Siri software. more
Canon supersizes G series sensor
With a new model entering the top of its enthusiast compact camera line, Canon introduces the largest sensor available in that market segment. more

Canon camcorders stay the course at CES 2012
Other than adding Wi-Fi, Canon’s consumer camcorders offer subtle updates rather than showy new features. more

And, much, much more.  Check it out at CNET

ASUS roadmap outed: Transformer Prime 3G incoming; Win8 tab this year

Slash Gear -

ASUS has confirmed that there will a 3G-equipped version of the Eee Pad Transformer Prime in March, with the company also saying it plans to launch an ARM-based Windows 8 slate by the end of the year. The much-anticipated tablets were confirmed in a pre-CES briefing attended by NetbookNews, though there’s still room for some surprises next week: ASUS says it has two new models for the show, along with a further two tablets pencilled in for the latter half of 2012.

ASUS had disappointed many by announcing back in November that it had no plans – at launch, at least – for a 3G variant of the Tegra 3-based Transformer Prime. The company’s German division then reiterated that last month, claiming that no UMTS/HSPA model was incoming.             More

CES 2012: Nikon Will Exhibit Its D4 Professional DSLR Camera [VIDEO]

usatoday.com

Nikon has finally unveiled its answer for the Canon 1D X — the Nikon D4, the company’s latest professional DSLR.

The D4 will be aimed squarely at news, sports, and action photographers, firing at 10 full resolution frames per second with its Nikon-developed 16.2-megapixel FX sensor.

Nikon calls the D4 its “new flagship,” as it will likely replace the current 12.3-megapixel D3s as the go-to for sports and action photography, with the D3x remaining as the high-resolution option for studio shooters.

The combination of high ISO performance, full-frame sensor, and fast shot-to-shot speed should make the D4 a speed demon for many professional and prosumer customers willing to pony up its $6,000 price tag (body-only).

The D4 will also offer a familiar pentaprism viewfinder with 100% coverage, but it will have a few new tricks up its sleeve. For instance, the camera will be able to detect and properly expose up to 16 faces, according to Nikon, even when shooting through the optical viewfinder.                 More

Bluetooth 4.0-powered Cobra Tag G5 needs only biannual recharges

The Cobra Tag G5 only needs recharging as often as 
your clocks need setting for daylight saving time. 
(Credit: Cobra)

LAS VEGAS–As helpful as the original Cobra Tag was for a forgetful guy like me, it had one fatal flaw: I kept forgetting to recharge the darn thing!

The new Cobra Tag G5, set to be unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, now only needs charging twice per year. Cobra is claiming more than six months of monitoring between recharges of the new Tag G5 thanks to its implementation of Bluetooth 4.0 technology.

However, in order to achieve this astronomic battery life, the phone the Tag G5 is paired with will also need to support Bluetooth 4.0–for now, that means only the Motorola Droid RAZR and the Apple iPhone 4S. (When we originally tested the first Cobra Tag, it was an Android only-affair. So, iOS device support is also a new trick.) I’m guessing that with phones using Bluetooth 3.0 or older, the new Tag G5 will see similar battery life to the first-generation Tag.                   More