Intel Seeks Visibility in Cloud Service Market

Intel is making a concerted effort to get traction among cloud customers -- an area where the company already dominates, but is seeking to further entrench itself.

Intel on Wednesday announced a new initiative aimed at the cloud space. The new 

 “Powered by Intel Cloud Technology” program purportedly aims to improve customer experience and value as well as the company’s cloud service capabilities.

In an emailed exchange, an Intel spokesman said it has partnered with 16 leading cloud service providers who have, when combined, in total $3.5 billion of cloud revenue. Those partners plan to provide a service that allows their customers to get a sense of the hardware behind their Intel-based cloud technology. Intel spokesman explained that such a brand visibility is important, just as drivers of a car want to know what kind of engine runs inside of it.

Intel’s new program helps communicate differentiation, Intel claimed, and it improves service performance -- although the company failed to offer specifics. Intel promised it will also improve reliability and security, thus assuring that customers get solid return on investment. The program includes Intel’s integrated Cloud Finder online search engine, which enables customers to find companies that provide cloud services built on similar Intel technology.

Charles King, president and principal analyst at market research firm Pund-IT, said in an interview with EE Times that Intel’s new program came out of cooperation between Intel and Amazon. “You could call this arose from a very successful experimental collaboration with Amazon,” he said.

Building a window into the cloud
 

As for how this program helps differentiate Intel from its competitors in the cloud market, King indicated that there was little competition Intel needs to differentiate itself from as it stands. “I’m not quite sure that there are any competitors doing anything similar to this,” he said. “I think a program like this is necessary because in highly virtualized x86 cloud service environments there are choices that customers can make regarding infrastructure components, the amount of memory, the kind of storage components involved, etc. This program allows customers to figure out what kind of service and what kind of components they need to sign up for.”

Intel may, however, be looking to protect itself from new competition emerging as a result of cloud companies running ARM-based servers. King, however, dismissed that possibility, saying he is not high on ARM servers. The fact remains that new companies are moving into the cloud space and a fair amount of disruption is emerging from different areas of the cloud and server markets.

There is a disadvantage to not having a certain level of transparency of this kind, according to King. “On the down side, if businesses go into cloud services without an exact idea of what kind of services they need, they can run into some serious disappointment, which is really not good for anybody,” he said. “Intel is in a literal sense attempting to build a window into the cloud, which allows everyone to understand what’s going on in a much clearer and more intelligent manner.”

As for how this will impact the future of cloud services, King said that if the program works ideally, as Intel intends it to, it should help cloud services be more predictable and more transparent in a way that should benefit everyone involved. That includes the customers, he said, but also the cloud service providers involved in the program as well as Intel itself.

Intel explained that cloud service providers need to handle a variety of workloads their customers have.

For instance, customers may have simple web hosting but not know exactly what’s inside. The variability of what the customer gets could be up to 60%, Intel said. The cost of using the service may go up compared to what a customer would have paid if better hardware was available. This program is going to expose those features so that the user is able to make more informed decisions.

Intel CPUs power 90 percent or more of the cloud today. Instead of promoting sales of high-end CPUs, Intel said that the new program’s goal is to expose the instances of high-end and lower-end hardware so that people who buy it are aware of the technology they are going to use

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Rokit Boosts Technology Blog Reports Latest News on iPhone 5, Apple Product Developments, Bluetooth Accessories, and More

Rokit Boost offers customers the newest, most state-of-the-art mobile accessories, so it comes as no surprise that they also publish a blog relaying the most recent Apple and technology news. The blog provides details about their latest products, like the iPhone 5 battery case that provides 125% more charge, their lightweight Bluetooth headset, and convenient wireless Bluetooth speakers. However, the vast majority of articles which are posted several times each week relay the biggest technology stories of the day.

The Rokit Boost team writes about every kind of technology issue one can imagine, from an Apple retrospective (When iPhone met world, 7 years ago today) to economics updates (App Store Downloads and Revenue Surpasses 50% Growth on Christmas Day 2013) to electronics security coverage (Leaked Documents Show NSA Could Tap iPhones, Apple Denies Involvement).

Despite the fact that Rokit Boost only created this blog two months ago, there are already more than twenty categories and multiple pages for technology-lovers to peruse. The blogs search function also allows readers to find eloquent, well-researched pieces about whatever interests them. The blogs comment platform also allows their fan community to further discuss the important issues of the day.

In addition to providing high-quality technology news to their patrons, Rokit Boosts blog also demonstrates the companys expertise in their field. In order to provide the most cutting-edge design and fill important gaps in the competitive mobile accessories market, it is vital that the company understand the ever-shifting technology industry. Both Rokit Boosts innovative products and their comprehensive blog show their commitment to this field.

About RokitBoost

Rokit Boost provides unique luxury electronics accessories at a great value. The companys mission is to help their buyers enjoy their beloved mobile devices even more. Their blog is just one of many features that cater to their tech-savvy customers.

They also have a technical support forum designed to offer efficient assistance, a one-year warranty on all products, a 30-day money-back guarantee, and free U.S. shipping.

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The air bag: Self-driving cars at Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas

Las Vegas’s annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is all about razzle and dazzle. Every January for the past 35 years, the crème de la crème of the geek world has descended upon the Nevada desert to turn Sin City into Nerd Heaven.

Geeky though it may be, however, CES is really the harbinger of all that is new in the digital world. And electronics are seemingly important enough that automakers are now unveiling all new cars in Vegas, just a week ahead of the once omnipotent Detroit North American International Auto Show.

The problem with being dazzled is that the hype seldom matches reality. So it was that Audi’s A8 drove itself onto centre stage at the convention hall inside Sin City’s ultra hedonistic Cosmopolitan hotel to much applause. Said applause grew stronger when the company previewed a video showing a chauffeur able to, well, chauffeur his clients hither and yon all from the comfort of his cozy den, the car literally driving itself with no one behind the wheel. The crowd was, to put it mildly, wowed.

Only it’s an illusion. The technology that will allow a car to drive itself to far-flung destinations with no one behind the wheel is, if not quite ready for prime time, certainly on the horizon.

What still very much needs to be ironed out is who is responsible for that car when no one is behind the wheel. That is, if the car suffers a glitch – like your laptop just last week – and runs down a load of schoolchildren, who is responsible?

Not Audi, that’s for sure. As Ulrich Hackenberg, Audi’s board member for technical development, explained, Audi mandates that all its cars – self-driving or not – have a driver behind the wheel. The driver, Ulrich noted, is still by law responsible for the car. So, yes, although you will start seeing cars in the not-so-distant future that are able to drive themselves, chances are you’ll still be behind the steering wheel and, no, you won’t be sleeping or reading a newspaper because if something does happen, you’re expected to take the reins, no matter how autonomous the car company will claim its products are.

Nor was the question of autonomous motoring the only legality raised at this year’s monster electronics exhibition. Google announced numerous alliances with automakers – Audi included – that will see all manner of communication between car and man. Or, at least, his smartphone.

But, as has become readily apparent in recent months, the question of who owns all that data Google collects is problematic. While most current automobiles have “black boxes” that collect data on where you went, how fast you got there and what time you arrived, we are now entering an era where all this information will be “cloud based”; in other words, on someone else’s server.

Such technology may prove even more invasive to our privacy than our smartphones. We can, after all, shut those down; these new cars will always be “connected”. Police already access the on-board versions of these black boxes in case of accidents. Will they be able to access Google’s database to give you tickets without even having to actually catch you in the act? Ditto for insurance companies who would, no doubt, be very interested in a comprehensive history of your driving habits.

What else was there? Ford showed off some updated apps – one can help you order pizza from Domino’s – for its Sync system and showed off a C-Max Hybrid with a solar panel built into its roof. Audi unveiled some laser-powered headlights that are reputedly three times as luminescent as its current LEDs and Mercedes-Benz trumpeted a watch that will let you stay connected with your car 24/7.

On a thankfully less geeky note, Chevrolet announced a Performance Data Recorder option for its Corvette complete with a 720P windscreen-mounted video camera that lets you automatically record and display your latest racetrack foray. Score one for the gearheads

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Toshiba Flash Marries Q'comm SoCs in Vegas

Toshiba America Electronic Components announced at the Consumer Electronics Show that its universal flash storage (UFS) implementation will be added to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 802 chipset. UFS version 2.0 products will go into production for smartphones and tablets in the second quarter.

"You'll see some initial systems at end of 2014, but basically 2015 is when the primary ramp is," Scott Beekman, senior business development manager for mobile communications memory at TAEC, told us. "By 2016, we expect UFS to account for the majority of [flash] demand for tablets and smartphones."

UFS, a next-generation embedded flash memory device (following eMMC), delivers a threefold boost in performance for advanced mobile applications. UFS 2.0 supports a maximum data rate of 1.2Gbit/s, compared with 400 MBit/s for eMMC 5.0. The UFS serial interface supports command queuing, as well as full duplex operation to read and write at same time.

Though eMMC has lower idle/sleep power and a lower cost, Beekman said UFS provides better power efficiency, and he expects the price gap between the two to decrease over time. UFS 2.0 is not backward compatible with the earlier version 1.1, which ran at up to 300 Mbit/s.

"High-end smartphones and tablets will be the first to adopt and take advantage of the performance benefits of UFS over e-MMC," Scott Nelson, senior vice president of TAEC's memory business unit, said in a press release. "As UFS migrates to mid-range products, the embedded mobile memory market will transition from e-MMC to UFS, though e-MMC will likely continue to support the low-end for some time."

Among lower-tier mobile devices, Beekman said, eMMC will remain dominant though 2016, when UFS will account for approximately 40% of the market. By 2017, UFS will surpass eMMC.

Toshiba is the first company to announce product-ready shipments of UFS, though Beekman said he expects major NAND suppliers will also ship UFS. "Given eMMC is such a dominate solution for smartphones and tablets, it's an important step toward a new solution in the market."

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Qualcomm Snapdragon 802 Powers Smart TVs

Qualcomm announced its latest processor at 2014 International CES -- the  Snapdragon 802, a fully integrated SoC designed for next-generation smart TVs, set-top boxes, and digital media adapters. Qualcomm claims Snapdragon will provide for ultra HD content, rich user interfaces, seamless decoding, and console-quality gaming as well as concurrent use cases.

The Snapdragon 802 processor will begin sampling early this year and is expected to be in commercial devices by late 2014. Theoretically, users will be able to watch a movie while browsing the web at the same time, and Qualcomm hopes that those 

streams can be shared with mobile devices.

"Combining the efficient integration of our Snapdragon processing and connectivity components with Qualcomm Technologies' demonstrated expertise in Android will enable the ultimate home entertainment experience with compelling new ways to watch, play, and interact," said Murthy Renduchintala, executive vice president of Qualcomm Technologies Inc. and co-president of QCT, in a release.

Snapdragon runs on a quad-core 1.8GHz Krait CPU and an Adreno 330 GPU. The SoC also has a dedicated low-power core for digital signal processing, dual-band (2.4 and 5 GHz) support for HD video transmissions, and support for dual-band 802.11ac WiFi networks, "so those 4K streams will have the bandwidth they need," the release continues.

While Qualcomm CEO Steve Mollenkopf said home-based products such as Snapdragon for smart TV allow the vendor to gain traction in Internet of Things development, one analyst wasn't sure what was unique about the new processor.

"I think Qualcomm is going to be facing a lot of competition in this market. There are a number of Chinese companies making SoCs in the market where many TVs are made," Peter Glaskowsky, contributing analyst with The Envisioneering Group, told EE Times.

Glaskowsky added that Qualcomm doesn't necessarily need to move into the smart TV market, though the company's brand value may be helpful in non-Chinese markets.

"I don't think that, for a company like Qualcomm, smart TVs could be considered necessary -- they have so much business in so many other areas," he said. "There won't be much opportunity to make money because of low-cost competition in the domestic Chinese market. Qualcomm's cost will be higher than various Chinese SoC companies."

Still, Glaskowsky said most of the customer-visible value in a smart TV comes from the panel, not the SoC.

“The SoC just can't be a source of dramatic competitive advantage. There are some opportunities for differentiation in panel technology that would have to be supported by new features in the SoC -- higher resolution, higher frame rates, wider color gamut, etc. -- but still, the tail does not wag the dog.”

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Platform Brings Hypervisor & Virtualization to Automotive

At this year's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Harman showcases a scalable platform for in-vehicle infotainment in the connected car. The platform transplants concepts known from commercial and consumer computing -- such as hypervisors and virtual systems -- to automotive environments. Plus, it takes care about cyber security and eases system integration in vehicles.

The platform demoed at the CES enables the development of apps, which can be downloaded to the automotive infotainment system by users, much like it is the case today in smartphone and tablet environments. Running under Linux and supporting type 1 hypervisors (the type of hypervisor that runs under the operating system and connects the latter to the hardware), the platform uses multiple computing domains, isolated from each other to ensure system security.

Though virtualization has yet to see the broad breakthrough in automotive electronics, the degree of separation enabled through virtualization offers automotive-grade security and stability since program errors can have no consequences for other virtual machines running on the same platform. Likewise, it protects safety-critical applications from unauthorised penetration attempts. Thus, the platform can run safety-critical applications -- and access such applications running elsewhere in the vehicle -- without the risk of being compromised by hackers.

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Samsung Electronics down 18% to $7.8 billion, misses street estimates

Samsung said October-December operating profit fell 18 per cent to 8.3 trillion won ($7.8 billion) from the prior quarter's record earnings

Samsung Electronics Co Ltd said October-December operating profit fell 18 per cent to 8.3 trillion won ($7.8 billion) from the prior quarter's record earnings, missing analyst estimates, due primarily to a one-off special bonus.

Samsung is bracing itself for its weakest smartphone profit growth this year since it started making the devices in 2007, as arch rival Apple Inc challenges its domination in China's $80 billion market.

Samsung's mobile devices business, which earns two thirds of the company's profit, will come under pressure when Apple makes its phones available from Jan. 17 via ChinaMobile Ltd , through which Samsung has been selling smartphones for around seven years.

Apple is also widely expected to sell smartphones with larger screens come autumn when it traditionally announces products, neutralising a selling point that Samsung has enjoyed since introducing its Galaxy Note in late 2011.

"Even taking into account one-off costs, the profit is lower than expected. Samsung has not provided details, but smartphone profit may have fared worse than expected, given increased marketing expenses," said Lee Seung-woo, an analyst at IBK Investment & Securities.

The guidance, released on Tuesday ahead of full quarterly results scheduled for Jan. 24, was lower than a 9.75 trillion won Thomson Reuters' Starmine SmartEstimate of 23 analysts, which gives greater weighting to the more accurate analysts.

At 8.3 trillion won, it was even below the most bearish forecast of 8.8 trillion won, and was the lowest since the 8.06 trillion won of the third quarter of 2012.

The reading would be 18 per cent less than the record 10.2 trillion won of July-September as Apple enjoyed buoyant sales in the United States and Japan during the year-end holiday season.

Fourth-quarter earnings were also likely pulled down by a special bonus related to the 20th anniversary of the "New Management" strategy of Chairman Lee Kun-hee, which analyst estimates put at 300 billion to 700 billion won.

"Samsung's special incentive payments to employees including domestic and overseas units appear to have been much larger than the market expected; marketing costs of its mobile business might have also been larger," said Kim Young-chan, tech analyst at Shinhan Investment Corp.

The South Korean firm estimated its fourth-quarter sales at 59 trillion won, versus a market forecast of 61 trillion won.

Samsung shares have been pummelled in recent weeks by 22 analysts downgrading fourth-quarter earnings estimates over the past 30 days.

The shares, worth $190 billion, fell 10 per cent over the past fortnight to a 4-month low last week, wiping off market value to the tune of $19 billion - equal to the total value of shares of Sony Corp.

The won's rise to a five-year high against the US dollar has also been prompting investors to sell, as a strong won reduces the value of Samsung's repatriated earnings.

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Daily Report: ‘Smart TVs’ in the Spotlight at Consumer Electronics Show

The TV industry has innovated itself into a corner, Brian X. Chen and Nick Wingfield report. Crisp, high-definition TVs as big as 50 diagonal inches can be had for a few hundred dollars. Why bother upgrading or paying more for a fancy new one? Many people don’t.

And if you spend much of your time watching streaming video on a tablet or phone, paying for a better TV seems even more pointless. So for several years now, TV sales have been lackluster.

Electronics manufacturers, though, are not losing hope. And at the 47th International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, scheduled to open on Monday, they will show how they intend to attract more customers. In many cases, it will be by offering so-called smart TVs that can connect to the Internet and run apps.

“Consumers are telling us they’re more interested in connected” televisions, said Benjamin Arnold, an analyst at the NPD Group, the research firm.

For example, at the show, Roku, the manufacturer known for making set-top boxes that include Netflix streaming, will announce designs for integrating its streaming media service directly into television sets. Two Chinese manufacturers, Hisense and TCL, will make the first products based on the designs. Roku, which is based in Saratoga, Calif., will show six television set models at the show with its service built in, said Anthony Wood, the company’s chief executive.

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Samsung banner outs Galaxy Note Pro and Galaxy Tab Pro a few hours early (updated)

A giant banner outside the Las Vegas convention centre confirms our suspicions: Samsung has plans to launch a new Galaxy Note tablet at CES 2014, and it will be called the Galaxy Note Pro. 

The banner snapped by Android Central doesn't give a specific screen size for the Galaxy Note Pro, but if the rumours and FCC filings hold true it will come in at a whopping 12.2-inches. An alleged photo of the tablet from last year showed a faux-leather back on the tablet, like the Galaxy Note smartphone line. (Key update below)

Read: Samsung said to launch four tablets in Q1 2014, including cheap Galaxy Tab 3 Lite

According to specification leaks, the Android 4.3 Jelly Bean tablet will allegedly boast a speedy quad-core 2.3GHz Snapdragon 800 processor, 8-megapixel rear camera, 2-megapixel front camera, and 32GB of storage. As for the 12.2-inch display, it will have a pixel density of 2560 x 1600, making for an incredibly sharp experience.

The banner hanging in the Las Vegas heat also mentions a Galaxy Tab Pro. SamMobile reported in December that it will come in two screen sizes: 8.4- and 10.1-inches with 16GB of storage out of the box. (Update: EvLeaks has tweeted a press photo of both.)

All of the speculation and leaks are set to be cleared up at Samsung's press event on Monday at 2pm PST. Pocket-lint will be live bringing you the latest news and first impressions through our Samsung hub. 

Update: EvLeaks has posted alleged specifications for both models. The 12.2-inch Galaxy Note Pro will reportedly have an S-Pen, LTE capabilities, 8-megapixel rear-camera, 2-megapixel front-camera, 3GB of RAM, 32GB/64GB of storage, 9500mAh battery, and Android KitKat.

The Galaxy Tab Pro will come in three sizes according to EvLeaks: 8.4, 10.1, and 12.2-inch. Apart from S-Pen and overall design, specifications remain the same as the Note Pro. 

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LG's curved 4K OLED TVs coming to CES

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A 77-inch television with a curved screen and resolution four times better than today's high-definition TV will be a centerpiece of LG Electronics' product line-up at next week's International CES in Las Vegas.

The TV's screen is based on OLED (organic light emitting diode), a fundamentally different technology from LCD (liquid crystal display), the dominant flat-screen type in use today. Compared to LCDs, OLED panels produce pictures that appear brighter, crisper, more colorful and more vibrant to most people.

The technology has been in commercial use for several years in smartphones, but display makers are still struggling to reliably produce OLED screens at screen sizes large enough for televisions.

The difficulties in production mean many OLED products never reach the market or, if they do, remain prohibitively expensive for most consumers.

The curved OLED televisions that will be on display at CES are not new. The Seoul-based company and cross-town rival Samsung Electronics both showed off curved TVs at August's IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin, but their appearance at CES will be the first time they are on show at a major U.S. exhibition.

Alongside the 77-inch TV, LG said it will also show 65-inch and 55-inch models.

The screens pack four times the number of pixels than a conventional high-definition TV screen. The resolution, at 3,840 pixels by 2,160 pixels, has been dubbed "4K" or "Ultra HD" by the consumer electronics industry.

LG will also be showing OLED TVs that have conventional high-definition screens. To date, LG has only put one such TV on sale, a 55-inch HD model. It costs $10,000.

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Samsung to showcase Galaxy Camera 2 at Consumer Electronics Show

Galaxy Camera 2 features a 21x-zoom wide-angle lens, which contains 16-megapixel backside-illuminated sensor. The device is installed with a massive 4.8-inch HD touch display.

The camera runs on a 1.6GHz quad-core processor and contains 2GB of RAM. It includes 8GB of internal storage capacity, out of which only 2.8GB is user accessible. Storage of the camera can be further expanded up to 64GB via microSD memory card. The device also provides Wi-Fi, GPS, NFC and Bluetooth as connectivity options.

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High-tech autos get spotlight at Consumer Electronics Show

High-tech cars like Audi's Sport Quattro Laserlight will be in the spotlight at the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Audi will light the way for an increasingly high-tech auto industry next week when it introduces its Sport Quattro Laserlight concept vehicle at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

The CES extravaganza has traditionally been the place where techies track breakthroughs in TV, smartphone and computer technologies, but in recent years, there’s been an increasing focus on the automobile – and no wonder, considering some of today’s cars are likely to have more microprocessing power than the most sophisticated homes.

Technology is transforming virtually every aspect of the automobile, from engines to headlights – and even the mundane windshield wiper. Some of the year’s biggest breakthroughs will make their debut at CES and the 2014 North American International Auto Show, or NAIAS, that follows barely a week later in Detroit.

The Audi Sport Quattro Laserlight offers a good example of just how broad the automotive tech revolution has become. Its muscular yet windswept body was developed entirely on a computer-aided design system that can not only simulate high-speed airflow but even different crash scenarios. Its drivetrain is a plug-in hybrid that even while producing a jaw-dropping 700 horsepower is expected to yield as much as 94 miles per gallon and 31-mile range on battery power alone.

And its headlights combine state-of-the-art LED low beams with even more advanced laser high-beams that, Audi claims, yield “approximately twice the lighting range and three times the luminosity of LED high beam lights.” That translates into a light beam that can light up an obstacle nearly a third of a mile ahead.

Ford will bring its prototype C-Max Solar Energi to the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next week.

 With tough new mileage standards rapidly approaching in 2016, and even more stringent rules set for 2025, some of the biggest technological developments are taking place under the hood. Virtually every major automaker now offers at least one conventional hybrid vehicle, and a growing number are rolling out new plug-in and pure battery-electric vehicles.

Ford will bring to CES its prototype C-Max Solar Energi, a version of the plug-in “people-mover” now in dealer showrooms. In this case, however, the maker says buyers would be able to ditch the plug thanks to a new “concentrator” technology that could boost the amount of energy harvested from the sun and used to recharge the show car’s batteries.

At the Detroit auto show, meanwhile, Toyota will stage the North American debut of its new fuel-cell vehicle prototype. A production version of the hydrogen-powered vehicle is scheduled to go on sale in 2015 – though Hyundai plans to beat the Japanese giant to market with a fuel cell version of its Tucson crossover set for launch this spring.

Kia will bring its new GT4 Stinger concept sports car to Detroit's North American International Auto Show.

Even the conventional gasoline engine is undergoing a transformation thanks to new and improved technologies like direct injection and advanced turbocharging. Kia will bring to Detroit its GT4 Stinger, a concept sports car whose tiny 2.0-liter engine will produce as much horsepower as a V-8 twice its size – while sipping far less fuel.

Expect to see plenty of new safety technology debut this year, much of it the precursor to the autonomous vehicles makers like Nissan, Ford and General Motors are promising to put into production by the beginning of the next decade. Forward collision warning systems will be on a record number of vehicles on display in Detroit – more and more capable of stopping a vehicle entirely in a traffic jam, or if a potential collision is spotted.

The new 2015 Hyundai Genesis will add a novel system designed to detect when there’s a build-up of carbon dioxide in the cabin, which might cause a motorist to get drowsy. The system will automatically vent the cabin if CO2 levels get above 2,500 parts per million.

There’ll also be plenty of new technology at a motorist’s fingertips. Manufacturers are promising to reveal an assortment of updated infotainment systems at both the CES and NAIAS. Expect to see more vehicles – including a wide range of new Chevrolet models -- offered with in-car 4G hotspots that can increase data access, a great way to keep kids occupied on long trips or to yield faster access to e-mail, music and other online services. Among other things, makers plan to provide access to an increasing number of smartphone apps, such as the Pandora and Stitcher music services.

Even the most mundane features of a car are being touched by this high-tech revolution. Ford’s C-Max introduced a system that can detect a motorist’s foot waggling under the rear bumper and pop open the hatch. With the new Hyundai Genesis, you’ll only stand near the trunk with keys in pocket for a few seconds for it to open up.

Meanwhile, Mercedes and several other makers are taking the windshield wiper high-tech to improve their ability to keep the glass clear. In fact, the wiper might soon disappear entirely. Britain’s McLaren hopes to adopt a system developed for military jets that use sonic waves to clear the windshield. And Italian design house Pininfarina has a concept car dubbed Hidra that uses a special, multi-layer coating that repels both water and dirt, which it says could be in production within a few years.

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Must-See TV at CES: Mobile Display Processing

For the conventioneers in Las Vegas at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) next week, one of the not-to-be-missed demos is how the motion video quality of movies and NFL football games, displayed on smartphones or tablets, can be sharpened with display processing technology.

Demonstrations at CES will include side-by-side video quality comparisons of mobile devices -- with and without display processing -- at Pixelworks' suite in the Las Vegas Hotel and Casino.

Pixelworks, a company known for enabling very high-quality images on gigantic 4Kx2K Ultra High Definition TVs for the world's leading brand names, claims to be extending its principles of video display processing to 5-inch smartphones and 6-inch to 10-inch tablets -- for the first time in the industry.

"You will see pretty impressive differences," Richard Miller, senior vice president of Pixelworks, told EE Times.

Pixelworks is betting on an on-going market shift that is turning a so-called "third screen" (mobile display) into many consumers "first screen" (TV).

More and more people no longer think twice about treating their media tablet as their primary TV-viewing screen. They cuddle up with their tablet on a sofa or in bed, simply to watch a movie or a TV show, or catch a football game on the go, more often than they might readily admit.

The irony, Miller said, is that the display processors now commonly used in every HDTV and UHDTV set have never been included in mobile devices.

New battle line
 

Pixelworks hopes that 2014 will be the first year for content owners and mobile device manufacturers to start exploiting mobile video display processing as a new battle line to differentiate their offerings and consumers' mobile video viewing experience.

On a very high-quality mobile display, such as Retina display, the industry consensus is that "you can't see pixels anymore." But let's not forget that this claim applies just to still images. Motion video is another matter.

Typical issues with moving video -- such as judder, motion blur, contrast, sharpness, and color artifacts -- can be even more pronounced, and "look objectionable to human eyes," on higher resolution mobile displays, according to Miller.

In order to display content -- movies at 24Hz or sports at 30Hz -- on a 60Hz mobile display, there are only two ways to adjust the mismatch, said Miller. One is "frame repeat," showing the first frame twice and the second frame three times in case of 24Hz movies, or doubling every frame for sports. Another is using temporal interpolation -- essentially guessing where the pixel goes next without repeating frames -- based on Motion Estimation and Motion Compensation (MEMC) technologies. MEMC is a well understood technique, but there are many different ways to do it.

Pixelworks' portfolio of video display solutions includes its own patented MEMC and unique Frame Rate Conversion (FRC), which the company claims significantly reduce judder and motion blur while increasing the sharpness of motion video.

Simply slapping a separate display processor onto a smartphone or tablet won't solve the problem, however. Mobile devices face additional issues such as power and memory bandwidth, explained Miller.

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Fortemedia Announces Its Participation at the 2014 International Consumer Electronics Show

Fortemedia is pleased to announce its participation in the 2014 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) to be held in Las Vegas, Nevada from January 7th to 10th. Fortemedia will showcase and exhibit new technologies in an invitation only private suite at the Las Vegas Hotel, next to the convention center.

"CES provides a perfect avenue to demonstrate Fortemedia's key technologies," said Dr. Paul Huang, CEO and chairman of Fortemedia, Inc. "Fortemedia's advanced microphone and beam forming technologies enable consumers to use their devices in a more natural way, thereby creating a superior user experience."

Fortemedia will be located in Suite 1665 in the east tower of the Las Vegas Hotel (LVH). Product demonstrations include the recently announced FM1388 and FM1488 voice processors, specifically targeting automotive and SmartTV applications. Fortemedia will also be demonstrating key technologies for PC notebook and smartphone markets.

Please contact CES@Fortemedia.com to schedule a private demo and speak to Fortemedia's executives at CES 2014.
 
About Fortemedia Inc.

Fortemedia Inc., headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, is the world leader in voice processing technology. Fortemedia's focus is on developing technology for cell phones, PCs, headsets, automotive and VoIP applications, providing leading edge performance in voice quality enhancement to both hands-free and hand-held voice communications. With over 100 patents and superior performance in beam-forming noise suppression, echo cancellation and wind noise suppression, Fortemedia's leading solutions have been adopted by industry leaders across a wide variety of markets. For more information, visit www.Fortemedia.com.

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Elio Motors to Appear at ShowStoppers at the 2014 International Consumer Electronics Show

ShowStoppers at CES is an ideal stage for Elio Motors to present their technologically friendly $6,800, 84 mpg, three-wheel vehicle, which will be introduced to the U.S. car market in the first quarter of 2015.

“Elio Motors is focused on affordability, and with an 8-gallon tank that can travel upward of 670 miles without the need for a fill up, this vehicle is unlike anything else in today’s market,” says Paul Elio, Founder and Chief Executive Officer for Elio Motors. “Our ultra-high mileage appeals to consumers in addition to our aftermarket-friendly design and assortment of customizable options. Showcasing the Elio at ShowStoppers is a wonderful opportunity to highlight how this vehicle can be personalized with a variety of electronics and we are excited to be a part of this internationally renowned event.”

“The Elio’s ground-breaking Safety Management System is a perfect example of how we are working to put an innovative twist on transportation,” Elio continues. 

“Everything from the safety features to the sound system on the Elio can be customized, and we’re committed to having a vehicle that reflects consumers’ interests and needs.”

Aside from top-notch safety features, Elio Motors has devoted their attention to state-of-the-art vehicle design and the latest technology concepts. The vehicle’s aerodynamic body and composite panels deter outside noises from reaching the cockpit, which will ensure clear listening quality when drivers use future Elio electronic features such as an in-vehicle smartphone docking station.

Updated information can be found at http://www.eliomotors.com.

About Elio
 

Elio Motors was born out of Paul Elio’s vision for an efficient and affordable revolutionary vehicle. The American made, three-wheel vehicle boasts 84 mpg on the highway and 49 mpg in the city, plus an anticipated 5-star safety rating. At $6,800, this vehicle is for everyone. For more information, please visit 

http://www.eliomotors.com or http://www.facebook.com/ElioMotors.

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Ford to debut C-Max solar concept car at Consumer Electronics Show

Ford's C-Max Energi solar concept car has solar panels on its roof.

Ford motor will debut a solar-powered plug-in hybrid at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next week. The C-Max Solar Energi Concept has solar panels on its roof that can charge the vehicle's battery.

If the technology proves viable in testing this year, Ford thinks it is a way to free some rechargable vehicles from wall sockets.

But there’s a catch. The solar panels on top of the C-Max can capture only enough energy to charge up the battery to about one-eighth full — good for maybe three miles of electric-powered driving — during the day.

“While solar panels have been making strides in terms of efficiency, even if we put them on the hood, you still couldn’t recharge the battery enough,” said Mike Tinskey, Ford’s director of vehicle electrification and vehicle infrastructure.

To make the system more useful the automaker has developed a special concentrator that acts like a magnifying glass, directing intense rays to solar panels on the vehicle’s roof, Tinskey said.

When parked under the concentrator canopy — which covers an area a little bigger than a typical parking space — the car will autonomously make adjustments to its position to capture the most sunlight.

“This eliminates the challenge of having to install a charging station in a parking lot,” Tinskey said.

Ford sees potential for the system in workplace parking lots, areas where people leave their cars for the six to eight hours it will take to charge the battery. Tinskey said it also might work in homes and in developing countries where the grid is not quite as reliable and the generation of electricity is not as green as in industrial nations.

The automaker will begin testing of the C-Max, which has a range of about 21 miles on electricity before a gasoline engine kicks in and extends the range to 600 miles, and the canopy later this year. Ford has not released any estimates on how much the system would cost if it is commercialized.

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ARCHOS launches Connected Self devices

ARCHOS is set to launch a whole range of wearable and personal health technologies at the upcoming CES technology show next week.

The equipment will link into the Connected Self app and will allow up to eight different users to set goals and monitor progress. In the starting lineup are:

ARCHOS Connected Scale. Recognises 4 difference users, measures body shape based on mass and height, tracks body fat mass to help users lose weight intelligently and is equipped with onboard memory to prevent data loss between synchronisations.

ARCHOS Activity tracker. Monitors daily footsteps, calories burned and automatically displays time when synchronised with a smartphone. Recharges using USB connector and is equipped with a battery life of up to 7 days.

ARCHOS Blood Pressure Monitor. Equipped with memory for over 40 different measurements also displays heart beat information. Comes with irregular heart beat detector and can filter data by time period (morning, day, night).

We are spending some time with ARCHOS at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next week, and we will bring you the latest news on all these products.

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The new 110in TV which costs more than some homes

Samsung has launched a 110 inch TV that costs at least £92,000 and features four times the resolution of a normal HD screen - and has already sold four of them 

Models pose with a Samsung 110-inch UHD TV. Samsung have said that the 110-inch UHD TV has four times the resolution of standard high-definition TVs and will retail for about $150,000 in South Korea.

Samsung has launched a 110 inch LCD television with four times the resolution of a traditional HD screen. The television screen was unveiled yesterday in South Korea, where the basic model will initially go on sale for 160 million won, giving it a UK price of around £92,000. It is expected that most sales will be custom orders that could cost much more.

The screen was mentioned at last year’s Consumer Electronics Show with a promised release date at some point during 2013. The company has just managed to keep to that schedule, launching it on the penultimate day of the year and less than a week before the start of next year’s CES in Las Vegas.

U-HD (Ultra-High Definition) can refer to either 4K, which is four times the resolution of normal HD at 3840 pixels wide by 2160 pixels tall, or 8K, which is 16 times the resolution, or 7680 pixels wide by 4320 pixels tall. Samsung’s new 110 inch model has 4K resolution.

Several manufacturers have been pushing OLED technology as the future of home entertainment as it provides greater clarity and deeper colour saturation, but manufacturing extremely larger screens has proven difficult. Devices like this latest 110 inch television use standard LCD technology.

U-HD is becoming increasingly popular and is likely to become a standard at some point in the future. According to NPD DisplaySearch, worldwide sales will rise from 1.3 million this year to 23 million in 2017. Half of those will go to the Chinese market. 

Despite the eye-watering price of its latest model, Samsung says it has already received four orders for the televisions from the Middle East.

 

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LG To Unveil Tab-Book 2, Ultra PC and AIO Desktop PC At CES 2014

Since CES is just around the corner, most of the consumer electronics products manufacturer have been in quite a rush. Among all, LG is one that has already announced to showcase 3 of their latest devices in the upcoming consumer electronic show. In fact, the south Korean company will show new models of Tab-Book 2, Ultra PC and All-in-One (AIO) PC. The devices will be officially unveiled at the CES festival.

The Tab-Book 2 is 11.6-inch tablet (Models 11T740 and 11T540) with a sliding keyboard underneath the Full HD display. The device runs Windows 8.1 on Intel Core i5 processor. The latest Tab-Book 2 models build on the success of LG's original Tab-Book, which made its first appearance at CES 2013. With a press of a button on the side of the unit, the keyboard glides smoothly out from beneath the display for immediate action. Recommended: Sony VAIO Windows Phone Tipped To Arrive in 2014 [Report] The flagship model 11T740 Tab-Book 2 is only 16.7mm thin, making it a superb solution for consumers wanting greater portability without sacrificing features. Tipping the scales at a just 1.05kg, this unique device incorporates an 11.6-inch Full HD IPS display for a maximum brightness of 400nit lumens for easy viewing outdoors. Perfectly suitable for both on-the-go entertainment and work, the model 11T740 Tab-Book 2 implements a fourth generation Intel Core i5 processor to deliver outstanding performance and a seamless user experience. Model 11T740's little sister, model 11T540 Tab-Book 2, is even lighter at only 930g with a thickness of just 13.7mm.

The Ultra PC (Model 13Z940) is actually just a notebook with a Full HD 13.3-inch IPS display with a Super Narrow 4.4mm thin bezel, Intel Core i5 processor and a 128GB or 256GB SSD. The LG Ultra PC model 13Z940 weighs less than 1kg and sports a clean, minimalist design. LG's streamlined model offers improved processing, excellent graphics performance and extended battery life thanks to the Haswell Intel Core i5 processor. The LG Ultra PC also provides instantaneous booting with its solid-state drive (128GB or 256GB) for quick access and greater user convenience. 

 

The LG Ultra PC measures only 13.6mm at its thickest point and weighs in at a very travel-friendly 980g. The Ultra PC features Reader Mode, allowing the user to alter the background of any onscreen image to resemble paper, reducing eye-strain and energy consumption. The AIO desktop PC has a 27-inch Full HD IPS panel and runs Windows 8.1 on an Intel Core CPU and NVIDIA GeForce GT 740M GPU. The PC also supports TV input and you can switch easily between the two using the remote control and even watch simultaneously with the picture in picture mode. Perfectly at home as a TV, monitor or personal computer, the LG AIO PC can easily switch from computer to TV mode using the included remote without having to reboot the PC. 

 

The AIO PC is equipped with an HDMI jack to connect to a Blu-ray player, sound bar or other HD home entertainment components. The company has not spoken about the price of the device as of now. However, since the CES is less than a week away, we can have a better look at it then.

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Hangman Products to Rock Consumer Electronics Show With Revolutionary New TV Wall Mount: The No Stud TV Hanger

When Hangman Products introduces its No Stud TV Hanger ® at the CES Show, there will be head scratching, disbelief, and, perhaps, a challenge to be proven wrong. The new TV mount defies logic at almost every turn.

First is its actual weight. Constructed out of aircraft grade aluminum brackets, and with an aircraft grade steel safety cable, the TV mount weighs in at about a pound, a fraction of the typical TV mount weight.

More shocking, as the registered trademark promises, the products design is pure innovation. Requiring absolutely no anchors, it uses only tiny nails inserted into aircraft grade aluminum interlocking brackets. The new construction is so strong, it shocked the UL testers. It will hang any flat backed LED or LCD TV up to a UL rating of 80 pounds, screens sized 26 - 47. The nails leave nothing but pinholes in the wall, making it nearly invisible upon removal.

If that is not enough, the TV Mount is so simple to install, the entire project can be completed in about the time it takes to unpack the TV from its box.

For larger TVS, Hangman also makes a low profile Simple Mount TV Hanger with a UL rating of 125 pounds, fitting screens 35 - 70 in width. Although this mount does use studs, it still installs simply in under 10 minutes.

The Hangman No Stud TV Hanger and the Simple Mount TV Hanger will be on display at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7-10, 2014, South Hall Booth #1-21948.

You will have to see it to believe it.

About Hangman Products: Hangman Products creates hardware solutions for everyday needs. The multiple-patented Hangman Systems are carefully engineered to guarantee a safe and sturdy installation while promising to hang it level every time. Hangmans products range from Hanging Pictures, Hanging Mirrors, Hanging Framed Art, TV/Stereo Mounts and Safety to Garage/Slat Wall and Organization. They are designed to meet the installation requirements for retailers, consumers and manufacturers. Hangman's ever-expanding line of products can handle even the most difficult projects.

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