MORE INFORMATION ON MY MONDAY GLOBAL TV TECH SEGMENT
Below is more information on my Global TV Morning News Jan 10 Tech Segment a CES tablets, TV makers offering more online content and the new Olympus E-PL2 digital camera as well as a replay:
http://www.globaltvedmonton.com/video/index.html?releasePID=U6G2KnqxDOEnDjg2DISYDw2QNoaX_1qd
CES RAINS TABLETS
Sexier that an iPad, the RIM is in waiting to make tens of millions of BlackBerry owners happy
Tablets were big news at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last week. There were more than dozens of ready-for-market and prototype iPad contenders from well-known makers and niche companies, some for less than $200. Most were half the screen size of the iPad down to 7-inches making them much easier to hold with one hand. Let’s check some out:
-Newly restructured Motorola Mobility’s offering, the two-core 1 GHz Atrix with Bell, has 48 GB of storage memoryIt is the most innovative offering allowing the super-powered 4-inch smart phone to connect to a Lap Dock, essentially a dumb clamshell laptop with a sharp 11.6-inch display and full-size keyboard. It also charges the phones battery when connected. Disconnecting the Atrix phone leaves no information on the Lap Dock.
-Lenovo showed the U1, actually shown at last year’s CES as the U1 Hybrid, with a new name and mission. It is a portable clam shell laptop running on Windows 7, whose 10.1-inch touch screen pulls out to become the “LePad” tablet running on Android. It synchronizes with U1 base laptop when reconnected. Unfortunately, it will only be available in China, for now.
-Microsoft-based tablets are two years away, which will leave the software giant behind in a very “now” competitive tablet market. Microsoft can stay in contention this late, if it manages to make its tablet experience work seamlessly with all its phone, Xbox and desktop products.
– Motorola Mobility announced the Xoom, featuring Android 3.0, or Honeycomb operating system, better suited for most of the 5-inch tablets than the current Android 2.2 software for smart phones.
-Samsung’s Galaxy Tab, the only current contender to the iPad , launched last fall with more than one million units sold. Still pale in comparison to the iPad ’s estimated 12 million units after Holiday season. It has more media features than the iPad , including video conferencing. Samsung turned eyes with its new Windows 7 sliding tablet, a fully powered laptop 10-inch tablet whose full thin keyboard slides under leaving you with a touch tablet. Nice.
-Dell launched the Streak 7 with 7-inch screen, video conferencing, up to 32 GB internal storage with WiFi, Bluetooth and GPS works well with the Dell family of computers. It won’t be in Canada yet so its hard to tell how well its US-based media buying services will work here.
-Toshiba showed its Tegra 2-powered, un-named 10-inch quality screen tablet behind closed doors. The construction quality was above par with video conference web and 5-megapixel cameras and all the connections one needs. But there is no cell data capability.
The success of these devices will depend on how they connect to other smaller and larger devices like cellphones and computers, even TV’s. And off course apps apps apps, something Apple has a commanding lead on.
THE RIM PLAYBOOK, AN iPad KILLER WITH A CATCH
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-The most controversial tablet, RIM’s PlayBook, needs to be connected to a BlackBerry smartphone (any model that runs version OS 5.0 or higher.) That’s because it is designed to run with a secure Bluetooth connection to your BlackBerry. RIM’s reasoning for the PlayBook’s “Office” dependency was in keeping with the BlackBerry’s rock solid security. When connected via Bluetooth to your BlackBerry, the PlayBook runs your eMail, contacts, task, calendar, BlackBerry Messenger and memo functions. Whatever you do on it, changes the contents of you nearby BlackBerry and if connected on the RIM BES server, also your office desktop. While connected, you can use the BlackBerry’s cell connection (also known as tethered mode) to browse online. When disconnected, the PlayPad keeps no traces of these applications. You can use it stand-alone to run other media, game or productivity apps and continue browsing on WiFi mode.
I had a hands-on session with RIM’s Ryan Bidan and I left very impressed. The 7-inch PlayBook is the most sleek and thin (10mm) of tablets, resembling a large iPhone4, in fact, sexier than the iPad and much easier to wrap your fingers around the thin edges. It has WiFi and HDMI with fixed memory and a sharper screen than the iPad . Its accelerometer screen is plenty sensitive and easy interface with effective finger swiping for getting back to other apps. It has all the Internet browsing goodies like HTML 5, Adobe Flash, Adobe Mobile Air support and video conferencing. It’s the only tablet I tried that can match Apple’s simultaneous pinch and move when looking at pictures or web sites. Bravo. Who will it appeal to? If you are a BalckBerry user, it’s a no brainer as no other tablet does cellphone voice, so you need two device anyway. Bidan thinks the PlayBook’s top quality and features can even bring new BlackBerry owners onboard. Since the PlayBook needs no cell data plan of its own, depending on the tethered connection to a BlackBerry, including 4G, there will be widespread availability in many outlets. Cellco’s will have to be creative on subsidizing its cost, like offering a larger data plan. RIM is fuzzy on dates, but after tapping a few RIM sales folks on the shoulder at the BlackBerry booth, it looks like the PlayBook will be available in the US in March and in Canada as late as May. Pity!
TV BREAKS NEW GROUND ONLINE
New sleek and better-looking TVs were plentiful at CES but it’s their far-reaching Internet connection this year that will make viewers happy at the expense of TV signal providers like Telus, Bell, Shaw and Rogers. Unlike the handful of special web portals today’s HDTV and Blu-ray players access through your home network, called Smart TV, 2011 models will reach farther online competing with Canadian and US TV-signal providers. I talked to Canadian Samsung, LG and Sony TV spokespersons at CES and they all confirmed that they are currently in negotiations with movie and sports content providers as well as TV-signal providers nudging a more a la Carte style of TV online watching. This means that instead of you doubling your monthly TV programming subscription fee to add a full sports coverage channel, you will be able to pay for a la Carte programming, one game at a time, including replays. The power of the Internet and online advertizing will draw the cost of dedicated TV channel watching down even more.
“This is disruptive technology,” said Robert Gumiela, Director of Marketing for CE at Samsung Electronics of Canada, citing the CRTC’s challenge of controlling geographic allocations of Internet Protocol based information.
LG Canada’s Frank Lee said 2011 LG HDTV models will come with a built-in receiver for accessing these new far-ranging channels. “We are very excited about the roll TVs will play this year on expanded online content,” he said, adding that anyone will be able to arrange for their website to run on LG TV owners with shared advertizing revenue models. With every new LG TV you buy you also get a stand-alone receiver box to make any other brand HDTV in your home work the same way.
Sony which already offers online movie watching on its TVs hopes to expand to more content. One Sony insider said meetings between the TV makers and the TV signal providers have had their tense moments.
Even computer chip makers like Intel are getting in the act. Their newest speedy media capable 2nd Generation Core Processors code-named Sandy Bridge, have licensing security built-in for computer owners in Canada and the US to buy or rent more than 300 1080p HD movie titles from Warner Brothers. "The lines between entertaiment and computing are finally gone!" said Intel Canada Country Manager Doug Cooper.
Will this replace the way you watch TV today? Not likely, as the ease of accessing traditional TV can’t be replaced with different TV brands, each with its own negotiated content. But the idea of paying for one show at a time, like today’s single song buying, should be welcomed by the TV signal providers and content makers.
Remember how the stubborn the music industry was ten years ago on online music buying? By all accounts the TV content and signal providers are listening.
A SHORT NOTE ON 3D TV
Don't toss you 3D glasses out yet. Glass-free 3D TV still needs work
Several TV makers like Toshiba, LG and Sony showed glass-free 3D TV on large TV screens. Toshiba’s model at a private viewing was four times the resolution of today’s best HDTVs in order to keep the 3D image sharp. The TV chassis was bare, out of Toshiba’s R&D lab, held together by metal frames and screws. They are the best yet, but don’t offer the smooth variable angle view of dedicated 3D glasses. They have sweet spots and have crossover if you move over even by a few inches. Same goes with all 3D laptops I saw. Not there yet folks.
But one TV maker, LG Canada announced passive screen TVs for this year, that work with the almost disposable 3D glasses used in today’s movie theatres. Unlike the proprietary pricey active shutter glasses most TVs use today (including Samsung’s new super-light designer glasses) passive glass and screen technology cuts down the highest HDTV resolution. But from my viewing of LG’s passive screen, not by much. Now you can invite the whole gang over to watch 3D TV! I predict more TV makers will offer passive screen technology to fill the gap before seamless quality glass-free 3D TV comes around in five years.
NEW OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA OFFERS MORE
Sally Anne Clemens with new E-PL2 and LED close-up spotlights with more accessories on the way
Olympus Canada showed off its newest micro four-thirds interchangeable lens 12.3 megapixel E-PL2 camera. It features a larger screen, more art filters and combination of art filters as well as the fastest response in its category. I shot most of my pictures at CES with it and it is a nice little sweet camera. Its eye tracking features is one step better than regular face tracking for stunningly sharp portraits and it has improved button design and comes in three colours. Olympus will soon have a line of useful accessories for its PEN series camera like wide angle, macro and dish-eye lens adapters, LED macro photography lights and a PenPal Bluetooth adapter (which I showed on my show today) for sending photos to your smart phone. It will sell in Canadian stores for less than $600. Sorry Olympus, but I think this model beats your top E-P2 model in features and ease of use!
For more information go to http://www.olympuscanada.com/cpg_section/cpg_digital_slr.asp?section=pen
Cya next Monday folks!
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