CES 2012
Gadgets, techs everywhere!
Photos: Afp/ Reuters
Of stylish gadgets, promising technologies and scintillating stars the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2012 runs from January 10-13, drawing 149,000 attendees to more than 2,700 exhibitors. The tech trade show held each January in the Las Vegas Convention Center, CES is the hub where thousands of devices and future generation technologies make their debut. From ultrabooks to digital health products to connected TVs, the innovation at the 2012 CES is nothing short of amazing, as attendees witness ground-breaking products spanning one of the largest show floors in CES history. One of the notable segments of CES 2012 was Microsoft President and CEO Steve Ballmer's keynote address, supposedly the company's last planned keynote at the event, where Ballmer announced that Microsoft Kinect will come to Windows on February 1, 2012. The first day of CES 2012 was a mobile one, with dozens of new smartphones and tablets exhibited at the event. Without an Apple presence at CES, it's a chance for other manufacturers to shout about their tablet devices. Toshiba has also jumped back into tablet waters with the new Excite 10, a stylish 10.1-inch Android slab that boasts a 1.2GHz dual-core TI processor and a 1,280 x 800 pixel display. But it's Lenovo that has turned heads and widened eyes with its two new tablet models. There's the Asus Transformer-alike IdeaPad S2 running Ice Cream Sandwich and the quad-core Tegra 3-powered IdeaPad K2, which looks like a supercomputer pretending to be a clipboard. Rather than unveiling a new Playbook model, the beleaguered Blackberry builder has upgraded its tablet software to version 2.0. Several new smartphones have been spotted on the plush Vegas carpets. Having absorbed Ericsson into the Sony hive mind, the newest Xperia handsets are the first to break cover without any Ericsson branding. Elsewhere, HTC has upgraded the Titan for duty on AT&T. The HTC Titan 2 is the same 4.7-inch, 1.5GHz Windows Phone that you might be indifferent to. But it's been souped-up with a 16MP snapper, wide angle lens, dual LED flash and LTE support. What else? The Nokia Lumia 900 that is LTE-powered, larger screened (4.3 inches) and has a better front camera. The LG Spectrum catches the eye with a 4.5-inch IPS LCD that rivals the Retina display on the iPhone 4. A highlight of the event, ultrabooks are one of the 'in-things' of 2012. Acer launched the 13.3-inch Aspire S5during its CES 2012 press conference and promised Windows 8 Ultrabooks in the second half of the year. Lenovo, for example, has unwrapped its good looking IdeaPad U Series ultrabooks at this year's show. HP's Ultrabook effort is the Envy 14 Spectre, which incorporates a roomier 14-inch panel and is only 21mm thick. Under the hood there's an Intel Core i5 or Core i7 processor, and a 128GB hard drive. Samsung, meanwhile, joins the Ultrabook club with its Series 5 devices. Samsung also rolled out the second generation of its Series 9 laptops with a refined 'aerodynamic design'. But the prize for strangest laptop surely goes to Intel's Nikiski see-through notebook, with a glass touchpad that doubles up as a touch screen when you close the lid. Despite the popularity of tablets and smartphones, CES has always been about TVs. One of the stars of the show is LG's new OLED HDTV. Only 4mm, this TV is thinner than your smartphone. Samsung also promises a 55-inch OLED TV of its own. As for Sony, it impressed guests with its prototype Crystal LED technology. Say Cheese! Photographers will doubtless be intrigued by Fujifilm's newly designed X-Trans 16-million pixel APS-C CMOS sensor. Canon G1 X boasts a 14.3MP CMOS sensor, 4x optical zoom, raw shooting and Full HD video recording. CES 2012 is also overflowing with compact cameras. Panasonic has introduced five new models to sit in its Lumix range, while Sony has added three new cameras to its enduring CyberShot range. Olympus, meanwhile, has announced five new compact cameras, including a rugged "Tough" camera. One has to choose between looking weird and playing 3D games with Sensics' SmartGoggles. Dubbed "smart" because they run Android 4.0, these goggles are still in prototype form. Among the gadgets on show was the Wi-Spi- a remote-controlled helicopter providing video surveillance and night-vision capabilities. Stars including Justin Timberlake, Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi, Eliza Dushku and many others lighted up the tech crowd in Las Vegas this year's CES, promoting technology products and services and making CES 2012 glamorously successful.
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