With rumours swirling that Apple is on the verge of introducing its first flat-panel television product, possibly within weeks, Samsung Electronics used the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) on Tuesday to up the ante in the rapidly escalating war for the Internet-connected living room, Duncan McLeod reports from Las Vegas.
The Korean electronics giant, already the world’s largest TV manufacturer — selling two TVs a second in November 2011 — took the wraps off its first 55-inch television based on next-generation organic light emitting diode (OLED) technology and introduced new LED-backlit TVs and software designed to work seamlessly with other Samsung devices, including tablets and smartphones.
The company’s new high-end TVs will feature camera and microphone technology so consumers no longer need to use a remote control to interact with them. The TVs will use face and voice recognition and understand gestures as a way of moving through menus and selected content and applications.
The company will publish its application programming interfaces so third-party developers can build apps to take advantage of the camera technology. The technology supports things like videoconferencing and what Samsung describes as “smart interaction capabilities”. Samsung America president Tim Baxter says there are already more than 25 000 apps available for download for the company’s Smart TVs, up from 500 two years ago.
Samsung used an Apple-style keynote address at CES to announce its new flagship Smart TV line, the LED-backlit ES8000 that will be available in sizes of up to 75 inches and feature dual-core processors allowing consumers to switch seamlessly between applications like games and television content like Netflix.
It has also introduced a new “Smart Hub”, a screen for content, apps and search with what it calls a “clearer and more intuitive design”. Samsung Media Hub, currently available on tablets and other devices, will also be launched on the company’s Smart TVs this year, offering 5 000 on-demand movies and TV shows. Content purchased on a TV can be watched on a Galaxy-branded phone or tablet and vice versa.
Samsung is continuing to punt 3D technology, even though response from consumers has been lukewarm to date. It says it is working with studios to offer 3D content that can be streamed over the Internet directly to its Smart TVs. It plans to offer 3D versions of shows like Battlestar Galactica through the Media Hub.
Angry Birds, the hit game featuring birds and pigs that took Apple’s iPad by storm, is also coming to Samsung TVs. There’ll also be an Angry Birds on-demand animated channel available later this year and available in all Smart TVs made in 2010, 2011 and 2012.
From 2012, consumers will also have the option of buying a special dongle that will allow them to upgrade to the latest software. These will connect through a special port on all future Smart TVs from Samsung. There’s no immediate word on the cost of these adapters.
Following on just hours after rival LG Electronics took the wraps off its first 55-inch OLED TV, Samsung introduced its own product using what it dubs “Super OLED” technology. The new TV includes camera, microphone, dual-core processor and offers 3D playback. Talk is it will cost north of US$10 000, but expect prices to plummet in the years ahead as production is ramped up. — Duncan McLeod, TechCentral
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