The optimal solution? Intel Ultrabook With tablets quickly taking over portable computing, computer manufacturers have to get their act together if they want to save the laptop. And what better solution than the ultrabook? Intel has laid down the parameters for what an ultrabook should consist of, and this includes a thickness of less than an inch, weight of less than 1.4 kgs, long battery life, flash-based SSD, Sandy Bridge (i5 and i7 processors) and mainstream pricing under $1,000. Big players like Lenovo, Acer, Asus and Toshiba have already released ultrabooks, and the demand has sky-rocketed. With the perfect formula for portability, the ultrabook could spell the demise of the notebook.
They did start the fire! Amazon Kindle Fire When the first Kindle appeared in the market, people were highly sceptical about making the change from paper to e-ink. However, Amazon has surprised everyone with the phenomenal success of its eBook readers. And just when we thought things were getting a bit stale, they launched the Kindle Fire. The Fire offers the best of both worlds – the convenience of a dedicated eBook reader as well as basic computing capability. No wonder then that Barnes and Noble scrambled to get their tablet-reader, the Nook Tablet, out to shelves almost immediately. Amazon has got the formula right with its dedicated set of fans, its Silk browser and an extensive database of downloadable content – all of this at a price tag almost half that of a regular tablet!
Idiot box, no more Bang & Olufsen BeoVision 4-103 Not only is this 103-inch plasma TV from Bang & Olufsen huge, it's also intelligent! The TV comes with a stand that can lift the TV at the touch of a button and tilt it to the optimal viewing angle. When not in use, the TV rests inches above the floor, making it less noticeable. When turned on, it tilts itself to the best viewing angle and the integrated loudspeaker moves to the front of the screen. Now that the demand for intelligent homes is rising, our personal tech too needs to keep up and the BeoVision 4-103 could herald a TV revolution.
Touch me not Gesture Cube We never know if we are going to get our hands on this device – only literally! Based on 3D spatial movement tracking this little cube serves as a portable, multi-display communication-entertainment device. Concept videos show that you can swipe in thin air to change screens or apps or automatically lock the device when you lift it up and take it from one room to another. The underlying GestIC technology, that has been invested in by the German company Bosch, makes 3D spatial hand or finger movement tracking possible. Aimed to host much-used services like an email/message inbox, a music player or a digital photo album, you can let your imagination run amok while your hands do the talking!
Flex it Flexible displays Thin is already passé. With the potential to turn device displays around, flexible displays are being developed by the likes of Nokia and Samsung. Recently, Nokia showed off a prototype of a flexible device that not only bends, twists and turns but takes the interaction a notch higher. The display works with the software to recognise bending ‘gestures’ to perform certain functions. For example, if you bend opposite sides of the device backwards, it will zoom into a picture and reverse the action when you release it. Although there’s been no news on whether this is being incorporated into a smartphone device, Samsung has already announced plans to launch its first flexible display devices in early 2012.
Snazzy smartphone Google Galaxy Nexus Its loosely connected predecessor – the Galaxy S II – blew the pants off every smartphone lover. E-bibliophiles and web addicts will have a field day with the massive 4.65-inch HD Super AMOLED display that the Galaxy Nexus comes with. The meagre 5-megger seems like a dampener but is specially built for zero shutter lag and top notch low-light performance. The first to run on Ice Cream Sandwich, the smartie will feature Android Beam, an app that lets you share contacts, web pages, YouTube videos, directions, and apps - just by touching two NFC-enabled Android phones back to back. And if precedents are anything to go by, the sum of the Galaxy Nexus’ parts will hopefully be impressively better than the whole!
Digital Jeeves Honda ASIMO Yes, we’d all like our breakfast in bed, our laundry done and drinks poured without having to lift a finger. Honda built the ASIMO to make sure we’re a step closer to doing that. The newly revamped ASIMO humanoid robot is equipped with ‘autonomous behaviour control technology’ – a first ever. The ASIMO can move about without having to be controlled by the user. ASIMO’s also capable of responding to movement and people around it. Auditory sensors enable it to simultaneously recognise a face and voice, enabling ASIMO to identify the voices of multiple people who are speaking simultaneously. With its multi-fingered hand ASIMO is ambidextrous and now capable of communicating through sign language as well!
Second coming of the 3rd dimension? LG Optimus 3D II While a lot of companies are yet to play catch up with LG that introduced the world to glasses-free 3D handsets, LG is waiting for no one and will be launching the sequel next year. The Optimus 3D II, hence, will already be ahead of the curve. Although, no tech specs have been leaked yet, company officials have said that they are working to make the form factor much thinner, much more appealing than the previous one which was perceived as ‘unsexy’. The battery life of the Optimus 3D which was a gripe will also presumably be taken care of. And while LG’s at it, we hope they are also working on the much-exciting 3D Mobile TVs that they gave a glimpse of at CES earlier this year.
