Intel and AMD have shown demos at CES 2013 that rely on voice, gestures and eye movement. Has the future of computing already moved beyond touch?
What if you could navigate your tablet while cooking dinner by swiping your hands through the air? Or connect your computer to your display with a literal snap of your fingers?
Both Intel and AMD have teased this long anticipated future at CES 2013. Intel, which is lumping motion and voice controls under the term “perceptual computing,” showed a number of tech demos from the company’s labs. In one, a user playing “Where’s Waldo” with an eye-tracking camera, was able to “find” the famous character by pausing his gaze on the famous character. Another demo used hand movement to grab a companion cube in Portal 2 and move it on top of a button.
A 3D motion-tracking camera made these demonstrations possible. Intel promised that it will be more affordable than Microsoft’s Kinect, and will work via a single USB connection (Kinect requires additional external power).
AMD showed a video with more practical implications at its conference. One short clip depicted a cook navigating a recipe on a tablet by swiping through the air. Another focused on media navigation via gestures. These features will be enabled on some systems shipping with the company’s latest A8 and A10 mobile APUs. No external camera is required.
The technology is still rough, but it is improving rapidly. We’ve seen the promise of this through motion based controller’s like Microsoft’s Kinect, but they were just the first step. This is the next. We’re excited to see an alternative to touch and believe the backing of both major x86 processor companies – as well as numerous smaller companies on the show floor – could make perceptual computing the Next Big Thing at CES 2014.
Sony didn’t have much to announce at CES 2013 by way of computers, but the the company did expand its VAIO line to add more touchscreen options.
Back in October, Sony released two ultrabooks: the 14-inch VAIO T14, and the 13-inch T13. While you could get a touchscreen version of T13, the T14 had no touchscreen option – that is, until now. However, touch comes at a price, and it usually adds at least $100 on to the price of a non-touch laptop. Available sometime this spring, the touch-enabled T14 will start at $800. Sony also revealed a minor update to the Duo 11 slider. In addition to the original black, the tiny hybrid computer is now available in silver from Sony’s online store.
Aside from the two updates to the VAIO line, Sony also announced its new 15-inch ultrabook, the Vaio T15. The laptop comes fitted with a full HD (1920 x 1080) touchscreen display and an aluminum-magnesium body. Sony has yet to reveal the T15′s full specifications and features list, but according to PCMag, the T15 will be shipped with the latest third-generation Intel chips. Along with the touch-enabled T14 ultrabooks, the new 15-inch T15 will be available this coming spring for a base price of $950. We expect more details to be available nearer to launch. Stay tuned for a hands-on review of Sony’s new VAIOs.
Qualcomm shows off some of its new Qualcomm-powered technology at CES, with the help of a few well known friends.
For those who missed the Qualcomm keynote this evening, you missed quite the celebrity mix. Between Maroon 5′s Adam Levine, actress Alice Eve, and Sesame Street’s Big Bird, Qualcomm certainly was strutting its stuff in an effort to demonstrate some of the new technology they planned to release in 2013, including several major software developments centered on the real world and mobile devices working together in unison.
While Qualcomm was coy not to mention a new Snapdragon or other big hardware upgrades (we’re betting on the MWC next month), they talked a lot about the “Sixth Sense” of computing, and how it allows you to be informed and in the loop in ways never before possible. This was the introduction to Qualcomm’s presentation of their new Vuforic, and other technology that they hope to have released in time for the summer. While Vuforic is not new, it’s yet to get anywhere near as in-depth a demonstration as Qualcomm showed today.
In one case, Big Bird and a team member of the Sesame Workshop came in and showed off the latest development of Qualcomm’s Vuforic tech in the realm of children’s applications. The app showed how it could recognize text and subsequently help teach a child words. It was an excellent demonstration of Vuforic’s ability to interact with the environment and virtually experience what is otherwise static.
Another case, featuring Alice Eve from the upcoming Star Trek: Into Darkness, was a showoff for the new upcoming Star Trek movie. The movie will feature a new app experience powered by Qualcomm’s technology, allowing users to go on “missions” and add to the overall experience by checking out trailers, visiting certain locations, and more. This is just another example of the sort of tech Qualcomm hopes to bring to consumers once developers bring the tech into full swing.
Finally, Qualcomm decided to show off Adam Levine in a brief Maroon 5 performance before calling it a night. We’re excited to see which devices will be compatible (we guess many given how popular snapdragon is) with this new Qualcomm tech as it begins to debut in the coming months, and developers get a hold of the highly anticipated SDK in the spring.
After months of speculation and rumor, Valve and Xi3 have announced at CES that a “computer game system optimized for Steam gameplay” is on the way.
While this should come as no surprise to those that follow gaming and especially Valve, the long discussed “Steam Box” has been unveiled at CES in Las Vegas. Although the name “Steam Box” was not mentioned in the official release, the unveiling finally gives us a look at what Valve’s Gabe Newell confirmed back in December, and what many (including us) think could change PC gaming - and by extension the entire gaming industry – for good.
The announcement today is the first step towards elevating the Steam Box beyond the realms of talk and design that it has firmly inhabited thus far. The name may change, and the specifics have yet to be discussed, but a prototype has been commissioned through the Salt Lake City-based Xi3. That coincides with the announcement that Valve has invested in the hardware manufacturer.
Although still in the development stage, the device is being shown off at CES. It takes advantage of Valve’s “Big Picture” mode, which allows for games to be played on HD TVs. Combining that with the games available via Steam’s service, could make for some serious competition for the big three console makers, as well as retailers that thrive on physical media sales.
It’s far too early to start guessing about things like price and availability, but the hardware is essentially a vehicle for the successful Steam service, which could mean that the Steam Box (or whatever name it finally lands on), could be coming sooner than you think. It might even beat Microsoft and Sony to the punch, and introduce a new, legitimate contender in the next console war.
Although tonight’s keynote speech at CES was supposed to be all about mobile chipmaker Qualcomm, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer still managed to snag some of the love.
For the past dozen or so years, the coveted keynote speech at CES in Vegas has been the exclusive province of Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer – and before that, former CEO Bill Gates. This year, however, that honor fell to Qualcomm’s CEO Paul Jacobs, whodisplayed the unprecedented processing power of the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 chips, but not without inviting Ballmer up on stage to share the spotlight.
To be fair, Ballmer was hardly the only special guest of the evening. Filmmaker Guillermo del Toro, NASCAR champion Brad Keselowski, and even Big Bird joined the party on stage, while Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu joined in via video. But Ballmer’s remarks gave the greatest insight into the future of Windows computing, and the direction of the company.
As might be expected, Ballmer hyped Windows 8, Windows RT, and Windows phones. Yet interestingly, Ballmer seemed less focused on tablets as standalone devices, and more interested in the potential of hybrids and convertibles. Simply snapping a keyboard into a tablet, he said, instantly links together “tablets and computing, touch and keyboard… work and play.”
Indeed, as the only tablet manufacturer on the market with the power to bundle Microsoft Office with their tablets, Microsoft has good reason to emphasize the productivity potential that comes with hybrids. Ballmer’s vision seems centered around blurring the lines between entertainment center and work station. Consumers will be able to take the same tablet screen they’ve just been using to watch an Ultra HD movie, and – with the addition of a keyboard dock and peripherals – suddenly be “at work” in a matter of seconds.
In particular, Ballmer highlighted the convertible Dell XPS and the hybrid Samsung ATIV (not yet released), both Windows RT devices integrating Qualcomm’s Snapdragon processors. Ballmer also boasted about new apps soon to fill the tiles of Windows RT and Windows 8 alike, including apps by Expedia, Huffington Post, and CNN.
Watch out Samsung Galaxy Note 2, there’s a new phablet in town. Well, not yet, but when the Huawei Ascend Mate makes its way to market, it’ll be the biggest screen on a phone to date. All 6.1-inches of the Ascend Mate’s display will challenge the Galaxy Note 2 for phablet supremacy.
And just like that, the phablet war began. Thanks to information leaks before the start of CES 2013, there wasn’t a whole lot of mystery surrounding the handsets Huawei was planning to show off. Luckily, that didn’t discredit just how impressive those devices can be up close. The Ascend Mate made a particularly sizable splash, likely because it’s just so darn big. With 6.1-inch screen, which consumes most of the space on the device, built into a chasis just 9.9mm thick (not to mention features seemingly aimed to directly counter those of the Galaxy Note 2), the Ascend Mate is the newest and biggest competitor in the phablet market.
Samsung is still riding the waves of success from 2012, but it’s a new year and the throne is up for grabs. We might not see the Ascend Mate in North America for awhile still, but we can sure speculate on what will happen when it arrives. Check below for the full rundown of specs for the Ascend Mate and the reigning phablet champion, the Galaxy Note 2.
Conclusion: If there is one thing the Ascend Mate has on its side, it’s sheer size. Not only is its screen over half an inch larger, but it also has a higher screen-to-frame ratio than the Galaxy Note 2. The battery, with 4050mAh, is also undeniably impressive. Add to that the promised battery saving technology from Huawei and you’ll have a bigger battery that runs more efficiently. The Mate does feel a little underpowered, and the lack of an SD card slot is definitely a negative. But man, that screen.
The Galaxy Note 2 also has the support of Samsung’s well-liked S Pen stylus and the powerful NFC sharing technology. The Ascend Mate comes with a couple unique features not included in our spec chart as well. Magic Touch allows users to perform actions on the touch screen through clothes or gloves. Did we mention how big that screen is, by the way? All of this is pretty hypothetical for us until there’s a price point and a North American release, but it’s fun to speculate.
CES has begun and we’re already in the muck of it all. Before we lose our minds though, we took some time to check out Velodyne’s new vFree Bluetooh headphones.
Velodyne is a name known to audiophiles mostly for their subwoofers, but last year the company expanded their portfolio with a set on in-ear headphones. Now they’re going all in with two new over the ear models, the vTrue Studio headphones and the vFree Bluetooth headphones. We got a chance to go hands-on with the vFree and so far we’re impressed. Not just because of the audio quality, but also the extra perks.
Though the vFree offer wireless audio with Bluetooth, they’re not big and bulky. They’re about the size of Beats Studio headphones and about the same weight. They fold up nice and compact as well. Similar to the Parrot Zik Bluetooth headphones, the controls for volume and playback are on the outside of the right earpiece. The vFree controls are physical buttons, though, which means you’re less likely to activate them by accident.
The vFree delivers rich audio quality with plenty of bass, naturally. The latency is very low, so you can watch video and not worry about the audio getting out of sync. You’ll be able to connect the vFree to a headphone jack as well (the cable is included) for those of you rocking a media player without Bluetooth or if want to use them on an airplane.
Charging is via Micro USB, same as most smartphones and other portable devices, and the vFree is rated to last up to 10 hours on a charge.
The headphones come in three basic colors: white, black, and silver. Alone, they look nice but don’t stand out. That’s where the skins come in. Velodyne designed a set of skins that fit over the vFree earpieces and headband and don’t add a significant amount of weight. They’re easy to put on and pull off, so you can change the look every day if you want. A rep also said that there are plans to allow people to upload their own skin designs in the future.
Even with the skins on you can still control playback and volume. Each skin has small raised bumps corresponding to the buttons underneath, making it easy to find them by touch.
Sony has admitted that it took its eye off the ball for a few years, but is keen to point out that's it's back and better than ever.
The honest appraisal came during a video presentation at Sony's CES 2013 press conference, with the voice over revealing: "we used to make people say wow all the time.
"Our unique combination of artists and engineers set out to create a surprise everyday. We forgot the power of that for a while."
The wow gauge
"Wow should be the only gauge by which we measure everything we do and it's happening with 4K cameras, by developing headphones for music producers which end up being the best, period or a digital camera that beat the Mars Rover to invention of the year, that's our comeback… not bad."
That's all pretty powerful stuff and of course Sony is going to say that's it's on top of its game, but it is interesting to see a bit of honesty from a large company and the realisation that its lost out to rivals over recent years.
With new televisions, cameras, camcorders and mobile phones all being unveiled at CES 2013 the Japanese firm is certainly showing its intent, and we look forward to seeing how it gets on.
If you’re going to compete, you might as well compete with the best. Huawei is ready to make its mark in the upper echelon of the smartphone market. It’s entrant is the Ascend D2, a 5-inch phone with a gorgeous display. We put it up against the Galaxy S3 and Droid DNA to see who comes out on top.
Huawei isn’t exactly the biggest name in mobile at the moment. Despite some great handsets available already, the company hasn’t managed to get a foothold quite as big as the leaders in the industry. If one wants to be a leader, though, one has to make a strong case for oneself. The Ascend D2, Huawei’s latest flagship phone offering, looks like it’ll do a good job of making that case. A sizable screen, impressive in-house built processor, and a 13 megapixel camera make it look like a sure-fire contender with the other top dogs. We wanted to see how exactly it would stack up in a tale of the tape with others in its weight class, so we lined it up against the Samsung Galaxy S3 and HTC’s Droid DNA to see who would come out on top.
When it comes to screens, it’s the Ascend D2 and Droid DNA that pull ahead. Both with a 5-inch display and pixel-per-inch ratio cracking the 440 mark, these phones come with quite possibly the best looking displays we’ve seen. The in-house made, quad-core processor that powers the Ascend D2 is probably the most intriguing thing in this entire match up. During its CES 2013 unveiling, Huawei made sure to show just what the processor was capable of, and it didn’t disappoint. We’d still like to get our hands on it to experience it in person. Samsung obviously has the advantage of market share which plays to its advantage with features like S Beam, the NFC sharing system that works between other Samsung devices. While much of the contest is pretty neck-and-neck, the Ascend D2 soars when it comes to the camera. The 13 megapixel rear-facing camera might be a big enough improvement over the 8 megapixel offerings on both the Galaxy S3 and the Droid DNA to win over photography buffs. While the Ascend D2 probably won’t be in stores in North America for awhile, we’ll be looking forward to getting our hands on it and seeing what it can do.
Intel was again bullish about its smartphone prospects
Intel made a variety of announcements during its CES 2013 press conference, each with varying degrees of significance.
Top of the list in terms of forward-looking events for the company was the debut of Bay Trail, the next-generation 22nm quad-core Atom tablet platform for tablets.
It has more than double the computing performance of the existing Medfield Atom Processor Z2760 platform, but it won't appear in devices until late in the year and will usher in designs as thin as 8mm.
Among the other announcements was a new smartphone platform for emerging markets plus details of thinner and lighter Ultrabooks.
The announcements were outlined by Mike Bell, vice president and general manager of the Mobile and Communications Group, and Kirk Skaugen, vice president and general manager of the PC Client Group at Intel.
Crucially, Skaugen announced that not only would wireless display and touch be a staple of the next-generation Ultrabook platform (alongside the next-generation Intel Core chips) but he also said there would be a new set of low-voltage cureent-generation Intel Core processors set at a mind-blowingly low 7W, having previously said it would have parts at around 10W.
Intel is clearly set on destroying any chance of ARM processors getting into the serious Windows market because of their low power advantage.
After having previously had Windows RT inside its Yoga 11, Lenovo has now turned to these new chips for its Yoga 11S. It's a clear demonstration that the strategy over Windows RT hasn't worked, either for Microsoft or its partners.
Intel also wants to attack ARM in phones as well, of course, and it debuted its previously-leaked Lexington Atom platform which is designed to target the cheaper smartphone segment – Intel quoted analyst stats which suggest sales of 500 million units by 2015.
Acer was one of the manufacturers outed by Intel as a launch partner. It's still to Intel's detriment that it hasn't managed to get too many big name phone partners involved, though Motorola has previously pledged support for Intel chips, of course.
"The addition of the low-power Atom platform further rounds out our expanding portfolio of smartphone offerings," said Bell. Emerging markets are where phones featuring this chip will mostly be sold.
But the feature spec of the Z2420 platform is anything but low end with speeds of 1.2 GHz, hyper-threading, 1080p hardware-accelerated encode/decode, and support for up to two cameras with burst mode. The platform also includes the Intel XMM 6265 HSPA+ modem with dual-SIM capability. There will also be another Z2580 platform targeted at performance phones – it's dual-core, but will offer twice the performance of the existing Z2460.
Intel also talked up its so-called 4th generation Intel Core processor family
deliver up to 9 hours of continuous battery life. To demonstrate the impact of the 4th generation Intel Core processor family, Skaugen showed a new form factor Ultrabook detachable reference design (codenamed "North Cape") that converts into a 10mm tablet and can run on battery for up to 13 hours while docked.
The Sony Xperia Z and Xperia ZL are extremely similar
One of the biggest bits of news out of CES on Monday was the official unveiling of the Sony Xperia Z, a device that's been rumored for quite some time.
But alongside it Sony revealed another device: the Xperia ZL.
If you'd like to understand the differences, you're going to have to look through a magnifying glass.
Both Sony flagship phones sport a 5-inch 1080p display, a 13 megapixel camera, a 1.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon S4 processor, and 2GB of memory. But there is one key difference.
Not that it matters
The difference is in the size of the actual phone, despite the two devices having identical 5-inch 1080p displays.
The Xperia ZL is actually .08 inches thicker than the Xperia Z, but its overall footprint is ever-so-slightly smaller, at 5.19 by 2.75 inches to the Xperia Z's 5.47 by 2.8 inches.
What's the point of differentiating these two versions of the Xperia Z? No idea.
As Gizmodo points out, there are a few other differences; the Xperia ZL is curved, and it has a physical camera button, an infrared emitter for using it as a remote, and a larger battery.
It's unclear at this point exactly where the Xperia ZL will be released, since Sony's press release on Monday mentioned only "select regions." TechRadar has reached out to the company, but we've yet to receive a response.
The Sony Xperia Z is the phone that's set to propel the Japanese firm to the head of the phone charts - and if it went on specs alone, there's a good chance it would manage it.
We're looking at yet another redesign from the Sony design studios - from the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc to the Xperia Z, we've had four iterations of the smartphone aesthetic. From the 'human curvature' through to the more industrial Xperia S, back to the curves for the Xperia T and now with the sharp edges of the Xperia Z, we're constantly being given new looks.
While we - rightly - lambast Apple for not really changing the look of the iPhone from model to model, this is a lot to take in. However, the good news is that the Xperia Z is probably the most attractive of the lot, with its superbly thin 7mm chassis, 1080p 5-inch screen and quad core Qualcomm processor kicking things along under the hood.
In short, this is the most powerful Sony smartphone ever made, and the brand tells us it's the first model it's really had a strong influence on since it took the manufacturing over from the Ericsson joint venture.
The new design language will permeate through the entire Bravia range apparently, bringing an iconic look to products in the TV, phone and other categories. It make sense, given Sony needs to push the 'connected home' message, but also probably means the Xperia Tablet S will be obsolete before it's even had a chance to get going.
But what of the Xperia Z, we hear you cry? Is this the final message in the Xperia range thanks to nabbing the last letter of the alphabet? Well, probably not, but it does deserve to have the Z moniker thanks to the sheer awesome power on offer.
We've already mentioned the 1080p 5-inch screen, and it's probably both the most impressive and disappointing feature on the Xperia Z. It's impressive because it's so pin sharp, coming with a post-400 PPI and offering some lovely contrast ratios.
On top of that, it's much closer to the edges of the device, meaning that it has a footprint very close to the Samsung Galaxy S3 while packing that massive display. Think Motorola Razr i when you're holding it in the hand and you'll be pretty close.
However, we say we're disappointed in it as it really does lack the impression of a Super AMOLED screen when viewed even slightly off angle. Look at the phone on a table and you'll be surprised how washed out the display seems, compared to the almost printed-on nature of the Samsung S3 or Galaxy Note 2.
We say we're most disappointed in this feature and that tells a story in itself: it's not a big deal at all as you will mostly be looking at the phone straight on for 99% of the time, so for this to be the worst of it means it's an excellent smartphone.
In the hand it feels superbly premium: light enough to be impressive, heavy enough to feel like you're getting a decent deal for the money. And add to that the fact it's water and dust resistant and you'll be so surprised it may fall from your hand. And it would likely survive.
The interface is also a pleasure to use: it's Android Jelly Bean 4.1 running on top of a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro quad core CPU with 2GB of RAM.
We're a little sad that we're not seeing Android 4.2 used here, but Sony assures us that it has placed a minimal skin over the top of the OS and can be upgraded very easily if needed.
In terms of the interface, it's recognisably Sony but doesn't add too many bells and whistles; gone is the resource-intensive and pointless Timescape 'Splines' that dominated the old interface. Instead we're presented with a sea of icons and widgets that you can resize and change as you see fit, and not much else.
The Sony Xperia Z will definitely appeal to those who are fans of stock Android but like the idea of having a little personalisation in their handset - although the lock screen does at least offer a cool way to open up the camera or unlock the phone.
You can have little home screens on this part of the interface too, so you can set calendar, social network or messaging updates to show without you needing to actually start up the phone proper-like.
When we say that the skin is minimal, it really is; so the main points of differentiation have to come from the software enhancements.
To that end, the Mobile Bravia Engine 2 is the biggest leap forward on the phone – we were shown side-by-side comparisons between standard definition footage and the same with the BE2 algorithms applied – and it was startling.
The colours were so much more rich, the detail it 'discovered' was massively impressive, and the overall smoothness of what was a fairly fuzzy scene blew us away.
Sure, it looked a little over-sharp and saturated at times, and proper video buffs are going to moan about the fake enhancements, but in reality most users will see this mode as a real plus.
When it comes to media, we were a little shocked to find out that the Sony Xperia Z comes complete with a microSD card slot to supplement the meagre 16GB of onboard storage.
It's refreshing to see another top level manufacturer putting the option on there, and especially so when you consider the minimal thickness of the phone too.
As you can imagine, HD video looked simply superb on the expansive screen, and we can see the Xperia Z will be a really decent mobile for movies on the go.
The screen is also excellent for internet browsing (along with the RAM and processor combo, which on Wi-Fi were superbly speedy. We couldn't test it on 3G or 4G, but we'd imagine that it will be excellent on both as well, given the grunt and speed on offer).
Zooming in and out of text was a breeze and it meant that even if you wanted to view anything zoomed out, the text was really easy to read and made navigation that much easier.
In short, when it comes to movies or internet browsing on the go, we couldn't really fault the Xperia Z. Of course, it does come down to price, but with one of the best processors on the market as well as an impressive screen there are going to be a lot of people drawn to the device.
Another one of Sony's strengths is the upgraded Exmor R sensor: it's now the Exmor RS version and it brings even greater low light ability. Sony is touting the improved photo quality, obviously, but its main feature is HDR video recording.
This means the Xperia Z can handle full HD video, process each frame three times and decide on the optimal light level. It's an incredible amount of work going on when you consider it, so we'll be massively intrigued to see how the battery power holds up during our full Sony Xperia Z review.
The final thing that we really think is worth mentioning, especially with the possibly suspect battery power, is the data and power management on offer.
Sony has, it says, invented new technology that means the phone will be drawing very little power when in sleep mode (ie when the screen is turned off) and it will completely disable apps from being able to communicate during this time.
The first phone to perform such a trick is the Sony Xperia E, a more budget offering, but the difference between these two is that the Xperia Z can intelligently decide which apps should be able to communicate and which shouldn't.
The user will have to specify which apps they think should be able to run under the lock screen, for instance Facebook Messenger or Skype, but Sony still thinks that battery standby life could be improved by a large order of magnitude with this new technology.
Early verdict
There's no doubt that Sony has stepped up its game with the Xperia Z. We were pretty unimpressed with the screen quality when we first saw the handset sitting nonchalantly on the table, and if you're not using the phone straight on, then you may not think you're staring at a top-end smartphone.
But that aside, the rest of the device impressed us hugely. From the premium design, the weight and industrial casing and the larger edge-to-edge screen to the high-end Exmor RS sensor and Bravia Engine 2, there's so much that Sony will be able to tout on its marketing literature.
We're getting used to our hands on reviews yielding promising smartphones these days, so we'll reserve a lot of judgment until we get our final review sample in. But based on our early look with the device there's definitely a lot of positivity surrounding it, and the fact that Sony has finally joined the big boys with a powerful smartphone is enough to pique our interest at the very least.
