IS IT ME?
Ok, before you answer, just hear me out.
Is there anyone who wouldn’t love gesture control for TV viewing? No more remotes buried the couch. No more rummaging for new batteries. Well, I’ve seen a lot of gesture control at the show. There’s of course Microsoft’s Kinect on the Xbox. I saw the Keenu 3D motion gesture control, in the Intel booth, which follows the entire body – also for gaming only. I saw the exquisite Sony L Series All in One Computer in which everything is built into the screen. Using the Media Gallery, you wave from one song to another. So -why doesn’t someone just make a device that connects to any TV and allows you to flick your way through viewing choices? Well, turns out someone has. TCL makes TV’s and a gesture control device, among other things. So what’s the problem? They’re only in China with no current plan for coming to the US. Paging Thomas Friedman.
I saw Rim’s Playbook. Classy and sleek, yes. But one of the reasons I love my Blackberry and it can’t be replaced by an iPhone is the keyboard. Would it have been so wrong to have a slide out keyboard?
Now, you know who has a super tablet? Samsung. It’s the Slider tablet. Glorious. A tablet in a clamshell which transforms to a nice full screen keyboard laptop. Due out in Q2, I couldn’t get too much details but I’m watching that space. I just hope they get more apps available.
Onward. With all due respect to the talent and hard work dedicated to making these gorgeous 3D TVs, I’m afraid I’m not going to be an early adopter. I don’t want to wear glasses unless I’m at the beach or in a darkened theater. That’s why I got contacts for goodness sakes! I will tell you that the glasses are better for sure. LG has a beautiful pair that can double as sunglasses. Again, not that sunny during prime time in my living room. I promise to rethink my position when glasses become unnecessary and you don’t have to sit in a perfect line of site.
OLED. Gorgeous picture. And now LG makes one that’s 31”. The largest used to be 11”. But what happened to those OLED laptops that you could roll up like a magazine? Are those even still being worked on? Or did they turn out to be too expensive?
Motorola was a popular booth. They have a nice tablet – the XOOM. And it’s a nice experience consuming media from TV screen to tablet to phone. But what people talked about more is their Atrix smartphone which can be docked to your laptop. Yes, that’s cool. But do I really want to go looking for said docking device for a mobile smart phone?
Ok. Let’s talk about more stuff I love. Smart TVs. They’re one of the stars of the show (along with 3D and tablets). Can’t wait. Just hoping I can upgrade my Sony Bravia, which is already connected to the Internet.
And let’s hear it for Comcast Xfinity which lets you watch on a tablet or the TV. I’d love it even if it weren’t the company about to become very important in my life.
And I have to mention Kodak’s new camcorders. The “Playfull” is tiny and fabulous even if you can’t replace the battery with a charged one. And the “Rugged Playsport” looks perfect for the beach or in other camera unfriendly environs.
One more thing. I rode in a taxi this morning to the Convention Center with Jeremy and Jason of Zeo. What a great tool they’ve created. It analyzes your sleep patterns and then shows you a graph of how you slept that night – when you were in light sleep, when in rem sleep, etc. They said Team Radio Shack was using them to train for the Tour d’France.
And my friends who have worked so hard here to build and run this NBC Universal center created a tour d’force. If you’re here at CES and haven’t stopped by, don’t miss it. It’s 9831 in Central Hall.
One more last thing. Don’t forget to text the word menu to 622639 to subscribe to our alert services. Remember to ask for NBC News Mobile on your cellphone, or smart phone, or wireless handheld device. Check out our augmented reality treasure hunt at 30 Rock after downloading the GoldRun app on your iPhone. And follow me to find out other cool interactive stuff coming soon.
Ciao for now,
Bonnie Optekman
VP, News Technology
NBC Universal
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