CES 2012 marks the beginning of mainstream Wi-Fi integration in cameras and camcorders. Canon, Kodak, Samsung, and Sony are among those in the game with wireless introductions, a move that could very likely score with consumers and an imaging segment that has been struggling.
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Samsung recently announced they’d be launching a new line of Blu-ray home theater systems at CES next week. The feature set is sexy, and the launch is clearly targeted to the earliest of adopters with 3D enhanced 7.1 audio with a sound bar, a full browser, apps, and the ability to manage social networking accounts.
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Since the debut of the first 3D TVs using active shutter glasses, concerns have been raised regarding the incompatibility among different companies’ glasses; these have been compounded by different means of synchronizing them to sets. Some companies have tried to work around this particular hurdle. Mitsubishi, for example, designed its 3D LaserVue sets to be compatible with Samsung glasses. Last week, though, leading active-shutter TV brands Sony, Samsung and Panasonic — along with technology provider XPAND 3D — announced that they would create a “Full HD 3D Glasses Initiative,” to be based on Bluetooth. This commitment to work together should help retailers more successfully market products aftermarket active shutter glasses, as well as solidify the role of Bluetooth in the television category. (The latter development might also have implications for future remote controls.) Read more »
Tags: 3D TV, Bluetooth, LaserVue, Mitsubishi, Panasonic, samsung, Sony, XPAND 3D
Consumer Technology, Entertainment | Ross Rubin, Executive Director, NPD Connected Intelligence | 
August 15, 2011 9:01 am | 
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This week NPD reported on Q2’s smartphone OS market share. It was a big quarter for Android, which is now installed on one of every three smartphones sold in the U.S. Android’s gains clearly came at the expense of RIM, which dropped nine percentage points quarter over quarter, and has seen an even more precipitous drop from a year ago. And yet, even with smartphones now growing to account for 42 percent of the U.S. market, Samsung and LG continued to lead the overall U.S. handset market without a significant smartphone presence, certainly in relation to their feature phones.
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While the economy continues to weigh down manufacturers, its pressures were not strong enough to crack the rose-colored glasses worn on their public faces at the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show. Among the causes for optimism cited were a long-term view of economic cycles, faith in the appeal of technology and the “next big thing,” the value of electronics versus spending on other leisure activities such as travel, the trust that consumers put in brand driving investment, and the competitive urge to “keep up with the Joneses” (or, if you’re the Joneses, to stay ahead of those wannabe Smiths).
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