On day two of CES 2017, Nvidia announced its new SHIELD TV media streamer; Samsung showed off its new gaming notebook the Odyssey, Sony is releasing a 4K Blu-ray to the mass market; LG unveiled it’s Gram 14 laptop, and Asus show how busy they’ve been.
The Nvidia SHIELD TV media streamer is designed for gamers. Graphics are 4K HDR while streaming. Games are streamed from the GeForce NOW game-streaming service cloud with up to 60 frames per second. Games load in 30 seconds, while updates and patches don’t require large downloads. Steam, Android, Ubisoft and other gaming experiences are available on this gadget.
Samsung Odyssey Notebook
Samsung’s Odyssey notebook series is again designed for gamers. The devices come in two sizes – 17.3-inch and 15.6-inch. HexaFlow Vent technology is used to cool the laptop for intense use. The processor is a 7th Generation Intel Core i7 Quad-Core.
The 17.3-inch model has up to 64GB RAM; up to 512GB PCIE SSD + 1TB HDD | Dual SSD + HDD, Triple Storage; Volcano Keycap (0.5mm) / 2.5mm stroke / Customized real RGB LED color for individual keys; 93Wh battery.
The 15.6-inch Odyssey has up to 32GB RAM; up to Up to 256GB PCIE SSD + 1TB HDD | SSD + HDD, Dual Storage; Nvidia GTX1050 GDDR5 4GB/2GB graphics; WASD Key highlight / LED BACKLIT KEYBOARD / CRATER KEYCAP: CURVED KEYCAPS; 43Wh battery.
Sony Ultra HD 4K Blu-Ray Player
Sony has designed Ultra HD 4K Blu-ray players before, but never for the mass market. The UBP-X800 is the first model available for sale in stores. The design is the same as the X1000ES. The device works with Blu-ray 3D, DVD, CD, Netflix streaming and has a USB port. Audio playback is up to 192kHz/24-bit and DSD 11.2NHz1. The Blu-ray player has Bluetooth to connect to Bluetooth headphones. Pricing is yet to be announced, and the release has been set for spring this year.
LG Gram 14 Laptop
LG’s new laptop, the Gram 14, is claimed to have 23 hours of battery life. This application hasn’t been tested outside of LG yet, but even if it’s closer to 17 hours a significant improvement was made on the previous Gram model (Which had about 5 hours of battery life). The battery is 60Wh, stronger than the Gram 13.
The casing of the Gram has helped LG to keep the weight down while improving performance. The body is full metal nano carbon magnesium allow. New technology runs the display, using less power for more performance.
The processor used is Intel’s new Kaby Lake processor; internal storage is up to 512GB solid state; up to 16GB RAM; the display is a 1,920 x 1080-pixel resolution IPS touchscreen. Pricing and availability are unknown outside of South Korea.
ASUS ZenFone AR, ZenFone 3 Zoom and ZenBook 3 Deluxe UX490
Asus announced a range of devices at CES. The pick of the bunch is the ZenFone AR, ZenFone 3 Zoom and ZenBook 3 Deluxe UX490.
The ZenFone AR is designed for augmented reality (Augmented reality, or AR, is what a game like Pokemon Go is). The AR phone is the first to be enabled for Tango and Daydream by Google. Tango uses sensors to create an augmented reality experience. Daydream is a virtual reality simulator with a range of apps available. The processor powering the Zenfone AR is the Snapdragon 821. There is a three-camera system with 23MP primary camera. The screen is a 5.7-inch WQHD Super AMOLED display.
The ZenFone 3 Zoom is created to take amazing photos. The camera system is a dual 12MP camera. One camera has a 59mm lens, and the other has f/1.7 aperture and a 25mm wide angle lens. The TriTch autofocus system gives users Dual Pixel PDAF, subject tracking autofocus and second generation laser focus.
The battery is a high capacity 5000mAh battery; the process is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 625: and the Zenfone 3 Zoom can be used as a battery bank to power other devices.
The Zenbook 3 Deluxe UX490 is an improved model of the ZenBook 3. The laptop is 12.9mm slim and weighs 1.1kg. The screen is 14-inches with an ultra narrow bezel display. The processor is Intel’s 7th Generation Core with up to 16GB RAM. Internal storage is up to 1TB PCI Express SSD.
What’s coming up next at CES is interesting. A lot of promise, and it looks like a lot of companies are heading in right directions.
