CES 2012 Highlights

For the last couple of days, the Consumer Electronics Show has been taking place in Las Vegas. There, the world’s greatest companies are presenting their latest and most innovative products.

Your TV is not good enough

This year, the spotlight has been set on TV’s. Several companies, from the most renowned ones, to the almost unknown ones, have presented their own spin on innovative television sets. Companies like Samsung and LG introduced ultra high definition OLED TV’s, while Sony tried to compete with Crystal LED technology. But high definition is not impressive if you don’t have a screen big enough to enjoy it. That’s why Sharp and LG presented the largest television sets of the show, with screens of 80 and 84 inches, respectively.

Of course, if we’re talking about an immersive experience, definition is not all. Several 3D TV’s have been introduced in the show, with two of the most impressive ones being Sony’s Glasses-free 3D LCD TV and Phillips’ 3D HDTV. Sony’s model had an amazing image quality, with objects convincingly emerging from the screen, in a natural way. Phillips’ set, on the other hand, promised to make any 2D show, a 3D experience.

Finally, television is becoming more of an interactive experience, and being connected is turning out to be essential. While competitors like LG and Vizio released their sets integrated with Google TV, Sony has announced a separate Google TV kit with an upcoming network media player and a Blue-Ray player. Meanwhile, Opera revealed more details about their TV App Store, which will offer HTML5 apps, and will run on any internet television, blue-ray players and any device with Opera Devices SDK integrated.

Laptops and ultrabooks step up their game

Almost every major company introduced a concept for a laptop this year. “Ultrabook” was the key word in most booths. Samsung presented its Series 5 with a thin and light design, on top of a renewed “second generation” of its Series 9. Lenovo and Acer also introduced their own models, the IdeaPad U series and the Aspire S5, respectively. Acer also announced Windows 8 Ultrabooks, for the second half of this year.

Intel presented several concepts, including one of a convertible ultrabook with a touch screen that runs Windows 8. Some models even had gyroscopes and GPS, for better gaming. Another of the innovative products revealed by Intel was the Nikiski see-trough notebook, with a transparent touchpad that doubled as a touchscreen when the laptop is closed.

Another model worth of mention is HP’s Envy 14 Spectre, with a very stylish and attractive design and the peculiarity that its lid it’s made of glass.

Phones and Tablets were not the stars of the show

With Apple’s absence at the show, many companies thought this would be the right time to show off their tablets and iPad competitors. Acer, for example, introduced its Iconia Tab A700, that will run on Android 4.0.  Toshiba also released its own Android tablet, the Excite 10. Meanwhile, Lenovo revealed two different models, the IdeaPad S2 and IdeaPad K2.

While not many companies decided to present their new smartphones at CES, some handsets have been revealed that got enough attention.

Sony unveiled its first models without Ericsson branding, the Xperia S, running on Android, and the Xperia Ion, Play Station certified. LG introduced its own Android phone, the Spectrum, while Nokia came up with the Lumia 900.