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Samsung at CES 2012: Smart TV, ultrabooks, Galaxy Note for AT&T, and a washing machine

Samsung's CES 2012 adventure: fully detailed!

  • Jan 14, 2012

    Vlad Savov

    Samsung will merge Bada OS into the Tizen project

    wave
    wave

    In an interview at CES 2012 this week, Samsung's Tae-Jin Kang has revealed his company's intention to fold Bada OS into the Intel-backed Tizen open source OS project. Bada is, or was, Samsung's homebrew effort at developing its own operating system, an effort that we were dubious about from the start. After failing to find much traction with its Wave handsets, Samsung is now wisely deciding to abandon hope of going it alone in the cutthroat mobile OS realm and is joining up with a development project that offers an opportunity for collaboration with others.

    That's not to say that Tizen has much better prospects that Bada would've had on its own. Tizen is the new badge placed upon MeeGo, the formerly promising Linux-based OS that Intel and Nokia were going to rock our world with until Nokia decided Windows Phone offered a better shot at success. In truth, this is a coming together of two outsider projects that need to consolidate their powers if they're to stand any chance.

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  • Sam Byford

    Jan 14, 2012

    Sam Byford

    Samsung Smart Window demonstration (video)

    samsung smart window
    samsung smart window

    We always thought the window was pretty mature technology, but Samsung's here at CES to prove us wrong. The Smart Window, currently in prototype phase, casts a touch-controlled interface onto transparent glass with ambient light. Samsung was demonstrating a whole range of applications, from Twitter to Microsoft Office, all touch-controlled and viewable directly on the glass. Images are viewable in daylight, and there's a nighttime mode that uses side-lighting and flipped colors. You can even draw some virtual blinds to control the flow of light. It's difficult to see how Samsung might turn this into a commercial product, but it definitely looks more useful than a transparent TV.

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  • Nathan Ingraham

    Jan 13, 2012

    Nathan Ingraham

    Samsung's Series 9 3D all-in-one PC and monitor hands-on photos

    Gallery Photo: Samsung Series 9 all-in-one PC photos
    Gallery Photo: Samsung Series 9 all-in-one PC photos

    We've been finishing up our look at Samsung's CES booth and came across a few more entries for its Series 9 products — a 27-inch all-in one PC plus a 27-inch monitor. One of the more unique features of the all-in-one was its 1080p 2D / 3D display, though we couldn't imagine actually using WIndows in 3D mode for any length of time. It looked fine in 2D mode, however, and does present a good option for those who want to use their all-in-one as a smaller home theater device. There isn't much detail on the full specs, but we do know there's an Intel Core i7 processor and a Radeon HD6730M graphics card with 1GB of dedicated video RAM.

    As for the Series 9 display, it runs at 2,560 x 1,440, but doesn't include the 3D features found in the all-in-one PC. Its viewing angle of 178 degress is quite nice, text is rendered beautifully, and photos really popped (probably thanks to a color depth in excess of 1 million). From a design perspective, it's beautifully minimal, with controls built into the base of the monitor; but the monitor's positional adjustments were not exceptionally smooth. It doesn't come cheap, either — the Series 9 monitor will retail for $1199.99 when it's released in March.

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  • Nathan Ingraham

    Jan 12, 2012

    Nathan Ingraham

    The best of Samsung's 2012 TV lineup: 75-inch Series 8 LED, 55-inch OLED, and 4K prototype display

    Gallery Photo: Samsung's 2012 TV lineup photos
    Gallery Photo: Samsung's 2012 TV lineup photos

    As per usual, Samsung announced a boatload of TVs during its press conference earlier in the week, so we hit the floor to pull out the highlights. The most stunning display was certainly the 55-inch OLED prototype, which we heard should be on sale by the 2nd half of the year. The viewing angles were superb, the bezel was nearly invisible, and the back was essentially a giant metal mirror — certainly one of the nicest products we've seen this week. As for products shipping sooner, Samsung's Series 8 LED TVs were nearly as impressive as the OLED and support Samsung's smart interactions. They're also even bigger — the screen tops out at 75 inches. The Series 7 and Series 8 TVs also support the new smart evolution upgrade kit, though we still were unable to get a look at the port itself. There was also a prototype of Samsung's 70-inch 4K by 2K ultra high definition display. There's no word on when this might hit the market, but the rest of Samsung's displays (minus the OLED) should hit the market sometime in Q1. To these models and more, check out the gallery below.

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  • Nathan Ingraham

    Jan 12, 2012

    Nathan Ingraham

    Samsung to offer FiOS smart TV app with 26 live channels, claims they'll be first to offer it

    Samsung LED8000
    Samsung LED8000

    Yesterday morning, we heard that LG will offer a FiOS app in its smart TVs that will let users access 26 channels of live TV, and now Samsung has announced that it will have the same app and content available on its smart TVs and connected Blu-ray players. Despite its announcement coming a day later than LG, Samsung is claiming that it'll be the first company to offer this access (though there's no launch date given from either company). Just like LG's FiOS app, Samsung will have access to 10,000 VOD titles from Verizon Flex View and only FiOS customers are eligible to use this app. The race is now on to see if Samsung can back up its words and get the FiOS smart TV app into the marketplace ahead of LG.

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  • Nathan Ingraham

    Jan 12, 2012

    Nathan Ingraham

    Samsung's Optical SmartHub streams media through AllShare Play

    Gallery Photo: Samsung Optical SmartHub hands-on
    Gallery Photo: Samsung Optical SmartHub hands-on

    To go along with Samsung's new AllShare Play technology, the company is launching a streaming media device know as the Optical SmartHub. There's a wireless router built-in, so you can set this box up as your primary access point and use it to serve media up from an external hard drive (there's no internal storage). If you use Samsung's AllShare Play, you can access your content anywhere you can get online, not just across a local network, so this makes for an ideal media streamer if you don't want to leave your computer running constantly. There's also a "smart backup" feature for Android phones — if you have the corresponding SmartHub app, you can back your phone's content up onto the Optical SmartHub. You can also manually back up files to an external drive hooked up to the SmartHub from your Mac or PC as well. There's also an 8X DVD burner (but no Blu-ray support), so you can drop a disc in and access it from anywhere on your Wi-Fi network through devices like laptops, tablets, or smartphones. Samsung's Optical SmartHub device will be available in Q1 and will retail for $129.99 — a little pricy considering there's no built-in storage or Blu-ray compatibility.

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  • Nathan Ingraham

    Jan 12, 2012

    Nathan Ingraham

    Samsung's AllShare Play media streaming hands-on video

    Samsung AllShare Play demo
    Samsung AllShare Play demo

    At a stage in the middle of Samsung's gigantic CES booth, the company showed off the latest updates to its AllShare technology. The big star of the show was AllShare Play, a DLNA-powered service that lets you beam your media across devices running Samsung's AllShare software. In Samsung's demo, we were able to access files on a laptop running AllShare software through a Galaxy Note; we could play video directly on the device, but we were also able to beam it Airplay-style to a Wi-Fi-enabled TV that was on the same local wireless network as the Galaxy Note.

    The big update is that you can access files from anywhere, not just when you're on a local network — so if you have a home computer you can leave running at all times, you can access your media anywhere from your laptop or smartphone. Any computer should be able to serve up media as long as the AllShare software is installed, and the corresponding app should be available in the Android Market for handsets running Android 2.2 and up.

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  • T.C. Sottek

    Jan 11, 2012

    T.C. Sottek

    Samsung Smart TV with 'Smart Interaction' (hands-on video)

    Samsung Smart TV
    Samsung Smart TV

    We just got a chance to check out Samsung's Smart TV tech at CES 2012, and we've got a hands-on video for you. The TV features Samsung's "Smart Interaction" tech, using two unidirectional mics and an integrated webcam for motion and voice control — users can turn the TV on or off, change the volume, activate apps, and search the web. The TV can also identify users with face recognition via the integrated webcam. Be sure to check out our Samsung storystream for more information on their showings at CES 2012.

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  • Nathan Ingraham

    Jan 11, 2012

    Nathan Ingraham

    Samsung Series 3 Chromebox and new Series 5 Chromebook hands-on photos

    Gallery Photo: Samsung new Series 5 Chromebook hands-on photos
    Gallery Photo: Samsung new Series 5 Chromebook hands-on photos

    We just got a hands-on look at Samsung's latest Google Chrome OS hardware: the new Series 5 Chromebook and the Series 3 Chromebox. According to a Samsung rep, specs are identical for both devices: a dual-core Celeron processor, 2GB of RAM, and 16GB of solid state storage. The Chromebox looks a bit different than the model Google showed off back in May, but there's still no word on pricing for this device. As for the new Series 5 Chromebook, it shares a lot in common with Samsung's other Series 5 laptops — it's mostly plastic, but feels relatively well constructed. Scrolling on the trackpad is unfortunately not the smoothest thing, though we're not sure if that's a hardware or software issue.

    Despite the modest specs, peformance was relatively decent in the few minutes we spent with the devices. The Verge homepage loaded quickly and without incident, as did our image galleries and some YouTube videos. Aside from the trackpad issues, it was a good web-browsing experience — but the situations in which you might use this as your primary computer still feel limited. As for a release date, Samsung says sometime in the middle of the year. There's no word on how much the Chromebox will cost, but we were told the new Chromebook shouldn't cost more than the original.

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  • Sam Byford

    Jan 11, 2012

    Sam Byford

    Samsung SUR40 with Microsoft Surface 2 hands-on video

    Surface demo
    Surface demo

    Nathan Ingraham contributed to this report.

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  • Nathan Ingraham

    Jan 11, 2012

    Nathan Ingraham

    Samsung announces Blu-Ray players with Wi-Fi and UltraViolet disc to digital support

    Samsung BD-ES6000
    Samsung BD-ES6000

    To go along with Samsung's recently-announced partnership with UltraViolet, Samsung launched two Blu-Ray players, the BD-ES6500 and BD-ES6000, that support disc to digital technology. As we heard earlier, users can register ownership of physical DVD or Blu-Ray discs by popping them into either of these players; digital copies will then be created and added to the user's UltraViolet account. If you're upgrading a DVD to high-definition, there's a small fee (though Samsung hasn't said how much it would be).

    Aside from disc to digital, the BD-ES6000 is an extremely compact little player that looks a bit like an older Mac Mini — the player itself is not much wider than a disc itself. The BD-ES6500 looks more conventional, but includes two HDMI ports to help streamline a user's home theater: instead of hooking into the TV, game consoles and set-top boxes can be hooked directly into the Blu-Ray player. Both players support 3D Blu-Ray, of course, and include Wi-Fi, DLNA, and access to the Samsung Smart Hub for apps. Lastly, there's a new Android and iOS remote app specifically for Blu-Ray; previously it was only available for TVs. We'll keep an eye out for these players on the show floor and see if we can get a demo of disc to digital.

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  • Adi Robertson

    Jan 11, 2012

    Adi Robertson

    Samsung Series 5 notebooks stretch to 15 and 17 inches (hands-on)

    Samsung Series 5
    Samsung Series 5

    We've already covered a solid number of Samsung Series 5 notebooks this week, but now we have a couple of other machines that are worth a mention as well. These mid-range notebooks, however, bear little resemblance to their Ultra counterparts. Depending on the model, you'll get a 15- or 17-inch screen, and up to 1TB and 2TB of hard drive space, respectively. We're light on specs, but the laptops can also be ordered with a Blu-Ray drive and fairly generous 2GB Nvidia graphics card. We'll keep you updated as we get more information.

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  • Sean Hollister

    Jan 11, 2012

    Sean Hollister

    Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G coming soon to T-Mobile's 42Mbps HSPA+ network

    Galaxy S Blaze 4G
    Galaxy S Blaze 4G

    T-Mobile's getting another dual-core Samsung Galaxy S phone: joining its 4.65-inch revision of the Galaxy S II is this new Blaze 4G handset. It's got a dual-core 1.5GHz Snapdragon S3, a Super AMOLED display and a 42Mbps HSPA+ radio under the hood, but that's literally all we know right now: T-Mobile wasn't able to provide price, release date (other than "later this year"), or even the screen size and resolution. We'll keep an ear out and let you know what we hear.

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  • Adi Robertson

    Jan 11, 2012

    Adi Robertson

    Samsung Series 7 Gamer notebook hands-on

    The Series 7 Gamer can ship with either a 1TB or 2TB hard drive, plus 8GB of solid state storage on the motherboard. It can take up to 16GB of RAM, and has a manual dial to change between modes, including a high-power gaming mode. Playing Battlefield 3 on the highest settings in 1080p, we got excellent performance, as you can see in the video below. We'll keep you posted on any further news on pricing and release.

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  • Nathan Ingraham

    Jan 10, 2012

    Nathan Ingraham

    Samsung's WF457 Wi-Fi washer and dryer hands-on photos (update: video)

    Gallery Photo:
    Gallery Photo:

    The clear highlight of Samsung's press event yesterday was a new Wi-Fi washer and dryer, the WF457. The big innovation here is that users can control the machine from anywhere in the house with a smartphone or tablet app, but unfortunately this wasn't yet working when we stopped by. We did check out the 8-inch touchscreen and menus, and it seemed to be a pretty intuitive system, although perhaps a bit unnecessary. However, if you need the washing machine of the future, Samsung's model might be worth checking out. We'll be swinging back to see if they can get the Wi-Fi syncing issues sorted out so we can really see what this washer can do.

    Update: Samsung got the Wi-Fi connection working, so we shot a quick demonstration video of the washer being controlled from an Android phone.

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  • David Pierce

    Jan 10, 2012

    David Pierce

    Samsung Galaxy Attain 4G, LG Connect 4G, Dyle TV for MetroPCS hands-on

    MetroPCS LTE
    MetroPCS LTE

    Perhaps the most interesting thing we saw at MetroPCS' booth was a mystery smartphone that reps wouldn't name, though the "Galaxy S 4G" on its back seems a dead giveaway. The phone had a retractable antenna sticking out of it, and was streaming broadcast TV over the air through Dyle's mobile TV app. It's the first phone and MetroPCS is the first carrier to offer mobile TV, which is a popular feature in other countries but hasn't caught on in the US yet. The antenna picks up broadcast TV signals — occasionally in HD, but it depends on how the particular network broadcasts — so anything you'd get with a TV tuner you'll be able to get on your phone without using up your data plan. The device worked surprisingly well, changing channels effortlessly and reporting impressive signal strength. The Dyle partnership was announced a while ago, but MetroPCS has yet to ship a phone that uses it. We're not sure when this mysterious phone will be available, or how much it will cost, but streaming TV without the data cap hit is almost as nice an idea as a contract-free cell phone.

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  • Nathan Ingraham

    Jan 9, 2012

    Nathan Ingraham

    Samsung 'future-proofing' Smart TVs with Evolution Kit

    Samsung Smart Evolution
    Samsung Smart Evolution

    Samsung's apparently releasing technology for future-proofing its smart TVs — all 2012 TVs will have a slot in the back where users can plug in an "Evolution Kit." Apparently Samsung's built a proprietary system-on-a-chip will "easily enjoy the benefits of the latest TV technology year after year, without purchasing a brand new set." Details were scarce at Samsung's press conference, but we'll try and get more information afterwards.

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  • Joanna Stern

    Jan 9, 2012

    Joanna Stern

    Samsung Series 5 Ultra officially heads to the US on January 30th for $899 (hands-on pictures)

    Gallery Photo: Samsung Series 5 Ultra hands-on pictures
    Gallery Photo: Samsung Series 5 Ultra hands-on pictures

    J&R let Samsung's Series 5 Ultra out a bit early last week, but today Samsung's officially confirming that its 13.3- and 14-inch ultrabooks are headed to the US on January 30th. Just like the overseas model, the 14-inch Series 5 has an onboard optical drive, yet still only weighs 3.9 pounds and measures .82 inches thick. The .58-inch thick 13.3-inch version has a similar design, but weighs just 3.24 pounds since it drops the disc drive. Although, both make room for an SD card reader, Ethernet, full size HDMI, and two USB ports each.

    The entry level 14-inch ($949.99) and 13.3-inch ($899.99) versions of the systems have 1.6GHz Intel Core i5-2467 processors, 4GB of RAM, integrated graphics, and a 16GB SSD and 500GB hard drive combo, which Samsung says still allows for fast resume and boot times. They also have eight-cell batteries, 1366 x 768-resolution, 300nit displays, and integrated graphics in common. Sadly, the 14-inch model doesn't get an SSD-only variant, but the there will be a $1,099 version of the 13-inch Series 5 Ultra with 128GB SSD.

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  • Ross Miller

    Jan 9, 2012

    Ross Miller

    Samsung's new 'Smart Interaction' Plasma and LED 3DTVs feature face recognition, voice and motion control

    Samsung's OLED initiative is the big story at CES, but let's not forget its Smart 3DTV lineup. The UNES8000 (LED) and PNE8000 (Plasma) feature what the company is calling its new Smart Interaction technology, which includes motion control, voice control, and face recognition. The press release is a little vague on details here, but the huge banners Samsung has on the Las Vegas Convention Center suggest motion control is hand waving. Both are also powered by a dual-core chipset and a "new suite of cloud services" including so-called Family Story, Fitness, and Kids. Though plasma is our personal preference for video quality, the LED model has more interesting U-shaped metallic stand (pictured below, left).

    We're admittedly light on a lot of important details here, including the specifics of Smart Interaction the cloud services, specs, and pricing / release details. What we do know so far is intriguing, and our guess is we'll be able to fill in the pieces after Samsung's press conference later today.

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  • Paul Miller

    Jan 9, 2012

    Paul Miller

    Interview: Samsung's David Steel on Apple, the future of TVs, and what's next

    david steel
    david steel

    David Steel, Executive Vice President of Strategy for Samsung North America. Yeah, it's a long title. He's responsible for Samsung's marketing strategy, and he just sat down with our own Joshua Topolsky. As a marketing guy, he hews pretty close to the company line, but he's still a fun guy to talk to — and obviously a primary source if you're looking for Samsung's "official" word on anything. This is a huge show for Samsung, and there was a lot to cover, including Samsung's interesting relationship with Apple, the rise of smart TVs, and Samsung's strategy into the future. Check out the full interview below, it's not to be misssed.

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  • David Pierce

    Jan 9, 2012

    David Pierce

    Samsung adds Wi-Fi to cameras and camcorders, announces $379 WB850F with 21x zoom

    Samsung WB850F
    Samsung WB850F

    On the lower end of the spectrum, Samsung announced the ST76 and ST66, two basic point-and-shoot cameras that pack solid specs for $129 and $119, respectively: f/2.5 aperture, 5x optical zoom, and 720p video recording. All of Samsung's new cameras will be out in this quarter, with the majority coming in March and April.

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  • Joanna Stern

    Jan 9, 2012

    Joanna Stern

    Samsung Series 9 gets a complete makeover, coming February 27th for $1,399.99 (hands-on and video)

    Gallery Photo: Samsung Series 9 hands-on pictures
    Gallery Photo: Samsung Series 9 hands-on pictures

    At last year's CES, a time before every single laptop manufacturer was releasing ultrabooks, Samsung unveiled its extremely thin Series 9 laptop. So how is the company planning to maintain its lead this year? With two brand new Series 9s. While Samsung's not calling the 13.3- or 15-inch laptops "ultrabooks," the laptops are astoundingly thin and weigh just 2.5 and 3.5 pounds, respectively.

    However, Samsung hasn't just refreshed the line with new processors, though it's done that too. The duralumin material that wrapped the previous Series 9 has been replaced with a dark aluminum, and Samsung's using the new all-popular thin bezel trick, allowing it to fit a 15-inch display in a 14-inch chassis and a 13.3-inch display in more of a 12-inch case. Even better, the screens have also been enhanced: both versions have 1600 x 900-resolution, 400nit, matte displays.

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  • Chris Ziegler

    Jan 9, 2012

    Chris Ziegler

    Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 announced for Verizon (hands-on pictures and video)

    Gallery Photo: Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 for Verizon hands-on pictures
    Gallery Photo: Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 for Verizon hands-on pictures

    There's no exact word on pricing or availability, but Samsung and Verizon say that the Tab 7.7 will be launching "in the coming weeks."

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