If the Consumer Electronics Show Asia — scheduled for May in Shanghai — is to be the “next Computex” as many once predicted, it will need better support from members of the technology industry than it currently advertises it has.

According to a email blast sent out Wednesday by the Consumer Electronics Association, CES Asia has 10 notable vendors signed up which include brands like Audi (ETR: NSU), Ford (NYSE: F), Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) and Hisense (SHA:600060). The show will occupy two halls of the Shanghai New International Expo Center.

Registered for #cesasia. Looking at the notable vendors confirmed seems that many are giving it a miss. pic.twitter.com/0eJxTJR4G5

— Sam Reynolds (@thesamreynolds) January 15, 2015

The list provided by show organizers has many notable absences, including local heavyweights such as Xiaomi, TCL (SHE:000100), or Lenovo (HKG:0992). Even China’s burgeoning automotive sector appears to be sitting CES Asia out — for now — which is strange considering how big a role automotive played at CES in Las Vegas.

For the PC sector, representatives of many large Taiwanese technology companies said that they don’t see the unproven CES Asia as being worth it considering that Computex is only a few weeks later. Press and non-Chinese representatives would need to get visas to attend the show, while Taiwan is visa-free for many countries.

As it stands right now CES Asia is not looking like it will be competitive against Computex. At the end of the day it would never replace Computex, as half the purpose of Computex is sourcing. But without the addition of a number of heavyweight companies from China, such as Shanghai Automotive Industries Group, or the ‘Tesla of China’ BYD Auto (HKG: 1211), CES Asia simply won’t have the pull of Computex or its US counterpart.

Besides, if the powers that be really wanted to make a tradeshow that was competitive against Computex they would base it in Shenzhen — considered by some to be the next Taipei — not Shanghai.

The post CES Asia Seems to be Missing Critical Support From Vendors appeared first on VR World.

Drugs, kids, and robots seem an unlikely mixture. However, robotics are helping kids through the stress of doctor visits, helping hospitals dispense medications more accurately, and standing in for a surgeon’s hands.

MEDi is yet another of those cute robots that interact with people. You’ll find him in medical settings where his specific task is to be a companion to children, educate them, and be a pain coach. He’ll greet a child as they come for a vaccination or other injection. He explains the procedure saying that the alcohol swab the nurse uses to clean their skin at the injection site “feels wet like a puppy licking your arm”. You can see the interaction between MEDi and a child in their YouTube segment.

MEDi is child height, slightly less than two feet tall. His 25 degrees of movement, eight pressure sensors, nine tactile sensors, two cameras, and four directional microphones make his interactions lifelike. To distract and entertain, he tells stories, plays games and dances. Together with built in cognitive behavioral skills, the robot is clinically proven to reduce children’s pain and anxiety by 50 percent. His explanations help kids understand and anticipate what a procedure will entail.

MEDi dances to entertain, but mostly to keep a child’s mind off a medical procedure they may be undergoing.

Rx Robots says their mission is to transform pediatrics through robotics. The Canadian based company first put MEDi to work at the Alberta Children’s Hospital. MEDi’s programs are specific to various medical procedures, such as blood tests or vaccinations. The MEDi Kits which contain an NAO Robot, a battery pack and charger, choreographe software and applications can be ordered individually. The University of Calgary with Setareh Aghel Manesh, Tanya Beran, Ehud Sharlin, and Saul Greenberg are credited with MEDi. Beran was providing information and demonstrating their little guy at CES 2015.

Robots have been used in medical settings for some time. The first in 1985 was PUMA 560 which performed a neurosurgical biopsy. It had only six degrees of movement controlled by six brushed DC servo motors. In 1990, the FDA (Federal Drug Administration) got into the picture, approving the AESOP system  for an endoscopic surgical procedure.

More recent is the da Vinci robot typically used in cardiac valve repair, hysterectomy, and prostatectomy procedures. The surgeon controls the robot remotely from a console. Interactive Surgical, the company behind da Vinci, claims that its 3D high definition vision system with magnification up to 10, special instruments, and computer software help the surgeon operate with enhanced vision, precision, dexterity and control. However, their website warns that “Patients should understand that risks of surgery include potential for human error and potential for equipment failure. To emphasize the potential problems, in 2013 the company recalled the da Vinci units because of defective Hot Shears where cracks allowed electrosurgical energy to leak to patient tissue.

Robotic equipment helps with drug inventory and dispensing as well. Robot-Rx, not to be confused with the child-focused Rx-Robots, is an automated medication dispensing system. Medications are placed in envelopes or cassettes with bar-codes that links to the computer record of the patient. It updates the drug inventory as prescriptions are filled.

Medicines are stored and dispensed via bar code to the related patient by Robot-Rx.

The vault-like appearance of this robotic system which stores as well as dispenses drugs is far removed from MEDi, the cute humanistic robot.

The Robot-Rx complex stores, dispenses, and inventories medications.

McKesson Corp. sold their hospital pharmacy automation unit Robot-Rx over a year ago to the newly named Aesynt Corporation. The system runs under Windows 7 and provides real time inventory control as well as bar code medication administration.

Whether addressing kids, drugs, or surgery, robots are here to stay in the field of medicine and health care.

The post Robots, Kids, and Drugs appeared first on VR World.

The 2015 Consumer Electronics Show wrapped up in Las Vegas last week, and for as much as there were many exciting developments in consumer electronics technology showcased at the event there was plenty of pointless gadgets, gizmos and concepts that won’t likely resonate with consumers or make it off the show floor.

Curved TVs and screens

Samsung Curved Ultra HD TV

Curved TVs first made an appearance in prototype form at the 2013 CES. Last year they were once again in the spotlight, but more for Michael Bay’s Internet-breaking flubbed appearance than for actual consumer enthusiasm.

At CES 2015 manufacturers brought out curved TVs in full force. There were also a number of curved computer monitors as well. Nearly every vendor in the display business had one or the other.

But the problem with curved displays is that vendors have yet to present a compelling use case for them. Vendors claim that the curvature of the screen matches the natural curvature of the eye, thus presents a more immersive experience, but that effect is not really noticeable unless you have a very large screen. Plus unless you view the screen at a perfect angle — directly in front of it — things simply won’t look right. Being on the wrong end of the curve means the image will look distorted.

Curved TVs are more expensive than traditional flat panel sets, and likely command higher margins per unit sold. Both Samsung (KRX:005930) and Sony (TYO: 6758) are struggling with slowing growth, and need a new product to excite consumers and get them to continue to buy TVs. Unfortunately, sales data shows that enthusiasm from consumers for these curved displays is limited at best.

Too many Internet of Things

Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) has been hyping the Internet of Things for quite some time, and it CES it seemed like nearly every company at the trade show had an IoT device. Philips (NYSE: PHG) for instance brought $60 IoT enabled Hue light bulbs,while Samsung — its CEO’s keynote was focused on the topic — brought IoT connected appliances.

Two of the big problems with IoT that have been brought up before are sticker shock and security. Vendors need to convince the public the extra costs of an IoT device compared to a non-IoT counterpart are worth it while addressing the security concerns of having everyday objects connected to the web.

But there’s also a third problem with IoT: too many competing standards. Every vendor that brought an IoT device to CES also brought a competing and incompatible standard.

During his keynote, Samsung’s CEO proposed a $100 million fund to develop an open standard for IoT — a must to ensure that a house full of IoT devices can talk to one another.

But until an open IoT standard is developed, and embraced, by most of the world’s IoT vendors the technology will remain, as Gartner calls it, the most overhyped technology in development.

Smartwatches

Though CES isn’t really a mobile-focused show, next month’s Mobile World Congress, a number of vendors brought smartwatches to the show.

But try as they might, the market for smartwatches simply isn’t there. Apple (NASDAQ: APPL) might be able to gain some traction and attention with its iWatch, but other vendors are struggling to figure out how exactly to market these devices to users. In fact, during a panel on the topic at CES a number of prominent industry players admitted that they still haven’t quite figured the market out altogether.

“I have yet to find a killer app that makes me want this,” Creative Strategies president Tim Bajarin is quoted as saying on stage during the panel.

Perhaps vendors are having trouble finding a market for the devices because consumers are generally skeptical about the devices. A survey from December by UBS found that only 27% of users are very likely or somewhat likely to buy a smartwatch.

The post 3 Things That Didn’t Matter at CES 2015 appeared first on VR World.

The 2015 Consumer Electronics Show wrapped up Friday in Las Vegas, giving consumers a glimpse of what’s to come from the consumer electronics sector over the next year.

For as much as some like to lament how CES isn’t as relevant as it once was, or even how it’s “dead”, it still is the biggest electronics trade show in the world’s largest economy. That by itself makes it important. It’s not just where the public, via the press, gets to see new products, it’s where industry alliances are formed and where merchants decide what will be on store shelves next year.

CES is also where the world is given a glimpse of what to come in the long-term, not just in the near future. This matters because ecosystems need to be built around this technology, the process of which starts during closed-door meetings during the show.

Without further ado, here are three things that mattered the most from this year’s CES.

Broadwell on the market

At this year’s CES we got our first glimpse at the next-generation of ultrathin notebooks powered by Intel’s (NASDAQ: INTC) Broadwell processor.

Broadwell promises a substantially reduced power draw, allowing for thinner, lighter and fanless designs.

To of the most exciting Broadwell-powered notebooks that made an appearance on the show floor were the LaVie Z from Lenovo (HKG: 0992) and the refreshed XPS 13 from Dell.

Exact specs of the LaVie Z have yet to be finalized, but it’s said to have a 13-inch screen with a 2,560×1,440 resolution, a 128GB SSD and either a 44Whr or a 29.9 Whr battery depending on the model. Exact pricing and a release date have yet to be determined.

Dell’s refreshed XPS 13 features a variety of display sizes, an incredibly low battery life and an aggressive starting price of $799. For display options, Dell is offering a non-touch 1080p display (which comes with a longer battery life) as well as a touch-enabled QHD+ (3200×1800) model. These come with a  Broadwell 15W Core i3, i5, and i7 processor options and the option of either 4GB or 8GB of memory.

Unfortunately, for reasons that aren’t entirely clear, Broadwell was absent from Intel’s keynote at CES. The chip itself is quite the achievement for the company, and it was rather remiss to leave this product out of the big spotlight.

Quantum dots: The road to 8K starts today

One could call this year’s CES the year that 4K reached maturity. Prototypes of 4K displays have been on the showfloor of CES since 2012, and now they are relatively mainstream. But while 4K is just starting to get off the show floor and into the homes of consumers, a far more impressive technology made an appearance at this year’s CES: 8K.

As its name implies, 8K provides a substantial jump in resolution when compared to 4K or 1080p. On a large screen, the amount of detail one can pick out is beyond remarkable. Of course, 8K is suffering from a content problem — there isn’t much of it available — but what was demonstrated on the show floor proves the potential of the resolution.

For a resolution that large, standard LCD technology won’t cut it. Cinephiles and imaging professionals have long complained that standard LED backlit LCD sets don’t provide the rich blacks and colors of OLED or plasma based screens. This is a tradeoff of LED’s; image quality is sacrificed for power efficiency and thinness.

A diagram of how a quantum dot layer works

Quantum dots are the solution to this problem. Quantum dots are an extremely thin layer of nanometer sized crystals applied to an LCD. Depending on their size — between 2 to 10 nanometers — they emit light at a different wavelength thus glowing green, red, or blue depending on their size. On an LCD, they augment the display’s capability to reproduce the full color gamut: on paper they will allow an LCD to display proper blacks, whites and remove the blueish tint that plagues some displays. All this is done at nearly a third of the cost of producing an OLED.

Quantum dots were in many of the 4K LCD-based displays on the CES show floor. In order for LCDs to mature and jump into the 8K era, quantum dots are a must. Without the color accuracy that they provide, the benefits of the enhanced resolution of 8K would be lost.

Automotive is the next big thing

In the technology world, sometimes rivalries fade. One year two companies might slug it out at the show, and other years there could be nothing.Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) and Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM) have found themselves more and more becoming rivals as Nvidia shifts focus from its traditional markets to mobile with Tegra.

CES 2015 was an example of this new rivalry between the two companies. The keynotes from both Nvidia and Qualcomm focused heavily on automotive. On stage Nvidia CEO Jen Hsun Huang promised that the self-driving cars of the future would be powered by his company’s Tegra X1 SoC, showcasing its ability to power collision detection and other sensing systems.

Nvidia has struggled to build enthusiasm amongst mobile vendors for its Tegra platform, and it’s now up to its sales team to see if it can score some hardware wins in automotive. The biggest complaint amongst vendors was that previous iterations of Tegra draw too much power, but this complaint is a moot point in automotive.

However, Nvidia has to act fast to make inroads in this market. While Nvidia has yet to announce any hardware wins for automotive Tegra, at its keynote Qualcomm was able to announce two.

Automotive will prove to be a interesting and competitive market for these chipmakers, and future CES expos — especially CES Asia in Shanghai — will no doubt have more from this field.

The post 3 Things That Mattered The Most at CES 2015 appeared first on VR World.

Physiological monitoring combined with bio-mathematical modeling provides information aimed at improving health-related decisions. LifeQ based in Atlanta, Georgia is partnering with tech companies and scientists hoping to enable the understanding and management of physiology, behavior, and health. To this end, you could see a demo in their CES booth, as well as in the booths of Texas Instruments, Bosch, and Atmel .

Executive founder of LifeQ, Dr. Riaan Conradie said: “We can now deliver incredible insights to people about their bodies, potentially even predicting a heart attack.” The company goal is to help people really understand their own bodies so they can make decisions based on highly personalized health records and insights. It provides an on-demand record of one’s physiology and health. Using this data, individuals can make intelligent choices regarding their lifestyle, food, exercise, and even medications, all with one device.

Dr. Franco Du Preez, systems biologist, is deeply involved with LifeQ.

Franco Du Preez, Ph.D., world-renowned systems biologist who has authored several articles on the topic, applies computational systems biology to real-world health problems. He is the Chief Science Officer at LifeQ. Working with him in this unique field are computer scientists, electronic design engineers, mathematical statisticians, researchers, biomedical engineers, software architects, and scientists. They coordinate their expertise in an aggressive effort. The result: one device

LifeQ Lens captures physiological info.

A mighty three some, LifeQ consists of Lens, Core, and Link. LifeQ Lens is a multi-wavelength optical sensor that can be integrated into most wearable devices. It then monitors a range of key metrics with laboratory-level accuracy using the company’s proprietary algorithm. LifeQ Core translates the raw data from the Lens through biologically-orientated mathematical models. These models are turned into digital, virtual simulations of your body’s physiological systems. LifeQ Link is the open-access platform through which the company’s cross industry partners can use LifeQ’s technology.

Athletes can personally use the real-time information to regulate, increase or decrease their activities. Individuals with a nutritional interest can keep tabs on their nutrition by measuring calorie intake and calorie burn rate. Medical personnel can use LifeQ to improve diagnoses or manage a chronic condition.

Finally, on a more global scale, the company foresees the data generated by LifeQ’s platform providing population-level analysis of health and physiology which can lead to research never before possible. The company is looking forward to being able to monitor clinical trials which could potentially help create safer medicines and more effective treatments.

The post Total Physiology Health Analysis on a Single Wearable Device appeared first on VR World.

Two concerned fathers temporarily lost their children – one in a parade crowd and the other in a crowd of shoppers. Both created a wearable tracking device to prevent this from happening again. The products are amazingly similar and are competing for attention at CES 2015 and on Indiegogo.

The companies sit on two sides of the world. Child Angel is out of Staffordshire in the UK. Kiband is out of Utah in the US. The companies base their technology on two different approaches. Child Angel tracks a child’s movements by combining GPS, GSM (Global System for Mobiles) and Wi-Fi hot-spot triangulation technologies. Kiband uses Bluetooth 4.1 and an audible alarm approach.

Kiband, named for the CEO’s four year old child Kimball, argues that coverage, accuracy, and cost of GPS are questionable. Their smartband technology covers 5 to almost 200 feet in any direction and you don’t need to interpret a map on your cell phone to locate a child who wanders too far. Kiband lets out an 85 decibel alarm alerting the parent and those around the child until it and the child are back with the parent. The band displays contact information for do-gooders trying to return the child to his parents.

Kiband smartphone display of child’s proximity.

Child Angel, on the other hand, has no distance limitations. It notifies parents via its cell phone app and displays the child’s location on a GPS map. The battle has begun with Child Angel adding comments on its project site regarding the limitations of Bluetooth … as we’ve noted is used by their competitor, Kiband.

Its exact pinpoint location is sent by Child Angel wrist band to smartphone.

Another differentiation is the ability to remove the band from the child’s arm. Child Angel sends an alarm to the parent if the band is removed and marks its location, whereas the Kiband cannot be removed until unlocked by the parent via their cell phone.

The free downloadable Child Angel app is compatible with Android, Samsung, Apple iPhone, and iPad. The band’s rechargeable battery can last for 48 hours. The band is “splash, sand, and sticky proof” and geared to those 3-13 years. Kiband is fashioned for children from 18 months to 7 years. Child-friendly Child Angel can be customized with a click-on image. It can also be imprinted with a licensed business partner’s logo.

Both provide boundary settings such as Geo Fencing on Child Angel. If your child goes beyond your pre-set safe zone an automatic alert goes to your cell phone. Kiband differentiates itself by claiming to alert you to your child’s location before they disappear, not after. Its goal is to prevent a lost child, rather than trying to find one after they go missing. The band involves the child in their own safety by vibrating when they wander too close to the perimeter set by their parents. It is not only water resistant, but if submerged will put out an alarm.

Child Angel’s wrist band design.

Spencer Behrend, Founder and CEO of KiLife Tech, claims a background in entrepreneurship, technology of an unspecified nature, finance, and corporate leadership. Heather Palmer has the unique title of CMO – Chief Mommy Officer – bringing a mother’s touch to the company. None of the bios of the rest of the team mentions any technology experience, leaning on backgrounds in operations, finance, and social media. However, the company profile claims to be “a diverse collection of tech entrepreneurs.”Andrew Purcell is the father and CEO behind Child Angel. His team consists of persons with financial, organizational, and sales skills. No one mentions having technology expertise, but their project site shows how the device was developed. Child Angel’s Indiegogo project has raised $2,572 USD towards its more aggressive $100,000 goal with 24 days left.

Kiband reveals its electronic composition.

Kiband on Indiegogo has raised $10,754 USD towards its $25,000 goal with 10 days left. Its sale price is pegged at $110.

As a parent, you have choices to make regarding your child’s safety. Child Angel and Kiband offer two slightly differing ways to keep track of a busy and mobile kid. Which would you choose?

The post Two Lost Kids; Two New Wearable Tracking Devices at CES 2015 appeared first on VR World.

The mini-PC segment has been on the rise for the past two years, and Zotac is one of the better known brands in the sector. The push by both AMD (NASDAQ: AMD) and Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) to make their respective processors smaller and more power efficient has pushed the sector upwards.

It’s no surprise that Zotac brought a number of new and refreshed Zbox models to the 2015 Consumer Electronics Show. Zotac is trying to cater the needs of both gamers and those who only need their machines for more lightweight use with the lineup it brought to CES.

The most interesting addition to Zotac’s lineup is the gamer-centered Zbox EN860. The EN860 comes with a built-in GTX 860M, three USB 3.0 ports, HDMI, DisplayPort, DVI, two Ethernet ports, and a TOSLINK audio connector for home theater connectivity. Zotac says the system has G-Sync support, and will be able to drive 4K. Zotac has yet to confirm what processor will be machine, though very likely it will be Intel’s new power sipping Broadwell.

Next up is a new edition to Zotac’s C-series of mini-PCs, the Zbox CI 321 Nano. The CI 321 Nano features a GHz Intel Celeron 2961Y dual-core Haswell processor as well as 4GB of RAM and up to 64 GB of storage (with the Plus model). As far as connectivity goes it has 802.11ac WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, Gigabit Ethernet, and HDMI and DisplayPort.

Lastly, Zotac’s Zbox Pico got a slight refresh as it now features an AMD Mullins A4-6400T, R3 Graphics, 2 GB of DDR3 memory, 32GB of storage and mini-DisplayPort.

Pricing is unknown at this time, but it will be interesting how the refreshed Mullins competes with the previous-gen Intel version.

The post Zotac Brings Updated ZBoxes to CES 2015 appeared first on VR World.

Electric vehicles are not just about cars. At CES 2015, there are a handful of startups that feature electric-power on a smaller scale, such as in bicycles. One such product launching at the event is the Zboard 2, an electric skateboard that can go up to 20 mph speeds with a 16 to 24 mile range.

Zboard is a business that stemmed from two college students’s goal to simply create an easier way to go around campus. The team actually launched the first version of the Zboard  via crowdfunding in 2012, giving birth to what is now a successful business borne out of necessity. The second iteration of the team’s electric skateboard is lighter and more refined, with a few added features like two handles for easy carrying.

The Zboard 2 comes in two variants: the Blue Edition and Pearl Edition, costing $999 and $1,149 each on pre-order via the Indiegogo crowdfunding page. While the Pearl edition is marginally heavier (18 lbs vs. 16 lbs) than the Blue edition, it also comes with a bigger battery and slightly bigger wheels, which account for its increased range of 24 miles vis-a-vis the 18 mile range of the less expensive skateboard.

Still, both skateboards are quite capable for their weight, delivering speeds up to 20 mph through the personal vehicle’s 500 Watt brushless motor. One advantage of this second-generation Zboard is that the use of a brushless motor, which allows for natural coasting. Also, the brushless design also means the rider can push off with the power turned off or when the Zboard runs out of battery power.

Another advantage of the new design is that the Zboard 2 is waterproof, enabling riders to go through damp or wet surfaces, without worry about damaging the electronics. The skateboard’s LED lights at the front and back also offer added safety whilst boarding in the dark.

The company has showcased the Zboard 2 at CES, and an Indiegogo campaign is currently ongoing, with the team raising 235% of its $50,000 goal in just a couple of days. The early bird prices are sold out, however. But backers can still save at least $250 off of the retail prices once the company starts delivering in June.

The post CES 2015: Zboard 2 Electric Skateboard Debuts, Gets Crowdfunded on Day 1 appeared first on VR World.

Panasonic (TYO: 6752) announced that it will be forming a partnership deal with Wyoming-based cloud-based platform and architecture service firm DIVA Networks Inc. The collaboration project will be part of the company’s plan to improve networking and communication capabilities of its next line of digital cameras.

Panasonic has already developed a prototype model for the upcoming project last year, the DMC-CM1, which featured integrated LTE networking functions on a standard digital camera. The partnership between the two companies will expand this basic concept further. The project will include a number of target milestones and objectives, with the ultimate goal of successfully developing new digital cameras that can properly utilize today’s ultra high speed global networking systems.

The company’s first step towards its business strategy calls for the initial development of new cloud photo services that would optimize the camera’s networking functions. This will inevitably include marketing and promotion, which will help introduce the new services to the cameras’ user base. DIVA Networks will be responsible for developing the cloud-based system for these services, as well as a proper access interface to provide a seamless, convenient medium to easily edit, store, and share snapped photos.

Eventually, the strategy will move further to develop new products that would then optimize the system already established by the new photo services. Just as how social networking services are easily accessible to mobile devices today, the new digital cameras and related hardware will be designed for easy integration to the web, to meet the current huge demand for multimedia sharing.

Panasonic had already invested an undisclosed amount of capital for the joint project. Though the announcement included the development of new products, there are still no specifics as to when these products are to be released. Information regarding the new services is to be announced later as well.

The post CES 2015: Panasonic Opens Partnership to Enhance Networking in Cameras appeared first on VR World.

Corsair had on display a lot of the usual stuff that we are all already familiar with, but it did have some new additions.

It will be selling a new DDR4 3400 kit that is a limited release via its web store, as it has done with a lot of other limited run high bin RAM sets before.  There was a Carbide 100R Silent case that looks great for those who are needing a quiet case and want to spend their money wisely, as for the features the price of $59 is a really good one.  There was also the new H110i GT liquid cooler for a CPU and a HG10 N780 Edition GPU cooling bracket in display systems showing off just how good the cooling performance was.  The HG10 looks like an ideal situation for the Nvidia GTX 770, 780, 780 Ti, Titan, and Titan Black owners who want a way to cool their cards more efficiently.

Stay tuned as we will have more on what we think about what we saw at Corsair in the coming days.

THe Carbide 100R Silent mid-tower PC chassis looks to be a real winner at the $59 price point given by Corsair

The post Take A Look At The Corsair Suite at CES 2015 appeared first on VR World.

Zotac’s suite at the 2015 Consumer Electronics Show had its latest video cards and mini-PCs — all things that the company is well known for.

Compared to Taiwan’s much bigger vendors, Hong Kong’s Zotac has proven to be a disruptive force in the VGA sector with its cards consistently receive high praises from reviewers.

For video cards, Zotac brought two versions of its new GTX 980: the GeForce GTX 980 AMP! Extreme and GTX 980 AMP! Edition.

The standard version of the GTX 980 has core clock of 1126 MHz with a boost clock of 1216 MHz, and includes 2048 CUDA cores, 4 GB GDDR5 video memory, 256-bit wide memory interface and a memory clock of 7010 MHz. This version of the card will be different from Zotac’s previously released Omega edition, so exact pricing and specifications are not yet known at this time.

Review samples are on their way to VR World’s labs, so expect more details soon!

The post Zotac Brings Two Nvidia GPUs to CES 2015 appeared first on VR World.

Electronics manufacturing is a very labor-intensive process, employing a combination of robotic and chemical processes and treatments, manual labor but above all – it is a very dislocated process.

Over the course of past 15 years, we managed to witness the manufacturing changed in its scale, employing tens of millions of people and massively reducing time to market. Still, the process takes a lot of time, and not all can be done as efficiently as possible.

There are two base components of any piece of electronic equipment on the market: chip and PCB (Printed Circuit Board) and revolution is coming to both: IBM / GlobalFoundries is working on bringing flexible wafers from the domain of concept to a mass produced parts (still, we’re 5-6 years out), while Voxel8 just launched a 3D printer that can print PCBs.

Both innovations come from the East Coast: IBM/GlobalFoundries and the University of Albany, while Voxel8 is a hardware startup founded by Dr. Jennifer Lewis, Wyss Professor of Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University.

During CES 2015, the company introduced its first publicly available multi-material printer that among others, can lay the conductive silver ink. Yes, a 3D printed multi-layer PCB is becoming a reality. Do not expect your next graphics card or mobile phone to be 3D printed, as precision needed is on the very leading edge (some might say over the leading edge) of what industry can make.

However, this $8,999 3D printer should enable numerous 3D printed products from the world of Internet of Things (Machine-2-Machine, embedded electronics or IoT in marketing speak).

You can see more about the product in a video below:

The post 3D Printing Electronics is a Reality Now: Meet Voxel8 appeared first on VR World.

The next big battle for consumers is transportation. Forget about living room, your own pocket, your bedroom, the house in general – it’s cars, planes, shopping malls and the way how to interact with the world.

Thus, it is of no surprise that CES 2015 featured an interesting announcement, almost hidden behind the limelight of all the TVs, mobile phones etc. The announcement was that LG Electronics (KRX:066570) will become the default supplier of 4G LTE connectivity systems for General Motors (NYSE: GM). If you ever owned a GM car, you’re well aware of its ‘OnStar’ service.

OnStar Service to get 4G LTE connectivity

After multiple providers, very well known in the consumer space, it looks like LG Electronics won a global contract, to supply as much as 10 million cars (factor in at least 5-10% overhead for spare parts) annually. It is not known who is the chipset provider, but there’s no doubt LGE’s silicon unit will push for as much of their own chips as possible.

LG Electronics is a known automotive supplier, but this is as good as it gets – OnStar 4G LTE is coming to all the cars in General Motors gamma, regardless of are we talking about Cadillacs, Vauxhall/Opel etc. Expanding OnStar globally requires the use of 4G LTE technology, and the way how we will use cars as hotspots only goes to show that Tesla Motors started something big, and incumbents are working hard on catching up.

OnStar used to be a simple telematics service, but now is rapidly expanding its capabilities, bringing a whole new layer of connectivity usage. OnStar will now push key stats from the car, spare parts life, recommended service intervals and many more to consumers, while in case of product recalls etc. the service could notify all the owners of affected vehicles, reducing time to service.

The service originally started in North America, and recently started to expand in Europe. Over the course of next two years, GM will expand OnStar almost globally with focus on Europe and China.

According to Tim Nixon, Chief Technology Officer for OnStar, the company plans to put OnStar in no less than 50 cars across its brands by the end of the year (expect major announcements in Detroit, Geneva, Beijing and Frankfurt).

First vehicle to launch using this new improved service is the brand new 2016 Chevrolet Volt (leaked images courtesy of Motorauthority.com), to be officially introduced at the Detroit Motor Show. The car will also debut as 2^nd Generation Opel Ampera in Europe.

The post LG Electronics Enters Automotive with a General Motors Global Win appeared first on VR World.

Lenovo (HKG:0992) is the largest PC vendor in the world, and by acquiring Motorola from Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) and IBM’s (NYSE:IBM) server business, the Chinese manufacturer is looking to cement its position in the mobile and server segments.

At the 2015 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Lenovo’s chief executive Yang Yuanqing stated to the Wall Street Journal that the focus for 2015 would be to “pay more attention to the integration” of Motorola and IBM’s x86 server business, acquisitions that cost the Chinese vendor roughly $5 billion.

New markets

The acquisition of Motorola opens up a series of key markets to Lenovo. The Chinese manufacturer became the fourth largest smartphone manufacturer in the world late last year, with strong sales in Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America. In China, Lenovo is the second largest vendor after Xiaomi.

Lenovo will be mounting a more aggressive challenge to Xiaomi with the Motorola brand, whose products will be sold exclusively online. As Motorola will not be able to match the low price strategy followed by Xiaomi (barring a few handsets like the Moto G), it is possible Lenovo will offer customization as the differentiating factor. Lenovo’s advantage lies in the fact that it is one of the few manufacturers in the country with its own manufacturing facility. The vendor has already mentioned that it will be bringing Moto Maker to China, through which users in the country will be able to customize their handsets at a level that is not possible with any other manufacturer.

Motorola will begin selling three devices in China from next month, all of which offer 4G connectivity: There’s the Moto G LTE, Moto X and a Moto X Pro, which comes with a 6-inch QHD screen. All three handsets have their strong points. The Moto G will likely be positioned as an affordable LTE-enabled handset, while the Moto X is aimed at customers looking to customize their handsets. The Moto X Pro will be targeted at users looking for a high-end phablet. 

In the US, however, Lenovo has failed to make a dent in the smartphone market, a situation that is is looking to fix with the Motorola acquisition. Yuanqing said that Lenovo will not be selling its own-branded devices in the country, instead leveraging Motorola’s brand name. Similarly, in Latin American markets, where Motorola has a strong presence, Lenovo will continue to sell Motorola-branded devices. Lenovo is not looking to turn a profit with Motorola in the short term, with Yuanqing stating that it will likely be four to six quarters before the brand starts becoming profitable.

King of servers

After a year of scrutiny from regulators in China and the US, Lenovo’s acquisition of IBM’s (NYSE: IBM) x86 server business is now final, making the Chinese vendor the third largest in the global x86 server market. Lenovo is now in charge of the System x, BladeCenter and Flex System blade servers and switches, x86-based Flex integrated systems, NeXtScale and iDataPlex servers and their associated software. Lenovo will also become a reseller for IBM storage products.

IBM’s server division will be integrated within Lenovo’s enterprise business group as the brand looks to gain a sizable chunk of the $50 billion global server market. Lenovo’s acquisition of IBM’s PC business back in 2005 made the vendor the third largest in the segment, and in nine years the Chinese manufacturer has managed to reach the summit. It will be looking for a similar return with the x86 server business, and has set itself the target of becoming the number one vendor in the server market in five to seven years.

Yuanqing hasn’t shared details on how Lenovo intends to achieve this feat other than saying that it will work on making the business more efficient. The server business is touted as the driver for growth for vendor in the future, and as such Lenovo will be looking to make a revenue of $5 billion from the x86 server business in the first year, accounting for 15% of the vendor’s overall revenues. Lenovo will be going after the same companies it challenged in the PC segment, HP and Dell. Yuanqing said that Lenovo’s advantage comes from working in markets with razor-thin margins.

At the end of the day, the acquisitions are geared at diversifying Lenovo’s product offerings. A bulk of the vendor’s revenues is still generated from PC sales, but the vendor is now looking to move beyond one segment in a bid to become a global powerhouse. Lenovo succeeded in turning IBM’s ThinkPad line around after it acquired it in 2005, and the signs show that it may do just the same with Motorola and IBM’s server business.

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After announcing an SoC tailored for the Android TV platform, MediaTek (TPE:2454) has now launched the MT2601: an affordable chipset that is targeted at Android Wear. Device manufacturers will be able to build their own hardware and software solutions for Android Wear with the MT2601 at the core of the wearable.

The affordability of the SoC is due to the fact that it contains 41.5% fewer components than similar solutions available today. Instead of taking a mobile-based chip and retooling it — like Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) has with the Snapdragon 400 — MediaTek built the MT2601 from the ground up for wearable devices.

In terms of hardware, the MT2601 has a dual-core Cortex A7 CPU and a Mali-400 MP1 GPU. The SoC can handle qHD resolutions, which is more than sufficient for a device like a smartwatch. With the Snapdragon 400, Qualcomm disabled three of the four available cores to make it more efficient on low power devices. By offering a solution with lower hardware specs (but enough to drive current-gen wearables), MediaTek’s MT2601 has the potential to significantly increase battery life of wearable devices.

MediaTek has mentioned that the MT2601 is currently being integrated into wearables right now by device manufacturers, with consumer-ready versions set to arrive over the coming months.

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Dell launched the 2015 version of the XPS 13, which comes with several improvements from last year’s model. The notebook now comes with an edge to edge display, is overall thinner and has subtle design changes that makes it one of the best notebooks to have come out of Dell in a long time.

The XPS 13 checks a lot of boxes for those looking for a high-end Windows-based Ultrabook: the 13.3-inch touchscreen is offered in a QHD+ resolution (3200 x 1800), the keyboard is backlit, the design features aluminum in abundance (as well as carbon fibre), and the whole thing is powered by Intel’s latest fifth-generation processors. The icing on the cake is the pricing, which starts at just $800.

You also get a 15-hour battery life on the full-HD variant, with the QHD+ panel offering a nine-hour battery life on a full charge. The borderless edge to edge screen is a sight to behold, with Dell managing to fit a 13.3-inch display into the chassis of a 11-inch notebook. The weight has also been reduced, and is at barely over a kilogram. The XPS 13 still has a full chiclet keyboard, but the trackpad is now an all-glass precision affair that allows you to undertake Windows 8.1 gestures with ease.

The $800 variant of the XPS 13 will come with a full-HD screen, Intel Core i3, 4 GB RAM and 128 GB SSD, Wi-Fi ac, Bluetooth 4.0, two USB 3.0 ports, mini DisplayPort as well as an SD card slot. You can get a Core i5 for $900, and a Core i7 variant with 8 GB RAM for $1,000.

The QHD+ version starts from $1,300, with the highest configured model with Intel Core i7, 8 GB RAM and 256 GB SSD retailing for $1,900.

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This year Thermaltake showed off a brand new upcoming Cherry MX RGB mechanical keyboard that is just beautiful and has a great feel when typing, as this is what the Cherry MX switches are known for.

Also on display was the brand fully modular Core X1, Core X2, and Core X9 computer cases which not only provide plenty of room for the user’s imagination to run wild with customizing options.  The cases also stack and provide even more area for some really awesome options like mounting truely immense water cooling radiators inside.  Also on display was the new Tt eSports Theron Plus smart mouse that features Bluetooth connectivity so that it can link to a mobile device and log mouse usage and statistics.

Tt eSports Theron Plus smart mouse

Ipad running TteSports+ application for data logging of the Therons Plus smart mouse

Software for an upcoming mechanical Poseidon Z keyboard that features a touch sensitive space bar that can even be programed with macros.

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At CES, Lenovo (HKG:0992) has launched two Android tablets aimed at the budget segment. Dubbed Tab 2 A7-10 and Tab 2 A7-30, the tablets will be available from later this month. There’s not much going on in terms of hardware, but with a price tag of under $100, the slates are ideal for first-time buyers looking for an affordable Android tablet.

There are subtle variations between the two: the Tab 2 A7-10 features the 1.3GHz quad-core MediaTek MT8127, while the Tab 2 A7-30 comes with the1.3GHz quad-core MediaTek MT8382, which has a 3G module for placing calls and texts. The A7-10 only has 8 GB internal storage and no rear camera, while the A7-30 has 16 GB and a 2 MP shooter at the back. Thankfully, there’s a microSD card slot that can accommodate cards up to 32 GB in size.

The rest of the hardware is similar on both slates, and includes a 7-inch screen with a resolution of 1024 x 600, 1 GB RAM, 0.3 MP front camera, GPS, Bluetooth 4.0, and Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n connectivity along with a 3,450 mAh battery. There’s also Dolby Audio speakers at the front. The tablets feature Android 4.4 KitKat out of the box, but Lenovo has mentioned that an OTA Android 5.0 update will be available in a few months’ time. Both tablets will be offered in a variety of colors that include Aqua Blue, Cotton Candy, Pearl White, and Ebony Black.

The Tab 2 A7-10 is priced at $99, while the Tab 2 A7-30, with its 3G connectivity, will be available for $129. The former is set to launch later this month, while the latter will make its debut in March.

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Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) has been long trying to find a way to employ its RealSense technology, and on stage during its keynote at the 2015 Consumer Electronics Show it showed one possible application: autonomous drones.

As Intel CEO Brian Krzanich demonstrated on stage, using the RealSense technology and Intel Quark SoCs, the fleet of drones on stage were able to navigate around obstacles on stage. They fled away from stagehands wearing black shirts, and were also able to autonomously navigate through an obstacle course.

Of course these drones are far from being approved for sale on the market. Don’t expect Intel-powered drones to be on sale anytime soon, but the technology demo itself shows an interesting potential use case for Intel’s silicon in a fast-growing market.

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After Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) and Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM), it is now time for MediaTek to announce its plans for the year ahead. The Taiwanese chip vendor witnessed a meteoric rise in 2014 thanks to affordable SoCs that offered LTE connectivity, and for 2015 MediaTek is looking to the IoT segment to drive growth.

One of the major announcements from MediaTek at CES was that it will be powering Sony’s Bravia line of TVs this year. Sony has already announced that all of its smart TVs will run on Android TV, and by securing a partnership with the renowned TV manufacturer, MediaTek has scored a major win in this segment with the MT5595 SoC. The SoC is targeted at 4K TVs that run Android, and is likely to be featured in other UHD TVs that are set to launch later this year.

MediaTek’ big win at #ces2015 might not be a flagship handset, but rather its silicon in Sony’s smart TVs. pic.twitter.com/wuhYVos3Fi

— Sam Reynolds (@thesamreynolds) January 7, 2015

MediaTek has also announced that it is collaborating with Google on an Ultra HD TV platform powered by Android TV, and that its solution is the first in the world to support Google VP9 and HEVC codecs, which are designed for 4K2K content streaming at 60 frames per second.

As for the hardware, the MT5595 SoC contains four cores ARM v7 cores – two high-performance Cortex A15 cores as well as two energy-efficient Cortex A7 cores – in a big.LITTLE arrangement. Voice search is an inherent feature in all models that feature the SoC, and customers will also be able to browse the Play Store for games, movies and music. MT5595 isn’t the fastest SoC in the market, but it is more than sufficient to run the Android 5.0-based interface.

Also included in the MT5595 is MediaTek’s ClearMotion technology, which the vendor claims will upscale low-quality content. The SoC adheres to ATSC/DTMB/DVB/ISDB standards, and works with middleware solutions like Ginga/MHEG/MHP and broadband services like HbbTV.

The SoC is in mass production, with MediaTek announcing that consumers will be able to buy TVs that feature the chipset starting March 2015.

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