Tablets, 3D TVs are show stoppers

The Motorola Atrix smartphone hooked up to its laptop at the CES. Picture: Jennifer Dudley-Nicholson Source: News Limited

More than 140,000 people went to this year's Consumer Electronics Show, and more than 2700 companies showed off their gadgets. Switched On was there to see what's in store for 2011.

 TABLETS, TABLETS, TABLETS

THIS year's show was dedicated to tablet computers.

Many bettered current leader Apple's iPad, offering more powerful, fully featured forms. Some even came in hybrid laptop form.

Motorola's Xoom, due early this year, was among the standouts.

Powered by a 1GHz dual-core processor, it will be the first to use Google Android software created specifically for tablets.

The 10.1-inch Xoom showed off 3D Google Maps, large widgets, redesigned apps and a tablet-friendly array of icons.

Research in Motion gave users the first chance to use its 7-inch PlayBook tablet. The slick, slim computer operates quickly, and uses a touch-sensitive border as a button.

But it needs a BlackBerry to receive a mobile internet connection, and doesn't include calendar and email apps.

Other CES tablets featured unique, hybrid designs.

Samsung's Sliding PC 7 Series tablet hides a full-sized keyboard under its screen. Lenovo's IdeaPad U1 uses Google Android until you insert it into a laptop-like shell and trigger Windows 7. And Dell's Inspiron Duo is a netbook with a screen that flips round to take tablet form.

Expect models from LG, Toshiba, Sharp, Dell and Sony, which announced its intention to become the world's second-biggest tablet maker, even though it has yet to show one.

FRESH CHIPS

ONE CES announcement will have a far-reaching effect on most new laptops: the release of Intel's newest chips.

Nicknamed Sandy Bridge, the second generation of core processors build on last year's models and add graphics processing for the first time. For many, this will eliminate the need to buy dedicated graphics cards for laptops, Intel PC client group vice-president Mooly Eden says.

But it is the advances delivered by adding graphics power that will make the greatest difference to users.

Computers with the second generation Core i3, i5 and i7 chips can use additions, including Quick Sync Video, which will convert high-definition home movies to new formats or prepare them for YouTube in record time.

The second-generation i7 chip is already being added to Dell's new-release XPS 17 laptop with a stereoscopic 3D display. Other next-generation chips will be added to laptops next month.

GLASSES-FREE 3D

THE future of 3D television was a hot topic at CES this year, with only 1.1 million US consumers buying the new technology last year.

While Samsung has committed to "a big investment in 3D TV" and LG introduced 3D TV with passive, battery-free glasses, others showed off technology viewed with the naked eye.

Sony unveiled three glasses-free 3D prototype technologies at CES.

These included a 24.5-inch OLED model, a 46-inch LCD screen and a 56-inch screen with a 4000x2000 resolution. All had "sweet spots" in which 3D looked best, and the latter benefited from the greater resolution.

Even more convincing was Sony's smaller, glasses-free 3D prototypes: a portable 3D Blu-ray Player with a 10-inch screen and a personal 3D TV viewer called the Headman, which looks like a pair of futuristic sunglasses.

There is no delivery date on the new products and Sony will have plenty of competition.

Toshiba also showed off an autostereoscopic 3D TV and Sharp its 3D smartphone, which uses parallax barrier technology to deliver 3D.

Jennifer Dudley-Nicholson went to Las Vegas as a guest of Intel

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1
MOTOROLA ATRIX

It's a powerful phone, but it's also the brains behind a laptop or desktop computer. Motorola's Atrix, due in the US early this year, is a Google Android smartphone with a 1GHz dual-core processor. What makes it truly innovative is its use of accessories: this phone docks in a laptop shell to become a portable computer. Its specially designed Android software fills the screen, although users can still make phone calls with it.

2

INTEL SANDY BRIDGE PROCESSORS

Codenamed Sandy Bridge and soon to be known as Intel's Second Generation Core processors, these chips are set to change mobile computing. They're not just faster than the i3, i5 and i7 chips, but they have built-in graphics processing that should eliminate the need for a separate graphics card and speed up tasks, such as video formatting, editing and playing. Expect to see PCs with the new chips this month.

3

MOTOROLA XOOM

Google will launch its tablet software in this Motorola creation that bests the Apple iPad's hardware. The Xoom not only uses a faster processor but has a larger screen (10.1 inches) with a higher resolution, two cameras, Adobe Flash compatibility, a memory card slot and a stand. Its release will depend on Google's Honeycomb readiness, but early previews show slick multi-tasking, 3D Google Maps and a larger layout.

4

POLAROID GL20 CAMERA GLASSES

Launched by Lady Gaga, these hi-tech specs let paparazzi operate discreetly. The GL20 glasses are equipped with a 1.2-inch OLED screen in each lens and a camera hidden between the wearer's eyes. An SD memory card fits into the side of the glasses frame and users can snap 5-megapixel photos by pressing a shutter button on one arm. Due later this year.

5

SAMSUNG SLIDING PC 7 SERIES

Tablets come with many things but, until now, none have offered keyboards. Samsung has corrected this oversight with the Sliding PC 7 Series, a Windows 7 tablet with a keyboard that slides from beneath its 10.1-inch screen. The result is bulkier than most tablets, but thinner than most netbooks. It's due in the US in March.

6

SONY BLOGGIE 3D

Hollywood buys big 3D video rigs. Household 3D productions may benefit from the world's first pocket-sized version, the Bloggie 3D. Despite its size, this camera features two lenses, two image sensors and a 2.4-inch lenticular screen that will let you see 3D with the naked eye. The $250 camera is due in the US in April.

7

LENOVO IDEAPAD U1

A handful of tablet hybrids appeared at CES and Lenovo's was one of the best. The 10.1-inch Google Android tablet looks like a regular tablet until you see its companion: a netbook shell to hold it. Once docked, users can flick a switch for the tablet to become a Windows 7 netbook, giving lots of options.

8

ORBOTIX SPHERO

CES is filled with revolutionary gadgets and this lives up to the title literally. The Sphero is the first robotic ball controlled by a smartphone or tablet. Using an app, users can direct its motion. While it only works with the iPad and iPhone currently, more systems and more games are on the way. The Sphero is due out late this year.

9

RAZER SWITCHBLADE

You've probably never seen a computer keyboard like this. The Razer Switchblade is a miniature gaming machine - a Nintendo DS for the World of Warcraft set, if you will - and it features a dynamic keyboard that changes depending on the game you're playing. An LCD screen below the keys also lets users customise each button. The Switchblade prototype has a 7-inch screen, Intel Atom processor, 128GB memory and Windows 7 on board.

10

POWERMAT IN-CAR CHARGER

Charging your mobile phone with this addition is as simple as dropping it on to a car's central console. General Motors invested $5 million in Powermat to accelerate the introduction of a wireless in-car charging unit and, as such, marketing director Huw Bush says it will arrive next year. Phones, MP3 players and other wireless gadgets need a Powermat case to use the technology, and the mat holds its charge in place with a strong magnet.

11

MOPHIE PULSE

If you suspected Apple's iPod Touch was becoming a games machine, Mophie's latest accessory could confirm it. The forthcoming Mophie Pulse is a case that adds two stereo speakers, a textured grip, vibration and haptic feedback to your Touch, so you can feel each move you virtually make.