Following many other tech companies in recent days, Waymo and Google announced today that it’s no longer having an in-person presence at CES 2022 due to the “quickly evolving COVID infection rates.”
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We told you earlier this year about the new “Jewel” and “Elegant” variants of the Huawei Watch made for women, but Android Police has now spotted a few unannounced variants of the watch on the company’s Chinese website…
A recent report suggests that Google and Ford are planning to announce a joint venture to build self-driving cars. The announcement is expected to be made at Ford’s CES presentation, which is set to start at 7:30AM PST.
You can watch a livestream below.
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The Huawei Watch is without a doubt one of the hottest wearables of 2015. The watch made waves this year as one of Huawei’s big breakout product launches in the United States, paired with the Nexus 6P — which is also a hit, widely regarded as the best Nexus phone ever. Now, people familiar with the matter have told 9to5Google that the Chinese company is planning to launch a made-for-women version(s) of the watch at CES 2016, and has already begun development of a second generation watch scheduled for the second half of next year…
Google might not have an official presence as an exhibitor at CES, but it does have its people on the ground checking out the new products from both its partners and competitors. That includes top Googler Sergey Brin who was spotted in the photo above via +Tim Moore on Google+.
Moore works with Rochester Optical, the company behind the lenses used in the Epson Moverio smart glasses Brin is trying in the photo. Rochester Optical also previously announced plans to build accessories for Google Glass as well, Google’s own smart glasses and competitor to the Epson Moverio BT-200 that launched last year for $699.
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Android Auto, Google’s solution to integrating content from your smartphone to your car’s built-in display, is on full display at CES 2015 this week as Pioneer announced three new aftermarket in-dash receivers with Android Auto support. Starting at $700, Pioneer will beginning shipping the second generation of its NEX receivers starting in March bringing Android Auto to the car you already own.
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Kenwood announced today at CES 2015 its first entry into the aftermarket Android Auto space with its new DDX9902S multimedia receiver. In addition to supporting Android Auto, Kenwood says its DDX9902S display will support Apple’s CarPlay feature in the same unit.
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We saw Misfit introduce a unique, luxury version of its Shine fitness and sleep tracking wearable with Swarovski at CES yesterday, and today Misfit is launching Bolt—its first smart bulb. Misfit describes Bolt as “a wirelessly connected color-changing light bulb that lets users personalize their home lighting.” Misfit points out that its Bolt connected light bulbs won’t require a hub and actually integrate with the company’s existing sleep tracking devices (Shine, Flash, Beddit) to gently wake you up with lighting during light sleep.
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In addition to announcing the Zenfone 2 at CES today, Asus used the Consumer Electronics Show to unveil its new Zenfone Zoom Android smartphone. Similar to Samsung’s Galaxy Zoom line, Asus claims its Zenfone Zoom is the world’s thinnest smartphone with a 3X optical zoom camera.
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After revealing the G Flex 2 name previously through CES banners, LG officially unveiled its next generation curved display Android handset at the Consumer Electronics Show today. The first LG G Flex was met with early reviews characterizing it as an expensive prototype, and we found it hard to recommend especially next to LG’s other smartphones in our own hands-on review. So what does LG have planned for the G Flex 2 as it takes the curve for a second spin?
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Even in the age of Instagram and amazing cameras on our smartphones, the classic concept of shoot-and-print isn’t dead thanks to Polaroid’s Socialmatic camera on display this week at CES. Polaroid’s vintage-style cam is actually modernized with WiFi connectivity and an Android-based system for shooting and sharing with a retro design.
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As part of its CES announcements kicking off today, SanDisk revealed its new, faster Ultra Dual USB Drive 3.0 with micro-USB for use with Android devices as well as PC and Mac computers.
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As we reported yesterday, there are several rumors floating around that HTC intends to announce a new device of some kind at this year’s CES in Las Vegas, an event that’s typically fairly quiet for the Taiwanese corporation. But while many believed that the upcoming device might be the company’s next flagship, codenamed “Hima,” a new teaser image posted to the company’s official Weibo account would suggest otherwise. The image makes direct reference to the company’s “Desire” line of affordable phones.
Qualcomm has come out on Twitter to say that at least one device powered by the Snapdragon 800 series of processors will be launching next week at CES, and has attached an image that doesn’t really tell us much. It looks a bit like the back of an LG phone, considering the top center location of what I assume are the volume and power buttons. Additionally, you can see what looks to be a backplate made of brushed metal, but if this is indeed an LG phone, we all know that it’s not actually going to be brushed metal…
Of course, it’s possible that this isn’t an LG phone at all, with many manufacturers expected to introduce phones. For example, ASUS is expected to be launching some devices, Sony is expected to be showing off some kind of super slim device, and—as for some further reaching rumors—VAIO might also be launching a smartphone. This teased handset could be anything, really, but if we were to take a guess, we would say it’s an LG device based purely off of its physical appearance. With that said, it’s not time for the LG G4 just yet, so it’s likely one of the company’s other lines.
A new #Snapdragon 800 powered smartphone is launching next week at @intlCES – here’s a first look. pic.twitter.com/6Sx8wQQsdE
— Qualcomm (@Qualcomm) December 29, 2014
Kodak has yet to announce a smartphone, but that’s about to change very soon. Announced earlier this week, the company has partnered with Bullit Group to introduce a line of Android-powered devices, somehow aimed at photography enthusiasts (we would hope) and “consumers who want a high-end experience but aren’t always as comfortable using increasingly complicated mobile devices.”
ASUS released the first devices part of the ZenFone line at CES in 2014, introducing some Intel-powered smartphones that had a decent amount of horsepower at a reasonable price. This year it looks like the company is ready to refresh its line of phones, and there’s a new video recently posted on the ASUS Facebook page teasing what one of them might look like.
We can’t see much, but there are a few seconds where we can see the light shine through and get a decent look at the back of the device:
In addition to a quick peek at the back, the video shows off what looks to be a dual-camera set up. While it doesn’t look exactly like what appears to be on the back of the device above, there must be a reason that the company let this little image show up in the video for a fraction of a second:
Sadly, besides these couple of images, we don’t really have much to go off. The rest of the video just sports the tagline “See what others can’t see” spread across the screen, followed by the ASUS logo. If you want to see the video for yourself and come to your own conclusions about what ASUS might have in store for us, head over to the company’s Facebook page.
Sony is definitely going to have some amount of presence at this year’s International CES in Las Vegas, and today they’re giving us a little tease of the things they have to show off. The video makes a bunch of different references, but the most obvious is the beginning cut showing what looks to be the side profile of a new tablet or smartphone. (The fact that the mysterious hand seems to grab the device at the end of the scene suggests that it’s probably not a super-thin TV or other larger device.) Additionally, it looks like the company is finally ready to show off its flavor of Android Lollipop, giving a solid few seconds of the below video to a young girl eating a bright red sucker.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gC_NIVpXf4
T-Mobile’s John Legere somehow managed to sneak into a party thrown by arch-rival AT&T for its developers at CES tonight. Though he told Re/code that he was only there to see a performance by Macklemore (riiight), the “un-carrier” CEO—clad in his trademark magenta “T”-shirt (sorry)—was soon escorted from the facility by un-amused security.
Legere has made himself out as AT&T’s biggest fear in recent weeks, mocking his nemesis on Twitter without reservation. AT&T certainly isn’t helping their own case with new attempts to lure away T-Mobile subscribers by offering up to $450 in credit. Legere seems to have another trick up his sleeve, though, and has teased that the fourth phase of his “un-carrier” initiative will be revealed at CES this week.
http://vimeo.com/83331745
I take the view that wires are evil: anything that can be wireless should be wireless. My iOS devices sync via wifi, my keyboard and trackpad are Bluetooth, I have Wemo-controlled lighting, Tado-controlled heating and love cloud services.
But there’s one thing in my living-room that still relies on a wire: the connection between Mac and hifi system. I tried a Bluetooth link, and the quality just wasn’t there. I quickly reverted to the 3.5mm cable that runs around the skirting board.
Enter microphone specialist Blue. The company is teasing a true hifi-quality wireless connection between digital devices and headphones (and presumably hifi systems) under the name Mo-Fi.
Where digital music technology has advanced, headphones have lagged behind. We’ve seen dramatic advances in the quality and convenience of digital music, yet headphones –designed specifically to bring us closer to sound— have failed to bridge the gap from hi-fi to mobile. Headphones are the last barrier between us and the audio trapped in our digital devices. What if we liberated our music from overhyped lo-fi to true mobile hi-fi? We can. Blue is offering the first sneak peek at CES 2014.
We’ll bring you more details when we have them.
Left: Pebble Steel. right: original plastic Pebble
If you like the functionality of the Pebble smartwatch but are less keen on the plastic finish, it looks like you won’t have long to wait for a metal version. We’ve seen a couple of leaks of the Pebble Steel, seemingly the exact same innards as the existing Pebble watch but with a stainless steel casing and Gorilla Glass.
There are said to be two versions, one in brushed stainless steel (shown alongside the original plastic version above) and a matte black one (shown below the fold) …
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AT&T has announced incentives worth up to $450 for T-Mobile customers who switch to their service. The move is being made in response to T-Mobile’s Uncarrier offers, after AT&T recently said that it too expected to move toward separating device and service charges.
Proving the old adage that there’s no such thing as a free lunch, the deal of course comes with strings. First, $250 of that is the maximum you’ll receive in return for trading in your existing T-Mobile handset. To get the full $250, you’ll need a recent handset in good condition – in which case you’d almost certainly get more selling it privately … 
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Over the last few months, interest 4k TVs, monitors, and content has increased dramatically. YouTube has been streaming content in 4k for a while now, but using Flash. GigaOm is now reporting, however, that at CES next week, YouTube will introduce 4k streaming using its new VP9 codec. This is a new royalty-free codec developer by Google as an alternative to H.265 video codec used by other 4k video implementations.
Back in 2010, Google tried to gain traction with its VP8 codec, but due to tough competition and a lack of hardware support, those plans didn’t exactly pan out. In order to avoid the same issues with VP9, Google has already lined up a large number of hardware partners. At CES, LG, Panasonic and Sony will be demonstrating 4k content with the VP9 codec, while 19 other companies have agreed to support the codec, including ARM, Intel, Broadcom, Marvell, Toshiba, Sharp, and Samsung.
Samsung is generally one of the best companies to visit at the Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas. The Korean giant arguably puts on some of the best shows and has one of the largest individual display areas for any company in attendance. That’s all well and good, but a new post by the company’s “Samsung Tomorrow” blog is capturing our attention.
(via Archos)
As the clock ticks away to 2014 and with just a few days separating us from the start of CES, a new competitor is throwing its hat into the smartwatch category. Archos, a company that doesn’t quite elicit the same name response as Samsung or Apple will be “unveiling a selection of smartwatches starting at under £50 or $82 US dollars.”
