Samsung pushes boundaries at CES

MANILA, Philippines - Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., a global leader in digital media and digital convergence technologies, recently unveiled its vision for the future of the consumer electronics industry, pushing the boundaries of innovation further than ever before.

Working across its entire product portfolio, Samsung will remove the barriers that exist between devices and content to deliver a smarter, simpler and more connected life for consumers.

Presenting at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2012, Samsung revealed a new connected ecosystem that encompasses its diverse array of products, content and services.

“We stand alone as the only company capable of connecting all the components of a consumer’s electronic life,” said BK Yoon, president of Samsung’s Consumer Electronics Division.

“From TVs to phones, tablets to PCs, cameras to appliances, we are enabling meaningful connections between them all. Our promise is that you will share and enjoy content across all these devices, easily, anywhere, anytime,” Yoon said.

Pushing the boundaries of content, design, connectivity and control, Samsung’s new products and services continue to help consumers live a smarter connected life.

Ultimate picture quality, premium content

For 2012, Samsung has pushed the boundaries of home entertainment and expanded the content options on its Smart TVs. This is evident in its first Super OLED TV and the UNES8000 flagship LED TV.

The ES8000 LED TV redefines how consumers access, experience and manage their home entertainment. Powered by a dual-core processor, users can surf the Web while using or downloading multiple apps simultaneously.

A broad range of content is also available through Samsung Apps, the industry’s preferred TV apps platform.

Continuing its future-forward path, Samsung also introduced the ultimate TV delivering new sensations, and an entirely new category of television that the industry has long been awaiting — Samsung’s very first 55-inch Super OLED TV.

As a CES “Best of Innovations 2012” award winner, Samsung is proud to utilize its long history and expertise surrounding OLED product development to bring this technology to large-screen TVs.

Samsung’s proprietary Super OLED technology incorporates the ultimate in vividness, speed and thinness, with true-to-life picture quality, enhanced color accuracy and motion picture quality even in the fastest scenes.

Also incorporated into Samsung’s Super OLED TV is Smart Interaction, Samsung Apps, 3D functionality and multitasking — enabling the TV of tomorrow to be delivered today at CES. 

This year, Samsung plans to continue its leadership in the Smart TV category with three driving philosophies for a Smarter Life: Smart Interaction, Smart Content and Smart Evolution - all of which arm consumers with the future of Smart TV technology, today.

• Smart Interaction — As content has become smarter, robust and more accessible, Samsung’s vision for the way in which consumers interact with their TVs has also evolved.

Smart Interaction enables Smart TV owners to communicate with their TVs via voice control, motion control and face recognition. Thanks to a built-in HD camera and dual-microphones, consumers may simply say “Hi TV” to turn on voice control, speak “Web Browser” to get online, and browse and select results or increase the volume by just pointing a hand.

• Smart Content — Expansion of more robust and personalized content offerings to better meet consumers’ needs is a principal goal of Samsung Smart TV.

On the press conference stage, Samsung spoke about its content success — with more than 1,400 Smart TV apps now available, including Angry Birds and Discovery Channel, and the number of third-party developers that has grown from 550 to 25,000 in just two years.

Samsung has revamped its AllShare service with “AllShare Play,” which enables consumers to easily access personal content regardless of where you are in the world or whether it is stored on a TV, tablet, camera, phone or PC.

Samsung is taking the connected ecosystem one step further with three new exclusive services for the Samsung Smart TV: Family Story, Fitness and Kids — enabling families to share photos and messages with each other, easily sync their fitness goals and activities, and help kids partake in educational viewing while recording progress every step of the way.

• Smart Evolution — Samsung’s new “Evolution Kit,” the world’s first of its kind, will be packed with necessary hardware and software each year using Samsung’s proprietary system-on-chip technology — bringing enhancements to content and performance to select 2012 or newer Smart TVs. With a simple slot-in to the back of your TV, the dream of experiencing the newest in TV technology can be brought to life.

Smart camera technology

With more than half of the estimated 2.5 billion digital camera owners in the world sharing their photos via online and social networking sites, and more than 500,000 Wi-Fi hot spots in more than 150 countries, the benefits of Wi-Fi have never been more important or accessible.

As a leading innovator in the digital imaging industry, Samsung Electronics is responding to growing consumer demand for integrated Wi-Fi-enabled cameras that allow users to e-mail photos or share them on social networks. 

Following the success of the SH100 camera, Samsung’s range of wireless Smart cameras is composed of no fewer than five cameras and camcorders, all Wi-Fi-enabled.

In particular, Samsung introduced the WB850F, a Wi-Fi-enabled long-zoom camera boasting a 21x super zoom, Samsung’s best yet.

The device’s pioneering 16-megapixel BSI CMOS sensor reduces image noise and distortion, even in low light conditions to deliver high quality images which can be experienced in vivid clarity on the 3.0-inch VGA AMOLED screen.

Added fun features, such as GPS and Live Landmark, make it the latest must-have travel companion, enhancing journeys with maps and local info at the touch of a button. Housed in an ultra-compact body, consumers now have the freedom to shoot in stunning clarity, store and share — anywhere, anytime.

Samsung’s innovative new Smart Wi-Fi technology pushes the boundaries by revolutionizing the way people capture and manage their images, making it simpler and less time-intensive to store them across devices, as well as easy and fun to share them instantly. All of this without compromising on image quality.

Thanks to the Auto Backup function, users no longer have to worry about unearthing a tangle of cables to transfer their images over to their hard drive. Instant Sharing, meanwhile, allows users to share photos through e-mail or social networking sites, as well as synchronizing pictures from their camera to other devices in real time.

Design craftsmanship meets performance

Furthermore, Samsung revealed the next-generation Series 9 Notebook, 21 percent thinner and 28 percent smaller than its predecessor; it will be the thinnest premium notebook in the market.

Crafted for consumers striving for top quality items with a new aluminum unibody design, the new Series 9 will be available in 13.3-inch and 15-inch SuperBright Plus screen sizes. Both will feature second-generation Intel Core processors and full connectivity solid state storage.

Samsung also introduced the Series 5 ULTRA. Encased in a thin and lightweight chassis and powered by an Intel Core i5 processor, these Ultrabooks provide plenty of power for those on the go. 

These Ultrabooks are available in 13.3-inch and 14-inch sizes. The latter offers a category-unique DVD drive, boots up in just 20 seconds and wakes up in just two seconds. Web browsing is twice as fast as the previous generation of notebook PCs.

Storage is also a category-exclusive featuring 500GB HDD complemented with 16GB SSD ExpressCache, ensuring improved speeds when executed everyday tasks like Web browsing.

Smart appliances, smart kitchen

Building on the success of its connected refrigerator, this year Samsung unveiled the Wi-Fi-enabled WF457 washer with a Smart Control system, allowing consumers to monitor cycle selections and remaining time as well as receive an alert when the load is completed via an application on their Samsung smartphone.

For LCD refrigerators with apps, Samsung introduces a Grocery Manager app that will allow consumers to track the location and expiration time of perishables. The apps will be added to the side-by-side (RSG309) and four-door French Door (RF4289) models.