Multimedia candy store at Samsung SEA Forum 2013

JAKARTA, Indonesia — It takes something special to make normally jaded IT journalists to be excited about a new product. But this writer, together with almost two dozen other Philippine media delegates, felt like kids in a candy store.

We were at Samsung’s 2013 Southeast Asia (SEA) Regional Forum held recently at the grand Hotel Mulia in the Indonesian capital. Samsung Electronics pulled out all the stops in reinforcing its technology leadership with a huge interactive showcase of its latest products ranging from smart TVs, tablets, notebook computers, cameras, and even home appliances.

New Smart Hub for TV

“Consumers are demanding more from TV and AV products in order to achieve the ultimate home entertainment experience,” said Gregory Lee, president and CEO of Samsung Asia. “We are offering a brand new Smart Hub, which offers a simpler, more intuitive way for consumers to discover and organize the content they love. In addition, the new upgradeable evolution kit makes Samsung Smart TVs timeless TVs.”

The 2013 Smart Hub features newly designed panels with personalized content, an easy-to-navigate interface and vibrant thumbnails for instant previews. A cool feature is Samsung’s enhanced Motion Control, which allows people to swipe, pinch to zoom, or use a flip motion to easily move between Smart Hub panels.

You can even control the Smart TV using everyday language and search for content by actor, title or genre via Samsung’s proprietary Voice Interaction technology.

UHD TV: The highest resolution on the largest screen

The star of the show was unarguably the Samsung 85S9 UHD TV. The TV appears to be floating within its frame and showcases a minimalist concept with a large, 85-inch display.

The state-of-the-art 85S9 offers four times the resolution available on existing Full HD displays to deliver beautiful detail, unmatched clarity and the most vivid picture quality.

The 85S9 UHD also includes Samsung’s proprietary up-scaling engine which can up-convert HD or Full-HD to UHD-level picture quality by restoring detail information for real-life picture quality.

Rounding off the UHD TV is an immersive audio experience to match its screen excellence, with 120-watt array speakers built seamlessly into the frame of the TV.

LED TV: The brightest picture available

The stunning F8000 reaffirms Samsung’s leadership in the LED Smart TV market by offering brighter, more vibrant pictures with richer colors, deeper black levels and higher contrasts. Its ultra-thin design profile and Arc stand make the TV appear to be floating in the air.

The F8000 is also among Samsung’s first line of Smart TVs equipped with Intelligent Viewing, which creates an optimized picture quality dependent on the type of content, and a quad-core processor — making it even easier and faster for consumers to toggle between apps, online services and on-air TV. The F8000 will be available this year in 55-inch, 60-inch, 65-inch and 75-inch screen sizes.

Samsung also displayed the yet-to-be-commercially available F9500 OLED TV with MutliView technology. First seen in CES in Las Vegas early this year, the F9500’s MultiView feature allows two persons to watch two different shows at the same time — both in Full-HD 3D!

Speaker-equipped 3D glasses transmit the audio of the channel you are watching to your ears and a different audio to the other viewer. Without the glasses, you will see two separate video images overlaying each other on the screen. Amazing! 

Samsung Evolution Kit: Delivering  2013 Smart TV feature updates

Samsung is delivering on its promise to offer its customers a way to stay up-to-date with the latest technology.

Available on Series 7, 8 and 9 2012 Smart TVs, the Evolution Kit offers both software and hardware updates that include access to the 2013 Smart Hub and other Smart features, and transforms the set’s dual-core CPU to quad-core, resulting in faster internal processing speeds. Several of Samsung’s flagship 2013 Smart TVs will also be equipped with slots for future Evolution kits.

Samsung Series 7 Chronos, new ultrabooks

Samsung also announced two additions to its high-performance Series 7 PC line-up: the enhanced Series 7 Chronos, which delivers professional performance in a thin and light form factor, and the Series 7 Ultra, which takes ultrabooks to the next level with enriched computing power, graphics and touch capability.

The Series 7 Chronos provides enhanced processing power for professional users and a new software solution RAM accelerator that provides up to a 150 percent increase in speed for browsing and running apps by taking advantage of the existing memory.

Ten-finger multi-touch capabilities enhance the overall experience, allowing the user to interact directly with the screen, as well as the touchpad and keyboard.

With a full aluminum body, the new Series 7 Chronos follows the design DNA of its predecessor while packing a powerful Intel quad-core processor with up to 16GB of memory, up to 1TB of storage and dedicated 2GB external graphics into a slim chassis that measures just 20.9mm.

The new Series 7 Chronos and Ultra feature high-resolution, Full HD display (1920 x 1080), with 300- and 350-nit brightness, as well as rich sound with JBL speakers, enhanced graphics to run hardcore tasks, and an extended battery life of up to 11 hours. The laptop wakes up in as little as two seconds and boots in under 12 seconds (six seconds for the Ultra).

Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0

At the core of the Galaxy Note 8.0 are beneficial functions, including Dual View multi-window options to split the portable eight-inch screen and allow optimal access to a number of live apps; a new generation of Samsung’s intelligent S Pen with advanced usability; access to a suite of S Note templates and tools that allow you to create, edit, manage and share everyday documents; and the Samsung “reading mode” to enjoy e-books with optimized resolution, video and voice calls.

In addition, a suite of exciting new content and services are pre-loaded for users at no additional cost, including, for the very first time on the Samsung Galaxy tablet, the innovative Flipboard, and Awesome Note.

Practical S Note templates and S Planner feature help to manage everyday tasks, including meeting notes, to-do lists and even personal diary entries. All content can be entered and updated with the finest of detail, thanks to the evolution of the intelligent Samsung S Pen. Enhanced precision is offered with Handwriting-to-Text conversion and advanced Productivity Tools that support formula and shape recognition.

Embedded within the tablet, the S Pen is an extension of the Galaxy Note 8.0. Removing the S Pen from the device will automatically launch innovative features such as Pen Detection that will suggest adapted menus that it thinks you will need.

The S Pen technology is now so advanced that it does not even have to touch the screen. With Air View, the S Pen needs only to hover over the screen to see previews of videos, e-mails, photos and appointments on SPlanner without opening the file or application in full. S Pen Gesture allows images and content to be easily edited and cropped, while Paper Artist and Photo Note allow photos to be artistically personalized.

In addition, for the very first time in the Galaxy Note category, you can use S Pen to control the physical menu/back buttons on the device with WACOM technology.

Multi-tasking is extended to phone calls. Pop Up Note allows you to access S Note at any time to keep track of key actions and Pop Up Video ensures you can keep surfing the Web while chatting — content windows can be easily resized by pinching to enlarge or reduce.

Finally, Reading Mode transforms the Galaxy Note 8.0 into an e-Book reader, provides the optimal reading conditions to ensure you can curl up and enjoy a good book. You can even turn it into a universal remote control with Smart Remote, to seamlessly manage TVs, set-up boxes, DVD, and Blu-ray players.

Samsung NX300

Samsung launched its new NX300 compact camera, the new flagship model in its successful NX series, at the SEA Forum.

Central to the NX300’s outstanding imaging performance is its brand new 20.3MP APS-C CMOS sensor, capable of capturing high-quality detail. The wide ISO range (ISO100-25,600) further improves performance, capturing beautiful images in even the darkest conditions.

A brand new Hybrid Auto Focus (AF) system also delivers fast, accurate phase and contrast detection, while the 1/6000 sec shutter speed and 8.6fps continuous shooting mode ensure you never miss a moment.

The Samsung’s unique in-house developed DRIMe IV imaging engine provides outstanding speed and image quality. The DRIMe IV engine enables better color reproduction and greater noise reduction, as well as support for full 1080p HD video capture in both 2D and 3D (when combined with Samsung’s new 45mm 2D/3D lens).

The NX300’s 84-mm (3.31-inch) AMOLED screen makes capturing and reviewing your images a pleasure, while the hybrid touch screen and five-way manual key interface is simple and intuitive to use.

The NX’s acclaimed design returns with the NX300 sporting a stylish yet simple retro feel that is available in either black or white with a contrast silver band, conveying elegance and authenticity.

The NX300’s Wi-Fi connectivity of Smart Camera allows users to share their cherished photos instantly and securely between their camera and smartphone (or tablet). The Smart Camera app also features a Remote Viewfinder function, allowing for even more inventive photography.

Samsung 45-mm 2D/3D lens

The Samsung 45-mm 2D/3D lens (sold separately) opens up an exciting world of 3D imaging possibilities and is the world’s first one-lens 3D system for a consumer camera.

Capable of capturing both still pictures and full 1080p HD video, the Samsung NX300 and 45-mm 2D/3D lens kit have become the only compact system camera supporting both 3D still and 3D movie.