In Pictures: The Most Promising Tech Of 2010
The Invisible OLED Laptop
Samsung Mobile Display's 14" notebook—sporting a prototype transparent OLED display—looked to be more of a nuisance than a benefit, especially when a nagging spouse could position his or her face behind the display and glare at you with brain-searing eyeballs. Still, the technology itself is cool and could lead way to a future where displays are totally invisible save for the rendered images, readouts, and other data. So far, there's no indication about when Samsung will finalize the display and release it to the masses.
MSI's Dual-Screen Netbook
Here's another prototype at CES 2010 that looked good enough to eat. Appearing as an oversized Nintendo DS, MSI's 10" dual touch-screen netbook (or UMPC) comes packed with an Intel Atom Z Series processor (Z530) and Windows 7 Home Premium. Despite its clam shell appearance, both screens act as one, allowing the user to drag an item from one display to the other. When the netbook screens are positioned horizontally, the "bottom" screen can be used as a virtual QWERTY keyboard. Devin also reports that there's a 7" version as well and that both may have around 2 GB of DDR2 memory.
RCA's Charger Draws Electricity From WiFi Signals
Although it doesn't sport 3D capabilities, a high-contrast ratio, or dual touch screens, RCA's little Airnergy Charger should have earned an award for innovation. This device acquires a charge by pulling electricity from WiFi signals. RCA said that the speed of recharging depends on the location of the WiFi hotspot—the farther away, the longer it takes.
The current version takes a while to recharge a cell phone (90 minutes or more). Still, it's a step in the right direction in finding new ways to use energy.
Samsung's eBook/Digital Tablet Devices
eBook readers certainly hogged a chunk of the CES 2010 spotlight and Samsung's E6 and E101 eBook readers were no exception. These two devices enable users to write directly on the screen using a stylus pen, providing a means for annotations, sketching, quick writing, and more. The E101 offers a larger 10" screen compared to the smaller 6" E6 model, while both offer WiFi 802.11 b/g, Bluetooth, and 2 GB of flash memory. However, the price tags are rather chunky—consumers not wanting to spend between $400 to $700 might want to look elsewhere.
Celluon's evoMouse Pet Tracks Finger Movements
Is it a new Pokemon or a new version of K-9 from the Doctor Who series? It's neither. In fact, despite its cuddly appearance, Celluon's evoMouse Pet is actually a device that replaces the standard mouse using two infra-red sensors that track the movement of fingers. Think of it as a motion-tracking device for the desk, allowing you to scroll up and down on-screen by pushing two fingers on the surface or swipe to the right to move the mouse cursor to the right.
There's also a Cube version as well, offering a laser keyboard that can handle up to 400 characters per minute. Coolness.
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Samsung's Touch-Screen Remote
Samsung's C-9000 touch-screen remote is every couch potato's dream (outside a robotic maid that fetches pizza and alcohol). With a built-in touch screen, this remote enables the user to scroll through TV listings and execute simplified commands with an iPhone-like interface.
However, the coolest aspect of the remote is that it actually streams TV programming to the 3" screen, enabling the user to watch one show while the TV is on another station. Samsung said it's designed for the 9000 HDTV, while this hi-tech remote will be sold separately for other TVs.
3M's Touch LCD Display Takes Up To 10 Fingers
Multi-touch displays allow for up to two-finger inputs. 3M trumps these limits with its new 22" M2256PW multi-touch display, allowing for up to 10 inputs (fingers) at one time using the company's Projected Capacitive Technology. Although the M2256PW will be natively supported by the new Windows 7 OS, 3M promises to deliver a driver that will allow the display to function on Windows XP, Vista, and the Linux OS.
MSI's Jellow With Sliding Screen, 3D
Although MSI's "Jellow" is still in concept stages, this all-in-one looks rather tasty with its super-futuristic transparent casing. Even more, this compact rig sports 3D technology and HD graphics, however MSI didn't reveal the goodies packed under the hood. Still, the display itself—which will slide up to allow users to store the wireless keyboard within the compact rig when not in use—features a 23.6" WLED Backlight Full HD screen, a native 1920 x 1080 resolution, and a double frame rate (120 Hz). Additionally, the wireless mouse can be used as a remote control and an IP-phone for online chatting.
Yes, we want it.
The 3D HD Projector From LG
Okay, so maybe we don't have an extra $10,000 in the piggy bank to blow on LG's 3D HD projector, but the idea of 1080p full HD 3D movies on the wall just sounds like a mind-blowing experience. Enter LG's CF3D projector, which sports only one lens and creates the 3D effect by using the company's dual-engine 3D processor and its TruMotion 120 Hz technology. LG plans to unleash this one-eyed beast sometime in March 2010.
Asus G73jh Republic Of Gamers Laptop
Asus has returned to the Republic of Gamers brand with its new G73jh laptop. This beast drips with portable gaming goodness, sporting Intel's Core i7-720QM CPU and ATI's Radeon HD 5870 GPU. The 17.3" display provides a native 1920 x 1080 resolution, promising to bring not only an awesome gaming experience on the go, but HD video thanks to the Blu-ray/DVD combo drive. This new Asus laptop also offers up to 8 GB of DDR3 and up to 1 TB of HDD space, depending on your budget.
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yoy0yo @sunzeal, sad thing is, you've got the new, fresh off the boat stuff.. and its already inferior to something else.Reply
computer hardware has come to a very mature point. (with he exception of SSD's they're evolving quick) -
In typical Tom's style, Nehalem 32nm refresh and Tegra get a nod, but not Bulldozer and Fusion. I'd venture as far to say that neither of the former are all that exciting, Nehalem will consume less power(not that most TH readers care), and perform about the same. Tegra will marginally improve the performance of your Zune, while still being unable to do the work of a real computer.Reply
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wira020 "OLED and AMLOED displays are promising, but they're still too expensive. LED displays are actually cheaper to make than traditional panels on the same scale, but still cost a premium"Reply
Thats AMOLED right?.. btw... the 2nd sentences doesnt make much sense to me.... it's cheaper to make but also expensive at the same time??? -
wira020 6nm_Phenom_6_BEIn typical Tom's style, Nehalem 32nm refresh and Tegra get a nod, but not Bulldozer and Fusion. I'd venture as far to say that neither of the former are all that exciting, Nehalem will consume less power(not that most TH readers care), and perform about the same. Tegra will marginally improve the performance of your Zune, while still being unable to do the work of a real computer.Reply
Moving to smaller node might also mean less heat and better oc... that's interesting enough to me... tegra not meant to be a computer.. bulldozer, fusion and bobcat is planned for next year.. maybe that's why it doesnt appear in this year's expected tech... -
wira020: Higher OC? Typically, OCing has tapped out at 4ghz (or less) SINCE THE 130nm node!!!! Why on earth do you think that you'll somehow get a higher OC this time? You'll have an easier time getting to ~4ghz, but that'll be about it.Reply
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And just the other week Toms was running articles on all the things that are wrong with the iPad and how they would fix it. Hilarious and ironic.Reply
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enzo matrix How does a different technology for the backlight in the LED LCD vs CCFL LCD displays give you better contrast and faster response time?Reply -
nukemaster enzo matrixHow does a different technology for the backlight in the LED LCD vs CCFL LCD displays give you better contrast and faster response time?That is what I was about to ask. +9999 for youReply -
tuannguyen an0nym0useAnd just the other week Toms was running articles on all the things that are wrong with the iPad and how they would fix it. Hilarious and ironic.Reply
Nothing ironic about it really. I said originally that I felt the iPad is gimped. I still feel the same about it--but it doesn't change what's inevitable.
As time has proven again and again, not all superior products are successful. Often, the inferior devices with great marketing are the ones to dominate. That was my point here.
/ Tuan