Hasta La Gadget!

Sony hasn’t been left behind in the Ultra HD gush, with its own oversized 4K TVs as well as a concept Ultra HD media player which we’re hoping spawns a commercial version. The company announced a line of up to 84-inch Ultra HD sets at CES this week, including the X9000A series with its prominent speakers taking pride of place around the bezel.

Sony’s using “4K X-Reality PRO” branding for its Ultra HD models, which start at 55-inches. The 84-inch XBR-84X900A, for instance, has a total of ten speakers, and comes with a One-touch NFC remote which allows for easy pairing and streaming from an Xperia smartphone or tablet.

As for what that 3840 x 2860 resolution can do, Sony had a display showing a full newspaper spread on a single display, with all the text legible. There’s a close-up shot in the gallery below.

Unfortunately, the 4K media player is being described as just a prototype for driving Sony’s demo displays here at CES; the company says it has no specific plans to release it. The hatbox-style design does have some history, however; Sony had a range of similarly-shaped VAIO PCs back in 2007.

Sony demos Ultra HD whoppers plus prototype 4K media player is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

It’s time for a little carrier love. First up is the Now Network, who just happened to take the wraps of its pay-as-you-go service. We’ll be speaking with Trevor Van Norman, the carrier’s director of product marketing.

Check out our full CES 2013 stage schedule here!

Continue reading Live from the Engadget CES Stage: an interview with Sprint’s Trevor Van Norman

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

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Hisense’s “Transparent 3D” display technology creates the crazy effect of incorporating real-life objects into a video image. The 40-inch demo unit, in the image above, could be how you window-shop in the future. It’s so cool looking. I only wish there was something better to do with it. More »

A couple days ago here at CES 2013, Ford held their presser and announced a few new things, specifically concerning the company’s Developer Program for its in-car Sync AppLink API. Ford announced open and free availability of the SDK to any mobile app developer. We ended up stopping by the company’s booth to find out more, and got some quality hands-on time with the platform.

First off, Ford ended up opening its Sync AppLink Developer Program to all developers for free, whereas in the past, the company kept it closed to only a handful of mobile app developers. The SDK and APIs will allow app devs to add voice-control features to their apps to work exclusively with Ford vehicles. The company has already worked with the likes of iHeartRadio, MOG, MLB, Pandora, and more, but they’re not bringing more apps into the mix, including USA Today, the Wall Street Journal, Rhapsody, and Amazon Cloud Player.

Ford Sync works by connecting your iOS or Android smartphone to your vehicles entertainment system. From there you can control your smartphone with your voice, as well as apps that come loaded with the technology. There’s nothing special that users need to do to get the Sync technology on a compatible app — the update will come as usual through the iTunes App Store or Google Play.

It’s pretty self-explanatory at this point, and thanks to Ford’s announcement of bringing the technology to anyone, we should be seeing a lot more mobile apps that will come with Ford Sync support built-in, making it even more tempting to go ahead and get that new Ford Fusion. Currently, iPhones have to be connected through USB in order to sync it with the vehicle’s entertainment system, while Android devices can utilize Bluetooth.

Ford Developer Program now open to all, we go hands-on with new apps on Sync is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Synaptics may have designs on becoming a keyboard company, but at heart, it’s a touch and sensor company. It’s realized that as tablet bezels get smaller, the greater the chance you’ll suffer unintended touches from the meaty parts of your paw. We’ve just spent time at a behind-closed-doors demonstration of Sensa, a grip-sending tablet that can work out which hand is you’re using to hold the device and therefore ignore its commands. Interested? We called it a read more link for a reason.

Continue reading Synaptics Sensa grip-sensing tablet concept hands-on

Filed under: Tablets

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