Unified UI previews the future of Samsung hardware

If Samsung devices are your preferred flavor, get very familiar with the interface pictured above. Eased in amongst product announcements during today’s CES keynote is the news that all their devices — camcorders, HDTVs, digital cameras, PMPs and all — will be sharing this style going forward. Seeming to follow the example set by Sony’s XMB, and hopefully adding momentum to a trend others will continue, the idea is that users pick it up on one device, and can carry that experience to future purchases without a sharp learning curve. As much as we enjoy figuring out where the contrast setting is for the 20th time, early adopters have more than enough options to memorize. Of course, unified doesn’t mean static, and this interface should be plenty customizable. Word is that consumers’ first look at the new UI is via Samsung’s new digital camera lineup, but other details are few and far between.

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Unified UI previews the future of Samsung hardware originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Jan 2009 11:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Live from Howard Stringer’s CES keynote

We’re back, coming at you live from Sony’s second big press event. Today’s keynote is anchored by Sir Howard Stringer, a handsome man with enough stature as Chairman and CEO of Sony to lure the world’s press out of bed for an 08.30am presentation. Sony already hinted that we’d be hearing more about 3D television prototypes, a new camera, perhaps, and the evolution of Sony’s consumer OLED display lineup. This is going to be good.

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Live from Howard Stringer’s CES keynote originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Jan 2009 11:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sanyo ducks under $2,000 again with 1080p PLV-1080HD projector

This ain’t the first time Sanyo’s slipped in just under the two large wire with a 1080p beamer, but it’s no less proud the second go ’round. Announced here in Vegas, the PLV-1080HD is a Full HD projector with a lens-shifting system for flexible placement, a variable iris, two HDMI 1.3 inputs, a 10,000:1 contrast ratio and 1,200 ANSI lumens. $1,995 gets you in, and it’s shipping right now.

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Sanyo ducks under $2,000 again with 1080p PLV-1080HD projector originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Jan 2009 11:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sirius XM rolls out interoperable MiRGE satellite radio

Sirius XM has already merged some of its channels and, as expected, it’s now taken advantage of CES to roll out its very first interoperable satellite radio: the MiRGE (clever, Sirius XM, clever). In addition to letting you switch between Sirius and XM signals with ease, this radio will display three other channels as you view your current channel, and let you pause and rewind up to 60 minutes of live programming, among other standard features. What’s more, XM Sirius has also rolled out a new “Sirius Everything plus XM Everything” package to go along with the radio, which will run you $19.99 a month and seemingly give you everything you’d get by subscribing to the two separate services. Look for the radio to be available early this spring for $250.

[Via Orbitcast]

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Sirius XM rolls out interoperable MiRGE satellite radio originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Jan 2009 11:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Razer offers up Mamba wireless gaming mouse, Carcharias headset

It’s been a few months now since we’ve heard anything from Razer, but the outfit’s hitting us up with two new pieces here at CES that are definitely worth a look. Starting things off is yet another gaming mouse, this one coined the Mamba. It features 2.4GHz “gaming grade” wireless technology, an optional, detachable cord, first-in-class polling rates of 1-millisecond, a “world’s fastest” 5,600DPI Precision 3.5G Laser sensor and a battery life / DPI stage indicator. Moving on, we’ve got the Carcharias circumaural audio headset, which rocks a fully adjustable headband, inline remote and a 3-meter braided cable. The devices are set to start shipping in February and January, respectively, at $129.99 / $79.99. The release is hosted up in full after the break.

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Razer offers up Mamba wireless gaming mouse, Carcharias headset originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Jan 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Creative unveils Zii

Creative unveils Zii

If, despite our warning, you were still hoping that the Zii was some sort of new form factor media player or maybe even a futuristic computer that could morph and change shape as needed, prepare to be a bit disappointed. Creative has revealed all, and while everything we know has indeed not changed (contrary to earlier promises) we can now confidently tell you that Zii is a system-on-a-chip architecture for high-demand media applications, featuring numerous discrete processing elements that, to our untrained ears, sounds at its core a bit like Sony and IBM’s Cell. It’s said to offer performance to rival a supercomputer, easy scalability to provide limitless growth (from gigaflops to petaflops), and some sort of integrated throttling to enable higher efficiency by shutting down disused aspects of the system. The first piece of hardware from this platform is called the ZMS-05 Media-Rich System-On-Chip, and companies like MSI and PowerLinux have pledged their support, the latter of the two planning to use the processor for its embedded Linux video conferencing systems. We’re definitely eager to see what sort of innovative uses come out of this new architecture, but for some reason we don’t quite feel like the hype was warranted.

Update: Philip wrote in to let us know that the ZMS-05 is effectively just an updated and expanded version of 3DLABS’s older DMS-02 chip, which, while also impressive, didn’t change everything we know either.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

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Creative unveils Zii originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Jan 2009 10:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Flexible OLED display for your Mjolnir armor

As promised, Universal Display Corporation had its 4-inch, flexible, wrist-worn OLED display designed for military use (and nerds) here at CES. Master Chief would be proud. See what we mean after the break.

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Video: Flexible OLED display for your Mjolnir armor originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Jan 2009 09:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pioneer CES roundup — AVR’s, Elite Blu-ray players, and head units galore

Pioneer’s just dropped their CES embargoes, and we’ve got all the news on their announcements. From some sweet new head units for your car, to iPod / iPhone compatible AV receivers, and of course a trio of Blu-ray players with some added eliteness, Pioneer’s got you covered. Be sure to hit the read links for more info on all the new toys.

Read – Pioneer rolls out new in-car lineup: CD players, amps, speakers, oh my!
Read – Pioneer breaks out iPhone-friendly, multi-zone AV receivers
Read – Pioneer intros BDP-120 / BDP-320 / Elite BDP-23FD Blu-ray players

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Pioneer CES roundup — AVR’s, Elite Blu-ray players, and head units galore originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Jan 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Kodak Zx1 pocket HD cam and Z980 zoomer hands-on

Kodak came to CES with the new Zx1 rugged pocket HD cam and Z980 24x zoomer, and we spent some quality time with both. The Zx1 is an interesting repackaging of the Zi6 — it loses the pop-out USB connector in favor of a sealed waterproof casing, but it gains HDMI out and some fabulous colors. The Z980 is pretty large, but it’s super-light, almost surprisingly so. The unit we got to play with here is actually a pre-pro model, so that silver ring will be black on the final model, but otherwise it’s the same thing. Pics in the gallery!

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Kodak Zx1 pocket HD cam and Z980 zoomer hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Jan 2009 08:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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S1 Audio debuts litany of earbuds / mobile headphones at CES

S1 Audio has shown up in Las Vegas with a plethora of new items to share, so share we will. Right out of the gate, we’ve got the neck-friendly NxSET Music 1 and NxSET Music 2 models, which are joined by the similar Mobile 1 and Mobile 2 models add Bluetooth for handsfree calling and the like. Moving on, we’ve got the SuperBudz 1 and Hypnos 1, both of which take the more traditional in-ear approach and include in-line volume controls and a completely stellar Turbo Boost for instant volume increases. Lastly, S1’s wrapping things up with its dual purpose BudBud line, which is comprised of the Solo (a mono communications headset that converts to stereo earbuds), the MP3 (morphs from a single pair of ‘buds to two complete pairs via the piggy-back design) and the Mobile, which includes a microphone for yelling at that guy who just yesterday was considered your best friend.

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S1 Audio debuts litany of earbuds / mobile headphones at CES originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Jan 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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