Live from Samsung's CES 2012 press event!

What kind of magesty does Samsung have for us at this year's CES? Smaller tablets? Bigger phones? Tabletphones of an average size? Kids named Zoll who come complete with their own dancing team? We're expecting the former, hoping for the latter, and ready to roll which ever way this turns out. Join us for the fun.

5:49PM We're through here, folks. Thanks for joining us. We'll be back soon!

5:49PM Samsung at CES: it really is a series of tubes.

5:49PM Samsung also has a 4K tv at its booth and, get this, some vacuum tube devices!

5:48PM "Ubiquitous access to content and untethered connectivity is a must... Unique features and surprises that delight win the day."

5:48PM Todd is off, Tim is back.

5:48PM There's a funky offset stand, which contains all the connectors. No more unsightly cords!

5:47PM That job is probably like being the flavor tester at Ben & Jerry's, but a little less fun.

5:47PM It has a built-in calibration engine and each one was tuned, by hand, before shipping.

5:47PM We're looking now at the new Series 9 monitor, the same one we spied on the show floor earlier today.

5:46PM It does look quite nice. Maybe not Acer Aspire S5 nice, but quite nice nevertheless.

5:46PM 10 hours of battery life and "max screen technology" for 15 inches of display in a 14-inch body.

5:45PM Contains a 400nit SuperBright Plus display and a backlit keyboard, plus a boot time of just 9.8 seconds and wakes up from suspend in 1.4 seconds.

5:44PM 2.5 pounds and just a half-inch thick. It has a matte screen, which just made us happy in our glass-free place.

5:44PM Todd is holding it high and proud. "When you pick it up for the first time it's hard to believe that this notebook is as thin as some of the original tablets."

5:43PM Time for a new Series 9!

5:43PM That's about how many hours people will log playing Angry Birds on a smart TV next year.

5:43PM 24,000 hours of R&D to put together this device, 33,000 hours of craftsmanship.

5:43PM Video time. Something moody and musical talking up the company's precision engineering.

5:42PM He's showing the Series 9 notebook up on the screen. "Since the Series 9 first debuted on this stage its stunning design and performance has charmed consumers around the world."

5:42PM Kevin is off the stage. Next up, Todd Bouman, VP Samsung Electronics.

5:41PM Kevin is talking about the integrated IR technology, so it can act like a smart remote.

5:41PM It's the Galaxy Tab 7.7 LTE on Verizon, and even from where we're sitting that Super AMOLED Plus display looks fantastic.

5:41PM It's the Galaxy Tab 7.7! The one that we were wondering would ever see the light of day after all those legal disputes.

5:40PM ...get ready to be surprised again...

5:40PM Okay, next up, a slightly larger device...

5:40PM That's between 0x0 and 0x100 for those who dig hex.

5:39PM He's talking about the S Pen. "It is not just a stylus. Rather, it is a precise instrument with 256 levels of pressure sensitivity."

5:38PM We've seen it before, but it must be said this is quite a device. 5.3-inch Super HD AMOLED is quite a thing to behold. If, of course, your mitts are big enough.

5:38PM Hopefully everyone is pretending to be surprised.

5:37PM Here we go, Samsung Galaxy Note on AT&T with LTE!

5:37PM Kevin Packingham, SVP Samsung Telecommunications US is now up on stage, talking about the Samsung World Tour.

5:37PM No more opening the washer to find that load of whites you started sometime last week.

5:37PM Now Samsung is introducing a washer/dryer combination that also offer wireless connectivity to push notifications.

5:36PM Those sorts of statements you really can't argue with.

5:36PM "Our refrigerator with apps has changed the way families organizes their lives."

5:36PM Cameras are going away, now it's time to talk about smart appliances.

5:35PM There's also auto-backup that will push photos to your PC wirelessly for backup.

5:35PM You can send pictures to a phone or tablet right from the camera.

5:35PM He's showing the WB850f camera, with a 21x optical zoom and an "ultra compact" design. 3-inch OLED display and, it must be said, it is quite petite for a camera with that much glass up front.

5:34PM The SH100 was Samsung's fourth-gen wireless camera. This year, though, Samsung is releasing a full line of cameras and camcorders that are b/g/n WiFi certified.

5:33PM We're looking at cameras and camcorders now.

5:33PM That'll be rolled out to smart TVs this year.

5:33PM Mom, it seems, is a bit of an exhibitionist.

5:33PM But, from there, they can be shared with a TV in another house, where someone else can watch.

5:32PM Allshare Play is new, and we're seeing a demo. Mom takes pictures on a phone, which are uploaded to a home PC.

5:32PM Tim's back up on stage, talking about the Allshare application for content sharing throughout the house.

5:32PM Here here.

5:32PM The video's reminding us just how easy it is to share content these days. "I hope to never see another sync cable again."

5:31PM Watching another little video here, talking about communication and the "fast-paced mobile environment."

5:31PM Goodbye, sweet TV. Goodbye.

5:30PM Oh no, they're wheeling it away!

5:30PM "This is the ultimate TV, and we believe a giant leap forward for the TV industry."

5:30PM Again, a dual-core processor, it contains Samsung's smart features and it's a 3D set.

5:30PM The color reproduction certainly seems amazing from where we're sitting.

5:29PM They're explaining what Super means, with each pixel having RGB sub-pixels. But, note: this is not a PLUS display, leaving us to figure it's RGBG, but we'll find out when we can.

5:29PM It's shipping this year! Waiting on other details...

5:29PM We have, Tim. We have indeed.

5:29PM "Samsung makes over 90 percent of all OLED panels worldwide, and we've used that experience to create a real breakthrough... this is the TV you've dreamed about."

5:28PM It is beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. And also the same size as the LG one.

5:28PM Here we go, 55-inch Super OLED TV!

5:28PM It looks big. The music is loud..

5:27PM Tim's back on stage, joining Joe. They're wheeling out something covered in black velvet.

5:27PM The upgrade kits will be available in 2013 and beyond, but no cost or details just yet.

5:27PM The TVs feature a slot on the back that allows you to pop out your TVs brain and upgrade it.

5:27PM Samsung is introducing a feature called Smart Evolution -- future-proofed smart TV.

5:26PM "Our pace of innovation is not slowing down. In fact, our customers are a bit worried about being left behind as we continually roll out new features."

5:26PM It has face recognition and hand-tracking as well, so you can adjust volume and such by making funny gestures with your meat claws.

5:25PM There's voice recognition too, the actor said "Black Eyed Peas tour" and it searched for it, hopping right to a video.

5:25PM We're seeing a video. "Hi TV, channel up, channel two, web browser..."

5:25PM Joe is talking Smart Interaction again, the touch-free way of controlling your TV.

5:24PM You can get bar charts, even.

5:24PM There's another called Kids, which aggregates lots of kids content and lets 'rents keep an idea of how much of it they're consuming.

5:24PM You can upload photos and memos directly from mobile devices, so you mom can tell you to clean your room, or you can tell your mom to stop playing Angry Birds so much.

5:23PM Joe's talking about new services now, including Family Story. "It allows your family to communicate more effectively while balancing your busy lives."

5:23PM These apps ("and several others") are set to be on display at the Samsung booth should you be interested. We'll see if we can't swing by.

5:22PM The app lets you take pictures with your phone and they show up on your TV. We're wondering how many minutes that took to write.

5:22PM Developers are sitting up front here. And the winner of $100,000 is Party Shots!

5:22PM He's talking about the "Free the TV Challenge" in which developers tried wrote mobile apps for phones and/or tablets that interacted with TVs.

5:21PM Joe Stinziano SVP of Samsung America is on stage now.

5:21PM Controls remain to be seen, but if you prefer your Angry Birds in a less interactive format, there are animated shorts coming to a dedicated channel featuring, wait for it, avian creatures with bad attitudes.

5:20PM Coming to smart TVs this year!

5:20PM "Their request has been granted."

5:19PM Asking to be on Samsung TVs, of course.

5:19PM Wow, the red bird is talking!

5:19PM Uh oh, I hear some angry birds.

5:19PM NBCUniversal is onboard as well, bringing shows like Battlestar Galactica.

5:18PM >

5:17PM There's more premium content coming too. Technicolor is bringing M GO to the platform, for movies like Green Lantern and shows like The Big Bang Theory. Bonus content, too.

5:17PM He's talking about the Media Hub, available on Samsung phones and tablets. It's coming to TVs soon too, so any purchased content can be played directly on your TV as well.

5:16PM Tim's back. Samsung is the "leading platform" for companies who want to write apps. 25,000 apps and 20 million downloads. Smart TVs in general are expected to grow in market size by 60 percent this year alone.

5:15PM Watching a video now from various Samsung America execs showing about various apps, including playing a trivia game on your TV that shows questions and answers on a Galaxy Tab 10.1!

5:15PM The set has a webcam built in as well, but it's not clear just what you can do with it.

5:14PM Or in their budgets.

5:14PM The set will be available at up to a whopping 75-inch scale, but it'll be available in smaller sizes too for those with less room in their living areas.

5:14PM Remember when picture-in-picture was cool? Welcome to the new cool.

5:13PM You can be running multiple apps simultaneously, go from Netflix to the NHL app to check up on the score, then pop back to your movie without having to re-launch the app.

5:13PM Dual-core processor, with multi-tasking!

5:13PM It's "absolutely beautiful" says Tim, and he's not lying. It has a slinky chrome bezel and a swoopy stand.

5:12PM Introducing the ES8000 LED TV!

5:12PM Smart TVs were introduced in 2008, ushering in a new category according to Tim.

5:11PM It's like a house, he says, with content and services held up on a foundation of connectivity.

5:11PM Sorry, that's Pushing Boundaries.

5:11PM And now Samsung President Tim Baxter is on stage, again, talking about pushing boundaries.

5:06PM Smart Content includes new services that allows you to share photos and other content from the TV right to personal devices.

5:06PM He's talking about Smart Interaction, changing the way that we interact with televisions. TVs that can listen, see and do without touching a remote control.

5:05PM TVs: keeping families from talking to each other since the '50s.

5:05PM "The heart of this ecosystem is the TV. The TV plays a very special role in bringing family members together."

5:04PM Or brands it, at least.

5:04PM Cmaeras, appliances, phones, tablets, TVs... you name it, Samsung makes it.

5:04PM "Connecting devices to each other is a perennial scene at CES, but Samsung stands alone."

5:04PM He's talking about eliminating boundaries between devices and enabling a "smart life."

5:04PM "As a global leader, Samsung must go further. We see our role as making the consumer's life simpler, smarter, and more enjoyable. In order to do this we must push boundaries."

5:03PM Basically, Samsung is #1.

5:03PM Samsung also expanded its influence in home appliances. It's now North American's #1 refrigerator.

5:02PM Also claimed the #1 market share worldwide for smartphone sales for the first time in 2011.

5:02PM That's 2 tvs per second!

5:02PM He's saying of how proud of the company he is, World's #1 TV brand for sixth consecutive year. 5.7 million units in November.

5:02PM "Happy new year and welcome to Samsung CES 2012 press conference."

5:01PM Up on stage, Samsung Consumer Electronics President Boo-Keun Yoon is on stage!

5:01PM "Pushing Boundaries" is the theme of today.

5:01PM Music is pumping, devices are flying by on the screen, our eardrums are weeping.

5:00PM Here we go!

4:58PM Music is coming up, we're just about to get rolling!

4:55PM "Ladies and gentlemen, please take your seats and silence your mobile devices. The conference will begin in five minutes."

4:54PM https://www.engadget.com/2012/01/09/verizon-galaxy-tab-7-7-with-lte-hands-on-at-ces-2012-video/

4:54PM And here's the latter:

4:54PM Here's the former: https://www.engadget.com/2012/01/09/atandt-galaxy-note-with-lte-hands-on-at-ces-2012-video/

4:53PM Note: if you predicted a Galaxy Note on AT&T or an LTE Galaxy Tab 7.7 on Verizon, you win!

4:53PM Any predictions for today's announcements? Place your bets now.

4:51PM Or, perhaps, if you've already been drinking too much coffee.

4:51PM We're about 10 minutes before the show begins, in case you're wondering. Should be plenty of time for a quick pit stop if you're out of coffee.

4:46PM Footage is mostly a montage of Samsung commercials and promotional videos showing smart refrigerators, smart washing machines, smart ovens and even smartphones.

4:45PM It's your typically Vegas ornately decorated conference room, naturally with a couple of gigantic displays up front looping some video.

4:44PM We're at the Venetian, in case you were wondering where these bits are originating from.

4:41PM Maybe that means more phones? We can only hope.

4:41PM While we wait we're listening to some ambient drum and bass. Pretty sure this is the same endlessly looping mix we heard in Hong Kong for the Galaxy Nexus launch.

4:40PM He and I are right up front for your viewing and reading enjoyment.

4:39PM Our Zach Honig is the man with the lens today, shooting on a Canon 5D.

4:38PM And, also, getting blinded by flashbulbs!

4:38PM We're in our seats! Hanging out, watching the throngs of journos meander toward their seats.