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Engadget's CES 2013 Preview
The sudden rush of device announcements and hands-on posts that come with the advent of each CES can feel a bit overwhelming if you don't know what to expect. And while we can't predict what's to come with unfailing precision, we're more than happy to give you an idea of what's on our radar this time around. During the month of December, we'll bring you a series of CES preview posts, forecasting what you can expect when the news deluge begins. The road to CES 2013 starts here, so go on and click the available category links after the break and stay tuned for more.
Engadget's CES 2013 Preview: Audio
With CES looming like an electrically charged storm of news and announcements, it's time for us to give you our best bets on what you'll see come January. During the month of December, we'll bring you a series of CES preview posts, forecasting what you can expect when the news deluge begins. For more of what's to come, check out our hub. Audio companies tend to march to their own drumbeats when it comes to new goods, but CES usually brings us a few crowd pleasers. We saw a bigger push for wireless at CES 2011 with the onset of AirPlay adoption and further dives into Bluetooth-equipped wares. Since then, nothing too exciting has shown up at the event, with companies focusing on expanding and evolving their existing product lines. While it's hard to know for sure, we don't expect to see anything that'll be exceptionally innovative on a widespread scale -- mostly. Naturally, you can count on a bigger assortment of wireless solutions, and likely the first big showing of the end of days for the speaker dock -- excluding anything that Apple's Lightning connector might make its way onto. Still, the idea of the dock can live on with additions like Qi inductive charging, as we've seen from the likes of JBL and TDK already. The appearance of still more celebrity-endorsed headphones is certainly something to expect as well, even if the trend has already jumped the shark -- don't tell Fiddy. That said, major companies like Sennheiser have joined the headphone bandwagon in their own ways, and we are likely to see more cans in the $100 to $400 range with street-focused looks and audiophile DNA. Of course, CES also sets aside a chunk of space in the LVCC for those into HiFi audio, with many boutique brands showing off their latest and best -- usually with price tags to make your wallet cringe. What has us really excited, though? We're hearing talk that transparent speaker technology is poised to make a comeback. Imagine the shell of your tablet, smartphone or laptop also serving as an essentially invisible speaker. Aside from the prospect of even svelter devices, the tech has the potential to sound miles better than the tinny-sounding speaker drivers most of our gadgets currently use. One thing is for sure, much of what we'll see will be in the early stages of development -- even products that seem ready to roll have taken more than six months to hit retail in the past. Aside from all that, stay patient, because sometimes surprises come when we least expect them. Darren Murph contributed to this post.
Westinghouse teases 110-inch 4K LED TV, promises more details at CES
With CES just around the corner, there's plenty of promo mail to dig through each and every day. One of this afternoon's tidbits came from the good folks at Westinghouse, hinting at a hot product that'll be unveiled at the show. The 4K LED TV will ring in at a massive 110 inches -- a significantly larger offering than the bevy of 84-inch sets we caught this past summer at IFA. The manufacturer hesitated to share any further details, but did suggest that there were a few more "surprises" in store, including plenty of connected HDTVs. If you've been pondering a 4K set, but just can't come to grips with a measly 84-inch footprint, it's certainly looking like Westinghouse will have something to catch your eye next year in Vegas.
Microsoft to Windows RT OEMs: 'If your name's not on the list, you're not making a tablet'
China Times is reporting that Microsoft is only letting an elite few companies build Windows RT tablets in order to focus its research and development resources. It reportedly asked three chipmakers to pick up to two OEMs to bring inside the tent, with NVIDIA grabbing ASUS and Lenovo, TI snagging Toshiba and Qualcomm selecting Samsung and HP. However, the latter company dropped out of the program to concentrate on x86 machines, so it's rumored that Dell's currently jockeying to take its place. The first wave of completed tablets will arrive on October 26th, and Redmond won't open up the market until January next year -- so expect Windows RT to be the buzz-word of CES 2013.
Samsung's Stephen Woo to kick off day two of CES with keynote
You might be thinking, "it's too early to be talking about CES," and we wish you were right, but you're not. January's consumer electronics extravaganza is inching closer, plans are already being laid and Samsung President Stephen Woo is filling in appointments in his calendar. The most important of those will be his keynote that's set to kick off day two of the festivities in Vegas. The talk will largely focus on the little things, and we don't mean unimportant things, we mean components. All those tiny slivers of silicon that make your gadgets go are really what is pushing the industry forward and Samsung is a major player -- pumping out processors, memory, SIMs and camera sensors. The former Bell Labs and Texas Instruments employee will bring his 20-plus years of experience to bear on a vision of the future, presumably powered by Sammy's chips. Will he also unveils something new... perhaps a next gen smartphone CPU? We'll just have to wait and see. Guess it's time to start booking those flights.
