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Lenovo's 2-in-1 Android tablet turns into an Echo Show clone
At last year's Alexa event, Amazon teased that Lenovo would be making a tablet with Echo Show capabilities. Now at CES, we finally know more details about it. It's called the Lenovo Smart Tab, and it works as a 2-in-1 device -- a full Android tablet on its own, but it transforms into an Alexa Smart Display when placed inside a smart speaker dock.
Google Assistant will finally field requests in Maps
If you're a heavy commuter you might have noticed that Google Assistant has carved out a home for itself in the Android and iOS Google Maps apps. Turns out, Google was quietly testing it this whole time and some users got early access to the feature a little early. Now, thankfully, it's live and ready for just about everyone.
Google Assistant in a smart display offers helpful live interpretation
Google is taking its translation prowess a step further with a new Interpreter Mode for the Assistant in smart displays. Instead of having to whip out your phone, installing an app or opening a browser, using Interpreter Mode on Google Smart Displays is easier since you start it with a simple "Hey Google, German interpreter" command. Anyone with a Home Hub or Lenovo Smart Display can ask Assistant to be an interpreter in one of 27 supported languages (more will be added over time) in the next few weeks. But Google sees this as a bigger play in hotels. It's launching a pilot test this week at the concierge in Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, the Hyatt in San Francisco and the Dream Downtown hotels in New York City.
Google Assistant will soon check into your flight for you
Frequent travelers will soon receive a godsend courtesy of Google. The company is rolling out a new feature to the Google Assistant that will let you check in to your flights just by saying "Hey Google, check in to my flight." You won't have to dig through emails or screenshots to find your confirmation number while standing in front of a kiosk. Assistant is already clever enough to know what it is, and will work with airlines to seamlessly complete your check in.
Google Assistant is coming to Dish's Hopper receivers
The first few days of CES have shown that the big TV makers are all about bringing voice assistants to their sets. Dish seems to think that's a good idea too, so today it's announcing that it is bringing the Google Assistant to its Hopper family of set-top boxes. It'll be available in "the coming months" via a software update for owners of the Hopper, Joey and Wally receivers who also have voice remotes. If you don't have a voice remote, Dish says you can pick one up for $20.
Lenovo’s new Smart Clock brings Google Assistant to your nightstand
Google and Lenovo made waves last year when they revealed the first Assistant-powered smart display in Las Vegas, and the months that followed saw those screens become surprisingly common. This year, Google seems intent on making smart screens even more ubiquitous, even if it means changing up what these things are capable of. Need proof? Meet the new Lenovo Smart Clock, the first in what will surely be a long line of homebound, Google-infused timepieces.
Lenovo's Yoga A940 is a serious Surface Studio rival
Lenovo is taking on Microsoft with its new Yoga A940 -- an all-in-one desktop with a rotating dual-hinge that lets you move the screen between 25 and 90 degree angles. It's like the Surface Studio, but with a few key differences that make it a compelling competitor. For one, the Yoga A940 will cost just $2,350 when it hits retail in March. For another, Lenovo designed a new precision dial that plugs into the side of the device, instead of taking up precious screen real estate.
Sony really wants you to know it's not a tech company
Spider-Man, The Chainsmokers, James Cameron and Pharrell Williams. That's most of what I remember from Sony's press event at CES last night. Despite announcing new (giant!) TVs, headphones with Alexa and a wireless turntable, its 45-minute media briefing rarely touched on any new products. When Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoshida stepped on stage, he laid out that he planned to "shift our gears" and showcase the company's involvement in more creative endeavors. That meant fewer product flourishes and plenty of moments where Sony simply sang its own praises. At a show famed for hardware announcements, the company sidelined its own news.
Alienware will beat HP to sell the first laptop with a 240Hz display
Earlier this week, HP said it would be the first to release a laptop with a 240 Hz display, but according to Dell, that's not quite the case. The company has announced that its Alienware m15 lightweight gaming laptop will also have a 240 Hz display and will arrive in March, ahead of the July date that HP promised. It will also have a refresh rate below 1 millisecond, all of which should make for pretty incredible gaming performance.
4K OLED comes to Dell's 15-inch XPS, Alienware and G laptops
Dell isn't going to let HP be the only company with new OLED-equipped laptops. Today during its CES press conference, Dell revealed that 4K OLED screens will be coming to the XPS 15, Alienware m15 and G 15 in March. Back in 2017, the company also used OLED in the Alienware 13 to great effect. Since then, we've eagerly awaited its return. The new 4K OLED panels will support HDR, cover 100 percent of the DCI-P3 gamut and feature a 100,000:1 contrast ratio.
IBM is turning to your smartphone to improve weather forecasts
IBM and its subsidiary The Weather Company are working on a new weather forecasting system, one that they say will boost forecast accuracy quite a bit. It's called the Global High-Resolution Atmospheric Forecasting System, or GRAF, and it will pull data from weather stations, aircraft sensors and smartphone pressure sensors -- a massive amount of information that will be analyzed by the IBM technology that powers the US Department of Energy's powerful Summit and Sierra supercomputers.
Dell's XPS 13 is its first laptop with Dolby Vision
As it does nearly every CES, Dell has unveiled its latest, revamped XPS 13 laptops. Last year's models were already solid, but there are a few welcome changes. The webcam has been redesigned and is now on the top again, so you'll no longer look like Boris Karloff on Skype calls. Dell managed to shrink the bezels to 4mm and fit it into the size of an 11-inch laptop, despite the 13.3-inch display. And one of the screen options is a full HDR 4K Ultra HD version (3,840 x 2,160) that supports Dolby Vision -- the first for a Dell laptop -- which pumps out 400 nits of brightness.
Audio-Technica unveils its best noise-canceling headphones yet
Audio-Technica has unveiled a huge range of new products at this year's CES, chief among them some new addition to its QuietPoint wireless noise-canceling headphones range. The line up features over-ear and in-ear models, and is, according to the company, its most effective yet in blocking out ambient noise.
Watch Intel's CES 2019 press event in under 10 minutes
Intel's CES press event wasn't as bombastic as last year's blowout keynote, but the chip giant actually had a lot more news to share. For one, Intel rounded out its ninth generation Core CPUs with six more processors, going from lowly i3 models to high-end i9s. And after years of waiting for 10nm chips, it seems like we'll get several this year, from desktop Ice Lake CPUs to Lakefield chips that will bring together Sunny Cove cores with some Atom CPUs to balance high and low-power performance. And finally, we got a glimpse at Intel's next Nervana AI processor, which will focus more on inference capabilities and not just deep learning.
Nreal Light are mixed reality glasses in disguise
While the likes of Microsoft Hololens and Magic Leap One got their moment of fame, both their size and image quality left a lot to be desired, so there wasn't much excitement in the mixed reality market after them. But at CES, a Chinese startup dubbed Nreal brought out something rather interesting: Low-profile mixed reality glasses that look and feel almost like ordinary sunglasses, so you can use them out in the open without getting too much attention. Better yet, the display quality was surprisingly good.
Alienware's Area 51m laptop has an upgradable CPU and graphics card
From the beginning, Alienware computers have been built with hardcore gamers in mind -- that explains the stylish cases and aggressive designs, which helped spark the rise of bold gaming PCs. But the Alienware brand was initially inspired by The X-Files and '90s-era science fiction, and that aesthetic hasn't evolved much since then. Now, it's time for something different. With the Area 51m -- a reference to the company's very first laptop -- Alienware is making its biggest design leap in years. And it also includes something truly innovative for gamers: an upgradable desktop CPU and NVIDIA RTX 20-series video card. It gives a new meaning to the term "desktop replacement."
Razer integrates Alexa with its color-changing PC hardware
Razer is about to make it considerably easier to control your RGB-lit gaming rig. The company has unveiled plans to introduce Amazon Alexa control through its Synapse 3 software, letting you voice control devices that support its Chroma Connected Devices Program through Razer headsets and microphones. That includes legions of Razer's own mice, keyboards and audio devices, but it also includes PC cases, cooling fans, motherboards and other peripherals. Want to turn your setup blood red for a round of Doom? You'd just have to ask Alexa to change your lighting profile.
Kangaroo expands its line of affordable smart home security sensors
Smart home security is gaining traction, but it generally still comes at a price. Last year, however, startup company Kangaroo entered the market with its system of $30 peel-and-stick motion sensors and low-cost monitoring plans, designed to make security simple, accessible and affordable. Now, it's launching five new equally-affordable products to expand its repertoire and help its users take advantage of even beefier security.
Anker's Roav Bolt puts Google Assistant in your car
Google is cramming Assistant into everything from headphones to a pressure cooker as it inches toward getting the smart helper into a billion devices. Aside from the weirder collabs (Assistant in a shower anyone?) one of the places the AI would actually be helpful is in your car, especially if you don't want to fork out for an Android Auto infotainment system. To that end, Google is teaming up with accessories-maker Anker -- which is also bringing Alexa to older vehicles inside its upcoming $50 Bluetooth charger -- on a new in-car receiver that plays nice with the digital brainiac.
Xfinity is using AI to keep your home network secure
Unless you spent 2018 under a rock, you'll know that security and privacy were two of the biggest challenges facing the technology industry. That affects companies like Google and Facebook, of course, but Comcast has also been paying attention to what it can do to keep its internet customers safer online. To that end, the company is announcing Xfinity xFi Advanced Security, an AI-powered service that monitors a customer's network for threats both incoming and outgoing.
