Every year at the start of January something fantastic happens in the world of consumer electronics. The annual CES (Consumer Electronics Show) happens in Las Vegas!
CES is the largest CE show held in North America. The show is run as a press- and industry-only event with no access for the general public, but with Internet media being so prevalent, the average Joe gets info on the newest and greatest tech as they are announced.
Likely the biggest topic that will get thrown around by most folks is 4k television. For those not familiar, 4k is the new format slated to dethrone 1080p as the king of high definition video formats by boasting a native resolution of 3840 x 2160 pixels. Still in its infancy as an adopted technology, 4k televisions will enable a jump in visual quality on par with the change from older TV broadcasts to HD Blu Ray movies.
I wouldn’t run out and buy one quite yet though. Content recorded in 4k is still pretty hard to find, and there is already groundwork in place for 8k Ultra High Definition (7680 x 4320) with supporting 22.2 surround sound (22 speakers and 2 subwoofers).
Expect to see 4k TVs showing up in retail locations around August 2013.
Another hot product that I am really looking forward to is BlackBerry 10 by Research in Motion. RIM is a Canadian company that was synonymous with the best cell phones available for the longest time. They made it possible, and still do for many businesses, to distribute email to staff on a cell phone in a secure and confidential manner. BB 10 is set to mark BlackBerry’s return to the spotlight after not quite innovating fast enough to keep up with Apple and Android devices.
I had personally dismissed BlackBerry as a relevant player until I saw a demo video of their new camera software. A new feature called Time Shift would allow you to take a still picture, and use video from the few seconds leading up to the picture to adjust when someone was smiling or blinking. Check out YouTube’s “BB10 time shift camera” to see it in action. After seeing that and reading some of the other things the new phone will be capable of, I am a believer again!
Aaron Mackenzie is The Valley Echo’s technology columnist and the sales manager at The Source in Invermere. He can be reached at techracing@gmail.com.