Category Archives: Variety – Technotainment

CES 2011 Preview: Thursday’s things to watch

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Today’s the day the show floor opens at CES – and the mad rush to find the next big things gets underway. Thousands of people will tread the halls of the Las Vegas Convention Center, checking out the latest 3D TVs, cameras, tablets and streaming apps – along with more gadgets and gizmos than anyone could imagine.

On the news front, Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg will give the morning keynote, where he’s expected to reveal details about the carrier’s 4G network and show off some of the new phones that will take advantage of it. Likely to be conspicuously absent from the list is the Apple iPhone, though. Look for the formal announcement on that product addition to come outside of the news flood of CES.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

CES 2011: Panasonic press conference recap

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Panasonic is opening an app store – and launching a tablet.

The company announced plans Wednesday to transform its VieraCast service, which embedded a limited number of apps on select HDTVs, into Viera Connect – a market that will welcome apps from a larger pool of developers.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

CES 2011: Panasonic TVs get a streaming game service

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Panasonic is getting its game on. The electronics giant has struck a deal with Oberon Media to carry that company’s I-play TV in all 2011 Vierra Connect HDTVs.

It’s a big opportunity for the casual gaming service, which is also announcing today that it has locked up the Smart TV rights to “Tetris”. New Internet-enabled sets from one of the industry’s leading manufacturers will now feature its top franchises, which also include “Dream Day Wedding” and “Bubble Town” – along with casual standards such as “Solitaire” and “Texas Hold’em”.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

CES 2011 Preview: Wednesday’s things to watch

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It’s press conference day here at CES. That means the news floodgates are about to open big time.

Pretty much every major consumer electronics manufacturer attending the show has their moment in the spotlight Wedensday, with some 15 press conferences scheduled – including the evening’s keynote by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

CES 2011: Toshiba unveils 3D glasses-free laptop

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The 3D holdouts that are using the mandatory ridiculous glasses as an excuse might want to start coming up with another reason.

Toshiba has taken the wraps off of a prototype laptop that offers stereoscopic 3D images without the need for any sort of headwear. The machine uses the same technology Toshiba is using to power similar 3D TVs in Japan and lets users play games and watch movies in 3D. There’s one slight difference here: Those TVs are 12 inches. This machine boasts a 15 inch screen.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

CES 2011: Vizio TVs get a streaming game service

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OnLive, one of the most promising streaming game services, has just become a legitimate threat to consoles.

The cloud-based gaming company today announced it has signed an alliance with Vizio to bring OnLive to that company’s TVs and mobile devices.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

OnLive, one of the most promising streaming game services, has just become a legitimate threat to consoles.

The cloud-based gaming company today announced it has signed an alliance with Vizio to bring OnLive to that company’s TVs and mobile devices.

CES 2011: Coming soon, a portable second monitor

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If you’re a power PC user, life without two screens can be a pretty miserable thing. It sounds ridiculous, I know, but once you’ve had a day or two with multiple screens, it’s hard to imagine ever working any other way.

Then you go on the road – and you’re stuck with not only a single screen, but one that’s considerable smaller, to boot. Starting later this year, the life of dual monitor road warriors might get a little easier.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

Presenting the technology of 2016

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We’re gearing up for the Consumer Electronics Show here – including the barrage of press conferences, keynotes and quirky show floor finds that make the gadget business a fascinating one to cover.

Rather than the typical “What to expect at the show” piece, we thought it might be more interesting to look a little farther into the future, courtesy of the futurists on staff over at IBM.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

 

Viacom sells Rock Band maker Harmonix

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Harmonix, the company behind the successful “Rock Band” and “Dance Central” franchises, is no longer a part of the Viacom empire.

Viacom, which announced plans to shed itself of the division last month, has sold the division to an investment management firm which will return Harmonix to its independent roots.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

Last minute tech gifts 2010: GoFlex TV

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Note: As the holidays reach fever pitch, Technotainment will be offering some last minute gadget gift suggestions this week. If you haven’t already, be sure to check out our more complete gift guide that ran in the paper right around Thanksgiving for several other ideas for the tech hound on your list. Happy holidays to all.

GoFlex TV – Seagate has updated its FreeAgent Theater+ devices to accommodate its newest portable hard drives – but the guts of this HD video decoder (and streaming media player) remain basically the same.

It’s still a solid device to watch video files stored on your PC or Mac on your living room television. GoFlex TV offers seemless HD output, whether 720p or 1080p, and the system even remembers where you left off watching, eliminating the need to fast forward to that spot.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog