CES 2012: The best tech on display

The year always begins for us with the Consumer Electronic Show flagging off to show the potential technologies that could possibly dominate the year. Last year, the show put on some enticing smartphones and tablet technology that were seen as reigning and this year ultrabooks and OLEDs seemed to rock. Here’s a quick recap on the best tech displayed at the CES 2012.

Fulton Wireless Charging 
Charging the phone without finding an AC mains port seems just phenomenal. Just as we love to cut off the clutter from our desk, charging a device by simply placing it on a surface possessed with charging abilities is what we'd love. This allows charging a device even when it is placed in a handbag or even in the interior of a car. Fulton along with eCoupled showcases how companies can leverage the metal backs that a device is built of to conveniently incorporate wireless charging capabilities without any changes to the design of the handset.

No clutter

Polaroid SC1630 Android 16MP camera 
Multitasking devices are the need of the hour. We’ve often heard of a camera embedded in a phone, but at CES this year, Polaroid tried its hand at a concept multi-function device that shows off a 16 megapixel sensor and 3x zoom on one side just like a compact camera. However, just turn the device and an Android phone stares right back at you. This concept phone-camera show no signs of 3G and video recording limits to 720p, but we are sure if it hits the market, there could be some improvements.

Phone or Camera? (Image Credit: GSMArena)

Razer Project Fiona gaming tablet
So, we’ve seen gaming PCs, laptops and even phones. Remember the PlayStation phone that didn’t manage to attract users. However, what we had just hoped was a tablet for gamers, and it comes from the gaming giant, Razer. Thay call it Project Fiona. After christening its devices with ferocious names like Carcarius and Marauder, we wonder why they zeroed  in on a mild name, such as, ‘Project Fiona’ for this gaming tablet that looks stunning. 

LG and Samsung OLED TVs
If something upped the entertainment quotient at this year’s CES, then it's been the OLED TVs from LG and Samsung, we must say. While LG showcased the 55-inch OLED sporting high contrast ratio of over 100,000:1 and wider colour gamut, Samsung was right there boasting of its 55-inch OLED with OLED pixel unit comprising self-emitting RGB sub-pixels laid directly on the display panel. Each sub-pixel emits its own light and is also capable of offering both 2D and 3D viewing experience. 

Nokia Lumia 900
In the smartphones section, we feel the Lumia 900 stole the show. A powerful spec sheet that scribbles down Windows Phone 7.5 Mango, 4.3-inch AMOLED ClearBlack Display,1.4GHz Scorpion processor, 3G, EDGE/GPRS, Wi-Fi, LTE and 8MP camera. Nokia was recently speculated to sell 1mn Lumia 800 units in the last quarter of 2011. So, are good days for Nokia almost here? And we are sure, Nokia knows whom to thank, if that happens. 

Acer Aspire S5 and HP Spectre Ultrabooks Presumably, this year wont just be dominated by tablets, as ultrabooks made their presence felt at CES 2012. Sporting the slimmest attire is the Acer Aspire S5, weighing less than 1.35 kgs and a 13.3-inches display. Acer also adds its Always Connect and Green Instant On features. Positioning it as a premium ultrabook, the HP Spectre device gave us a teaser just before walking down the aisle at CES, this year. It has managed to squeeze in a 14-inch screen in a 13.3-inch notebook chassis, and yes, the device looks stunning. Stunning looks Huawei Ascend P1 S smartphone Be it real life or tech world, ‘thin is in’ seems the mantra set by all. If Acer’s S5 came up, as the thinnest ultrabook, then Huawei put forth the Ascend P1 S as the slimmest smartphone at 6.68mm. It’s not just about the design of the smartphone, the P1 S also ropes in a dual core 1.5 GHz Cortext-A9 processor, 4.3-inch AMOLED screen and the device also gets a scoop of the Ice Cream Sandwich.  Fujifilm X-Pro 1 Camera Fujifilm took to the stage its new X-Pro 1 camera sporting interchangeable lenses. With a hybrid optical/electronic viewfinder, the camera equips a large APS-C image sensor. It has a 16 megapixel X-Trans APS-C size CMOS sensor that is backed by a new EXR processor Pro engine. It is capable of shooting full 1080p videos and RAW format images and comes with the new X-Mount lens system. OLEDs stole the show Sony Google TV set-top box This debutant to hop out of Sony’s kitty can be called the first competitor to the Logitech Revue that has been now discontinued. Dubbed NSC-GS7, the device comes with improvements that are seen with the new Google TV update. This could be a good move from Sony and also be looked at as a newer way to showcase the Google TV. Sony adds in its voice and gesture control and it could possibly help set Google TV on its path.  MakerBot Replicator  We couldn’t miss the interesting 3D printing from Makerbot Replicator. Although 3D printing isn’t something new, the Replicator is said to be the first model to print two colors simultaneously. It comes with the Dualstrusion feature, i.e. equipped with two extruders that allow printing multiple colors with different materials. The Replicator is large enough to print objects as large as 8.9 inches x 5.7 inches  x 5.9 inches.