Huawei adds Amazon Alexa to flagship Mate 9 smartphone

LAS VEGAS - Chinese tech giant Huawei is adding Amazon's artificial intelligence application Alexa to its flagship smartphone for its US launch.

The number three global smartphone brand, Huawei announced at this week's Consumer Electronics Show that its Mate 9 handset would include the personal digital assistant developed by Amazon.

The Mate 9, a large-screen "phablet" marketed as a rival to the big handsets from Apple and Samsung, will be available to US buyers in "early 2017," the Chinese firm said at the Las Vegas tech show.

Huawei said this is the first smartphone to pre-install Amazon Alexa, a cloud-based, voice-activated digital assistant that can control smart home devices or respond to questions.

Amazon is making Alexa available to third parties as it seeks to boost its presence in the consumer electronics field with artificial intelligence and home automation.

Alexa is battling similar services developed by Google, Microsoft and Apple that can be used on a smartphone or home speaker hub.

Huawei, whose US presence is limited mostly through direct-to-consumer sales of unlocked devices, launched the Mate 9 late last year in Europe and other markets, but without Alexa.

Buyers in those markets will be able to install the Amazon application through an over-the-air update.

The Mate 9, which could get a boost from the woes of Samsung's recalled Note 7 handset, is touted by the company as a high-performance device with fast charging and extended battery life, and upgraded photography with a dual-lens system developed in cooperation with Leica.

Huawei claims its fast computing performance will remain for at least 18 months, and that its chipset is designed with machine learning capabilities to make the phone smarter as it is used.

"Response to Huawei Mate 9 has been extremely positive, resulting in numerous industry awards and accolades,” said Zhendong Zhu, president of Huawei Device USA.

"With Mate 9, we set out to improve every element of the smartphone experience, creating a dynamic and powerful device that takes a big step forward in what consumers expect in a smartphone. We're excited to introduce the Mate 9 flagship device to the US market."

The launch was the second in two days at CES for the large Chinese firm. On Tuesday, it unveiled its upgraded mid-range Honor 6x smartphone that will be sold starting this month in 13 markets, including the United States.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Virtual assistants and robots: 2017 CES highlights

LAS VEGAS - Here are some key highlights of the 2017 International Consumer Electronics Show, which concluded Sunday:

ALEXA EVERYWHERE

Amazon's virtual assistant Alexa was the surprise star of the show, with dozens of new products and services integrating the voice-accessed machine smarts into appliances, TVs, speakers, lamps, cars and more.

Analysts said the gains for Alexa could help unify a fragmented market for connected devices, and bring artificial intelligence to more people, from young to old.

ROBOTS WITH CHARACTER

Robots showed off new skills and "personality." Hanson Robotics unveiled its life-like "Professor Einstein," which has realistic facial expressions and can engage in informative conversations such as lessons in math and science.

Other robots acquired intelligence from the internet cloud, giving them the ability to chat person-style and tend to monitoring homes or other tasks. A robot from Taiwan played chess -- moving pieces against human opponents -- to showcase how able it was at making sense of what it "sees."

CARS GET MORE AUTONOMY (AND FASTER)

The secretive electric car startup Faraday Future, backed by a Chinese billion, showed its first production car, the FF91, aimed at taking on Tesla. The company showed how fast it can accelerate -- getting to 60 mph (100 kph) in 2.39 seconds -- and began taking pre-orders for 2018.

The other major car-makers were not idling, instead showcasing moves toward autonomous driving, electric power, and better connections -- including integrating with smart home systems.

THINNER, SMARTER TVS

LG Electronics showed off a "wallpaper" thin television, while rivals Sony and Samsung unveiled technology for more realistic displays. A push was on to entice people with 4K ultra-rich screens.

Sales of televisions globally have been slipping, a seeming result of viewers turning to smartphones, tablets, and computers for video, according to the US Consumer Technology Association trade group behind CES.

Those who do buy televisions, however, are expected to prefer high-definition models.

SMARTPHONES NOT DISAPPEARING

CES featured a surprising number of smartphone launches, including one from Taiwan's Asus that can use Google's Project Tango 3D technology and virtual and augmented reality.

This came as the industry prepared to mark the 10th anniversary of the launch of the iPhone on January 9 and with some participants noting that much of the industry revolves around the smartphone.

New mid-range handsets were unveiled by South Korea's LG, China's ZTE and Huawei, which also revealed its ambition for a greater share of the US market by launching its flagship large-screen handset.

VIRTUAL REALITY

While not appearing ready for prime time, virtual reality sought its stride at the show.

Show floor space devoted to virtual reality abounded with companies diving into the market with headsets, content, or tools for better creating or delivering immersive experiences.

Taiwan-based HTC announced initiatives aimed at getting developers to create more VR experiences and unveiled plans for arcades in public venues so more people could give it a try.

Vive is up against PlayStation VR and Facebook-owned Oculus Rift. Each company has been wooing software developers and refining its hardware to better entice users.

BETTER BODIES

Emerging technologies for fitness, health and improving life for the handicapped flourished, including those harnessing brainwaves for the physically disabled; helping the visually impaired with "artificial vision," and getting insightful data on sports endeavors.

BrainRobotics, a Massachusetts-based startup, showed its prosthesis that can be controlled by residual muscle strength of an amputee with better efficiency than similar devices, and which may eventually be controlled by brainwaves.

HOVERBOARDS ARE BACK

Those quirky skateboard-like personal transporters made it back to CES, a year after most disappeared due to a federal raid of devices with potentially explosive batteries.

Hoverboard Technologies founder Robert Bigler unveiled his single-wheeled GeoBlade, proclaiming it to be the future of personal urban transport, and Swagtron released its "off-road" hoverboard.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

'Wallpaper' thin TV grabs spotlight at CES gadget gala

LAS VEGAS - LG Electronics showed off a "wallpaper" thin television as TV makers vied for the spotlight ahead of the Consumer Electronics Show officially opening here on Thursday.

As in years past, the South Korean consumer electronics giant staked out the opening slot in a day rich with back-to-back press briefings by industry titans.

LG and rivals touched on hot themes at this year's show -- including robots, appliances equipped with artificial intelligence, and self-driving car technology.

A surprise star of the presentation was a strikingly thin LG Signature OLED flat-screen television simply branded "W."

The super high-definition TV measured just 2.57 mm thick in a 65-inch screen model. LG boasted that a larger screen model garnered a CES Best of Innovation Award.

"Why the 'W'?" LG Electronics USA marketing vice president David VanderWaal asked rhetorically during the presentation.

"Wallpaper. Window. Wow," he said.

The screens are designed to affix to walls with magnetic brackets, protruding less than 4 mm.

TCL OUT TO GROW

China's fast-growing television-maker TCL was at the show with a mission to expand its market.

TCL unveiled 25 new Roku-enabled TV models heading for North America, boasting improved high-definition imagery and enhanced audio.

"We are here today because we are investing in the future of technology, specifically smart TVs," TCL marketing executive Ranjit Gopi said during a press briefing.

"We are, as of 2016, one of the fastest growing brands in the world."

TCL partners include internet titan Google and its Android TV offering.

TCL is investing some $7.7 billion in high-quality television screens and is aiming to make the world's slimmest curved television, according to Gopi.

He introduced a new flagship "X" series television that will launch first in China and then be rolled out elsewhere.

South Korean consumer electronics giant Samsung unveiled a new 75-inch QLED TV model at its CES press gathering, along with a company-first gaming laptop.

"Despite some challenges, we've made big strides in 2016, gaining market share in TVs, home appliances, wearables and smartphones," said Samsung Electronics America chief operating officer Tim Baxter.

"We are delivering on our vision of the future – one that is powered by connected and elegantly-designed products and services that put consumers firmly at the center."

EYE-GRABBING SCREENS

Samsung ramped up its smart TV platform with an offering tailored for sports lovers, and added a new entertainment application. Features in the new models included being able to recognize who is speaking while being commanded by voice.

Sales of televisions globally have been slipping, a seeming result of viewers turning to smartphones, tablets, and computers for video, according to Steve Koenig, senior director of market research at the US Consumer Technology Association trade group behind CES.

Koenig forecast that $105 billion will be spent this year on televisions, down from $108 billion last year.

However, those who do buy televisions are expected to prefer 4K high-definition models, with the number of those screens sold jumping to nearly 82 million this year compared with just shy of 53 million last year, according to Koenig.

source: news.abs-cbn.com