The International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is a major technology-related trade show held each January at Las Vegas. Not open to the public, the Consumer Electronics Association-sponsored show typically hosts previews of products and new product announcements. Typically, you can pretty much foresee the technology trend and focus for the rest of the year from the show. For 2011, any guess on what could be the next big thing?
For Android, the year ahead looks to be very promising. If tablet PC announcements at CES 2011 are anything to go by, 2011 will be the year of the tablet but that’s not saying we do not have anything interesting for the smartphone arena! Read on to find out!
First up, we have the announcement of Android 3.0 from Google.
Android 3.0 – Honeycomb Preview!
Honeycomb is the next version of the Android platform, designed from the ground up for devices with larger screen sizes a.k.a tablets. Google previewed this totally revamped Android operating system, Android 3.0 Honeycomb, at CES. The newest generation of the OS has a virtual and holographic user interface, refined multitasking, and a definite shift of emphasis on supporting 3D applications and maps.
Since we already have the OS capable and optimized for tablets, it seem fitting then that a tablet will be launched with Honeycomb in mind.
Motorola Xoom – First Tablet to run Android 3.0 Honeycomb
The Motorola Xoom (pronounced as zoom) definitely grabbed the most headlines—it's the first Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) tablet, which gives it an immediate advantage over all other Android tablets at the show. The Xoom features a 10.1 inch screen, 5 megapixel camera, and a 1-gigaherz Tegra 2 processor from Nvidia.
So, what is the buzz about? Honeycomb brings a lot more functionality to the device, as all the core apps will be redesigned to allow the user to take full advantage of the much greater screen size, compared to what you get on a smartphone. Even widgets will be revamped, bringing new features, tastefully dressed in a brand new and shiny interface. In addition, the tablet will feature all the known goodies that we love like an accelerometer, gyroscope and of course, Adobe Flash 10.1 Player support.
From the other tablets that have been announced in the show, we have shortlisted 2 in our list which we felt have huge potential going forward:
Lenovo IdeaPad U1 Hybrid with LePad slate - 2 Devices in 1
Excerpt from its press release as below:
Lenovo today announced the IdeaPad U1 hybrid with LePad slate, a unique two-in-one device that combines the mobility of a media rich HD slate with access to Android applications and a keyboard base that provides a full Windows 7 computing experience. Offering great performance, both separately and together for a unique Hybrid Switch dual mode capability, Lenovo delivers consumers an uncompromised mobile and computing experience.
"Our IdeaPad U1 and LePad truly fits the mobile lifestyle," said Liu Jun, senior vice president, Idea Product Group, Lenovo. "Use the light-weight slate when you're mobile, and then simply slide it into the U1 base when you need to do content creation. Consumers shouldn't have to adapt their lifestyle to technology, and this product definitely gives them the best of both worlds."
Notion Ink Adam Tablet - A Tablet to Keep A Lookout For!
The Adam Tablet is a tablet computer designed by Bangalore-based firm Notion Ink.
Its specs includes an Nvidia Tegra 250 processor with a 1 GHz Dual Core Cortex A9 and it runs on a customized version of Android 2.3 (aka Gingerbread) known as Eden. The amazing thing is that Eden includes almost all of the known features in Honeycomb (Android 3.0). Although the Adam might not be as high profile as the Xoom, it has gathered rave reviews from the team at Engadget and Slashgear. Do keep an eye out for Notion Ink!
CES 2011 isn’t traditionally a venue for big mobile announcements, but Motorola has definitely thrown down the gauntlet to its major competitors like Samsung and HTC with the Motorola dual-core Atrix 4G smartphone
Motorola Atrix - The most powerful smartphone in the world?
By its own, the Atrix offers a familiar smartphone candy bar design. Clad in basic black, the Atrix measures 4.62 inches long by 2.5 inches wide by 0.43 inch deep and weighs 4.76 ounces. Powering the Atrix is Android 2.2 (Froyo), but it will be upgradable to Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) later this year.
The Motorola Atrix main draw is its Nvidia dual core Tegra 2 chipset which allows the smartphone to transform into a fully functioning netbook when teamed up with Motorola's Laptop Dock accessory.
The Laptop Dock accessory is essentially an empty laptop shell that connects to the phone. Everything is still running from the Atrix, but it brings the Web browsing and media experience from the small to the big screen.
The verdict is still out on whether this functionality is desirable to consumers but it’s definitely a brave new step in trying to provide the convenience of a netbook with our smartphones.
Not to be outdone, Samsung has the honour of introducing the thinnest Android device with, ironically, the largest screen.
Samsung Infuse 4G - Impressive and Slim Screen Display
Samsung's Infuse 4G has a massive 4.5-inch Super AMOLED Plus screen, 1.2 GHz Hummingbird processor and measures in at just 9 millimeters, which is even thinner than the iPhone 4 (9.3mm). Not much is known about the Infuse 4G at the moment, except that the handset runs on Android 2.2 (Froyo) but will definitely be upgradeable to Android 2.3 in the future.
CES 2011 - Summary
All in all, Motorola seems to be running the show this year at the CES with its introduction of the Xoom (CNET CES 2011 Best of Show Award) and Atrix 4G (CNET CES 2011 Best Smartphone Award).
It is also worth mentioning that we are seeing more and more synergy between devices which we had normally expected to have a sharp demarcation such as our phones, netbook, tablets and PC. As a platform, the allure and influence of Android seems set to explode in 2011 and we should be able to see many exciting and interesting news going forward for the year ahead.
