Friday, 10 January 2020

The Best of the Best at CES 2020

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It's Friday, January 10, 2020.

Hey, good morning! You look fabulous.

The votes are in, and the winners have been named. Today’s the last day of CES 2020, and the Engadget team is leaving Las Vegas once again. We have more news to report from the show and, of course, our impressions of everything we’ve seen, touched and tasted, but first it’s time to judge the Best of CES. If you missed last night’s live presentation then you can watch the stream right here, or just go straight to the results.

I’m just glad that the debate is over, and we can finally all agree that BB-8’s surprise appearance was the best part of this week.

-- Richard

(View in browser.)

And the winner is…

The Hydraloop is the Best of CES 2020

Check out all the winners and finalists here.

It was all about presence and brand goodwill.

Google's CES booth was more show than substance

For the third year in a row, Google has a giant booth at CES, right in the lot outside the Las Vegas Convention Center. As before, it's all about the Google Assistant, complete with an interactive experience that shows you all the ways Google's AI helper can make your day easier. There's also the requisite hardware showcase of Google's own recent devices as well as plenty of things from partners (even Sonos). But most attendees were there for the slide, ballpit and free swag. And that’s more than enough to draw the crowds.

Batou to the future.

Panasonic's compact VR glasses see the future in HDR

These glasses do more than make you look like a Ghost in the Shell character. In fact, Panasonic says they’re the first VR specs to support HDR. I tried out a prototype pair and can admit the experience was almost as slick as the look, albeit with a smaller-than-preferred micro OLED viewing window.

Learn a new language in 2020 with uTalk, now 90 percent off.

There will be new zones to explore and new Pokémon to catch.

'Pokémon Sword' and 'Shield' are getting an expansion pass

For the first time in the franchise's history, Game Freak will release an expansion pass for one of its main Pokémon games. The studio has announced that it's developing two new downloadable packs for Pokémon Sword and Shield.

The pass will feature two new zones called The Isle of Armor and The Crown Tundra. Game Freak and Nintendo will release them as separate downloadable packs in June 2020 and this fall, respectively. Both zones will include new story content, non-playable characters as well as Pokémon to catch, including a significant number of Pokémon that were missing from the game at launch. They'll also be both new and returning legendary Pokémon for players to find. You can pre-order the expansion pass from today for $30.

Steph Curry: Giannis Antetokounmpo chat was about 'PUBG,' not plans to team up.

Playing 'NBA Jam' on a 16-foot cabinet at CES 2020

While real NBA players were negotiating PUBG sessions (and definitely not tampering, according to Steph Curry), the Engadget team took on a super-sized NBA Jam game at CES.

Xe graphics will appear later in 2020 and double current Ice Lake performance.

Intel's first discrete GPU is built for developers

At its CES 2020 keynote, Intel showed off its upcoming Xe discrete graphics chip, and today, we're seeing exactly how Intel will implement it. First off, the company unveiled a standalone DG1 card -- its "software development vehicle" -- which will allow developers to optimize apps for the new graphics system. It didn't reveal any performance details for the card but did show it running Warframe.

As far as we know right now, Intel's discrete graphics will be chips (not cards) installed together with the CPUs on a single package. It's also not clear whether Xe will replace or co-exist alongside Iris integrated graphics -- stay tuned.

But wait, there's more...

1. Nintendo eShop sale includes big discounts for Mario Kart and Yoshi

2. The teenager who's at CES to network

3. A closer look at Mark Zuckerberg's 'next decade' manifesto

4. US Samsung Pay users can't send money internationally after Travelex hack

5. Asics debuts a prototype smart shoe at CES

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Thursday, 9 January 2020

Picked: The finalists for the Best of CES 2020

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It's Thursday, January 09, 2020.

Hey, good morning!

The Consumer Electronics Show is a place where dreams are m... pitched to dismissive investors and crowdfunders. There are thousands of companies, startups and interest groups all jostling for the eyes of CES attendees and the assembled media. And it’s easy to get excited. Flying taxis, home robots, folding phones. The future, the day before it happens. Sometimes everyone gets too excited, and I think that’s particularly true for Neon, a spin-off company from the Samsung-backed STAR Labs program. Artificial human avatars sounds totally Blade Runner, but the current state of its digitally generated Neons is more like Amazon Alexa with teeth and eyebrows. Hype is a fickle mistress.

But we’ve got some incredible nominees in the official Best Of CES 2020 awards. You can make a difference by voting right here for the people’s choice. You can watch the results, live, later today at 8pm ET / 5pm PT.

-Mat

Here's our list of nominees for all 15 categories.

Presenting the Best of CES 2020 finalists!

Our editors have been hard at work the past few days finding the latest and greatest gadgets here at CES 2020. Now we're ready to announce our finalists for the official Best of CES awards. Below you'll find our selections for all 15 categories, which range from best TVs to the most sustainable products we've seen at the show. We'll announce our category winners tomorrow, which is also when we'll reveal the recipient of our Best of the Best award, the most coveted prize of all. That special award is selected from our pool of category winners.

And if you want your voice heard, too, no worries! There's an additional category for the People's Choice, where you can vote for your favorite of our compilation of finalists. Check out all the finalists right here.

Finally, mobile videos that look good either way.

Quibi's secret weapon: Videos that work in portrait and landscape mode

What the heck is Quibi? That's the question we've all been asking. This mobile-centric streaming video company steadily amassed a whopping one billion dollars in funding, with notable names like Steven Spielberg and Guillermo del Toro signing up to make some very short shows (up to 10 minutes) for the service. What did all of Quibi's supporters know that we didn't? Devindra tries to find the answer.

But it wasn’t entirely the company’s fault.

Neon’s ‘artificial human’ avatars could not live up to the CES hype

The big story ahead of CES even opening was a Samsung-backed company that was barely half a year old, pitching incredibly realistic ‘artificial humans’ that not only looked the part but had intellectual and emotional wisdom to match. The reality, at least at this early stage, is relatively impressive, but not quite close enough to the heady conceptual showreel. Neon might have played its hand a year too early. Mat tries to figure out why everyone got so excited.

Learn a new language in 2020 with uTalk, now 90 percent off.

That's nearly twice as long as most other consumer drones.

V-Coptr Falcon is a bi-copter drone with a 50-minute flight time

You may not be familiar with the name Zero Zero Robotics, but its foldable Hover Camera may ring a bell. Having finally started shipping the Hover 2 to beta testers last month, the company is already showing off a different kind of drone at CES. As the name suggests, the V-Coptr Falcon is a V-shaped bi-copter that boasts an impressive 50-minute flight time -- something that should scare the competition. There are plenty more intelligent touches, too.

Daredevil eat your heart out.

Phonak Virto Black hands-on: A hearing aid that gives you superpowers

You might not have heard of Phonak, but the Swiss company's been around for decades. It makes a range of hearing aids, but the Virto Black is its latest and greatest. Unless you suffer from hearing loss, hearing aids are probably not that interesting, but there's enough going on in the Virto Black that it almost feels like a smart wearable as much as an accessibility tool. James Trew is a convert.

But wait, there's more...

1. Echelon made a more-affordable smart rowing machine

2. Ivanka Trump disrupted the conversation about women in tech

3. This in-home water recycler is meant to help the planet, and your wallet

4. Segway's S-Pod is a ridiculous lounge chair on wheels

5. A very Japanese virtual companion-in-a-jar is being Westernized

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Wednesday, 8 January 2020

Tech News Flash

Tech News Flash: Wednesday -- January 8, 2020

TechNewsWorld -- All Tech - All The Time
https://www.TechNewsWorld.com
Part of the ECT News Network

Headline Scan
Tech Strides, Tech Worries and Tech Visions: ECT News Roundtable, Episode 1
Samsung Debuts Sleek Galaxy Chromebook
New Feren OS Does Plasma Better
CES 2020: Prepare to Be Amazed
Don't Expect Too Much From Electric Trucks

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Today's Story Highlights

Tech Strides, Tech Worries and Tech Visions: ECT News Roundtable, Episode 1

If you're turned off by the mere thought of talking heads vying to speak
the loudest or the longest in a TV "discussion" of some pressing issue
of the day, read on for a refreshing dose of sanity. ECT News Network
recruited five smart people with plenty to say about the state of
technology, and we gave them plenty of time to say it. The result is a
far-ranging intercourse.
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/86436.html

Samsung Debuts Sleek Galaxy Chromebook

Samsung introduced a high-end Galaxy Chromebook at CES 2020 in Las
Vegas. The new model could serve as an extension of the company's
smartphone lineup and spawn a premium device demand in the category.
Samsung aims to position it as the company's flagship Chromebook to meet
potential demand for a more useful and powerful multipurpose premium
mobile device.
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/86440.html

New Feren OS Does Plasma Better

Feren OS now is built around Ubuntu Linux 18.04 and the KDE Plasma
desktop instead of Linux Mint. The Cinnamon desktop version could retire
later this year. The Feren OS community has released a mostly
maintenance snapshot update for the Feren OS Cinnamon version. This new
Feren OS release meets the goal of mixing the Cinnamon desktop with the
more capable KDE Plasma 5 to make a better distro.
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/86423.html

CES 2020: Prepare to Be Amazed

Every year I look forward to CES being over. That's not because it isn't
interesting -- it is. It's because the place is a nightmare to get
around, thanks to some incredibly stupid decisions that turn Las Vegas
into a gridlocked mess. Coming right after the holidays, it destroys
more family vacations than any other event short of a long driving trip
with very young children.
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/86433.html

Don't Expect Too Much From Electric Trucks

With the rise of electric cars, it was only a matter of time before
electric trucks hit the market. Several electric vehicle startups --
including Bollinger, Lordstown Motors, Rivian and Workhorse -- have been
working on developing electric pickup trucks for several years, but none
have come to market yet. However, it was Tesla's announcement of the
Cybertruck that ignited interest in the market.
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/86438.html

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