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CES 2012: A NERDS Eye View
California, (January, 2012) – Every January, thousands of industry professionals and gadget-lovers alike flock to the Nerd Mecca, the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Showcasing the tech toys slated to hit the market in the upcoming year, CES presents a dream wish-list for those that are first in line for everything new and cool, and a preview of what will soon be available to the rest of us. Here are the highlights.
ULTRABOOK: This was the year of the “Ultrabook”, Intel’s answer to the Macbook Air. A super thin and lightweight laptop, it’s bigger and more functional than a tablet but more portable than a traditional laptop. There were models from every major manufacturer, but our favorite is the Dell XPS13. While HP’s Envy 14 Spectre is flashier with its full Gorilla Glass case, the Dell is more accessible to the mainstream laptop buyer with a rumored $1,000 price tag when it releases in late February. Boasting a 13” screen, 4GB of RAM, and an Intel i5 or i7 processor, it weighs less than three pounds and sports a cool back-lit keyboard. A Gorilla Glass screen and carbon fiber shell promise durability and heat resistance, so you can actually use your laptop on your lap without burning a hole through your jeans. While, like most Ultrabooks, you trade some ports for the small footprint (it offers no HDMI or SD Card slots, just USB, mini-display and 3.5 audio), so we’re excited about the future of laptop computing.
OLED TV: Everyone at CES seems to have fallen in love with the next generation of flat-panel TVs, demonstrated by the 55” OLED TVs from LG and Samsung. The big difference between OLED and LED is that it doesn’t require a backlight, allowing it to be super thin: the LG version measures 4mm thick (that’s like three credit cards!) on the side and weighs just 16.5 pounds. Whereas standard LED requires a light to illuminate pixels, resulting in a heavier weight, thicker dimensions, image “ghosting”, and typically reduced image quality when viewed from off-center, the new OLED technology revolves around individually illuminated pixels which resolves all those issues. The LG version is 3D compatible, and slated to be on the market this fall, though there are no preliminary price estimates. Couch potatoes everywhere, start saving those pennies now.
SMARTPHONES: A review of CES offerings wouldn’t be complete without highlighting the best of show Smartphone. We surprised ourselves by choosing the Nokia Lumia 900. First of all, Nokia recently announced that they were partnering with Windows to create phones running the Windows 7 platform, a move that was greeted by the tech community at large with a sigh for the future of Nokia since Windows 7 has lagged in popularity behind iPhone and Android. However, the Lumia 900 is fast, ultra-responsive and its 4.3” display beautifully highlights the Windows 7 tiles layout. While it’s slated to be exclusive to AT&T when it releases in March, it promises to be compatible with their 4G LTE network. AT&T’s exclusivity contract is rumored to run out in 45 days, allowing the other carriers to offer the phone in the fall. No price point has been released as of yet.
3-D PRINTER: Finally, in the category of super-cool, the Replicator 3-D printer from MakerBot takes the prize. Imagine a printer that can actually generate things, like Legos, models of the earth, the Empire State building… You can see the possibilities are endless. It can generate creations as big as a loaf of bread and is about the size of a microwave. The $2000 price tag for the full-color version is certainly cost-prohibitive, but there’s no denying that being able to “print” your own full size chess board with all the associated pieces is ridiculously cool.
Andrea is the celebrated and syndicated technology columnist for Scripps-Howard and regularly appears as a guest tech correspondent on ABC, NBC, FOX, and CBS on shows such as Good Day Sacramento, Good Morning Arizona and MORE Good Day Portland, offering viewers easy tips on technology, Internet lifestyle, and gadgets. Andrea is available for Q and A’s, expert tech quotes to reporters and will even appear on your show, so call today! To see Andrea in action check her out at www.callnerds.com/andrea.
About Nerds On Call
Established in a spare room in Redding, Calif., in March 2004, Nerds On Call offers on-site computer and electronic repair services to consumers and businesses. Nerds On Call provides trouble-shooting for PCs and Macs, home and office networks, printers, iPods® and MP3 players, handheld devices and cell phones, home theaters and game systems, and virtually every other form of digital entertainment. In 2009 & 2010, the company was named to Inc. magazine’s list of 5000 fastest growing private companies. With 15 locations across California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona & South Dakota Nerds On Call serves more than 40,000 satisfied customers per year. For more information, visit www.callnerds.com or call 1-800-919-NERD.