4k Roundup of CES Showcase

It’s all about 4k this year. TV, projector, monitor, smartphone, tablet, camera, cable, chip and video websites are all jumping into this utopian resolution feast in this year’s CES. Hardware manufacturers, especially TV makers have made a radical progress, trying to pull people back from their smartphones and tablets.

For those who may not be familiar with this concept, let’s get started with the definition of 4k.

4k is short for “4K resolution”, which is a generic term for display devices or content having horizontal resolution on the order of 4,000 pixels. Several 4K resolutions exist in the fields of digital television and digital cinematography. Below is a comparisons picture that could give you an intuitive impression of 4k and other resolutions.

Source: University of Groningen

As you can see from the picture, 4k screen is basically four times as big as a normal HDTV, so it’s no surprise that TV manufactures are busy kicking asses by introducing astoundingly large televisions that could not fit in our living rooms or budgets: LG brought a giant 105-inch curved, ultra-widescreen UHD television, along with some other flat LCD televisions in 65-, 79-, 84- and 98-inch sizes (all fairly big ones).

Of course Samsung couldn't possibly let its rival LG jump ahead in the race to produce big-ass large super high res televisions, and as such unveiled its own 105-inch, ultrawide, IMAX-style TV.

Both of these mammoth sets support 5,120 x 2,160 resolution (it's already been marketed as 5K), which is truly stunning. If you had the means and space, you’d absolutely want to own one.

  

But for a truly ultra-HD experience, we still need a wealth of native content available -- not just displays. That is why YouTube has demoed its new 4K streaming-tech at CES, while Netflix has already been a step ahead -- the company has confirmed at LG’s press conference that it will offer the second season of House of Cards in 4K.

All these shining devices and technologies are quite appealing for sure, but unfortunately, the vast majority of us can meet neither of the requirements of living room size or wallet size, which is why I am particularly interested in this upconversion HDMI cable Seki. It claims to squeeze 4K upconversion out of 1080p video, and sells for only 40 US dollars. This may give us a good opportunity to experience 4k by ourselves, no matter it is genuine or not.  

iOS7 Embracing Social Media in a Brand New Way

(June 24) WWDC is shaking things up again —— recently, Apple unveiled its brand new iOS7, which features deeper integration with social media than its predecessors. iOS7 will feature new social media sharing services, including Tencent Weibo. Tencent’s biggest competitor, Sina Weibo was integrated into iOS with the release of iOS6. Weibo integration isn’t as useful as Twitter or Facebook since far fewer services use Weibo as a default log in account, but users are able to share photos directly to both Sina and Tencent Weibo and the field is set for developers to utilize this greater integration with China’s largest social networks.

The second social feature is that iOS7 has enabled users to access social shared links more easily.In the Safari browser, the Shared Links feature will let users see all the URLs in their social media timelines, who posted them and what they say about them. This feature is just one example of the deeper integration of social media in iOS.

Another example is the new Siri, which is great news for social addicts. With iOS7, Siri has the ability to show related tweets when users ask “her” (or now “him”) about certain topics. But since this spec doesn’t currently support social media in China, it is expected that the Chinese Siri could be optimized further in due course and more closely integrated with social services in the domestic market. 

Speaking of integration, it’s clear that photos and videos are what people want to engage with most on social networks and Apple has put photos at the forefront in the new iOS. Users will be able to easily access all shooting formats, including photo, video, panorama and — seemingly made for conveniently effective social posting — square. With iCloud Photo Sharing, users can also create a shared photo stream – making the iOS platform itself another kind of social network. 

p.s: This is a blog I wrote for RaceTech China, oringinal blog link: http://racetechchina.racepointgroup.com/post/53808912113/ios7-embracing-social-media-in-a-brand-new-way

See more: http://racetechchina.racepointgroup.com/

Apple Repeated its U.S. Event in China, Literally

(Sep 7, 2013)After seemingly endless speculation and months of waiting, it was finally time for Apple to announce their mysterious (or not) new products, which tech media worldwide have been looking forward to for a while. 

from Bloomberg reporter at the scene

What was even more exciting for Chinese reporters was that, prior to this official announcement, Apple also announced a launch event in China, the first ever. Of course, it generated a crazy amount of buzz. Everyone was speculating whether Apple would announce a customized product tailored to the China market, or introduce a groundbreaking cooperation with China Mobile – China’s largest telecom operator, which does not sell the iPhone yet.

Since Steve Jobs never formally visited China in his life time, the media also wondered which Apple executive would show up to become the first spokesperson for the China market (Apple must find this idea so cute).

from Sina reporter at the scene

With great anticipation, top tech journalists were all gathered up in the meeting room of Apple’s Beijing office, with high hopes and colorful imaginations. There were more than 30 journalists waiting outside Apple’s office since this Beijing event was “invitation only”. These journalists won’t regret having missed the “event”, since it turned out to be a video replay of Apple’s official event in Cupertino — held just hours earlier — which introduced the new iPhone5S and iPhone5C.       

Just as the old proverb has it, with greater hope comes greater disappointment, after watching the whole announcement (for some journalists, it was the second time) and a brief session of product demo, the expectant journalists left with nothing but disappointment, added to the fact that prices for the new 5C in China are even higher than Americans will pay for the high-end 5S, but that’s another story.

At last, let me just finish this blog with this famous invitation, while sometimes it just doesn't brighten anyone's day.

p.s: This is a blog I wrote for RaceTech China, oringinal blog link: http://racetechchina.racepointgroup.com/post/61485704681/apple-repeated-its-u-s-event-in-china-literally

See more: http://racetechchina.racepointgroup.com/