Bangalore: The Consumer Electronics Show 2011 in Las Vegas kicked off with Microsoft's Steve Ballmer giving the keynote address. At the end of his speech he made a key announcement about the Windows 8 operating system and how the platform will be leveraged for various mobile processors like Nvidia, Texas Instruments and Qualcomm. And then followed a slew of announcements about launch of new products and technologies.
We bring to you a round up of the important events from the first day of CES. Google at last came out with the name of the Honeycomb OS - the Android 3.0. A 'tablet only' operating system, the Honeycomb's UI is different from the other versions of the Android. The widgets got a redesigning with the inclusion of Google eBooks app and the Gmail app. It also allows for video chat in any browser.
Well with the moniker issue of the Honeycomb put to rest now, Motorola announced the first Android 3.0 run tablet called the Motorola Droid Xoom which is powered by an Nvidia Tegra 2 processor. Motorola also announced its most powerful android smartphone till date - the Atrix 4G. It features a dual-core 1Ghz processor and qHD display (a first for smartphones)in a 4 inch screen.
While on the topic of smartphones, Samsung has launched the Infuse 4G which boasts of being the slimmest Android phone. It runs on Android 2.2, sports a 4.5 inch Super AMOLED screen and is powered by a 1.2GHz Samsung Hummingbird processor. On the other hand, LG and NVIDIA have demoed the first Tegra 2-powered Optimus 2X smartphone.
With the launch of the recent processors from Intel and AMD, HP became the first to launch products powered by them. HP has refreshed its Pavilion dm1 laptops with AMD fusion chips and announced Envy 17, dv6 and dv7 laptops with Intel's Sandy Bridge processors.
Gadgets like TVs and cameras also made their mark in the first day of the event. Casio unveiled the very innovative shape-shifting camera - aptly named Tryx which is just 0.59 inches thick and can be twisted for different shooting situations. It will hit the markets in April at $250. Sony launched its latest line up of 27 Bravia HDTVs that range from 22 inch to 65 inch in screen size. The TV sets come with improved Internet Connectivity, 3D viewing, and overall picture enhancements.
The picture can't be complete without the raging hot product of the season - tablets. Toshiba, Lenovo, Asus, Motion have all announced their version of the iPad killer. Expect more such announcements in the next few days of CES and we will keep you posted on them.
