Samsung's 2011 CE Blitz!

Samsung SEA, Oceania and Taiwan Forum 2011

Last year, we witnessed a crazy dash by TV makers to plant the first flag in the 3D TV race. If you could recall details from Samsung's 2010 Forum, the Korean chaebol was first to market a string of 3D LED-backlit televisions such as the third-gen C7000 and C8000, plus stereoscopic models for their LCD and Plasma categories. Held at the Marina Bay Sands this year, Samsung continues to advance in their home entertainment and CE campaign with updates showcased during their regional forum. Their new line up includes fresh revisions made mainly to their 3D LED and Plasma HDTV series, plus key updates for their AV, digital imaging, and mobile devices category. As anticipated, the upcoming Galaxy S II smartphone and 10.1-inch Galaxy Tab ended up stealing most of the show's thunder. Following a new "Smarter Life" ethos, Samsung hopes to create "smarter" products with more intuitive interfaces and enhanced connectivity. Here are some highlights from Samsung's media event.

Samsung's New AV Offerings

Mr Robert Vu, Samsung's Vietnam AV Business Director, in an effort to explain the "Human Digitalism" axiom, reiterated the dominant and central roles TVs are playing in our daily lives, as well as Samsung's emphasis on improved connectivity, usability and aesthetics. He also quelled myths revolving around Smart TVs, where the term is erroneously used to convey the impression of a TV with PC capabilities. Apart from their persistent push towards the 3D TV segments, Samsung's latest trend setter would have to their "Smart Hub" platform established across their 2011 line up of LED-backlit TVs, Blu-ray players and fourth-generation D8000 Plasma TV series. Essentially, the Smart Hub interface enables you to search, stream, and explore Internet content on Samsung's new genre of Smart TVs. Other new features include a "search all" feature for networked content, plus a web browser with full-browsing capabilities. 

The new 3D-capable D8000 and D7000 series will lead Samsung's LED edge-lit segment, featuring a delightfully slim bezel of 0.2 inches. As for their plasma category, the D8000 (confusing, isn't it?) series will feature a "Plasma+1" aspect. Fundamentally, what this means is you get an inch more of screen estate due to the reduced bezel width. The D8000 plasma will come in 51 and 64 panel sizes. Other notable AV offerings include the more affordable 3D-ready D6600 LED series and flagship BD-8900A Blu-ray player with 3D playback and 1TB HDD storage. Still on the 3D theme, Samsung is also offering a "Total 3D Solution", which consists of the SSG-3700CR 3D active shutter glasses, complemented by the SWC1000A wireless charger to charge your eyewear when it gets weary.  

Of Cameras, Lenses and Camcorders

It is good to know Samsung did not neglect their digital imaging department during the launch. Some of the highlighted items include new lenses for the NX series, a mirror-less NX11 camera brandishing the APS-C CMOS sensor, and other compacts such as the dual screen ST700 and WiFi-enabled SH100. The new NX lenses will cover the angles needed to satiate the shutterbug, from 60mm macro lenses to 85mm portrait lenses. 

In a nutshell, the NX11, which replaces the NX10, will feature a stock 18-55mm lens with the new i-Function feature. The i-Function button is situated on the lens barrel, which enables shutterbugs to tweak camera settings such as shutter speed and aperture without having to remove their hand from the lens' frame. Samsung also introduced two new i-Function lenses for the NX11, which consists of a 20mm pancake and 20-50mm zoom lens. Apart from cameras and lenses, another interesting addition to Samsung's digital imaging line-up is the ambidextrous HMX-Q10 camcorder with a Switch-Grip function. Basically it enables you to handle the Full-HD camcorder either in your left or right hand, thanks to its 2.7-inch touchscreen LCD with versatile orientation features.   

For Your Computing Needs

Notebooks

When it came to Notebooks, none of the newly announced notebooks matched up to Samsung's ultra-slim Series 9. Combining state of the art technology with mobility and design, the Series 9 is a formidable mix of form and function with an Intel Core 1.4GHz i5-2537M processor. In addition, seeing that the event was aimed primarily at showcasing products released in South East Asian countries and Taiwan, it is fitting that the Series 9 Notebook is available with a choice of English and Chinese Language OS.

Boasting a 13.3-inch Superbright Plus screen with 400nits brightness, the sexy Series 9 notebook weighs in at 1.31 kg. The low weight is achieved courtesy of a new material, Duralumin, used in the construction of the body. Used predominantly in advanced aircraft design, the material was cool to the touch and looked extremely contemporary and chic in line with its zeitgeist's brushed metal looks. Indeed, the new material instantly sets the Series 9 apart from all the Samsung Notebooks that came before it.

A solid state drive and the Fast Start feature is also new, which gives the Series 9 a 12 second start-up and a 3 second wake-up period and this makes the notebook even more attractive. Honorable mention also goes to the RV series, designed to be sturdy and capable of withstanding knocks that come with rough handling. Especially designed for B2B purposes is the RV series, which will be available in a 14-inch version equipped with an Intel Core i3 processor.

Monitors

To make sure desktop owners do not feel left out, Samsung released a whole host of monitors featuring brand new technology. The new SA950 looked extremely impressive with its unique, modern, off-center design. This 3D-capable LED Monitor is able to provide full HD and has a response time of 2 ms which means it can be used for viewing HD content or playing games.With a built-in 2D to 3D converter, you can be sure to maximize your active-shutter glasses. The S950 will be available in either 23-inch or 27-inch configurations. In addition, the Eco Light Sensor also automatically adjusts the brightness of the screen based on ambient lights. The Eco Motion Sensor turns the display off when a user leaves the vicinity of the screen.  

Desktop owners are highly familiar with the hassle of docking and undocking gadgets. With the Central Station Series 7 and Series 5, Samsung has almost eradicated this problem completely. This monitor serves as a hub that all your other devices can connect to using just a single USB port. With multiple USB 3.0 ports present on the monitors, you can plug chargeable devices straight to the CA750 or CA550 at the same time as well. Keeping in line with Samsung's commitment to the environment, these monitors also have an Eco Saving mode, allowing the user to choose the energy consumption levels from three options letting them save 25 percent to 50 percent power. Seeing that they also have Full HD capabilities and LED backlight, good picture quality can be expected from both the 23-inch and the 27-inch versions.

Life On The Go

Smartphones

After the runaway success of the Galaxy S which has sold close to 10 million units according to Samsung, the second iteration, the Samsung Galaxy S II is slated to be released later this month.

The key phrase used to describe the phone was "More with Less" and the Galaxy S II seems like it will live up to this promise. Fitted with a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus screen, the S II will offer a greater display area than its predecessor without losing any of the performance that made us fall in love with the Galaxy S in the first place. It also has a 1 GHz dual-core application processor, which makes it faster than the previous Galaxy iteration. With all these upgrades, Samsung has still found a way to make the Galaxy S II thinner than the older model.

Other new features include an intuitive User Interface for content, dividing it into four different and distinct hubs labeled Games, Music, Readers and Social Network. We have already had an in-depth look at the Galaxy S II during our coverage of the Mobile World Conference which can be found here. An exciting development made possible by the fact that the Galaxy S II runs on the Gingerbread 2.3 OS is the fact that it may be possible to use the Near Fields Communication feature of the operating system to make cashless transactions.

Tablets

The Galaxy Tab has also been revamped and now comes in a 10.1-inch version which runs on the new Honeycomb 3.0 operating system designed by Google. Like the Galaxy S II, the new Galaxy Tab has also been improved by adding a 1 GHz Dual Core Application processor which makes it quicker and faster than the previous versions.

The new Galaxy Tab 10.1 is 10.9 mm thin and as the name suggests has a 10.1-inch WXGA Display while weighing only 599 g. A significant change from the older version is the fact that it now boasts two cameras, an eight megapixel camera at the back coupled with a two megapixel front facing camera. The camera at the back is capable of recording video in HD, while the tablet itself has HD playback abilities. By the way, a 7-inch version of the new Galaxy Tab is available for those who prefer a smaller screen.

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