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Mobile HD

Mobile HD Emerging Tech Market Trends & Analysis

A More Mobile Mobile is Coming

Mobile data traffic will explode to 367 exabytes by 2020, with video driving 75% of that load - but autonomous vehicles and connected cars are quietly reshaping what mobile networks must deliver. Five defined levels of vehicle automation reveal a surprising gap: Level 3 may be too dangerous for human drivers to manage, forcing automakers to leap straight to full self-driving. The social dimension of man-machine interaction raises questions nobody has quite answered yet.

Ken Werner •
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Emerging Tech Mobile HD Market Trends & Analysis

Mirasol Finds a Home

Qualcomm's mirasol display technology spent years chasing eReaders before tablets made 'good enough' color obsolete. Now, a new generation called SMI - with improved saturation and continuous mirror positioning - has found an unlikely champion in Timex's Ironman ONE GPS+ smartwatch. Sunlight readability and ultra-low power consumption make mirasol genuinely competitive in wearables, where color fidelity matters less. Whether Timex's ambitious $399 athlete's watch succeeds could determine mirasol's entire commercial future.

Ken Werner •
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Mobile HD HD Audio Emerging Tech

I Have Seen the Smart Phone’s Future, and It Sings!

High-resolution audio has arrived in your pocket, and it sounds nothing like what you expect from a smartphone. Devices like the HTC One (M8) with Harman/Kardon audio and the LG G2 now pack DAC circuitry capable of decoding 192kHz/24-bit FLAC files, delivering studio-quality sound through a humble 3.5mm jack. Industry engineers, mastering legends, and record label pioneers gathered in New York to prove consumers can finally hear exactly what professionals hear in the studio.

Ken Werner •
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4K Ultra HD Market Trends & Analysis Mobile HD

Of Phablets and 4K

Predicting consumer electronics sales trends feels like shooting at a moving target. Tablet shipments are falling short of forecasts as phablets - smartphones with screens exceeding 5 inches - cannibalize demand for smaller slates. Meanwhile, 4K Ultra HD TVs are outpacing expectations, with worldwide shipments topping one million units per month and average selling prices plummeting 86% since 2012. Two seemingly separate market forces are quietly converging in ways that could reshape how manufacturers plan their next product cycles.

Pete Putman •
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Mobile HD Emerging Tech 3DTV

Smart Phones: Galaxy S5 Triumphs; Amazon 3D Entices

Samsung's Galaxy S5 shattered expectations, doubling first-day sales of its predecessor and selling out across 125 countries within days. Real-world testing confirms its display performs brilliantly in direct sunlight, validating earlier lab results. Meanwhile, Amazon is preparing a mysterious smartphone featuring four front-facing cameras and rumored autostereoscopic 3D, raising compelling questions about whether the so-called FireFone can carve space in a brutally competitive market.

Ken Werner •
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Mobile HD OLED TVs Market Trends & Analysis

Samsung Galaxy S5 has Best Cell Phone Display Ever

Samsung's Galaxy S5 earns a remarkable distinction: DisplayMate Technologies has declared its 5.1-inch OLED panel the best cell phone display ever tested. Brighter than its predecessors, boasting record-low screen reflectance, and delivering the most accurate colors ever measured on a smartphone or tablet, the GS5 raises the bar for mobile display performance in ways that demand a closer look at the data.

Ken Werner •
Columns
Market Trends & Analysis Mobile HD Emerging Tech

Smartphones vs. Digital Cameras: The Death Knell?

Digital camera shipments have declined worldwide for three straight years, and the slide is accelerating. Canon reports SLR sales fell for the first time in 2013, while point-and-shoot shipments collapsed 40% in a single year. Nikon's defensive marketing fliers and desperate rebate deals tell the real story: smartphones are winning the convenience war, and no amount of megapixel comparisons can reverse that tide. The economics of this battle reveal something broader about how consumers make purchasing decisions.

Ken Werner •
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Mobile HD Market Trends & Analysis

HDTV Expert - Smartphones vs. Digital Cameras: The Death Knell?

Digital camera shipments fell for a third consecutive year, with CIPA data showing a 19 percent drop in worldwide camera shipments in August 2013 and point-and-shoot volumes down 40 percent year-over-year by late 2012, while even Canon's DSLR segment declined for the first time. Nikon's D3200, a 24.2-megapixel DSLR capable of 1080p/60 video at $497, illustrates how flagship specs now compete directly against smartphone convenience at a fraction of the cost. For consumers, the calculus increasingly favors smartphones that combine adequate image quality with instant social sharing, portability, and multifunctionality over dedicated cameras.

Pete Putman •
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Mobile HD

HDTV Expert - Windows 8: What if they threw a party and no one came?

Windows 8 adoption has stalled dramatically, trailing even the notoriously failed Vista OS in uptake, prompting Microsoft to slash OEM licensing fees from $120 to $30 and Intel to cut Ivy Bridge CPU prices to push sluggish laptop sales. IDC projects Windows 8 will appear on only 7.4% of tablets by 2017, while Android and iOS are forecast to command a combined 94.8% tablet market share in 2013. For PC users and buyers, the practical takeaway is that discounted Windows 8 hardware is widely available, but the platform's long-term viability remains uncertain as the market shifts decisively toward tablets.

Pete Putman •
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Home Theater Mobile HD

HDTV and Home Theater Podcast - Podcast #576: One Week with a Tablet Remote

A one-week real-world test of replacing a Logitech Harmony One universal remote with an iPad mini paired with a RedEye IR network emitter and the DirecTV tablet app reveals a mixed outcome. The tablet setup offers genuine advantages, including no line-of-sight requirement and the ability to browse DVR playlists without interrupting the on-screen display, but tactile limitations make repeat functions like volume control unreliable. For households that rely on quick, feel-based button presses, a hybrid approach using the Harmony as the primary controller alongside the tablet as a supplemental interface proves more practical.

The HT Guys •
Podcasts
HDTV Expert - With Galaxy S4, Apple Eats More of Samsung's Dust
Mobile HD

HDTV Expert - With Galaxy S4, Apple Eats More of Samsung's Dust

Samsung's Galaxy S4 features a 5-inch Full HD AMOLED display at 441 ppi, outpacing the iPhone 5's 326 ppi Retina Display and signaling a broader industry shift as multiple panel-makers demonstrate comparable 440-ppi LCDs. The phone adds an IR gesture sensor, IR LED for universal TV remote functionality, dual simultaneous cameras (13 MP rear, 2 MP front), a 2600 mAh battery, and runs Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean on an octo-core processor in select markets. For consumers, the S4 raises the bar on display sharpness and sensor integration at a time when Apple's competitive response remains uncertain.

Ken Werner •
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Mobile HD Market Trends & Analysis

HDTV Expert - Apple Must Become Phabulous

Apple's absence from the phablet segment poses a growing competitive risk, as ABI Research projects over 150 million phablet shipments in 2013, representing 18% of all smartphone demand. While ABI defines phablets as devices with screens 4.6 inches or larger, a more defensible threshold starts at 5 inches, where rivals like the Samsung Galaxy Note II (5.5-inch, 1280x720 AMOLED) and LG Optimus G Pro (5.5-inch, 1920x1080, 400ppi) set the benchmark. Apple's iPhone 5, with its 4-inch display, lags well behind these specifications, raising real questions about its smartphone competitiveness.

Ken Werner •
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Mobile HD

HDTV Expert - The Tablets They Are A-Changin' - by Pete Putman

The Nook HD+ pairs a 9-inch 1920x1080 display (256 pixels per inch) with a 1.5 GHz OMAP4470 dual-core CPU and Android OS, making it a capable portable productivity platform when paired with Bluetooth peripherals and OfficeSuite software. A complete mobile office setup including a 32 GB MicroSD card, Targus Bluetooth keyboard, Microsoft Wedge mouse, and HDMI adapter came to $419 total. For business travelers who need document editing, spreadsheet access, and presentation playback, this configuration offers a compelling alternative to carrying a full notebook.

Pete Putman •
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Events & Trade Shows Mobile HD

HDTV Expert - The Front Line: Four From Pepcom

At Pepcom's November 2012 showcase in New York City, four products stood out ahead of CES: Lenovo's IdeaTab Lynx hybrid tablet running Windows 8 on an Intel Atom 1.8 GHz dual-core processor with a magnetic keyboard dock offering a combined 16 hours of battery life, and Vizio's 70-inch E701i-A3 Razor LED TV with 10-bit signal processing at a $1,999 MSRP. Barnes and Noble's Nook HD+ delivers a 1920x1280 WUXGA display at $269, while Mohu introduced a redesigned Leaf Ultimate and a new outdoor Sky HDTV crossed-dipole antenna for roof or attic mounting.

Pete Putman •
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Mobile HD LCD TVs OLED TVs

Let's Talk about Medium-sized Displays for Tablets - and their Challenges

High pixel density in tablet displays, exemplified by the new iPad's 2048x1536 resolution at 264 ppi, forces a tradeoff: small pixels shrink aperture ratios in amorphous silicon TFT panels, requiring more powerful backlights and driving the new iPad's battery from 25 Wh to 42.5 Wh - a 70% power increase. Emerging alternatives including LTPS, IGZO oxide TFTs, and Samsung's Pentile Matrix LCD (demonstrated at 2560x1600, 300 ppi, consuming 2.5W versus 3.2W for a comparable RGB panel) each offer distinct paths to higher density at lower power. Understanding these tradeoffs matters for anyone evaluating premium tablet displays or anticipating next-generation hardware.

Ken Werner •
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