CES 2013 : Day-2 Summary

If you like our Day 1 Summary, here more for you! We are back with our Day 2 Summary of CES '13. Here it goes :

INTEL 

Intel last night said that it would be stepping a step ahead to make chips for smartphones and other mobile devices. It also said this can be done by targeting emerging markets and rapidly growing value segment. Intel also unveiled its plans to get a bigger share of the sizzling mobile market. Intel said its plans include "a new smartphone platform for emerging markets," one of the fastest growing areas for these devices. "The best of Intel is coming to a mobile device near you," said Intel's Kirk Skaugen. Intel revealed that companies supporting its efforts include Acer, Lava International and Safaricom.

NVIDIA
NVIDIA has used CES 2013 at Las Vegas as an opportunity to unveil its next generation mobile processor, the Tegra 4. The company claims the processor is faster than anything in the market out there right now.
The Tegra 4 mobile processor comes with 72 custom GPU cores, which gives it six times the GPU horsepower of its predecessor, the Tegra 3. Also present in the Tegra 4 is the Cortex-A15 CPU core, which NVIDIA claims will deliver 2.6x faster web browsing, and a second-generation battery saver core for low power during standard use. The Tegra 4 is designed to play nice with the optional NVIDIA Icera i500 processor, which can add worldwide 4G LTE voice and data support capabilities to the mobile device. Tegra 4 also includes 4K or ultra-high-def support, which means Tegra 4-powered devices will be able to play content that carries four-times the quality of full-HD.
Tagra 4 is not the only major announcement by the mega graphic company this year, it also announced
Project Shield, an Android-based handheld gaming system, that is set to be the first Tegra 4-powered device to hit the market in Q2 2013. Project Shield is a pure-Android device, with access to Google Play, in contrast to other Android-based gaming devices announced so far, like GameStick and OUYA, which will ship with custom, gaming-focussed stores. This means you can install and run regular Android apps with
minimum hassle.
Nvidia's Project Shield sure boasts of some impressive specs. With the power of Tegra 4 beneath its wings, the console is likely capable of handling whatever you throw at it, including playing 4K video. It comes with
a 5-inch, 1280x720 HD retinal multi-touch display and built-in speakers to offer the portable console experience.

LENOVO 
Although most of the major firms have saved their smartphones and mobiles for MCW '13, which will be happening in Feb this year, Lenovo has come up to unveil its interesting smartphones this year. There is a line of four smartphones which inculude - S890, S720, A690 and A800.
By the lineup, Lenovo IdeaPhone S890 sports a 5-inch qHD display with a 540x960 pixel resolution. That gives the display a pixel density of 220ppi. The smartphone runs on Android 4.2 Jelly Bean and that is a very good thing. The S890 is relatively slim at 9.3mm and is relatively light at 176 grams. It also packs in a generous 8MP camera.
Next up, we have the IdeaPhone S720. It has a smaller 4.5-inch IPS LCD qHD display with a 245ppi. It runs on the older Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. Under the hood, it is powered by a dual-core MTK processor. The rear of the S720 houses an 8MP camera and the front has a 1MP snapper for video calling. The S720 boasts of a 2000mAh battery.

Next up we have two budget devices - the A800 and the A690. The Lenovo IdeaPhone A800 shows off a 4.5-inch FWVGA display with a 480x854 resolution giving it a 218ppi. Under the hood, it sports a 1.2GHz dual-core processor and a 2000mAh battery. It runs Android 4.0 ICS.
The IdeaPhone A690 on the other hand has a 4-inch display with a 1GHz single core processor. What’s a little disappointing is that it runs on Android 2.3 Gingerbread, which is a bit of a downer. This phone will probably be targeted at the consumer looking for an entry-level device.

AMD 
AMD introduced new sets of silicon at a press conference here at Vegas. These new processors run the gamut from APUs built for low power use in tablet PCs to multi-GHz performance CPUs and GPUs.
AMD started by trying to coin a new term: Surround Computing, which means having computing power all around you, from smart devices embedded in glasses to room-filling visuals and sounds. In the keynote, AMD representatives touted the company's discrete graphics solutions, as well as APU solutions for laptops, desktops, and tablets.
AMD introduced its updated A4, A6, A8, and A10 APU lines and OEM partners. A representative from Asus showed the Asus U38 Ultrathin, powered by AMD A-series APUs with AMD Radeon discrete graphics as an option. The U38 Ultrathin has a 1080p screen with capacitive multi-touch. Next up was the HP Pavilion TouchSmart Sleekbook, which can be equipped with an A8 APU, 15.6-inch 10-finger touch screen.
New processors, ranging from AMD A8 and A10 performance processors (codenamed Richland) to more mainstream A4 and A6 processors (Kabini) were also discussed. Like their competitors, the new CPUs deliver users more performance as well as better battery life. Thanks to built-in Radeon technology, AMD was able to demonstrate a new Kabini processor outperforming a current Intel Core i3 processor.
The company is also going after the tablet space, with Windows-8-capable processors that slot in between ARM-style tablet processors and the low-end x86 processors originally meant for notebooks. Using gaming and HD video to tout the systems as "Performance Tablets", AMD's A4 and A6 (Temash) APUs are expected to slot into Windows 8 tablets in the near future.

ASUS 

Asus has added yet another device to its Transformer line up. This time it’s an AIO (All-in-One) desktop that can transform into a tablet. The beauty of this device is that it will give users the best of both worlds – Windows and Android. Yes, the device runs Windows 8 as well as Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.
When docked in, the device is powered by a third-gen Intel processors and Nvidia discrete graphics. When removed from the dock, the tablet is powered by an Nvidia Tegra 3 processor for running Android.Switching between the Oses is as simple as pushing a button.

The Asus Transformer AiO has an 18.4-inch Full HD 1920x1080 pixel IPS display and users can still access the Windows 8 desktop via a wireless connection if they wish. In its press release Asus has said, “makes it easy to carry the tablet from room to room and a built-in stand keeps the display at the perfect angle for tabletop use.”