Intel Corp chief executive Brian Krzanich on Tuesday said that computing is being “unleashed” by the move to wearables as the tech giant unveiled a button-sized device for new connectivity.
Speaking at a keynote at the huge Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada, Krzanich said he sees wearables and similar technology taking computing power out of the constraints of the traditional screen and keyboard.
“We’re going from a two-dimensional world to a three-dimensional world,” he told a CES crowd. “So computing becomes unwired, and everything becomes smart and connected.”
Photo: Bloomberg
Krzanich unveiled the Intel Curie module, a device the size of a button that is essentially a system chip for smart garments, glasses and other wearables.
“Curie is the next generation of computing,” he said at the presentation, where he outlined plans for connected eyewear, garments and drones.
The new trend offers a whole new range or intuitive computing without keyboard or screens or mice.
“It can unleash us,” Krzanich said.
Meanwhile, MediaTek Inc (聯發科) yesterday said that its new chipset has been certified by Google Inc for use in the world’s first ultra-HD television running on the Android TV platform.
The MT5595 system-on-chip (SoC) has been installed in Sony Corp’s latest generation of Bravia TVs showcased at the CES, which consumers can use to watch movies and shows from the Google Play online store, stream their favorite app and play Android games, the company said in a statement.
The MT5595 has already entered mass production, MediaTek said, adding that consumers can expect MediaTek-powered Android TV devices to be commercially available by March this year.
Google introduced Android TV late last year. While the California-based Internet titan has taken stabs at television through boxes that connect to sets, coming TV models will have Android software built-in so only a single remote control is involved.
Android televisions boast features such as voice search and automatically synching with Google Cast that lets content from smartphones or tablets be channeled to the bigger screens.
They are being demonstrated at the annual trade show from Tuesday through tomorrow.
“All of our 2015 televisions will run on the new Android TV platform,” Sony Electronics chief operating officer Mike Fasulo said while presenting coming products at CES.
“Android is such a widely accepted operating system in the mobile space; you can enjoy content on your smartphone, tablet and TV seamlessly,” he added.
Sony, Sharp Corp and Royal Philips NV smart televisions using the Android operating platform are slated to begin shipping by the middle of this year, Google vice president of engineering Hiroshi Lockheimer said in a blog post.
Popular mobile device operating systems such as those fielded by Google and Apple Inc are seen by analysts as well-positioned to serve as platforms tying together the myriad smart devices in what has come to be referred to as the Internet of Things.
“It is a challenge to make the Internet of Things work,” Reticle Reseach analyst Ross Rubin said. “Apple is making a play there and Google is making a play there because one place for access is certainly in the smartphone that is always whith you.”
Additional reporting by CNA
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