Samsung’s CES press conference Wednesday was certainly not a modest event by any stretch of the imagination, with the firm showing off everything from pencil thin 3D TVs, to eReaders, phones, cameras, displays, music players, notebooks, photo frames and printers.
Samsung also launched Samsung Apps, touting it as the “world’s first multi-device app store for TV and mobile apps.”
“We’re not about a single device or single platform,” said Samsung’s US president, Tim Baxter, assuring the audience Samsung’s apps would make for “a completely personal experience.”
Samsung, he said, was committed to devices that connect to the internet and connect to each other, in a holy trinity of “innovation, applications and connectivity.”
“We have apps for Blockbuster, Netflix, travel channel, voodoo, weather channel, USA today…” Baxter rattled on.
“We love apps and we love our TVs, so we’ve been working to bring them together,” said Baxter explaining that the apps would work across multiple Samsung devices, including phones, TVs and Blu-ray players.
Baxter said the firm had built its app collection “from the ground up for your TV,” excitedly proclaiming; “your TV can even go shopping with you” – now there’s an interesting mental image.
Stressing the magic word developers love, Baxter said the apps would be open source and would launch in the spring, with premium apps launching in the summer.
“Developers, if you love developing apps for a small screen, I have a 55 inch screen I’d love to show you,” quipped Baxter with a sleazy smile.
Jumping on the 3D TV bandwagon with every other manufacturer in Sin City, Samsung also showed off what it proclaimed to be the “widest 3D product range ever,” including LED, LCD and Plasma TVs, Blu-ray players and home theatre systems.
“3D has had a bumpy ride,” said Baxter as 70’s style pictures of nerdy red-blue paper spectacle wearers flashed across the screen behind him.
But now that Hollywood has embraced 3D, monsters, aliens and big blue creatures, people are starting to take a renewed interest, claimed Baxter who predicted it wouldn’t be long before punters were demanding 3D in their homes. And lucky us, because “Samsung is ready to embrace it.”
Baxter unveiled a complete 3d home eco system, which he billed as having complete cinema quality 3D, with a processor so powerful, it could even 3Dify boring old 2D.
Dragging out Shrek maker Katzenberg and another bloke by the name of Fred Rose, Baxter went on to announce Samsung’s partnership with both Dreamworks and Technicolor, who both swore allegiance to the 3D flag whilst donning a pair of plastic glasses and assuring the audience the 3D quality was “spectacular.”
3D, said Katzenberg, could even prove a handy way to thwart piracy, adding that Dreamworks was making all its films in 3D nowadays after “Many, many years of hard work.”
Fred Rose agreed, noting it was all the “start of a very exciting evolution in home entertainment.”
As well as starting a revolution in your living room, Samsung also wanted to assure people it was doing its best to live green, declaring that its entire CES presence had been offset by chucking oodles of funds at carbonfund.org, which provided the firm with a little certificate to say it was now carbon neutral.
“Our motto is Planet first,” said a company spokesman, adding “environmental awareness should permeate everything we do.”
Yes, we believe we’re turning just a little bit green already, thanks Samsung.
