By Patrick Avenell in Las Vegas
Samsung Electronics today unveiled two new Ultra HD TVs, including a monster 110-inch model, a new 55-inch OLED TV, and a new range of Smart LED TVs. All of Samsung’s 2013 Smart TVs will include the company’s redesigned Smart Hub user interface, which resembles the Android operating system that has become so popular.
“We are relentless in our pursuit of discovery,” said Samsung president Boo-Keun (BK) Yoon. “We understand consumers; their lives and their aspirations.
“We want to create entirely new experiences – our goal is to help people discover a word of possibilities.
“People want more screens to access content and greater freedom to create something on their own."
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The new Ultra HD range will be available in 85-inch and 110-inch models; the latter is set to be the biggest general release TV in Australian history. These models came preinstalled in a silver frame Samsung calls “Gallery Design”. This frame houses the 110-watt speaker system for the TV.
Samsung's F9000 Ultra HD TV in its frame.
Samsung only unveiled one OLED TV in its press conference: a 55-inch Full High Definition TV with one standout feature: using two pairs of eyeglasses, two different users can watch separate programs simultaneously. So that both viewers can follow the audio, the eyeglasses come with individual earbuds.
The new premium F8000 LED range is available in models up to 76 inches.
The new Smart Hub operating system incorporates voice and gesture recognition, program recommendations and home shopping. The home screen is comprised of many small boxes showing live TV across all the channels the TV thinks you want to watch, based on previous viewing habit.
From the home screen users can move to Movies & TV for on demand services and content; Photos, Music and Videos for their own content on storage devices; Social for Facebook, Twitter and Skype; App for an “Ever expanding world of apps being developed by Samsung and [its] partners"; Multicultural content; and T-Commerce for shopping.
In addition to these new releases, Samsung also showcased its television Evolution Kit, which can attach to the back of some previously released Samsung TVs to improve its processor speed and update the OS to the new Smart Hub.
“80 per cent of consumers want TVs that can be updated with the latest technology. The Samsung Evolution Kit is a package that allows TV sets to evolve and create TVs that grow with your family. It transforms a great TV into a timeless TV.”