consumer electronics

Distance-measuring smartphones, exercise-charging battery packs and a toothbrush that’s also a video game controller are among Thursday’s highlights at CES 2106. A wide-ranging rundown from The Associated Press.

Sony plans to launch a 4K streaming service in the U.S. aimed at providing purchasers of its 4K Bravia TVs with some content to play on them. The transactional service will provide users of Sony’s new HDR TVs streams in the high-resolution Ultra HD format, complemented by High Dynamic Range (HDR) technology.

Taking a step further into the virtual reality industry, 21st Century Fox has acquired a minority stake in virtual reality smart glass manufacturer the Osterhout Design Group. As a result of the deal, 21st Century will become the chief outside investor of ODG and will provide entertainment content through a “strategic partnership.” Financial details were not disclosed.

Even moderately priced sets can now connect to the Internet and run Netflix and other apps — that’s the “smart” part. Yet many people are ignoring the built-in features and turning to Apple TV, Roku and other stand-alone streaming devices that often do a better job. The NPD Group estimates that roughly a third of smart TVs in the U.S.aren’t actually connected to the Internet. And researchers at Parks Associates found that even as more Americans are using smart TV functions, streaming device usage has grown even faster.

HDR, or high dynamic range, promises brighter whites, darker blacks, and a richer range of colors — at least when you’re watching the few select movie titles that get released in the format. Trouble is, there aren’t all that many of those yet, and other HDR viewing options are likely to remain scarce for the immediate future. Even worse, there are likely to be several different flavors of HDR, just to keep TV buyers on their toes.

Could be, now that some major consumer headsets are in the market. Laura Sydell looks at the prospects for the platform to go mainstream, a move which may mightily depend on the quality of the hardware an the effects of early experiments such as those happening at The New York Times.

If you’re a gamer, the appeal of immersing yourself in a virtual world might be obvious. The rest of us, though, still need convincing. The new systems represent “science fiction coming to reality,” said Gary Shapiro, head of the group that runs the annual CES gadget show in Las Vegas, which will showcase VR and related technologies in early January. What’s changed? Screen and graphics technologies have finally gotten good enough to provide a realistic and responsive VR experience.

TOKYO (AP) — Toshiba plans to cut 7,800 jobs, mostly in its consumer-electronics business, as it reorganizes in the face of projected record losses for the current fiscal year. The […]

Buying a TV is no longer just choosing how big a screen you want. Here are some big decisions you’ll face.

Samsung makes history of a sort Friday by launching the first major consumer-oriented virtual-reality headset. (It comes with an asterisk; prototypes and other not-quite-mass-market versions have been available for a while.) And its Gear VR headset is pretty impressive as first-generation devices go.

The world’s No.2 TV maker, South Korea’s LG Electronics, is betting that chopping prices almost in half before the U.S. year-end holiday season will create enough buzz to push its next-generation TV technology mainstream. The manufacturer and affiliate LG Display have invested billions of dollars in OLED displays to rebuild profit decimated by Chinese competition in the LCD TV market.

There are plenty of ways to get streaming video onto your big living-room screen. Internet-connected “smart” TVs and gaming consoles such as the Xbox or PlayStation can do the trick. But stand-alone devices tend to offer more features and more video services to choose from. Here’s a rundown of six of them.

Modern TV antennas don’t look much like the rabbit ears you might remember. But the TV antenna is making a comeback. The number of homes in the U.S. that get network TV over the air and don’t have cable or satellite service has gone up about 17% in the last five years, according to Nielsen.

A new version of the Apple TV device has a lot more capabilities than earlier versions. But getting television shows on the device is a challenge.

It’s the first time a company has turned out a set-top box and a home entertainment system that could be considered comprehensive. The new Apple TV takes what competitors do in a piecemeal way, brings it all together and adds more functionality.

Changes to the inner workings of a new crop of iPhones unveiled Wednesday will make a big difference to users, including camera improvements and new sensors. Old functions have been sped up, including maps and messaging. Here’s a rundown of what has improved.

As expected, Apple debuted a bigger-than-ever iPad with a 13-inch screen called the iPad Pro on Wednesday, along with a redesigned Apple TV box revolving around apps and voice controls starting at $150.

Apple will introduce a retooled, more ambitious Apple TV on Wednesday marking a new seriousness for the company in the competitive “living room” market. Among its upgrades are a new remote and greater support for apps and games, which could position the device against mainstays like the Xbox and Playstation.

Samsung talked up its first UHD Blu-ray player, the UBD-K8500, during an event Thursday at a press conference at the IFA electronics show in Berlin. The player is capable of providing four times the resolution and 64 times higher color expression compared to standard Blu-ray and can upscale content to provide UHD resolution for any disc. UHD streaming services are also available through the box.

The fourth-generation Apple TV, set to be unveiled at an event on Sept. 9 and released in October, will feature a mix of new and familiar hardware, according to reliable sources. While the new device will sport a much faster processor than the current Apple TV, a color-matched remote control, and a somewhat larger body, it will lack support for 4K video streaming and have the same basic ports as the third-generation model.

With the official debut of the next-generation Apple TV less than two weeks away, sources have provided additional details on Apple’s pricing, availability and product lineup plans for its set-top devices. According to sources, the fourth-generation Apple TV will be priced below $200, and is on track to become available in October.

Connected TV homes continue to make gains in the TV marketplace. Now 45% of TV sets sold in the U.S. are connected TVs — up from 34% a year ago and 24% two years ago, according to The NPD Group. And those who made those purchases are increasingly activating their connected TV sets: 69% of those Internet-capable TVs are connected, up from 45% two years ago.

Apple is set to unveil its new Apple TV at its September event. The new device features an A8 chip, a new, dramatically-improved touch pad remote, increased on-board storage and a new operating system that supports Siri voice commands. A new App Store will debut at the same time.

New 4K ultra high-definition TVs promise incredible detail with higher resolution. But with most content in non-4K, 1080p resolutions, is this even possible?

More than half of all U.S. TV homes have at least one TV set connected to the Internet. Leichtman Research Group says 56% of all U.S. homes have at least one television set connected to the Internet from a smart TV, video game set-top box, blu-ray player and/or an Internet-connected TV-video device, such as Roku, Apple TV, Chromecast or Amazon Fire TV. This is up from 44% in 2013, and 24% in 2010.