LAS VEGAS — Is it a TV or is it a newspaper? That’s exactly the kind of bizarre question tech geeks hope to be asking themselves at CES this year — and right out of the gate, LG has granted their wish.
Two days before the official start of the annual electronics bash, the Korean electronics giant said it will unveil a prototype for an 18-inch display that can be rolled up like a newspaper. LG is also promising a 55-inch prototype that’s paper thin, as well as bendable 65-inch models.
The emphasis here is on the word “prototype” — none of LG’s floppy TVs is slated to hit stores this year. Nor is it clear, incidentally, why you’d want one. (Maybe because LG isn’t big on those tablet devices that people actually use to read newspapers these days?)
“Flexibility” also appeared to be the inspiration for Lenovo’s new line of ThinkPads unveiled Monday, including one called the X1 Yoga ($1,449). The Yoga’s OLED screen doesn’t actually bend, but it can be folded back onto itself, effectively creating a hybrid laptop/tablet that looks like a fierce competitor for Microsoft’s Surface line.
Especially cool are modular add-ons for the new ThinkPads, including one for $279 that houses a video projector that can throw a 60-inch image onto a wall 6½ feet away. There’s also a 3D imaging module for $149.
On the red-hot virtual reality front, Facebook’s OculusVR unit announced Monday it will be taking pre-orders for its forthcoming Rift virtual reality headset on Jan. 6 (presumably a ploy to create massive queues and clog traffic around its CES booth on Wednesday).
Elsewhere, Re/code reported Monday that Twitter has invested in a “connected headphone” company called Muzik. Mind you, this isn’t a massive, Apple-Beats-size deal, the tech blog notes. Rather, Twitter appears to have participated in Muzik’s $18 million in funding. Still, Musik’s wireless headphones are the first hardware investment by Twitter, which appears to be thinking of them as a platform for music-sharing.
On a less happy note, Yahoo! has shut down its Yahoo! Screen video-streaming platform, throwing in the towel after failing to gain any traction against Netflix and Amazon, according to Variety.
Yahoo! Screen was supposed to host original programming, as well as high-profile content through licensing deals.