The new lineup of smart TVs respond to more natural
speech and motion, similar to the way the Kinect controller on an Xbox 360 game
console allows users to swipe through menus by gesturing in the air. The camera
is mounted on top of the screen and can be folded back for people concerned
about privacy.
Earlier Monday, LG Electronics Inc. unveiled a new
Magic Remote, which acts like a wand that is sensitive to motion and is used to
navigate on-screen menus. LG said the new model responds better to natural
speech and can be controlled with a single finger. It also lets you change the
channels by writing numbers in the air.
Samsung Electronics Co., the Korean electronics maker
that is successfully challenging Apple in smartphones, touts the new user
interface as faster and more intuitive than before.
Samsung’s new handheld remote control comes with a
touch-sensitive clickable track pad, which is another way to navigate through
viewing options.
Because it is integrated with Facebook, Twitter and
YouTube, the new interface accepts text input. You have a range of options for
typing – through a synced smartphone, a Bluetooth-enabled wireless keyboard
accessory, using hand gestures for an on-screen keyboard, or using its
voice-to-type software.
Search functions also span Web video apps and live TV,
meaning that searches of a show will inform viewers if and when an episode is
available on live TV, or if it’s available through an app such as Netflix.
Nintendo’s Wii U game console does something similar
by showing search results from live TV and Web video apps. But by being
integrated with the TV, Samsung’s universal search function doesn’t require the
user to change the TV’s source input.
And since you can also play some games on its new
smart TVs, the new sets from Samsung are acting more and more like mobile
computing devices with an extra-large screen.
No comments:
Post a Comment