Samsung Forges New Ground

In Interactivity and Eco-Management at CES 2009

The next evolution of the seamless user experience - one of greater interactivity, more intuitive user interfaces, and fresh eco-friendly technology - debuted at the 2009 International CES in Las Vegas on Jan. 7 as Samsung Electronics unveiled an exciting array of new products and features at the company's annual press conference.
Samsung's product portfolio were displayed January 8-11 at booth 11033 in the Central Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center, as well as in the Innovations Pavilion.
This year's offerings earned Samsung an unprecedented 46 CES Innovations Awards, reinforcing the company's leadership position in visual display, digital music players and home theater systems, while highlighting Samsung's growing commitment to environmentally-aware product development.
The result is a "second wave" of the Seamless Experience that Samsung unveiled in 2008, built on its "4Cs" approach to product development - content, creativity, connectivity and components. The next iteration is focused on the lifestyles of consumers themselves who face an overwhelming number of choices.
"Consumer electronics has moved beyond the convergence of individual products and categories to the convergence of these solutions with the lives of consumers, which in turn demands the creation of new user experiences," said Dr. Park Jong -woo, President of Digital Media Business at Samsung Electronics. "Samsung's vision is to foster the evolution of new and rewarding lifestyles through seamless user experiences that are emotional, intuitive and content-rich, while also ensuring a healthy respect for our environment."
LED - Backlight in the Spotlight
Samsung has established a new stand-alone category in its family of HDTVs for 2009 with the creation of a lineup of LED TVs that will set new benchmarks for picture quality and energy efficiency. This year, Samsung will introduce a full lineup of LED TVs ranging from 40-55 inches that achieve previously un-reachable mega-contrast ratios.
All of Samsung's LED TVs contribute to the company's eco-friendly vision, consuming 40 percent less power than standard CCFL-backlit LCD TVs, far below the stringent Energy Star version 3.0 requirements. The TVs use low electricity and contain no mercury, while the neck and stand are made of eco-friendly materials.
Included in this new line is the B6000, which is the slimmest of any LED TV on the market with tuner inside and features the world's slimmest wall mount solution that reduces the gap between the TV and the wall to 0.6 inches. Samsung's Series 6, 7, 8 and 9 LED TVs have all been selected for CES Innovation Awards.
"This new lineup of LED TVs represents the next chapter in Samsung's global television leadership," said Tim Baxter, Executive Vice President for Sales and Marketing, Consumer Electronics Division, Samsung North America. "Not only have we achieved unprecedented levels of picture quality and design excellence, but we've done so in a way that is environmentally sound."
Yahoo! Partnership Enriched
CES 2009 marks a milestone in the partnership between Samsung and Yahoo! with the launch of the "Internet@TV - Content Service" on Samsung flat panel televisions that will allow users to enjoy a vast array of rich digital content through a series of widgets available. Samsung's 2009 Series 7, 8 and 9 LED, LCD and plasma TVs will support the new service, which can be accessed via either the built-in Ethernet port or using an optional Wi-Fi USB dongle.
"Internet@TV - Content Service" brings a wealth of Web content and services to Samsung's TVs, ranging Yahoo! properties such as Flickr¢â, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Weather and Yahoo! Finance, to third-party content like USA TODAY£—, YouTube¢â, eBay¢â and Showtime Networks£—. The Yahoo! Widgets Engine, an application platform that creates lightweight Javascript and XML applications, is the foundation of Internet@TV ¡ª Content Service and will also allow developers to create and deploy customized widgets for the television through an open platform.
The launch of The "Internet@TV - Content Service" is a product of Samsung's Medi@2.0 initiative and a key component of Seamless Experience. Samsung has also upgraded its "Content Library Flash," which allows users to download content from Samsung servers through an Ethernet connection to the TV. Enhancing this experience is the introduction of the BD-P4600, the world's thinnest Blu-Ray player that features an auto-adjusting function designed to deliver the clearest possible picture quality on Samsung TVs.
The BD-P4600 is the centerpiece of Samsung's most comprehensive Blu-ray lineup to date, featuring three stand-alone players and three home theater systems, including the HT-BD8200, the first Blu-ray home theater sound bar.
Touch of Color, Haptic Feel with Connectivity
Samsung has extended its leadership in design and built on the success of 2008's "Touch of Color," a patented dual-injection production process that transformed the look of the traditional piano black slim TV design, by introducing an enhanced ToC design, which features a softer, more subtle color gradation for an even more vibrant look. Samsung has also added chrome to its pallet of colors, which can be found on the LED 8000 TV.
Samsung has expanded the ability to transmit wireless HD content across its product groups. Several flat panel HDTVs feature the company's Wireless DNLA technology while select Blu-ray players are WiFi-enabled and include a wireless dongle for easy connectivity.
Samsung is applying this emotional, intuitive approach to connect with the needs of its users across its product lines. The HZ10W digital camera is the world's first to offer a 24mm wide-angle, 10X optical zoom that allows users to be more creative in the way they shoot and capture the image the way they see it through the wide-angle lens. The HZ10W also features an HD video capability to capture moving images.
Six new camcorders have been introduced at CES 2009, including the HMX-H106, its flagship full-HD camcorder that is the first to feature an internal 64GB solid-state drive, providing consumers with higher performing and more durable internal memory. Samsung also unveiled the SMX-F34, the company's next generation YouTube¢â compatible compact digital camcorder.
Samsung has added elements of look and feel to its newest portable multimedia player, the P3. At less than 0.4 inches thin, the P3 features a three-inch widescreen video player, studio-quality audio player, ultra-portable photo album, personal voice recorder and FM radio. In addition, the EmoTure¢â interface with haptic feedback allows consumers to enjoy features such as swiping a finger across the screen to switch audio tracks or fast forward video. nw

Samsung Electronics showcases its product portfolio at the 2009 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Jan. 7-11.