The Samsung CES 2014 press conference was packed with over 4,000 media and analysts; it started with a mission statement, had an implosion in the middle by a man who loves to create a drama and finished on a massive high.
What more publicity do you want on the first day of CES?
Right from the start Samsung CEO BK Yoon has made his intentions known, he wants Samsung to take over your home with gear that looked impressive from flat screen TV’s that in the future will become curved to a new generation appliances called the “Chef Collection,” its line of kitchen appliances, including a storage unit that can double as a fridge, and an oven that lets users cook two separate dishes at different temperatures at the same time.
Yoon said “Imagine getting a health check from your doctor through your TV. Imagine your family watching a TV show in the living room while you cook. This is streamed directly to a screen on your kitchen appliance. Imagine taking a call from your refrigerator without picking up your smartphone. These are all glimpses into the home of the future,” Yoon said at a packed event in Las Vegas.
Samsung also showed a new dishwater technology called Waterwall, which they claim cleans better than the conventional rotary or circular spray processes. But the real star of the show was Samsung’s new range of Ultra High Definition TV’s.
Transformers director Michael Bay appeared at the Press Conference to help introduce the company’s UHD curved television displays. But when the teleprompter stopped working, Bay gets flustered and awkwardly decides to ditch the presentation.
 Click to enlarge |
| Michael Bay at the Samsung Press Conference before he fled the stage. |
That left EVP Joe Stinziano alone to talk about the trickiness of producing live events. “This is Vegas” he said.
At Samsung’s event today there was no mention of OLED TV’s which will be a relief for LG Electronics as it quickly became clear that the battle this year will be between Samsung with what they are touting as Super High Resolution Ultra HD and OLED from LG.
Among a trio of curved UHD TVs, is a 105-inch curved Ultra HD 4K monster which Samsung called the” world’s first curved UHD”.
Samsung executives claim that UHD is the technology of the future,” and clearly Samsung is throwing it’s what it can at the high-res (and high-price) technology in an effort to differentiate themselves from their competitors.
Joe Stinziano, executive vice president, Samsung Electronics America impressed the media with a prototype TV revealing that the “transforming” bendable TV was set to become an option in the future.
 Click to enlarge |
Picking up a remote he demonstrated how the new TV can essentially folds in from the sides, turning a flat screen into a curved UHD TV. The big question is whether this TV will ever come to market? It’s certainly an impressive new technology that could give thoughts to their competitors.
“Depending on how consumers are using their TV, wherever their on-screen desire takes them,” Stinziano said. “Viewers can decide how they watch TV – on flat screen panel or a curved screen. It’s all about giving the customer control over their viewing experience.” he said.
Samsung then unveiled its Smart Home App that lets you control all your connected devices through a single app on your smartphone or tablet. By creating a single place where consumers can manage all these appliances, the company hopes to make the smart home a bit less intimidating and overwhelming to the average consumer.
“It’s hard to find a part of the world not touched by the Internet,” said BK Yoon, chief executive of Samsung Electronics. “The home of the future has to protect, be flexible and be responsive.”
Missing from the lineup was any reference to wireless audio.
Nanda Ramachandran, vice president, Samsung Telecommunications America, then took to the stage to show off four tablets.
The Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 and three sizes of the Galaxy Tab Pro.
Size matters with these machines, Ramachandran explained. The 12.2-inch screen allows users to “do more with one device.”
A full-sized keyboard, four windows for working, premium enterprise-level apps and an S Pen all help boost the tablets’ productivity prowess. We didn’t get a chance to go hands on after the presser, but the devices looked thin and light (the Note Pro 12.2 measures 7.95mm and the Tabs measure 7.2mm – 7.3mm thin).
As CES press conferences go this had it all action, drama and a sleuth of impressive new products.
