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CES is just over a week away, and Samsung has given us a taste of what it’ll be bringing to the world’s biggest tech fair. It promises to show off its new smart TV platform, known as Smart Hub. As well as TV shows and films, it’ll bring together all your apps, social networks, music and more.
According to the Samsung Tomorrow blog, the user interface will be split up into five categories. These are On TV (live TV), Movies and TV Shows (video on-demand), Apps, Social, and the fifth one is Photos, Videos & Music.
There’s also a new way to navigate the menu, known as the ‘Flipping’ function. Using the motion control, you ‘flip’ your way through screens — Samsung compares it to how you’d flip through the pages of a book.
The menu will have a tile-based layout, similar to Microsoft’s Windows 8. Samsung also posted a teaser video about its new TVs — get a load of this.
Bonkers, right?
Samsung isn’t the only one showing off its tellies in Las Vegas, though. LG will be bringing its new Google TV-powered goggleboxes to the show. They’ll have a greater range of sizes, sleeker designs, and more features, like voice control. LG’s Magic Remote lets you change channels by turning a wheel, too, which should be far quicker than hitting a button over and over again.
Google TV launched here in the UK only on one Sony device, and smart TVs as a whole haven’t really taken off yet. They’ve been plagued by clunky interfaces, and I think the marketing has been quite confusing for the average punter, too. Maybe what they need is Apple to come in and simplify everything.
What do you reckon of Samsung’s Smart Hub? Have you bought a smart TV? What could they do better? Let me know in the comments, or on Facebook.
