No longer 'catching up'

Updated: 2015-01-09 12:40

By Chang Jun and Lian Zi(China Daily USA)

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No longer 'catching up'

Healthcare wearables

Krista Silano, with the CEA, said the concept of tracking one's health first appeared almost four years ago in products at CES, but new products can do much more. Sensors, wearables and mobile technologies, re-incorporated into sports and fitness equipment and clothes provide users real-time information that enables them to better achieve their goals.

Gerard Lefebvre, publisher of IFA International in France, said he was impressed by the demonstrations presented by Chinese tech companies such as Hisense, TCL, ZTE and Lenovo. "Senior executives of these companies know their businesses so well. More importantly, they also know how to use universal language to tell their stories in front of a worldly audience," he told China Daily.

In addition to Lenovo and Alibaba, companies like Tencent, Xiaomi and Phantom, are all examples of continuing innovation and expanding their overseas markets. Many of these companies are also setting up R&D centers in the US for close collaboration between US and Chinese technology companies.

No longer 'catching up'

On the immersive entertainment industry, which is a popular topic at CES and a hot area for investment and research, leading industry players from China are competing with Western counterparts on innovation. On Monday, press day, Chinese companies such as TCL, Hisense and ZTE showcased their latest technologies and new products for what is expected to be a billion-dollar market. The CEA expects this industry to retain an annual growth rate of 15 percent, especially in the augmented and virtual reality areas, through 2018.

4K TV

The 4K ultra high-definition TV, for example, is driving the entire household entertainment industry and many of the consumer electronics enterprises worldwide are competing for more market shares. 4K is a device that displays high-definition content with a horizontal resolution around 4,000 pixels.

Dubravac, also the author of Digital Destiny: How the New Age of Data will Transform the Way We Work, Live and Communicate, said new technologies are converging to create a vivid, immersive entertainment environment.

"The 4K TV saw 800,000 units sell in 2013, and we expect 3 million units" to sell in 2014 in the US, said Dubravac,

TCL Multimedia announced a series of new products, including the world's largest 110-inch 4K Ultra HD Curved TV, a 55-inch 4K UHD Quantum Dot TV, as well as its new TCL TV+ strategy.

The TV strategy for 2015 centers on TCL TV+ that "combines the latest display and acoustic processing technology with incredible interactive features such as media sharing, smart remote control and the electronic program guide", according to E. Hao, CEO of TCL Multimedia.

For Hisense, another leading consumer electronics player based in Qingdao, Shandong province, CES is a platform to showcase its new VIDAA 100-inch Laser Cinema TV, a laser projector that can beam a 100-inch image from a distance of only 2 feet.

By integrating different technologies, the TV also is designed to provide high-end audio and video. "This product comes with an amazing price tag, which is significantly lower than comparable LCD TVS," said Hisense chief scientist Huang Weiping.

Huang also showed the audience its "Chill", a personal home-based beverage vending machine, which will dispense up to four different beverages in either bottles or cans, and will also serve as a mini refrigerator for snacks. It will be available at Costco after Jan 15.

Smartphone enterprise ZTE revealed its latest products, the second generation of Grand X Max+ and the portable smart projector Spro 2.

ZTE, based in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, said the products reflect its focus on creating new consumer experiences for connecting to the mobile Internet. ZTE USA, headquartered in Richardson, Texas, provides devices to every major US-based carrier, said its USA CEO Cheng Lixin.

The company is the fourth-largest supplier of mobile devices overall and second-largest supplier of prepaid devices with more than 20 million active users in the US market, he said.

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