“We’re at a point where consumers are starting to recognise the technology we have to bring,” said Newton, who went on to tell GadgetGuy that not all consumers know everything there is to know about the TVs.
To that end, Samsung will be offering free delivery and installation for its premium customers this year (buyers of Series 7 and 8 model Slim LED TVs), and will also educate them about how to use the new features.
“We need to explain to you how its going to work,” said Mr. Newton. “It’s not about trying to take everything out of the retailers hands.”
People will likely need this, as this year the remote control changes from being just that black brick you press buttons on. This year, Samsung’s remote combines touchpad technology for a mouse and scroll wheel, a microphone so you can use voice commands with the TV, and even facial recognition.
In fact, the linguistics have been specifically looked at to match the way Australians speak, with Samsung telling us “not only have we fine tuned it for Australians, but we have developed our own linguistics expertise for the Australian TV market.”
Announced earlier this year at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, many of Samsung’s new TVs will take advantage of what the company calls “Smart Interaction”, allowing you to make gestures with your hands or call our commands using your voice and having the TV respond.
In essence, it’s similar to what the Xbox Kinect is doing, except built specifically for Samsung’s new Smart TVs.
And for those still asking about 3D, it remains present in many models, but is not a key focus for Samsung, which says “3D doesn’t drive consumer consumption”.
Most of these new TVs will arrive this month, including Samsung’s Series 8 Smart LED TVs from $4,599, Series 7 Smart LED TVs from $2,999, and Series 8 Smart Plasma TVs from $2,899.
Interestingly, that wasn’t the end of it, with the company showing off technology announced at CES as “Smart Evolution” kit. This concept allows customers to update their television annually with new Samsung features for the next five years, for a cost of $149 each year. It’s a cheaper upgrade than buying a new TV, and saves on landfill.
“3D doesn’t drive consumer consumption”. Apparently neither does price!
Instead just buy Always Innovating Android HDMI dongle (when released later this year) for <$100 and convert you old TV (needs a USB and HDMI port) to a full Android TV with access to all the Android apps, SD card, wifi, Bluetooth, Accelerometer-based RF remote control, voice recognition etc. etc.
I always wonder how Samsung is able to fit all this technology into a package that is ridiculously slim. I’m glad I came across this TV in my search! I am in the market for a new TV because I let my parents have my previous TV since they recently upgraded their Dish account to free HD. They wouldn’t have wanted a TV so advanced anyways. I’ve been getting help on what brands to look into from a few colleagues at Dish, and I think Samsung has been a top player. I can’t wait to play with one of these, and I really can’t wait for football season to start!