Screen wars

BERLIN — Asia scored a big win in the battle for mobile dominance at the IFA 2013, with Samsung, Sony and LG all unveiling their latest smartphones and tablets at the consumer electronics show in Berlin. But the trio are also set to go head-to-head for space in your living room.

Samsung fired the first salvo by introducing the world’s first curved Ultra High-Definition (UHD) television. The 55-inch and 65-inch models promise to deliver a greater cinematic experience to users without compromising on the clarity of UHD, which offers more than eight million pixels and a resolution four times greater than Full HD. It also showcased its new UHD OLED TV, a device that promises to deliver the detail of UHD with the brightness, contrast and colours of OLED.

Sony unveiled the latest addition to its expanding range of Bravia 4K LED televisions, which are also 3D capable thanks to Sony’s Active 3D technology. The new 65-inch and 55-inch models will also feature Sony’s trademark Triluminos display and a 4K X-Reality Pro Picture Engine which improves clarity and brightness.

The Japanese giant also announced its first 4K consumer camcorder. The groundbreaking camcorder comes with a 1/2.3-type Exmor R CMOS sensor and captures images in 3840x2160 resolution, allowing users to create their own 4K content instead of purchasing it or converting the videos they currently own.

LG — so often left in the shadow of South Korean rival Samsung — proved that it was still a big player in the home entertainment division. It unveiled the Gallery OLED TV, which comes with a 2.2 channel sound system that features LG’s renowned Canvas Speakers technology. The TV will also feature LG’s WRGB technology, which incorporates an additional white sub-pixel which it claims provides users with the sharpest and most lifelike images.

It is still too early to say which of the three companies’ products will be the best and most value-for-money. But based on what I have seen in Berlin, all three of them will impress couch potatoes, and that can only be a good thing.