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By on January 6, 2016 in Technology


Check out this video by The Verge at CES 2016.

Think about packing up to move in and out of your dorm. Think specifically about packing up your TV. Packing is probably the wrong word, because you don’t pack it. You carry it out on its own, wrapped in extra sheets or bubble wrap so that nothing else in your backseat accidentally bumps it and cracks the screen.

Now imagine if you could just roll up your TV screen, how much easier that would be. Sounds futuristic? Well, welcome to the future.

At CES this week, LG introduced its 18-inch flexible OLED screen, which they say can be rolled up as tight as a newspaper, or scrunched around. Convenient? Oh yes. But how? OLED (organic LED) lighting doesn’t require the backlighting regular TVs do. That means it can be made very thin, without that back panel – and yet still have that HD quality regular TVs do. 18 inches is pretty small for a screen, but don’t worry, LG’s goal is to transfer this technology to screens 55 inches and up.

LG is still working out some kinks, like dead pixels (empty black pixels that have been damaged – which has happened after playing with it a bit). These aren’t on the market yet – we’re just playing with prototypes, but it’s nice to get a glimpse of the future of our dorm rooms, isn’t it?

The Details:

  • Price: Don’t know yet. They’re still in the prototype stage.
  • Size: Likely starting at 55-in
  • Screen quality: Aiming for 4K
  • Thickness: Less than 1mm

By on August 25, 2015 in Technology
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By NVIDIA Corporation on Flickr

Nvidia’s latest release to the Shield lineup, the Nvidia Shield Android TV, introduces a new product that both Nvidia and the market have never produced before. Nvidia’s recent portable devices presented enhanced mobile gameplay where consumers could play on their Nvidia Tablet while also using a dedicated controller. This latest release from Nvidia is big leap forward in terms of specifications of the device and its gaming capabilities.

The design of the Nvidia Shield Android TV is a very slender rectangular shape that can be placed horizontally on a desk or vertically using a Nvidia Shield Stand. A green light emits from the top of the Shield that doubles as an aesthetic feature and an indicator of the battery level. The power button for the device is also placed on the top of the Shield and can be activated by simply swiping over the icon to power on or off. The relatively small size of the Nvidia Shield should allow it to be placed near any television without issue.

Gaming on the Shield can be done primarily by connecting to Nvidia servers and streaming the game onto your TV. Using this streaming method did not affect my game play with any additional lag or latency. The gaming experience was as smooth as playing a disk game on any other dedicated gaming console. The Android TV hub also allows you to also download games onto the device and save them on your storage drive. Similar to loading to a game from a Steam library, this feature should be familiar to most PC gamers. Additionally, the Nvidia Shield allows one to stream a game directly from their own computer equipped with a Nvidia card nearby. Streaming through my PC onto my television similarly resulted in zero latency and I was able to play uninterrupted.

The Nvidia Shield streams through the Android TV hub which comes with access to many of the latest TV shows and movies. While not as popular a streaming platform as Netflix, Android TV has a large quantity of hit TV shows and movies that should satisfy most consumers. The device is also equipped with Google Cast giving it iOS and Android mobile compatibility. The streaming capabilties along with the gaming aspect of the latest Shield product should appeal to a large selection of students. Cheaper than other products on the market, the streaming aspect should be fun for most students who enjoy TV, while the gaming aspect can appease both console and PC gamers.

All in all, the Nvidia Shield Android TV is a very powerful device that takes Nvidia into uncharted territory. Both a gaming and streaming device, the newest Nvidia Shield product is a big step forward for both markets. While possibly limited by the use of Android TV, the Nvidia Shield Android TV is great product that is ahead of the game and truly innovative. Priced at $200 for the basic level, this new product is sure to excite many students who want to stream and game on a powerful device.

Highlights:

  • Small Design
  • Powerful Tegra X1 Processor
  • 256-core GPU
  • 3GB of RAM
  • 16 GB Storage, 500GB with Pro Version
  • 4K Ready
  • Gaming and Streaming Capabilities
  • Equipped with Google Cast
  • Can stream from Nvidia GPU in home computer

Cons: 

  • Limited by Android TV
  • Limited Selection of Gaming Titles