Yesterday Lenovo hosted its annual Tech World event, a place where the company unveils its newest gadgets that are ready for release or making their way through the pipeline. From Tango-enabled smartphones to modular ones, here’s what was unveiled at the event to more than 1,300 people.
In addition to launching products, Intel CEO Brian Krzanich, Juniper Networks’ founder, vice chairman and CTO, Pradeep Sindhu and tech leaders from Google shared their insights on the most promising and emerging topics in innovation, including IoT and smart connectivity, the power of big data and transformative user experiences. Through device innovation, device and cloud connectivity and building flexible, reliable and safe infrastructure, Lenovo will deliver the next generation of technology advancements.
While Lenovo has a strong heritage of device innovation, the rapidly changing landscape means entirely new concepts and categories in cloud and connectivity are emerging and Lenovo are quick to steer in this direction. These devices that are as mobile and flexible in design as their users require a higher level of seamless connectivity. Lenovo plans to lead in these areas for a comprehensive user experience.
Krzanich took the stage to showcase the latest amazing experiences in gaming, sports and the cloud made possible by Intel technology. Using the Lenovo Y900 based on the 6th generation Intel® CoreTM i7 processor with Oculus Virtual Reality, Krzanich showcased how people can now be completely immersed into the gaming experience in a virtual world. Additionally, with the Lenovo Y900 and Intel 360 replay technology, fans can now be more immersed in the sports experience and soon can choose how they view game highlights from almost any perspective.
“Lenovo’s newest generation of PCs paired with Intel’s latest processors are becoming more powerful, versatile and mobile – and delivering amazing new experiences. With our continued innovation together, Intel and Lenovo are elevating virtual reality and making e-sports more personal, immersive, and engaging. Gamers can now step into stunning visuals, and feel a part of the gaming experience like never before. This is just the beginning. With Yoga 900 and Intel’s 360 replay technology, just think what this means for the future of all sports – we’re transforming how fans experience their favorite sports. Lenovo and Intel are also delivering the best cloud experiences – delivering large scale memory capacity and high-performance for real-time analytics for the world of smart and connected devices.”
– Brian Krzanich, Intel CEO.
We reported on the Moto Z being modular back in May and this was confirmed at Tech World. The Moto Mods ecosystem will come with two flagship smartphones and a collection of interchangeable backs that transform a user’s mobile experience into exactly what they need, exactly when they need it – a battery powerhouse, a big screen projector or a boombox. The choice is yours. Simply snap it on.
Moto Z and Moto Z Force are cutting edge smartphones featuring an all-metal design, great low light camera performance, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 820 processor and Moto TurboPower charging. Moto Z is the world’s thinnest premium smartphone and Moto Z Force brings the added benefits of Moto Shattershield – guaranteeing the display will not crack or shatter.
Some modular add-ons for the Moto Z are the JBL(R) SoundBoost, a 70-inch movie projector with the Moto Insta-Share Projector and the Power Pack, which instantly adds 22 hours of life to your phone – and it comes in fashionable designs.
Lenovo also revealed the first consumer smartphone powered by Tango technology, a set of sensors and software from Google that senses and maps its surroundings to make a host of cutting-edge smartphone augmented reality (AR) experiences possible. It’s not the gadget Tony Stark uses in the Iron Man films, but it’s beating down the same track. This flagship device represents Lenovo’s combined efforts to promote mass acceptance for Tango, a technology that promises to become as prevalent as GPS. PHAB2 Pro transforms how users interact with their surroundings by enabling mobile devices to detect their position relative to the world around them, unlocking AR experiences via customized apps.
The PHAB2 Pro uses three core technologies – motion tracking, depth perception, and area learning – to sense its surroundings, enabling experiences ranging from AR gaming to virtual object placement. For example, with Tango technology PHAB2 Pro can begin to change the way people think about mapping indoor spaces to create new experiences like future AR museum tours via the GuidiGO app.Homeowners can also now use their PHAB2 Pro to remodel their homes by visualizing real home furnishings in their living rooms and kitchens.
The PHAB2 Pro also pioneers the Dolby Audio 5.1 Capture technology, allowing users to capture the rich, clear and deep surround sound they’ve recorded. Lenovo also announced two other smartphones in the PHAB2 family with the PHAB2 Plus, known for its photo abilities, and the affordable PHAB2.
And now we step into the realm of innovation and imagination. The Lenovo CPlus and Folio concepts highlight how flexible screens and components can enable dual-devices and multiple usage scenarios like never before. It’s an interesting concept design, one I could actually see myself using. But that’s not the only wearables Lenovo has up its sleeve. They also refined their Smart Shoes technology based now on the Intel® CurieTM module and featuring wireless charging. With Smart Shoes, users can track fitness data, play motion controlled games and receive customized news and information based on their activity data pushed to their smartphone.
Several of Lenovo’s startup investment companies showed their promising concept innovations in the areas of AR, virtual reality (VR) and biometrics. Demos included:
- Continuse Biometrics remote identification and monitoring of bioparameters like heart rate via a single sensor
- Screenovate’s VR goggles that function as a productivity hub for external devices in education
- Worldviz’s VizMove Projection VR and VizMove Walking VR turnkey platform for VR peripherals
- Leap Motion’s hand tracking technology, allowing users to naturally interact with virtual content
- Skyroam’s personal global WiFi hotspot
- EyeSmart Technology’s iris recognition software and hardware security solutions
- TeLink’s first all-in-one system on a chip for the Internet of Things
