Best of IFA 2012 – vote for your favourite [Video]
IFA is an annual tech trade show held in Berlin – it’s the largest such show in Europe and the traditional venue for launching products before Christmas. This year has been dominated by Windows 8, mostly by ‘half and half’ laptops and tablets.
Here’s our round-up of the best products from the IFA 2012 show.
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To see all our content from the show visit our IFA 2012 category.
1. LG’s 55-inch OLED TV
IFA is traditionally chock full with brand new TVs, but not so this year. All the same, it’s a TV that tops our list. LG plans to release this 55-inch OLED TV – that’s Organic Light Emitting Diode by the way – later this year. It’ll cost an eye-watering £6,000, but this is really a look at the future rather than the here and now and it’s a very bright one. Here’s what senior researcher Catherine West had to say:
I’ve got to say I was impressed, to be honest it’s hard not to be, in terms of picture quality and colour brightness, the display on this model really does look great. The 3D element is likely to split opinions more, but it was the smoothest 3D viewing I’ve seen (and I’m someone who normally wants to throw the 3D glasses on the floor in the first five minutes).
An honourable mention must go to the Samsung’s own OLED TV, which is also rather special. Read more about the LG 55-inch OLED TV.
2. Samsung Galaxy Camera
It’s always good to see a product that’s a little ‘out there’ and the Samsung Galaxy Camera fits the bill perfectly. It’s a camera with a great big 21x optical zoom, but the interesting bit is it has a massive 4.8-inch touchscreen and is loaded with the latest version of Google’s Android OS. The result is a camera that’s accessible but very creative, and which can upload photos to the web in no time. Here’s deputy tech editor Andy Vandervell’s take:
Android is the star here. It lets you select filters on the fly, previewing exactly what your photos will look like, or tweak them afterward and then upload them. Samsung’s designed the interface so it’s easy to make changes quickly, including every effect you can imagine and the ability to crop photos and so on. It’s weird, but kind of wonderful.
Read more about the Samsung Galaxy Camera and Samsung at IFA 2012
3. Samsung Galaxy Note 2
There are still lingering doubts about a 5.5-inch smartphone in the practicality stakes, but there’s no denying it’s impressive to behold. The screen is great – a TV and film addict’s dream come true – and the stylus makes an innovative standout in a world of ‘me too’ smartphones. Here’s what Andy made of it:
When Samsung launched the original Galaxy Note last year, I confess I was sceptical. I might even have laughed. Its second attempt, the Galaxy Note 2, has almost converted me.
Watch our full Samsung Galaxy Note 2 hands-on video for more info.
4. Toshiba Satellite U920T
Okay, so the name isn’t exactly top 5 material, but of all the tablet/laptop hybrids we’ve seen at IFA 2012 – and believe us there’s a lot of them – Toshiba’s impressed us the most. Unlike the similar Sony Vaio Duo 11, it impressed with its build quality. By default the screen is flat in tablet mode, but it slides up to reveal a qwerty keyboard. It has all the features of a typical portable laptop, which is great news, though perhaps not for your wallet.
Here’s Catherine’s take:
This is certainly one of the better hybrid options we’ve seen. And it’s a proper fully functioning laptop, rather than a tablet with an attachable keyboard, which means it’ll be able to cope with more demanding tasks.
Read more about the Toshiba Satellite U920T
5. 4K TVs
More or less every TV manufacturer had a 4K TV on display. What is 4K? It is, in round terms, 4x the resolution of a full HD 1080p TV or 4096 x 3072 to be precise, vs. the 1,920 x 1,080 pixels of most current TVs.
via Wikipedia
As the diagram above shows, you could effectively fit a 1080p TV inside a 4K one. The upshot is pictures that are truly breathtaking to behold – incredibly sharp and packed full of detail. In truth you’re unlikely to see one in the shops in the near future, and if you did you’d probably faint when you saw the price. But some films are being shot in 4K, mainly for the cinema, and in time it is perfectly possible we’ll be sitting at home watching a 4K TV.
Liked what you saw here? See all the news from IFA 2012 and to pick out your favourites and vote in the poll below.
4K TVs (28%, 77 Votes)
LG's 55-inch OLED TV (23%, 62 Votes)
Samsung Galaxy Note 2 (19%, 53 Votes)
Samsung Galaxy Camera (18%, 50 Votes)
Toshiba Satellite U920T (12%, 33 Votes)
Total Voters: 275
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Mike Lawton
I think I might ‘faint’ rather than ‘feint’!
mikehuk
That Windows 8 start screen looks horrible. Garish and more like a little kids toy rather than a adult computer. I don’t think I’ll bother updating from Win 7
dlorde
I’ve been using the preview version of windows 8 for some time now on my laptop, and you’re right, the start screen is horrible. Worse, it replaces the Start menu. However, you can get to the familiar Windows desktop with a single click (on one of those start up tiles), and you can install a free add-on that restores the Start menu, so it still looks like Windows 7.
I find that Windows 8 takes less memory, runs faster, is more reliable, and seems to work better (especially network and internet connections).
I don’t know if this will all be true of the release version of Windows 8, but it will only be £25 to upgrade, so don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater just yet.
JoB
I am underwhelmed by all of this. A TV that is too large for most people’s houses (and ridiculously expensive); a camera that is ‘cool’ (??) but no comment about the image quality; a phone that is too big; and I thought the whole point of a tablet was NOT having a keyboard.
I’m beginning to think that my subscription to Which is just paying for some people to go and play around. None of this is serious consumer research.
Ben Stevens
Hi JoB, I agree that the TV is oversized and overpriced for most people, but with LG and Samsung pushing OLED technology the way they are, I wouldn’t be surprised if we see cheaper OLED TVs in Which? labs before long.
As for the camera, we’ll take a proper comparative look at its picture quality as soon as we get a chance. We’re beginning to see signs of what we’ve been anticipating for a few years: a major slowdown in camera sales. It seems that many are happy to sacrifice picture quality over convenience and simply use a mobile, which is always with you and allows you to share.
In my mind, the Samsung Galaxy camera won’t buck that trend, as while it enables the user to share, it still has to compete with a mobile phone for pocket space. I wouldn’t describe it as cool, but it may appeal to Facebook and Twitter users, who want better photos than their mobiles can currently take.
I think the best thing to come out of this year’s show is the number of Windows 8 devices – most of which look impressive (although I haven’t handled any of them myself).
Guy Peterson
I agree totally. What is Which? doing? Silly tech. gimmicks are easy and cheap to “assess”, but they are not the meat and potatoes of most peoples purchases – indeed, they are just luxuries, (mostly useless), that will be replaced in a few months.
Those who are in to the latest gimmick will buy it, regardless, if they have the disposable income.
Which’s strength came from rigorously assessing basic household items but recently I have found that the articles are out of date more often than not.
I think Which is trying to cover too big a spectrum. It’s technical details are getting sloppy and out of date. To be useful it needs to rethink it’s policies.There is a need for a Which?, but is this organization still viable?
David Thomas
I agree totally too. I’ve been unhappy with which? reports for some time and I’m stopping my membership as it’s a waste of money.
Cashmere addict
I agree totally with Guy and David: lots of superfluous waffle, yet reports on “essentials” are often out of date. For most of my recent purchases, I have used ‘gut feeling,’ being fed up with waiting for an allegedly “coming soon” report! Which? has been extremely valuable in the past, but seems to have lost it’s way somewhat. A minor point, but I am also annoyed by spelling mistakes in the articles.
I shall be considering my membership; not quite a waste of money at the moment, but it’s heading that way…
Tim Gee
Hi guys,
Thanks for the feedback. We attend these shows to bring you news of the latest products that will be coming soon. This means if you are considering buying a big ticket item such as a TV you can make an informed decision on whether it is worth waiting for the new model coming in a few months.
These shows also help us pinpoint the latest features to go into new models so we can keep the test programmes up-to-date and ensure we are testing the right aspects of a product in a way that will reflect how a user will use it in everyday situations. While our coverage on the surface looks like news, it really does feed into our in-depth research in the future.
Toby
I found the item interesting, in the same way as watching the Gadget Show is interesting, but with less objectivity. I am happy to be aware of what might be coming to the market but agree with JoB that I am not sure I am happy to pay for this (through my subscriptions). As a matter of balance, I enjoy photography and often grimace when Which? shows as best buys DSLRs that are actually only best buys because they are adequate and cheap. The really good DSLRs don’t appear because you get what you pay for! It is useful to know that these OLED type TVs and Samsung Android cameras are coming to market even if at the moment we don’t think they are value for money. Remember when slim, LED 3D HD TVs were ridiculously expensive? Now that technology is affordable and often VFM (despite the Joe 90 glasses!). We expect these TVs to be assessed for us, but a couple of years ago would have classed them as we now class OLED TVs. It is a question of balance and timing.
deepwater
i am interested in a new tv and glad you get to go to great tech fairs even if it comes out of my subs. if you hadnt gone i wouldnt have known about it.
when you look at advances in tv tech i hope you will look at Bose tv as its high on my list and ive not seen it mentioned in your pages.
Andrew Walton
I haven’t voted – none of them interest me!