On CE - For Dealers, Distributors and OEMs of Consumer Electronics throughout EMEA

Optoma presents an Alexa-enabled version of the UHD51A projector-- the UHD51ALVe, a number featuring an increase in brightness to 3200 lumens, making it ideal for media room applications, as well as voice control.

Alexa allows users to adjust volume, switch inputs and launch controls through the spoken word. As for the actual projector, it offers HDR compatibility, HDCP 2.2 support and stereo speakers, as well as 3D content playback. An in-built media player handles 4K content from a USB stick, while PureMotion frame-interpolation reduces motion blur and image judder on fast motion footage.

How many cameras does a smartphone need? Two? Four? LG pushes the limit to the extreme in a patent describing a smartphone with no less than 16 camera lenses arranged to capture the best possible images.

Discovered by Dutch website LetsGoDigital, the patent titled 'Mobile terminal and control method for the mobile terminal' filed by LG a the USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office) on 20 November 2018. It describes a smartphone camera with 16 lenses set up in a matrix setup. The lenses are arranged at a certain curvature within the matrix, meaning different lenses can take a photo from different perspectives.

EMEA smartphone shipments are down by "nearly" -5% Y-o-Y in Q3 2018, IDC reports, even as revenues are up by over 10% Y-o-Y-- bringing about total volumes of 89 million for a value of $29.8 billion (before sales taxes).

Such performance hides regional variations, though. For instance, both MEA volumes and revenues are down, with the current slump in oil prices adding to declining exchange rates in many countries. Meanwhile Europe shows strong performance in both W. and C. Europe, and further East the Russian market remains vibrant.

The core European market (the EU, EEA and Switzerland) is worth $19bn, partly thanks to more customers trending towards more expensive smartphones despite a relatively sluggish economy across most of Europe. Apple does not drive such results, since the new XS and XR models were not available until quarter end. Instead Huawei drives the market, thanks to the popular P20 line offering both cheaper Lite and more expensive Pro options together with standard model.

Huawei is the next company to take on augmented reality (AR), as consumer group head Richard Yu tells CNBC the company plans to release a pair of AR glasses, if after it works on more smartphone AR experiences.

"With this AR, you can have AR glasses working with phone, maybe you can watch more of a large area," Yu says. "In the beginning you may feel AR… is nothing. But in the future you will see more and more the value of that."

Yu adds the glasses are set to launch in "the next couple of years," a time period the company believes will see the industry commercialise, as well as provide a "better user experience product." By then Huawei hopes customers will also be more accustomed with AR experiences delivered via smartphones, such as those available on the Mate 20 Pro.