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

The Loewe take on smart TVs now ships in a bigger size-- the 55-inch Loewe Connect ID joins the previously available 32-, 40- and 46-inch models.

The Connect ID has a slim 200Hz 3D display, and ships with ethernet input, built-in wifi connectivity and optional integrated 500GB HDD recorder.

The MediaHome hub handles smart TV functions such as internet access, content streaming and control via Assist Media iPad app.

Making the Connect ID rather unique is a variety of customisation options-- 12 colour combinations and 30 different finishes, creating what Loewe claims is a total of 2160 different colour designs.

Go Loewe Connect ID

Oppo, Chinese maker of fairly impressive video hardware, launches a fine-looking smartphone headed for Western release-- the Find 5, a slim Android handset with a 1080p display and impressive specs.

Alongside the 5-inch 1920 x 1080 resolution IPS touchscreen (with a 3.25mm bezel), the Find 5 carries a quad-core Snapdragon S4 processor, 2GB RAm, 2500mAh battery and NFC connectivity complete with two appropriate tags.

The operating system is Android 4.1.2, aka Jelly Bean.

Oppo claims it has a couple of firsts when it comes to smartphone cameras and audio-- a 13MP rear-facing camera with hardware-enabled HDR photography and video and Dirac HD (a technology used by BMW, Bentley, Rolls Royce and Datasat) audio.

However the device is let somewhat down by a lack of microSD slot and just 16GB of internal storage.

The Find 5 should hit select European markets sometime in early 2013.

Go Oppo Find 5

Intel labs researchers want to put a touch-sensitive spin on one of the automobile's most basic features-- will the steering wheel of the future allow drivers to keep drivers' eyes on the road?

According to New Scientist the development seeks to remove all steering column switches and buttons, replacing them with a layer of touch-sensitive material embedded in the steering wheel spokes.

The system should also allow users to call up a windscreen head-up display (just off the driver's line of sight), eliminating the need to look down at speed, fuel gauge or satnav instruments.

Intel currently tests the touch-sensitive steering wheel via driving simulator, with test drivers performing touch-based gestures with their right hand thumbs. Quick taps accept actions recommended by the windscreen display (such as "dim headlights" or "view accident location on satnav") while swipes either dismiss suggestions or scroll through menus.

Subtle audio prompts for new items are also in the works.

Intel labs is already working with at least one car equipment maker on the concept, even if it declines to mention which it might be.

Will steering systems become an iPad on wheels? Petrolheads might argue driving should be about driver-auto integration , but we have to admit gesture-based controls for music and the like sound pretty interesting...

Go Touchpad Steering Wheel Keeps Eyes on the Road (New Scientist)

Finally B2B gets a payments platform that matches the internet age.

No one loves a bank except bankers and bank robbers. And sometimes not even the bankers.

The founder of Traxpay worked for Deutsche Bank for more than 10 years. There, in the Payments Department, in the middle of the profitable B2B payments section, one could make a good bank career churning out bank profits-- if one could suffer the typical complaints and frustrations of customers.

The banks, not just Deutsche Bank for sure, but all banks today give a horribly antiquated service, a service that basically ignores the needs of quickened supply chains. A service that's slow by modern internet-enabled business standards... and yet expensive by any standard.

Think about how long it still takes bank transfers. Our own bank, for example, still charges 24 euro if you would like a 24-hour guaranteed transfer. Another one of our banks takes three days to clear an incoming transfer. All this aggravation and cost still prevails in the age of internet, the era of simultaneous communication.

We are lulled into expecting this low level of service because banks are incumbent in a business designed long before internet. Yet all of our businesses are tied to banks from birth by an invisible umbilical cord.