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

Samsung goes to InfoComm 2019 to launch The Wall Luxury-- a version of the microLED-based display technology aimed at the must luxurious of environments, with screen sizes reaching up to 292-inch in 8K resolution.

In case one needs a refresher, The Wall is a Samsung technology based on what the S. Korean company dubs microLED. Each microLED module consists of millions of microscopic LEDs in red, green or blue. Each tiny LED is self-emissive, meaning the modules require no backlight to allow for a thin profile together with, at least according to Samsung, best-in-class brightness, perfect blacks and wide HDR colour palette.

The Luxury version of the technology seen at InfoComm 2019 features bezel-free "infinity" design with a depth of less than 30mm and customisable  décor frames. A 10000 hour lifetime means users do not even need to switch off the display, allowing for an Ambient Mode displaying painting, photographs and video art. Powering the screen is the Quantum Processor Flex, a picture quality engine promising optimised picture quality regardless of the source.

EMEA smartphone shipments total 83.7 million units in Q1 2019, IDC reports-- a -3.3% Y-o-Y drop, confirming recent trends of a slowing market. Revenues face a steeper decline of -10% Y-o-Y, reaching $26780 million.

Feature phone sales total 45.9m, with over 66% being shipments to Africa.

The M. East sees the biggest contraction in smartphone volumes at -18.8% Y-o-Y, together with a drop of around -30% Y-o-Y in value, as recent buoyancy in oil prices has failed to bring more consumer confidence and expenditure. The African market is the fastest growing at 6% Y-o-Y, while European volumes see "little change."

ASPs are down across W. Europe, while the M. East faces a sharp drop. Only CEE has ASPs sustained Y-o-Y, although such average prices remain little more than 50% of W. European prices.

Corsair claims the Nightsword is the first mouse to feature a "smart" tunable weight system able to track the weight and centre of gravity of the rodent, ensuring the weights within match the way the customer uses it.

The tunable weight system makes use of two sets of weights and six mounting locations on the underside of the mouse. The result, the company says, is no less than 120 different weight and balance configurations. Corsair iCue software analyses the weights in real-time and reports the total weight of the mouse, as well as pinpointing the centre of gravity based on the weights and their positions. Thus, users can finely calibrate more precise feedback.

In addition, the Nightsword features a PixArt PMW3391 18000 DPI optical sensor customisable in single DPI stels, 10 fully programmable buttons, Omron switches rated for 50 million clicks and dynamic RGB lighting across 4 distinct zones.

Does the industry need range of cables and other such products for customers with "impeccable style"? Consumer technology maven Deena Ghazarian clearly believes so as she launches Austere, a high-end AV accessory brand.

“There is a massive gap in the technology accessories category, where the choice is either ubiquitous products that easily break and underperform or overly extravagant, antiquated accessories,” Ghazarian says. “At Austere, we’re equally passionate about performance and style and believe there’s a tremendous need in the accessories market for accessible products where these ideologies intersect. That’s why we’ve created Austere, from the packaging to the in-store displays to the products themselves, with intentional design and minimalistic style that deliver spectacular performance.”