Panasonic Announces Lumix CM1 Smartphone, CX850 4K TV, and Technics Series at CES 2015

By Mark Rollins
The Panasonic CM1
The Panasonic CM1 camera (Photo: CNET)

On Monday of CES 2015, Panasonic took the stage at Mandalay Bay.  Unlike LG's press conference, the focus was more on what Panasonic is doing rather than any particular product. Panasonic has their hands in many products, and they will have many products available for viewing during the annual consumer electronics show in Las Vegas this year such as the CM1, CX850, and Technics series.

Their Press Conference presentation began with Joseph M Taylor, Chairman and CEO, Panasonic North America, who talked about what Panasonic is doing with automotive technology.  For example, Panasonic intends to launch a new connected audio platform called Personal Radio by AUPEO.  According to the CES Press Release, this platform will seamlessly integrate all connected audio content in a more intuitive, higher quality and safer way than has been previously possible.  Taylor also talked about partnering with Ford for the SYNC3, as well as hybrid power like Gogoro smart scooters and the Tesla Model X. 

Julie Bauer, President of Panasonic's Consumer Electronics Company to talk cameras.  The company unveiled two palm-sized cameras that are equipped with 4K Video Recording and 4K Photo mode that can deliver four times the resolution of Full HD. 

They also unveiled the CM1 camera, which is a compact camera with a huge 1-sensor for 20 Megapixel shots with a 4.7 inch display.  This information is provided from CNET, as even though the camera was announced by Panasonic, the official press release did not have anything about it.   

The company was also proud to announce their Home Monitoring system for The Connected Home, which is starting to become a theme at CES 2015.  It is DECT-based, with four expandable kits and runs on Wi-Fi, to be operated by a smartphone.  The presentation even had a Christmas-themed commercial for it, which signals a December release for 2015. 

One announcement that Panasonic was very proud of was the return of the Technics audio brand with the launch of two Technics Hi-Fi systems: the Technics R1 Reference-Class System and the Technics C700 Premium class system. 

Another announcement is the CX850 flagship 4K UHD TV series, which will provide UHD 4K picture-quality as well as "Beyond Smart" features.  Panasonic claims that for the first time, users will have stunning pictures that are equal to monitors that Hollywood uses.  They intend to show that off at their company booth during CES 2015. 

Speaking of televisions, Panasonic intends to unveil a new interface, and they are working with Mozilla, creator of the Firefox Internet browser.  The company also plans on showing off 8K televisions, which is starting to become something that a lot of TV brands are doing. 

Other products that Samsung will have on display include a prototype of a next-generation Blu-ray Disc player, a microwave oven to be released in April, a slow juicer to be released in July, not to mention all kinds of other products.