LG OLED TVs come to CES in multiple sizes, curvatures and resolutions

LG is out to prove that despite all the hype surrounding 4K/UHD resolution LED LCD TVs, it hasn't forgotten little ol' OLED.

Organic Light Emitting Diode display technology for TVs, long hailed as the successor to thriving LED LCD and almost-dead plasma, was finally introduced to the market in 2013. It's currently available in two curved, first-generation 55-inch models, one each from Samsung and LG, that cost $9,000 and $8,500 respectively.
LG's second generation of OLED is a bit more expansive with multiple sizes and even a flat version, although likely just as expensive--pricing and availability wasn't announced for any of these models.

Xiaomi: We'll double our smartphone sales in 2014

Xiaomi, the smartphone maker whose co-founder Lei Jun has been compared to Steve Jobs, expects to sell many more smartphones in 2014.

In a post on China's Twitter-like service Sina Weibo, Lei wrote that his company will "supply 40 million phones in 2014." According to The Guardian, which earlier reported on the assertion, Xiaomi sold about 19 million smartphones in 2013, which more than doubled the number of handsets the company sold in 2012.

High on the list of Xiaomi's targets for expansion is Southeast Asia, according to Hugo Barra, the former Android honcho at Google who's now heading up Xiaomi's expansion efforts. "I'm trying to find markets and get to them as quickly as possible," Barra said at the LeWeb conference in Paris in December.

Xiaomi has found a sweet spot in its home market of China by offering sleek devices at a low price. Perhaps more importantly, Lei has been able to build hype about the Android-based handsets and offers a relatively small supply of products at launch. That builds up demand and allows the company to sell out of its products in seconds.

Moto X price drops to $399 off-contract

The Moto X now costs $399 off-contract at major US carriers. The new pricing includes customized devices.The Moto X had been listing at $579 without a contract. With a two-year contract at a carrier such as Verizon Wireless or AT&T, the smartphone starts at $99.99.

"We've been hearing a lot recently from people who want a new premium smartphone at a reasonable price without having to wait for a contract upgrade," Motorola said in a blog post Wednesday. "That came through especially loud and clear during our holiday flash sales."

That's not the cheapest off-contract price, by the way. Republic Wireless has been offering the Moto X for $299.

62 Indians shortlisted for one-way trip to Mars

Over 1,000 aspirants, including 62 from India, have been shortlisted for an ambitious private mission to send four men and women on a one-way trip to Mars in 2024 to establish a permanent colony on the red planet.

The Netherlands-based non-profit organization Mars One announced the selection of 1,058 candidates from the applicant pool of over 200,000 hoping to establish human life on Martian soil.

The applicants came from over 140 countries and more than 20,000 Indians had applied for the first round.
According to SPACE.com, of those who made the first cut, 297 are from the US. Canada is the second best represented country with 75 candidates, followed by India with 62 and Russia with 52.

Mars One co-founder Bas Lansdorp described the shortlisted candidates as "first tangible glimpse into what the new human settlement will truly look like."

"We're extremely appreciative and impressed with the sheer number of people who submitted their applications. However, the challenge with 200,000 applicants is separating those who we feel are physically and mentally adept to become human ambassadors on Mars from those who are obviously taking the mission much less seriously," Lansdorp said.

All applicants were notified via e-mail of their application status. For those who were not selected in this round, there is still a chance they could reapply at a later date, which has not yet been determined, Mars One said.