THE NEWS WRAP: Nvidia hopes to drive auto market with new platforms

Chipmaker Nvidia has unveiled new platforms for in-car infotainment and self-driving cars at a press conference ahead of the International CES trade show in Las Vegas.

TechCrunch reports Nvidia has unveiled an in-car entertainment system called Drive CX that can power 16.6 megapixels across multiple displays, along with an image processing platform for self-driving cars called Drive PX.

The new systems are built on the company’s new X1 processor, which can power up to four full HD screens or two 4K resolution screens, along with speech and image recognition.

Netflix-approved TVs are on the way

Netflix is set to rollout “Netflix Recommended” logo for selected internet-connected smart TVs, with brands including Sony, LG Electronics, Sharp, Vizio and Roku signing up for the program.

According to Re/Code, Netflix says it will grant the certification to televisions that deliver “consumer benefits including turning the TV on instantly, faster app launch and faster resume of video playback”.

LG updates its G Flex phone

LG has announced an upgrade of its flexible G Flex Android smartphone at its pre-CES press conference.

As with its predecessor, the banana-shaped G-Flex 2 features a self-healing coating on the back that is resistant to scratches, and flexes back to its original shape when bent.

It includes a 403 pixel-per-inch 5.5-inch OLED display, powered by a 64-bit 2GHz octa-core Snapdragon 810 processor, and will initially be released in South Korea later this month.

Overnight

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 1.73% to 17524.1. The Aussie dollar is up to US80.97 cents.