Digital Journal — What happens in Las Vegas, doesn’t stay in Las Vegas. That’s the popular sentiment surrounding the Consumer Electronics Show, where 27,000 exhibitors will do everything in their power to publicize the upcoming year’s hottest technology. Picture 30 football fields worth of product launches, and you get an idea of how impacting (and daunting) the CES can be for the tech newbie.
Starting today and ending Jan. 11, CES has already showcased enough eye-popping gadgets to satisfy the pickiest early adopter. One of the most highly anticipated announcements came from Sony, which unveiled TVs that play video from the Internet with a simple push of a remote control button. Bravia Internet Video Link will be offered free although consumers will have to buy an adapter that plugs into the back of the TV set.
Microsoft was another tech giant making a big impact at CES. In his keynote address, chairman Bill Gates further extolled the virtues of Windows Vista, while also announcing several previously-unknown features: a “sports lounge” area where users accessing the MSN Soapbox site (a YouTube wannabe) can simultaneously view sports info, fantasy sports data and the latest highlights; and Web-based content featuring programming from the Nickelodeon and Showtime networks. Microsoft is also diving into the auto industry by releasing an in-car entertainment system later this year called Ford Sync — drivers can use voice commands to access MP3 players, cellphones and text messages.
All very exciting stuff, but what else can gadget junkies expect in the next few days of this technology orgy? In order to give you a glimpse of what’s to come, these are Digital Journal‘s Top 10 CES Announcements that Will Change 2007:
1) Everyone is holding their breath to see what Apple has up their wizard’s sleeve. Will Steve Jobs announce the much-rumoured iPhone? How about a new version of the iPod? It’s expected Jobs will vid-cast a speech from the Macworld Expo this week, most likely trumpeting the advantages of iTV, Apple’s device that sends downloaded movies to TVs.
2) This year, the U.S. consumer electronics industry will be worth $155 billion US, up seven per cent from last year, and taking a lot of credit is the home theatre frenzy. CES is dominated by companies launching LCD and plasma screens, each more impressive than the next. Sharp crushed the competition with its new 108-inch LCD, trumping any manufacturer’s previous plasma sizes. And Samsung unveiled a 58-inch plasma HDTV that wirelessly connects to an A/V center. Watch for flat-screen technology to drive growth in this already profitable market.
3) Imagine making a cellphone call without using those precious minutes. Turning that dream into a reality, Nokia is partnering with Skype to allow buyers of its new N800 Internet Tablet to make phone calls through Wi-Fi connections. This is a big deal: If more cellphone companies follow Nokia’s lead and snyc with Wi-Fi technology, the whole
telecom industry will be turned on its head. Essentially, carriers will have to slash prices in order to compete with companies offering Internet calls.
4) For the first time in 10 years, IBM returns to CES looking to flaunt its hardware. Or, rather, its partners’ hardware, since IBM created the processors inside the PlayStation 3, the Xbox 360 and the Nintendo Wii. One of the more surprising offerings from the IBM booth include a portable karaoke machine, complete with a touch-screen panel and wireless LAN.
5) Hewlett Packard is trying to shed its PC-only image this year. At CES, HP will parade a new line of TVs that wirelessly connect with a PC. It is also playing nice with other key players, including the hi-def DVD titans: last year, HP showed off its HD-DVD player for a Media Center PC, but this year HP is touting its first Blu-ray writer, expected to debut in the spring. Sounds like HP is trying to hedge its bets so it’ll end up with some kind of winner in the hi-def battle.
6) The everyday PC will undergo an extreme makeover at CES. For instance, HP’s Touchsmart PC enables “walk-up computing,” which basically means touching the screen to access digital content. Alienware, owned by Dell, will unveil a PC housing a 100-watt amplifier, which is bound to make gaming fanboys salivate. And handheld PC company OQO has released the world’s smallest Windows XP computer, weighing one pound and fitting easily into an average pocket. Expect ultra-mobile PCs to win some attention this year.
7) Gaming will be on the minds of CES attendees, which is why Bill Gates dropped a delicious bomb: the Xbox 360 will soon be able to act as a digital video recorder (DVR), much like TiVo. So gamers can record TV shows while playing Gears of War, access movies-on-demand and take advantage of picture-in-picture technology. Sure, sounds like a pipe dream for now, but Microsoft would be smart to roll out this idea in order to get a leg up in the console war.
8) Even if you don’t own one, GPS units are hot sellers. CES will see a lot of innovation in this area, particularly since Garmin and Magellan plan to add music and other digital options to their products. Mio pulled the curtain off its new DigiWalker series, which sport Bluetooth and MP3 player capabilities. Plus, Eclipse’s navigation all-in-one bundles GPS, Bluetooth, satellite radio and Internet capability into an in-dash unit for a souped-up car. Retailing for $900 US, this badass could seriously jumpstart GPS devices into the public eye.
9) Voice-over IP is gearing up to go mainstream, now that Linksys and Cisco launched a VoIP phone. Nokia, Philips, and Verizon are all poised to unveil new VoIP units, which should help propel the market out of the boardroom and into consumers’ hands. But it remains to be seen whether this technology will become the hottest telecom trend since SMS.
10) There’s more light-hearted hardware at CES than you’d expect, from cutesy iPod alarm clocks courtesy of iHome to a $129 RCA camcorder the size of a pack of cards. Peripherals have become a main attraction at CES, whether they’re wireless headphones or MP3 player docks or gaming keyboards.
Is your brain tired yet? Then CES has done its job — flooded your head with product news, eye-popping inventions and the kind of lip-smacking services you’d expect from a four-day electronics show devoted to all things tech. If past CES trends are any indication, this year’s bevy of new goodies should influence everything we buy in the coming year.
