Yes, an entire 60 seconds of in-depth, quality time to carefully explore all of the 20,000+ products on display at the show.
An Incremental Year
One thing everyone seemed to be able to agree on this year was that the show wasn't as much about what was new, but instead about incremental improvements and a coalescing of platforms and technology. The major theme areas were flat panel monitors (TV's), wireless and mobile technologies, home automation and just cool stuff.
The Screen's the thing
Way back in our 2004 predictions article we mentioned that in the battle of the PC vs. TV, the winner was the screen itself. What we used to call a TV or a computer monitor has evolved into variations of flat panel displays. You watch your TV shows on your PC; you play your games and read your email on your 'TV'.
In 2004 the idea of a 42" display was strictly a pipe dream for most people. At CES this year displays from small cell phone LCD's up to 100+" monster screens were everywhere. Every major manufacturer was showing off their latest improvements. Last year 1080P screens were introduced. This year, they were the norm. Projection screens from companies such as JVC and others are thinner, brighter and sharper than ever before. And, in a display of ultimate convergence, the folks at Sharp demonstrated dual HD feeds using data over power line modems on their Network Aquos. This enables the user to view HD programming content while simultaneously surfing the Internet on the same screen.
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The big difference this coming year is the probability that we will be hitting a plateau. Over the next year or so we will still continue to see improvements in visual technology, but I don't expect we will see any significant advance in resolution.
Not because it's impossible, but because there isn't any content or delivery system to support it. Current television broadcasts are either 720p or 1080i. Considering that the FCC's 'all digital all the time' requirement is just taking effect in the next year or so, don't expect to see some miraculous leap to higher resolution signals (1080p).
Standard DVD's can give you 720p performance or, with upconvert technology 1080i. Only the new HD-DVD and Blu-Ray (also known as Blu-ray Disc (BD), is the name of a next-generation optical disc format jointly developed by the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA)) devices deliver true 1080p resolution. Considering it will take at least another year or two for that to become mainstream, there will be no rush to go higher.
The good news for consumers is that prices will continue to come down as production ramps up and competition heats up.
Display technology is also starting to branch out into the wireless arena. In an effort to do away with all those cables usually needed to hook up the screen and home theatre, Samsung has introduced the HP-T5894W. This is a 58" Plasma screen with built in 802.11N wireless capability. This allows the panel to transmit all of the HDMI data to a wireless A/V center that can be located up to 300' away. The true beauty of this is the only thing coming out of the back of the plasma display is the power plug.
And speaking of wireless……
Wireless And Mobile Technologies
This is a huge area that is growing quicker than you can track. Anything that isn't permanently nailed down or embedded in cement is becoming wireless. If there's a way to 'cut the cord' someone at CES was showing it off.
There was the expected deluge of wireless routers and related devices using MIMO (multiple in-multiple out) technology along with Pre-N and Draft-N capabilities. 'N' is the latest, fastest (and slowest to be ratified) wireless networking specification. It has taken a couple of years to get consensus, but we are very close to a finished 802.11N standard (probably mid 2008).
Companies such as D-link were showing off their MediaLounge Wireless Media Player. It makes use of the draft-N technology to transmit photos, music, standard and HD broadcast wirelessly to the screen or device of your choice.
Another interesting emerging technology was demonstrated by Philips Technology. Using the Ultra-Wide Band (UWB) frequency, they have developed wireless HDMI transceivers. You hook one up to each end of the signal and can transmit up to 25' in a room. This isn't a complete solution, but can certainly be helpful for difficult installation situations.
Philips HDMI Transceiver
Another up and coming wireless category is wireless USB. Everything from printer ports to hubs to draft-N laptop connectors could be found. Belkin, among others was displaying quite a selection of this wire saving, "can't get there from here" with copper' product group. Expect to see this category emerge, as more and more things need to be connected on less and less desktop space.
Finally, expect to see a lot of wireless convergence. We expect a great deal of overlap in modalities such as cell phone and WIFI. The industry is aware that people are getting used to not being tethered to wires at their desk or den and they will be forming alliances to deliver content and data to you everywhere and on anything you can imagine. This will allow the bigger and more inventive players in both the WIFI network arena and cell phone industries to combine their resources and allow you to be connected somehow, anywhere all the time (doesn't anybody sleep anymore??).
Other Stuff
Consumer Electronics covers an immense area of technology (and heaven knows we love technology). We always expect to spend time investigating flat panel displays, computers and their peripherals and all the latest 'pod' things. Some things, however, fall into a vast miscellaneous category that is often left unheralded because they lack the sex appeal of their flashier cousins.
We have always liked technology that was useful and practical. We really like technology that is innovative either in its design or application. We love technology that is both innovative and assistive. This is where we found a number of devices that took us pleasantly by surprise.
One such item was from a company called Loc8tor. This cute little transmitter receiver combination allows you to attach a key fob sized device to just about anything and, with the press of a button, find it using a directional locator when you've completely forgotten about it. We expect to review this product and will write more on it later.
Another great device was from WildCharge. These folks have developed a clever flat pad that, with the appropriate attachments to your devices, allows you to just place them on the pad to be fully recharged. This may not sound like much, but imagine not having to look for chargers anymore. Any compatible device can simply be placed on the pad for a full charge. The company says they hope to have the product available this summer.
Finally, no trip into the land of new technology would be complete without a toothbrush. Yes, a toothbrush. While we were attending ShowStoppers, one of the many press and media events at CES, we came across the HydraBrush. This is an interesting new approach to dental care that we have been testing since shortly after the show. We'll write more on this after our next dental check up in March.
Multitasking…. A Brave New World
As always, CES was mind-boggling. If you exclude all the hype about Microsoft's Vista operating system, it was still mostly about keeping connected and how to view or listen to content. Even the refrigerators were sporting flat panel displays. Heaven knows we don't want to miss 3rd and long while we're reaching for a cold one.
With that in mind, I'm going to lean back into my well worn couch and try to answer some emails while I queue up an on demand HD movie and answer my cell phone on the Bluetooth headset that is currently piping in my favorite MP3's.