CES is wrapping up (if you didn’t know what CES stands for then you might not enjoy this overly nerdy gadget related post…) and if I didn’t write up a summary then I just wouldn’t be fulfilling my responsibility. There’s so much to talk about and I’ve been having a tough time getting my head around all the gadgetry fun and electronically focused awesomeness.
The great part about CES is that it gives gadget-geeks, like myself, a hint at what to expect for the next 12 months. CES is the first leak of all the upcoming devices and toys fr the upcoming year. There’s always a big announcement, that gets everyone all riled up (this year it was Panasonic’s 150 inch TV) but the bigger story of CES are the common themes and trends.
See, one big announcement is fun and all, but rarely is it actually all that as influential. Panasonic’s elephant-sized TV is cool and all, but it also costs nearly $1000 per square inch… how is that remotely applicable to “Consumers”? Don’t get me wrong, I’m ridiculously impressed by a 150 inch HDTV, but what I like about CES the most is seeing what a great deal of companies found to be important to showcase at this … showcase.
So let’s just into the trends that I noted while reading over 2,600 gadget related blog posts during the last four days (that is not an exaggeration).
Thin is in
And no, I’m definitely not talking about Nicole Richie…
The 150″ behemoth may have taken the blue ribbon in the “Holy $(&%” award, but second place surely goes to Pioneer’s 9mm thin TV (no, that wasn’t a typo: nine millimeters) . JVC also announced their 1.5″ thin, 46 wide TV, which will hit shelves this summer. OLED TVs (what we’ll all be replacing LCDs with in four years) were also a rage, seeing as they have amazing clarity along with zero weight or thickness. Both Samsung and Sony unveiled their consumer models this year.
Touchscreen
The single biggest trend of CES 2008: touchscreen everything. Since the iPhone’s announcement a year ago (not at CES, but at MacWorld - more on this later in the week), everyone’s been scrambling to launch a fun touchable gadget. I mean, sure- Windows Mobile has been touch screen for year, but Apple does it and everyone needs to copy…
Basically you couldn’t show a prototype phone at CES unless it had a touchscreen this year. Just look at the following examples: iRiver (makes phones?), Samsung, NeoNode (not-yet-stateside), and many, many more. (And yes, for the record- I did predict this one in my 2008 predictions post.)
There were also touchscreens included in picture frames, video cameras, remotes,and tables. And I’m not even getting into all the Tablet PCs, which were everywhere, because I am going to talk about…
MIDs and UMPCs
Mobile Internet Devices (a term coined by Intel, I believe, to rebrand Ultra Mobile Portable Computers for consumers) are, in my opinion, the coolest and most promising technology out there right now. This is the future, so it was really exciting to see numerous companies take a stab at tiny computers this year.
Asus had a weird looking model, LimePC showed a generically awesome looking model, Samsung announced their new Q1 model and a smaller, less versatile device. iRiver showed an impressively (but maybe too) small device, while LG’s gadget may have stolen my vote, that is- if the HTC’s shift weren’t finally unveiled. I still don’t really get the WiBrain (either by name or formfactor) but like always the OQO (this time with WiMax) wowed everyone. And Intels MID continues to amaze me.
Ultraportable
In case “Ultramobile” is too small for you, how about “Ultraportable”? This is basically a teensy-tiny laptop… who would want one of these things?! I just don’t get it. Oh, wait- I’m writing this on an EeePC… (expect a fun post about this when I hve some time). Because it’s awesome. Oh and the new Eee was leaked this week, along with the following other Ultraportables: Fujitsu’s u810, E-Lead’s Noahpad, and Everex’s Cloudbook.
SO WHAT?
These trends will directly shape the next year of gadget releases. The same way last year’s 103″ tv inspired the 150″, the future will see the following: thin and large tvs; touchscreens on everything; smaller computers; a blurring line between cell-phones and computers.
Overall I rate this year’s CES as one of the best. There really wasn’t one thing that stood out as shockingly cool to me, but I’m more excited to see a lot of companies following trends. The more electronics manufacturers that support the development of these gadgets, the more competitive the market will be. And in no time the technology will adapt and improve into even cooler devices and at some point I’ll actually be able to play with these fun things.
Oh, and if you haven’t yet seen the video from Bill Gates’ final CES Keynote speech- go spend the next five minutes laughing.
