Downturn? What downturn? The Consumer Electronics Show 2010 sauntered confidently into Las Vegas, Nevada on January 7th of this year to breathe shiny, stylish, concept driven, electron powered life back into a tech industry which you’d be forgiven for thinking was in the midst of a slump. Thankfully the techies have something of a goldfish memory and buoyed by healthy takings in the run-up to Christmas, they arrived en-masse to showcase their pride and joys to a hyped audience. From laptops and tablets to TV’s and drones, similar to those that can be seen on DrDrone.ca, the convention is filled with new and exciting technology for all.
Microsoft made several announcements, the biggest of which was the unveiling of their new “slate” PC which promises to combine portability (10 inch screen) with PC-standard power although at what cost remains to be seen. The Microsoft slate was one of three tablet PCs unveiled at the conference in what is set to become a competitive new market with the release in recent weeks of Apple’s much talked about and indeed feared iPad.
Microsoft also gave an impressive video demonstration of their latest gaming technology due for release at the end of the year code named Project Natal. The new add-on peripheral to the Xbox 360 will allow gamers to control and interact with the console using gestures and spoken commands without the need to touch a game controller. It’s hoped the release will allow them to close the gap on Nintendo’s Wii console which continues to outpace the Xbox in terms of sales. Also announced was the release date of autumn 2010 for Halo Reach, the latest instalment in the Halo series.
Intel won the People’s Choice award with an impressive new technology called Wireless Display or WiDi which allows the user to connect their laptop to a HDTV without having to fumble with cables and connections. Wireless interfaces like this are already on the market but require a USB dongle for your laptop. What makes WiDi special is that the software is pre-installed on your laptop’s Intel wireless card meaning one less thing to carry around. A receiver unit for the TV will be required which can be accessed by multiple users. Basically you will be able to stream YouTube, games and desktop apps straight from your notebook to your TV. It sounds cool and indeed WiDi has been billed as the “hottest sleeper technology of the year” by reviewers and can be expected to become a ubiquitous part of laptop functionality in the near future.
A mere concept at last year’s show, 3D television really came to the fore in 2010 with all the big players including Panasonic, Sony, Toshiba, Samsung and LG showing off what they hope will revolutionise the TV industry. Personally, I can’t see it happening for another 10 years but industry experts are hawking predicted sales figures of 3.5 million in the US this year thanks in part to the popularity of 3D cinema releases such as Avatar, Up and A Christmas Carol.
“Ritzy displays” in which Panasonic’s 3D-compatible flat-panel HDTV won overall Best of Show were followed by announcements that both BSkyB and ESPN are to establish a 3D service in the coming year. However, with many people having recently shelled out for HD upgrades, pricing may well be the most important consideration as to whether or not 3D enters homes.
A central theme of the show is that people actually get to see new products in action. Eager to prove to customers just how seriously they take product testing, ioSafe, a company which makes disaster-proof data storage devices, conjured up a present-day Armageddon scenario involving 1,500 degree heat, water and crushing via a 20 tonne excavator to prove that its new external hard drive is as tough as they come. And indeed it is. Weighing in at an obese 10 kilos, the “black box of data protection” as its billed survived admirably and was able to upload data as normal once its Armor Plate military-grade steel drive casing was pried open. Impressive yes, but at $500 for 64GB of storage its safe to say that most people will take their chances on the cheaper, non-armour plated hard-drives for now.
Bringing up the rear at the CES were the staple crapgadgets. Hanspree, a Taiwanese specialist in TVs and monitors, bucked the above mentioned 3DTV revolution by bringing out its line of cuddly animals including bears, giraffes, sheep and elephants with TV monitors embedded in their sides. I get the idea of making a kids TV, but why make it look like a stuffed animal? Have you seen the things some kids do to stuffed animals? It’s not pretty.
Meanwhile, the “Phubby”, a sleeve for your phone or MP3 player which fits around your wrist is without doubt one of the most hideous pieces of tech fashion I’ve ever seen. Doubling as an opposite-sex repellent and probably a same-sex repellent too for that matter, where this crapgadget will more than likely find its market niche is as a form of visual contraception.
