After making the long trek from Ottawa, Canada to Las Vegas, Nevada, my CES experience began with attending Shawn DuBravac’s afternoon discussion entitled “2012 Trends to Watch”. It seemed apropos to kick-off with predictions of what manufacturers would be showcasing at the premier event for consumer electronics.
Mr. DuBravac began by taking a look back at the CEA’s “Trends to Watch for in 2010”. This included the introduction of tablet technology, improvements in televisions (3D and the incorporation of internet), and the use of sensors in consumer products. This acted as the foundation for the organization’s predictions for 2012.
Very few of the predictions seemed earth-shattering. In fact, from the tone of the discussion, that was the point of Mr. DuBravac’s talk. In his opinion, technology follows a path of design and the example of the remote control served as his example. Showing an image of the first remote control from Zenith with it’s simple design and four buttons, DuBravac spoke of technological innovation as it goes from conception to complexity (using a modern day cable remote with 50+ buttons) to simplicity brought on by user demand. The final stage was deemed “natural use” where technology reaches its peak in design.
The rest of the talk discussed other trends to keep our eyes on. This included the continued growth of wireless connectivity and wireless devices, the transition of the computer from the common unit implementation to other common-use platforms such as handsets and televisions as well as, the rising use of sensors in consumer electronics due to the falling prices of sensors.
Unfortunately, my attempts to sit through the next presentation were thwarted by the eagerness of other attendees to get within the doors of “CES Unveiled”. This was a press exclusive event where some manufacturers showcased their booths prior to the event opening to the general public on Tuesday. With one hour left before the doors were to open, the line had already reached over 500 people. Within minutes of me selecting my spot to squat, another 500 people had taken their place behind me.
When the doors finally opened, the mass of people moved from booth to booth as manufacturers showcased their wares. I found this event to be a bit of a let down. Very few “marquee” manufacturers chose to take part in the event. The two manufacturers that I found to be the most interesting were ST Ericsson, who used the event to showcase their family of Nova Thor application processors. And, Lenovo, who used a very large booth to showcase their latest handsets for the Chinese market, laptops and their IdeaPad family of tablets. In fact, Lenovo offered a hands-on with their yet to be released IdeaPad K2, which I wasted no time in handling.
The IdeaPad K2 placed against an iPad 2
The IdeaPad K2 test drove amazingly, which isn’t surprising as we were told that it was using Nvidea’s Tegra 3 quad-core processor. Featuring a very responsive UI, the IdeaPad K2 looks to make an impact on the tablet market.
Other than the reveal of the K2, very little was of interest to me from a ‘gadget geek’ level. Many of the booths featured accessories for handsets (which is considered a trend to watch by the CEA – the rising market of handset accessories), personal audio equipment and other companies showcasing products already released in 2011.
Despite the "CES Unveiled" not quite living up to my expectations, I highly doubt the full 2012 International CES will disappoint. With over 2700 exhibitors, my only concern is seeing them all within the next 5 days.