CES 2011 Summary
Before I get into the highlights of this year’s 2011 CES, I would like to begin with the fact that the CEA predicts the U.S. consumer electronics industry to grow 3.5 percent next year to $186 billion! I thought we were seeing signs of life over the last ten weeks, but a 3.5% increase? Then I woke up at CES 2011 along with 140,000 of my closest friends! It was jammed and more than just being crowded, it was filled with cool new things!
Major technology trends emerged from the CES show floor including the launch of more than 80 tablets, wireless 4G LTE, connected TV technologies, smart appliances, mobile devices and electric vehicles. Ford unveiled the company’s first electric car with its Ford Focus Electric. Audi showed their incredible e-tron designs and Hyundai showed their Blue Drive. There were Tech Zones including Digital Health, 3D@Home, Connected Home Appliances, iLounge, Sustainable Planet, Sports & Fitness Technology and much more…
Worldwide sales of consumer-electronics devices totaled $873 billion last year, a 13% increase from 2009 levels, according to the latest information from CEA. Steve Koenig, the association's industry analysis director, says global CE receipts could hit $964 billion this year, adding that he "would not be surprised at all" if the $1 trillion milestone is reached! Now, with that much good news going into the new year, it is hard to be anything, but optimistic.
Some other relevant CE information I discovered prior to attending this show is as follows:
A recently conducted survey shows consumer electronics are viewed as an integral component of family life, with 35 percent of parents saying their families 'could not function' without electronics and only 1-in-10 parents saying electronics 'are a necessary evil' or 'create an unwanted barrier between family members.
* Question: Which are your favorite at-home activities for 'We Time' with your family?
Top 5 We Time Activities
for Families
are:
-
Watching television or movies
(86%)
-
Cooking,
baking or grilling (49%)
smart grid anyone?
-
Playing
video games
(42%)
-
Reading
or
listening
to
books (41%)
-
Listening,
singing or dancing to music
(39%)
All of the aforementioned points speak to the revitalization of our industry, brought on by the convergence of the digital world with the analog world. As you will see the destiny of the specialist lies with integrating technology into the consumer’s lives, the way they want to do it. Most consumers understand that technology can make life more difficult without the proper instruction and expert service.
Each consumer is unique and therefore, the way they will interact with their lifestyle may be different from the next person, and that difference creates a need for our expertise. Designing systems that achieve their goals, selling the right devices to accomplish their goals and providing the service to program, implement and maintain these designs are becoming more, NOT Less necessary.
Now let’s take a look at some of the cool new devices that will potentially find their way into the integrated homes of savvy consumers.
The layout of the show this year was a little different. The Central Hall was the predominant display space for the big players. We had Microsoft, Intel, Motorola, LG, Samsung, Sony, Sharp, Panasonic, Toshiba, Casio, JVC, RCA, NBC Universal, Dish Network, Technicolor and a smattering of mounts, cables, photo and accessories. The North Hall was home to the International Community, the Tech Zones, the automotive manufacturers and mobile (12v) products. The South Hall included Control 4 and GE along with some tertiary vendors and a lot of gadgets and accessories. The last stop was the Venetian, which held all the high performance audio, phone and network related products.
Audio
I spent the first day at the Venetian because there is nothing worse than a guy who doesn’t know how to pace himself. Peachtree Audio showed their new iNova with the 32 bit Sabre DAC (also offered separately as the iDAC) and built in iPod dock. They also showed the updated Peachtree Audio 5s and 7s formerly (ERA). This system is a “must have at least one” for anyone who claims to wants high performance computer audio on a budget. They also had their Music Box set up with the Peachtree Audio 4.5s (system price $1000) on a desk and the spatial imaging was unreal! I encourage everyone to stop sacrificing performance for price when it comes to your content.
Arcam showed off their new rCube. This is yet another way, albeit higher performance to offer an inexpensive digital music system that can be placed around the house. For about $800 you get an iPod dock or wireless DAC with amplified speaker system. But it doesn’t stop there. It has portability with a lithium ion battery that can last up to 8 hours and they offer a USB stick (rWand) or iPod/iPhone/iPad dongle (the rWave) that allows your devices to stream wirelessly, lossless! How cool is that? Best of all you can daisy chain up to 16 of these together. Arcam also showed their wireless rDAC, which won Best Budget DAC from whathifi.
On a selfish note speakers are always a big thing for me (you know Soliloquy and all) and I heard some great ones at the show this year. Starting with the extreme, Wisdom Audio is soon to offer some seriously cool and affordable loudspeakers to go along with their incredible L150i in-wall and on-wall offerings. This planar design can be placed in a corner to avoid interfering with client’s artwork! If you know anything about speakers, that just doesn’t happen, but these execute flawlessly! Two of our vendors had incredible loudspeakers. Revel with both their Salons and their in-wall / in-ceiling speakers and Golden Ear who uses that re-invented, but incredible sounding HVFR tweeter design.
Hansen and Usher are two more speakers that truly amaze. Hansen uses a five layer thick composite shell that is nearly perfect and Usher is Joe D’Appolito.
Moving on to the Central Hall, my first stop was Microsoft. They along, with Intel and Motorola own the other 30% of the world that Apple doesn’t own. Microsoft was showing some incredible technology, none more interesting than advanced uses for Kinect. One example was a video manipulation system that allowed me to operate the system with hand gestures. (kind of like “Minority Report” or “The Cape”, but without the 3D holography) Instead you saw the results on a TV screen. Windows 7 phones were the other big focus in this booth. Smart TV, 3D Gaming and the i5 Core Processor were the primary things to see at Intel. It was here that I saw an implementation of Cisco UMI. Ümi is a video messaging, storage and transfer system connecting you to your family. Motorola was showing their new Xoom tablet and a really cool phone called the Atrix. The Atrix has an available peripheral that looks like a laptop with a docking station on the back for the phone. When docked the system acts just like a laptop computer. Xoom will be available in February as the first tablet running on Google's Android Honeycomb operating system. LG announced its G-Slate tablet to run on T-Mobile's network, and Research in Motion unveiled the Blackberry Playbook for Sprint. Microsoft and Intel also showed tablet prototypes. Samsung Galaxy is already on the streets and many others will be releasing soon. Their primary challenge will be their app selection and supporting online community.
Televisions
Next up, the TV Guys aka. the big boys: LG, Panasonic, Samsung, Sharp. These booths were magnificent! It was like a roadmap to the future from each perspective. Smart TV, tablets, Green technology, GUI Technology and oh yes, TVs! Each of the big video vendors showcased video wall technology, not to mention extremely large TVs. Toshiba even showed a glassless, auto-stereoscopic 3D TV in 58” and 65” screen sizes and yes it looked poor, but they’re trying.
The new LG lineup is smoking! They focus heavily on active and passive approaches to 3D as did Sony. Both gave out passive glasses from RealD to wear around the show. It appears that passive technology is catching up to active and while there are pros and cons to both, I am hopeful passive wins as I am not a fan of flicker and ghosting both of which I have encountered on a great many active systems. LG showed an incredible 84” ultra high def 3D TV and the world’s slimmest 2.9mm OLED TV. This OLED got my vote for #1 or #2 panel in picture performance at the show and industrially it was even more beautiful! Lastly the LG Home Dashboard was their new interface technology and it uses a wand controller.
Panasonic had incredible performance and is still the king of active 3D for flat panels (plasma), but I prefer RF glasses to their IR offering. Panasonic beefed up Viera Cast and Sony focused on Google to round out the GUI introductions.
And speaking of kickin’ plasma, Samsung showed their version in the D6500 slim depth plasma that will just knock you down! They also showed .2” wide bezels on their top TVs. Samsung had the world of technology setup like LG and Sony with everything from Smart Phones to tablets, to “Smart Life”. Smart Life is Samsung’s new core concept for interfacing, enabling, design and performance. Samsung also showed a wireless central station networking technology.
Sony showcased a multitude of technologies including PogoPlug. A device that allows you to file share, remotely access your files, stream to your mobile devices and tons of other things including mobile cloud printing for no fees!
Sharp also had a huge video wall technology and their new sets were stunning, especially the 835 and 935 series. They also showcased a new tablet and interface solution.
B&W showed their Zeppelin Air iPad app for controlling their Zeppelin and Mini devices and there were entries from Gracenote, Sling and others in the content management and manipulation arena. In the event you have had difficulty finding control platforms for TRANE HVAC systems, Trane has developed a new Comfort Link II control system that should help. Just visit Trane.com for details or type Comfort Link into your Google Search.
One last device I saw that is just returning to my radar is TIVO. These guys are becoming the real deal. They have a selective distribution couple of models arriving that can work on any system except Dish Network. All you need is a Cable Card from the provider.
My final visit was to the Embassy Suites where I found EZ3D, which coincidentally is not what you might think. This is a back-box system for integrators. Start with a metal 4” deep ventilated box that secures between the studs. Additional smaller boxes connect to the primary box. There is also an above the fireplace design that can hold a full size A/V Receiver. It is a solution based product for hiding a small number of necessary pieces behind an articulating mount on a conventional sheet rock wall or above a fireplace. Freight is free three day anywhere and I liked the unique concept. For more information on this or anything else in this report, please contact David Berman with HTSA.