The Network is Everywhere: Thoughts from CES 2009
CES this year was a somber affair. Fewer exhibitors, fewer attendees and a lot less hype. Gone was the glitz and glamour replaced by a more practical approach that mirrors the tough economic times. The benefits of this more pragmatic approach were fewer cab lines, less noise and a clearer sense of the trends that are reshaping the consumer technology landscape.
I saw new OLED technology that offers crisp picture quality, a focus on improving the environmental impact of consumer technology and the revival of 3D television. But the trend that I found most interesting was the number of exhibitors who were showing off devices designed to work with the network. From Chumby’s to Blu-Ray players to TV’s to digital cameras, wireless connectivity was everywhere. Sir Howard Stringer, CEO of Sony stated in his keynote that “by 2011 90% of Sony’s product developments will be connected wirelessly”. When one of the world’s largest consumer electronic manufacturers and arguably the most powerful brand in CE gets it you know that an idea has reached critical mass.
Admittedly this is a trend that Cisco has predicted for sometime and one that we obviously have a vested interest in seeing succeed. We’ve been on the bandwagon for a long time and are rapidly clearing spaces for those that want to jump on.
If you attended CES, what interesting new products and technologies did you see?
Posted by Mike Kisch at 03:04PM PST
Mike Coop Jan 26, 2009
I agree—the network *is* everywhere, or at least getting there. I thought that Intel’s formal announcement of their Cliffside technology was extremely compelling, although they didn’t receive nearly the coverage I thought they should’ve.
Wireless high-def solutions made great progress this year technically, although the price points still aren’t mass market. I still think it’ll be 2010 before we see a reasonable deployment of wireless high-def systems, and 2011 at the earliest before they’re mass market.
Of course, the Cisco multi-room audio and media hub were both big winners, too. Lots of coverage on all things CES at my site.