Best of the CES 2010 pt 2

by davidwatts on 2/24/2010 9:15:46 AM

E-readers

E-Readers were popular again at CES 2010 as the print world has to see them as their savior. More and more consumers are gravitating to e-readers as they become lighter, more flexible and easier to read in multiple lighting sources. And with many magazines folding and many newspapers on the verge of collapse than it will be important to have wireless e-readers that can allow unlimited reading content from the Internet.

Don't try this at home! At least, not without the M-Edge waterproof Kindle case. And no matter how popular Amazon’s Kindle or Barnes & Noble’s new Nook, the real heavyweight in e-readers is going to be Apple’s iPad. Once Apple’s iPad gets its hooks into the e-reader biz then it will be a multi-billion jolt to major media publishers. Apple developers are going to launch a tidal wave of iPad apps that will allow more ways for consumers to read newspapers, magazines, comic books, graphic novels and of course books. So I have to honestly say that after the iPad launches, it will immediately make all the current makers of e-readers adopt all the Apple features that will make their devices better.

I am confident that there will be double the e-readers that drop at the next CES because the whole market for watching and paying for digital literature will be exploding.

Fun facts about e-readers (source: a Yankee Group forecast based on Amazon's Kindle, Barnes & Noble's Nook, Sony's Reader, Interead’s COOL-ER, Plastic Logic’s Que, enTourage’s eDGe, Hearst’s Skiff and Foxit’s eSlick):

e-readers will generate $1.3 billion in revenue in 2010 and hit $2.5 billion by 2013.
Over 6 million e-readers will be sold in 2010. By 2013, 19.2 million e-reader units will be sold a year.
Yankee Group sees e-reader prices falling 15 percent a year over the next five years. That price drop will significantly boost adoption.

Toshiba Cell TV

I saw many great looking TV sets at CES, but none of them had the eye popping clarity of Toshiba’s Cell TV. They had TVs with split screens that showed how Toshiba’s Cell TV could enhance ordinary SD images and drastically improving the quality with laser efficiency. And what impressed with me the most was how Cell TV could take the grainy and distorted Web or YouTube videos on a HD TV and actually boost the signal strength to make Web video look like true HD.

Toshiba's Cell TV and its incredible picture clarity Cell TV is also a home media server that can store videos, music and pictures and transmit them to other DLNA displays. Even 2D shows can easily be watched in 3D. Cell TV will be my must have CES 2010 product.

Fun facts about Toshiba's Cell TV (Source: Toshiba's blog):

At the heart of the CELL TV is the CELL Broadband Engine™, designed for superior multimedia processing and previously used in advanced PCs and high-end gaming consoles.
Toshiba’s powerful CELL Engine has 143 times the processing power available in current TV models and enhances both SD and HD signals for the clearest possible 1080p Full HD picture.
By combining the CELL Engine with the new KIRA2™ LED panel technology, Toshiba engineers have developed all-new levels of unparalleled TV with stunning performance and comprehensive functionality and advanced features that were previously unthinkable.
Cell TV’s TriVector™ 2D to 3D Conversion takes any 2D content and converts it into 3D in real time. With CELL TV you can “Watch Everything in 3D!”
With a built-in 1TB HDD, BD Player, and 802.11n Wi-Fi® capability, CELL TV can store your favorite media content. CELL TV allows unprecedented access to your content, all of the time, virtually anywhere in your home.
CELL TV also includes new Video Phone capability. This Home Video Conferencing over IP allows you to see and hear people with compatible devices, adding a new dimension to social networking.
CELL TV also boasts ClearScan™ 480Hz Frame Rate, for a clear, crisp picture for fast motion video. The CELL ZX900 Series is the first CELL TV Series, and will be in large 55” and 65” (diagonal) screen sizes.

Mobile DTV

Mobile digital television (or mobile DTV) also got a lot of positive buzz at CES.

When I stopped by the Cydle America Corp.’s booth, I was greeted warmly by its lead sales manager Woody Lee. I was shown Cydle’s new T43H, “which is the world’s first portable navigation system with built-in HD Radio to include free HD Traffic, offering real-time updates 10 times faster than other traffic message channels.”

Woody then showed me their M7 Mobile Internet Device and Cydle P29A Multimedia Player. They also have a Cydle i30 Mobile DTV dock that can turn an iPhone or smartphone into a mobile TV receiver.

Come on, admit it. You know you want to watch DTV on Samsung's Moment SmartPhone. Woody Lee told me that watching network TV will be subscription free. I have to say having a portable media device that one can use to watch the Lakers, Fringe, The Office, 24, news, Dallas Cowboys games, etc. in the car or when traveling will be great.

But the real challenge is how cable channels will get in on the mobile DTV movement. I’m not sure yet, beyond having a Sling Media system that slings one’s home channels to a Mobile DTV device. Maybe the much hotly debated “TV Everywhere” model where cable subscribers get access to their cable show on their PCs, Macs, phones, iPad, PC Tablets and PMPs.

However, I am sure when the first TV commercial shows little kids sitting in a car and have headphones and watch the Disney Channel, Nickelodeon or The Cartoon Network, you will see a mad rush by families to get a few Mobile DTVs like Cydle’s P29A Multimedia Player.

Fun facts about Mobile DTV:

Mobile digital TV or (Mobile DTV) makes local, digital broadcast TV portable.
Mobile DTV is a great opportunity for manufacturers and automakers to develop devices (i.e. mobile DTV phone, smartbooks, ...) that will capture a major share of this market.
Studies predict a range from 25 million to 100 million mobile broadcast end-users worldwide by late 2010.

Chevy Volt

I was actually surprised to see the Chevy Volt in the North Hall. Not that it shouldn’t been there, but more because of much it stood out against the other gas guzzling rides.

Pretty and thrifty. I wouldn't mind being seen rolling down the avenue in one of these. I know TV pundits questioned the wisdom of GM trying to launch a $40,000 electric car, but I am sure nothing says “green” and hi-tech like a car that can get almost 230 mpg.

Besides, the simplicity of recharging a Volt at one’s home will create another convenience of people being able to just drive to work or going to do errands without wasting the time of going to the gas station. And the cost of electricity to charge up the Volt can be as low as $1 dollar a day. The Chevy Volt is eventually going to be a big hit vehicle in 2011.

Fun facts about the Chevrolet Volt:

The Volt is an electric car that can create its own electricity.
Plug it in, let it charge overnight, and it’s ready to run on a pure electric charge for up to 40 miles — gas and emissions free.
After that, Volt keeps going, even if you can’t plug it in. Volt uses a range extending gas generator that produces enough energy to power it for hundreds of miles on a single tank of gas.
With the new OnStar mobile app, Volt owners can use a smartphone to access their vehicle’s current electric range and fuel efficiency.

LASONIC I931 Boom Box

The Lasonic booth was probably one of my favorite at CES because they are doing the unimaginable by bringing back the boom box for this iTunes Generation. Lasonic has taken the unusual approach of making 80’s style Hip-Hop boom boxes compatible with iPods and iPhones. This is a brilliant idea by Lasonic to give people the option and right to blast out their own music.

Lasonic's i931 has what it takes to set the hood (and the suburbs) ablaze. Like it's 1985 again. Sigh. The era of the boom box was a time of consumer growth because it allowed everyone to hear and see what songs were popular in the public. Nowadays you see kids listening to iPods and iPhones and you have no idea what they are enjoying. But with the return of the Lasonic Ghetto Blaster we will get to hear those iTunes and Mp3 jams boom loudly across crowded sidewalks, parks and college dorms.

Fun facts about the Lasonic i931:

The beautiful Lasonic i931 is a portable music system in true retro ghetto blaster style.
The i931 features playback of MP3s via an iPod dock, usb port, or SD/MMC card slot.
In addition, the i931 has AM/FM radio, remote control, mic input, headphone jack output and separate bass and treble EQ controls.
The system is capable of blasting out 15 watts per channel through separate woofers and tweeters.
Large LCD text display.

[ part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4 ]