Things That Made CES 2011 Important

From The Online Reporter   

- Apple was everywhere but nowhere to be seen at CES. Speakers
and conference panelists went on and on about tablets,
smartphones and smart TVs with many never saying the feared
“Apple” word. Ironically, three days after CES, the Apple-
Verizon Wireless deal led on every front page.

- An estimated 40 or more tablets were launched from the likes
of Motorola, Samsung, Vizio and unknown companies like Motion
and Homeland. Most were based on Google’s Android, but there
was a scattering of Windows 7 and Nokia/Intel’s MeeGo plus
RIM’s QNX PlayBook. The Apple iPad was rarely mentioned by
name, almost as if saying the name might cause lightning to
strike.

- “Smart” as in smart TVs and smart appliances like
refrigerators and health sensors dominated billboards, booths,
buildings, buses and PR babble. It became obvious that “smart”
goes beyond making OTT content available on consumer gear and
will include knowing not only what the consumer likes to
watch, but also where he is plus what, when and how he buys,
travels, works and lives – smart not only about finding
content but smart about the viewer’s likes and habits.

- Sales of smart TVs and Blu-ray players totally changed the
home network industry in 2010 in both the retail and the
carrier sectors of the market. Millions of consumers get home
with their new smart TV, Blu-ray player or media adapter and
ask, “How do I best connect to the Net?”

- MoCA has declared victory in the carrier home network market
where its technology dominates, especially at the cablecos and
Verizon. It and HomePlug are promising new versions during the
next 18 months. HomePlug has led in the retail market with an
abundance of devices, but lots of MoCA retail products were on
display, finally. Both camps are working to get their
technology embedded in retail gear like smart TVs and Blu-ray
players. G.hn, also called HomeGrid, looms with claims for
superior wireline performance. G.hn chips are expected to
become available this year and arrive in products in 2012.

- Wireless technologies like Wi-Fi remains a threat to
wireline networking with chips from the likes of Quantenna
that promise higher speeds, better video quality and security
that’s “good enough.” Swisscom is the first IPTV service
provider to sell gear that has Quantenna chips.

- Chipmakers from Intel to Broadcom and Qualcomm plus smaller
companies like Sigma and Entropic continue to be the magical
wizards behind the scenes and are developing new technologies
and increasing processor power plus reducing costs, sizes and
power consumption at an accelerating rate.

- Noticeable by its diminished visibility in tablets,
smartphones and smart TVs was the PC giant Microsoft. In his
keynote, Steve Ballmer only used the word “tablet” once and
then only in passing when he briefly showed that an Asus
tablet-like PC with Windows 7 had an appealing form factor. He
demonstrated the next version of Windows, called Windows 8,
which is clearly aimed at the tablet market, on four low-cost
processors, one from Intel and three based on ARM-designs,
without once using the word “tablet.” The rumor that Ballmer
would announce a “Microsoft TV” turned out to be an
enhancement to Xbox that lets users get more OTT content on
their TV sets through its Xbox Live service. Microsoft and
Intel displayed a number of Microsoft TV possibilities in
their booths, but all were low-keyed.

- All but five TV models from Vizio, the second largest US
seller, will come as smart TVs with Yahoo Connected TV built-
in. One of the missing five will be based on Google TV.

- Samsung and Vizio will use Android to directly challenge
Apple with a single operating system and ecosystem for
content, services and apps. Both announced tablets, TVs and
smartphones that offer the ecosystem. Other major CE makers
like Panasonic and Sony admitted they have fallen behind in
the unified approach.

- Behind-the-scenes technologies from Gracenote and Yahoo
continue to dominate and make for easier implementation of an
improved user experience on Net-connected consumer gear. Both
also showed significant new capabilities.

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