This was the 26th time I've attended the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. I still remember my first visit in 1987 when the city was much smaller and it was actually easier to get around. This visit, like the last 25, showed me that the city continues to grow dynamically for better or for worse. Traveling around town on errands before and during the show reinforced my belief that most of Las Vegas is a huge toilet that needs flushed sooner than later.
While my company showed high-end audio products and had meetings in suites in both the Venetian and the Mirage, the bulk of the happening stuff was going on over at the Las Vegas Convention Center. A record 153,000 attendees were on hand to see what was new in the world of consumer electronics. And, believe me, there really wasn't a lot of new, earth-shaking technology that CES has been known to debut in the past.
One of the biggest buzzes at the show was from Samsung's booth where they showed flat screen televisions using OLED (organic light emitting diodes). OLED technology supposedly allows for energy savings above and beyond current flat panel televisions on the market. OLED televisions are ultra thin, lightweight panels that give off vibrant colors. OLED technology is not new, but it is very expensive to manufacture. Sony had been working on an OLED concept, but deep-sixed the engineering process in 2011 because they deemed it would be too expensive to manufacture and market.
Samsung had a 55" OLED television on display that was .3 of an inch thick. It weighed about 16.5 pounds - easy enough for most people to hang on the wall by themselves. The Samsung OLED also had an internet connection for interactive smart television capabilities using Android 4.0 technology and features a built in camera that would recognize movements from the viewing position for gesture controlling of the television, as well as a built in microphone for voice control. Pretty nifty, if you ask me.
Samsung also entered into a partnership with a number of cable and satellite providers, including Comcast, Time-Warner and DirecTV to offer an internet protocol-based television that would eliminate the need for set-top tuners with digital video recording. You'd be able to plug your cable directly into the television and use the provider's stored content library at any time. This feature will be able to be accessed by any Android-based smart phone and applications will be made available later this year. Samsung says this technology will be available on all their new 2012 models, including non-OLED televisions.
Production of the OLED from Samsung is supposed to commence this summer, but price hasn't been determined. Sony showed an 11" OLED television a few years ago that was supposed to retail at $2200, so you can almost imagine what a 55" OLED will run. I don't think it will be $10,000, but it promises to be much more expensive than current LED or LCD flat panel televisions on the market.
Not to be outdone, LG also show an OLED model (below left) that was even thinner - .15 of an inch thin! The bezel around the television was ultra thin and it looked like you were looking out a window at action happening on the screen. Looking sideways at the television, the flat panel literally disappeared. OLED is truly a remarkable technology, but one that will not come cheap.
Samsung went a step further by displaying a prototype LCD transparent window that can be used as both a touch-screen computer monitor and as a television (above right). Basically, the monitor/television is used the same as a window using the bright back light from daytime to be able to see the image on the screen, but being able to look out of the house when it's not in use. At night, internal lighting is used to show the image on the screen. Energy savings are said to be enormous and Samsung has been showing similar prototype transparent televisions over the past year that are solar powered. The Samsung transparent monitor can also be used as a shade device, effectively going dark with the touch of an icon on the screen.
It can't be a CES without Sony showing something new and improved. But their new products were somewhat underwhelming with a small line of televisions called the HX series. The flat screens are made with Gorilla Glass, a lightweight and scratch resistant material developed by Corning.
Nearly every manufacturer had some variance of "smart" technology for televisions that will run specific applications such as Netflix, Google TV or other streaming platforms. Remote applications that you can download onto your smart phones will allow for full control of smart televisions including surfing the Internet, scheduling recordings and downloading movies.
Sharp showed their Aquos Freestyle wireless televisions that would allow you to use a high definition television anywhere in your home without having it connected to a cable or satellite box. The 20" flat panel HDTV had a built in battery so it was truly wireless. Sharp is looking at marketing larger, but lightweight models that will wirelessly transmit images and sound to the monitor, but will have AC connections. Want to take your TV out on the deck to watch the football game on a glorious fall afternoon or evening? Sharp will allow you to do that.
The other news regarding flat screen televisions had to do with what are called "4K" televisions, high-resolution flat screens that have 4 times the pixels as the vast majority of flat screen televisions on the market today. 4K televisions - as with OLED screens - promise to have the highest resolution possible. And taking high resolution a step further, Sharp showed a prototype 8K television that supposedly has double the resolution of a 4K television, or about 16 times better resolution than most televisions on the market today.
And even with the advent of these "smart" televisions from many companies, 3-D television is still out there, albeit with a low-key marketing effort. 3-D television has never really caught on (as I predicted in this entry on the Pros and Cons of 3D from a couple years ago). Even with the success of films such as Avatar, 3-D is more of a novelty and it's only as good as the content produced. And there's not a lot of good 3-D content that is out there. However, ESPN touted their 3-D service on DirecTV by staging a boxing match during CES and showing it real-time on large screens in 3-D. ESPN is planning on showing more live events in 3-D in the coming year and banking that more people will turn to the worldwide leader in sports for 3-D entertainment. But 3-D television sales continue to lag and sales are nowhere close to projections manufacturers had made over two years ago.
Tablets were, of course, a big thing at CES. Last year, hundreds of tablets were on display and this year was no exception. Sony showed a dual screen table that folds into a neat 5.5 inch, pocket sized tablet (pictured left). Asus showed their Memo 370T tablet that featured 1 gigabyte in memory, an 8-megapixel camera, HDMI output and an HD display, all for $250. Thin computer notebooks were also shown with Acer's new Aspire A5 model that was only a half-inch thick and weighed less than 3 pounds.
Gaming devices were also big at CES this year with the biggest buzz coming from Razer and their Project Fiona tablet (above right) that will use the new Windows 8 platform when it becomes available later this year. Razer's Project Fiona gaming tablet had a high-resolution monitor that rivaled any gaming platform device on the market. With hand held controls on either side of the tablet, the ease of use was said to be outstanding. The only initial caveat is that it will be expensive when it becomes available later this year - upwards of $800 to $900 per tablet. But as with any type of new technology, the price is certain to drop precipitously once mass manufacturing commences.
An interesting aspect about CES was the amount of talk about a supposed new product from Apple, a perennial "no-show" at CES. Apple Interactive TV has been rumored to be the next "big thing" from the Cupertino, CA-based company for quite sometime. Strong rumors at his years CES were that Apple is on the verge of releasing their interactive television, especially with the strong showing that Samsung had with their interactive smart televisions at CES. By cutting deals with cable and satellite providers, Samsung may have taken the lead in Internet Protocol television, something that Apple had hoped to become the industry flag bearer.
For the higher end audio enthusiast, a couple of companies that we import into North American showed new products at this years CES. Cambridge Audio showed their new top-of-the-line integrated amplifier and matching digital-to-analog converter/digital pre-amp/CD player, the 851A and 851C (below left). You can read Stereophile's synopsis on the new products here. I had seen both pieces during a pre-CES meeting that we had with Cambridge Audio in Montreal a few days before Christmas and they were stunning to look at. They'll be available in late March and early April and I can't wait to get my hands on them to play around with.
Headphones are making a strong comeback and a number of companies showed new models including a pair of $1300 headphones from AKG. Focal, the world-renown loudspeaker company from France that we import into North America, showed their first headphones, the Spirit One model (above right). The cups fit snugly around the ear for maximum comfort and for deep, rich low frequency sounds. The mylar/titanium diaphragms are quick and give an openness for sound in the mid to high frequencies. The headphones come with a removable cord jack that has a built in microphone and controls for iPhones. They're going to retail at $279 a pair and should be fun to play with when they become available in a couple weeks.
Computers also made some news with the introduction of new platforms that support the Cloud computing applications of sharing resources, software and information between computers, smart phones, tablets and other multi-media sources. The multi-layer format allows for computer software to be shared via the Internet with other clients synched within the "cloud". I'm not much of a computer guy and I don't quite understand the overall affect and need for this type of format, but everyone seemed to be making a big deal out of this. I'm sure I'll learn more as time goes on.
Of course, there were a number of new appliances with "smart" technology built in - something that we've seen for years, but still hasn't quite caught on with consumers. Whirlpool showed a prototype smart washer and dryer that when hooked up to your home network will alert you when the wash cycle is complete or when the clothes are dry. Samsung showed something similar with their new "smart" washer and dryer. LG showed "smart grid" appliances that are designed to save you money, but also will tell you if you left the refrigerator door open (not that you can't see that for yourself). Ovens that tell you which temperature to cook a meal to save energy, applications that alert you to upcoming expiration dates for food in your fridge, even "smart" robotic vacuum cleaners that can be remotely started and stopped, smart technology will be coming sooner than later to your home.
Even with record crowds, CES was pretty pedestrian compared to previous shows where new technology wowed the masses. This was the second year in a row where no huge new technology caused a stir such as the introduction of tablets a couple years ago. However, technology marches on and I'm sure that we'll see something great and new to elevate the "wow" factor at the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show.
While I couldn't agree with you more on your assessment of Las Vegas, I certainly do enjoy your annual CES reports. Many times I've said, "Why do they make some of these things?" And my son always replies, "Because they can!" Keep up the great work on your blog. By the way, I enjoy the way that you link topics in your posts. I didn't know there was an Android 4.0, Windows 8 or what Gorilla Glass was.
Posted by: Robert Coleman | January 25, 2012 at 06:51 AM