January is a time to forget the past, and look forward to the hope a new year brings. It is only fitting that the International Consumer Electronics Show kicks open it's doors from Jan. 8-13. For those that don't know, next week every electronics company in the world will be trying to catch the eye of bloggers, press, and consumer's eyes as they unveil the big sellers for 2012 as well as new technology that will usher in new up and coming trends. Everyone except Apple will be trying to show off their muscle in the tech world, and Microsoft will be making their final appearance as they will be skipping CES 2013 just as Apple has done for years. Expect to see some amazing stuff from automobiles to refrigerators on the convention floor, so please read on as I go in depth with what to expect.
There is a lot to cover for 2012 so I am going to give a brief run down of what some of the big boys will be displaying for us. Also, I will give you some trends to watch for as we continue the year after CES. Somewhere in the long post I will give some predictions and hopefully I can keep you focused. So let's get started.
LG
Lucky Goldstar will be showing off a TV that I am salivating over. To the right you will see LG's new OLED screen reaching 55 inches and only 4mm thin. That's less than half the thickness of an iPhone. WOW! Also expect them to show off their Cinema 3D on a range of screens. LG is pimping their 3D because you can wear the cheap glasses you see in the theater, and not the overpriced shutter glasses currently seen in most TV's. This will be a trend among many TV manufacturers this CES.
Pioneer
Expect Pioneer to give us a taste of their new smart stereos filled with apps like Pandora, X-GPS, and Rdio. I am really impressed with the look of their new equipment. Of course Pioneer has always been friendly to mobile devices sporting USB connection and iPod connectors galore. What I am hoping to see is some deals with auto manufacturers to stock head units (like the one above) in their vehicles instead of the cheap junk we see now.
Chevy and OnStar
Last year we had a little taste with Cadillac's CUE Infotainment system. Chevy I'm sure will be showing this in much more depth as well as some OnStar integration. Expect them to play nice together to fulfill all your entertainment and traveling needs. Last year they announced a partnership with Verizon to use the widely spread LTE network to connect Chevy's vehicles into the future. Also, we may see a taste of optional tablets included with cars as kind of a stocking stuffer. Think of those overused Lexus Christmas commercials with a few seconds at the end reminding you to pickup a new iPad with your new car purchase for the holidays.
Monster
For those that don't know Monster is the name behind overpriced audio components like Beats headphones. They recently have announced big partnerships like HTC and HP to bring a better audio presence to their brand. Monster will be announcing some new partnerships as well as products. I know recently Nokia showed off a new headset branded by Nokia, but built by Monster. So let's see if they can impress us with something that doesn't cost an arm and a leg.
Welcome back to the party Nokia. For the last couple of years Nokia has been absent in the US. Finally in 2012 we can expect them to make an impact again. Their recent partnership with Microsoft will usher in a new generation of Nokia smartphones and tablets that could make them relevant once again. Also expect really cool headsets and speakers like the ones pictured above. I will be going into Nokia's cell phone renewal further down the page.
Microsoft
The final year Microsoft will be kicking off CES and they will not disappoint, or will they? Just about a week ago Microsoft let out a rumor that they will not show off any new products, instead a recap of 2011 and focus on the direction of Microsoft for 2012. This kind of surprised me a little and here is why.
Last year Microsoft showed off the new OS Windows 8, and teased us that it will have a tablet friendly ARM processor version of the OS. Late last year Windows 8 the developer version was released. From that point Microsoft has been tweaking it quite a bit and has stated the official Beta release would be available in January. So what's going on Microsoft? Will you be showing off both versions of the OS we are anxiously awaiting for? Microsoft has also stated that they will leave products up to their partners instead.
So here is what I think. Expect a couple tablets from players like Sony and Dell to give us something to look forward to. Do not expect a desktop ready version quite yet. We know they are saving big announcements for XBox later this year in the way of the next gen system and Kinect sensor. So expect them to pimp out the new software UI they released in December, and show off there dream of Metro UI on the PC, phone, and TV. Nothing new really, but lots of potential.
Ultrabooks
PC makers are getting sick of the Macbook Air taking a large part of their market, so in comes the ultrabooks. Intel has come out with some very efficient, low cost chipsets that will make a low cost computer hum along like a gaming rig. Toshiba, Asus, HP, Dell, etc have all showed off a new fancy metallic ultrabook for under $1,000 and it will not stop at CES. Expect lot's of these small, light power books to be all over the place and all look exactly the same.
Apps
Some really amazing apps will be shown off and available soon if not already. The health genre is going to see a flurry of available new apps to help patients prevent having to come in for a checkup. Already we have seen a couple of apps pop up that can take your pulse by using the camera optics on your phone. Or maybe you have seen some of those new watches or armbands that wirelessly connect to your smartphone and feed it data. Qualcomm has already stated it wants to get new software to underdeveloped countries to help them increase efficiency at little to no cost. Expect Qualcomm and others to really take a huge step forward at bringing mobile tech to the health & medicine field. What's great is a lot of this new tech sounds like it may be more as charity and not so much profit.
Tablets
Trends are showing the iPad may be losing a small market share and for good reason. Recent economy tablets like the Nook touch and Kindle Fire have been putting a dent in Apple's dominance. New quad core tablets are now hitting market like the ASUS Transformer Prime shown above. It is a high def, powerful beast showing off the best Android has to offer and for only $499. Expect the floor of CES to be flooded with new tablets running Android's software and hopefully 1 or 2 Windows 8 tablets. They need to sell fast because the iPad 3 is rumored to be right around the corner. Expect dual core laptops like the Xoom or Galaxy Tab to start cutting their prices to sub $400 to take some of iPad's sales.
Mobile Phones
It is no secret AT&T and Verizon will be showing off some devices at CES. Both CEO's will be giving 45 minutes of their time to show off what they have planned. Verizon I expect to continue to expand on LTE, but I think more in cars and home appliances, instead of smartphones. Last year they showed off 4 LTE phones that were not ready to go yet (Bionic took 6 months to release). I think they will learn from that mistake and keep it to the technology not so much the devices.
AT&T on the other hand is all in with Windows Phone. Verizon has gobbled up the greatest Android devices and passed on the new Microsoft phones. In comes AT&T to save Steve Ballmer's day. Not only did they just release phones like the 4.7" display HTC Titan and the Samsung Focus S, but they plan on releasing a rumored 3 more by a certain company named Nokia. I won't comment too much on what is planned, but look below and you might see my next phone if it only had a Verizon logo on it.
Wrap Up
Expect lots of big 3D TVs, tablets, ultrabooks, smartphones, apps, games, cars, and cute girls showing off nerdy gadgets. This is CES folks! Come back next week for more in depth updates and reviews.
