The 2012 Consumer Electronics Show broke all records—153,000 attendees, 3100 exhibitors, and, for me, more than five dozen tweets. I wrote a number of blog posts trying to make sense of it all, but I also tweeted on the fly whenever something tickled my eye—or my funny bone. This twitter stream captured my CES explorations; a round up below, sorted by category rather than chronology. For the chronological view, see Twitter @TeklaPerry.
Televisions:
• CES press day. Just got handed 3d glasses so guessing LG TV won’t be glasses free.
• LG kicks off CES how-thin-can -a-TV go day with an LED TV that is 28 mm thick.
• LG TVs will use company's own chipset, Google TV, voice rec, gesture rec, and a partridge in a pear tree.
• And then there is OLED thin...LG unveils 4 mm thick 55-inch OLED TV.
• From a distance LG OLED TV is pretty stunning. Waiting a chance to get closer.
• CES or fashion week? Sharp sends TVs down the runway.
• Samsung TV will be able to listen, see and DO what it wants? Did I hear that correctly?
• Samsung unveils its OLED. Guess all the cool TV mfgs will ship big OLED TVs this year--they may not sell them, but they'll ship them.
• Myspace reborn as Myspace TV
• Justin Timberlake thanks Myspace users for sticking with it. Who are these people?
• Nuance's dragon TV could be programmed to only listen to me, not other family members. End of remote fight. I win
• If you're looking for OLED at CES it's not at Sony booth. My guess is [Sony] didn't have a big one to match LG and Samsung.
• Sony says OLED isn’t being abandoned but has less potential than other techs like "Crystal." But no promises on Crystal's future.
• OLED is the must-see at CES judging from the long line @Samsung. Get up early for this one.
• In this time of interface change future isn't clear but, says Samsung's Ryan Bidan, "penbased is probably not best solution for TV"
• I just talked to a TV and it listened, but it would have been much more satisfying to say "Shut up!" instead of "Mute."
Cameras:
• As I contemplate Kodak's sad fall I'm thinking about the guy at Kodak who designed the first digital camera.
• Fujifilm debuting latest digital cameras to packed house CES while Kodak on brink of extinction.
• Fujifilm designed new CMOS sensor for X-Pro1 camera with pixel arrangement that eliminates need for low-pass filter.
• Weird but engaging: some Panasonic/Lumix cameras have "miniature effect" option that makes the world look a toy.
• Lytro's light field cameras generate 3D images as a "byproduct" of its shoot first focus later tech.
• Lytro camera named Last Gadget Standing at #CES.
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Computers, pads, and beyond:
• OLPC tablet is rugged and waterproof. It’s not an iPad but if I were Leapster I'd be worried.
• Sharp 80-inch high def LED windows 7 whiteboard promises better football viewing...I mean productivity...in workplace.
• Samsung reinvents the stylus. Given that I've lost 3 pens already today, so I'm not entirely sure this is a good thing.
• Panasonic toughpad, OLPC XO3, France's QOOQ. All new pad computers that are ruggedized. I guess ipad owns thin and breakable niche.
• Panasonic intros "Skype Communications Device" for the home. Don't call it a videophone.
• Sensics says the Android head computer could replace the tablet.
• Been tracking interactive wall and tabletop displays for a few years. Nice to see them as real products.
• Coming user interface "near touch hover" is in Mission Imposs Ghost Protocol. Poor movie makers; nothing is futuristic anymore.
• Cotton candy's computer has dual core processors, 1080p video. And weighs 21 grams. Minor detail—no screen.
Gadgets:
• Evertune demoing self tuner for guitars #CES. Under $400 and fills a real need. But what is all mechanical gizmo doing at electronics show.
• LG upgrades its floor cleaning robot to double as dual camera home spy, controlled remotely from smartphone.
• Under $1000 solar panels an appliance to be sold direct to consumers? Sharp thinks so.
• Panasonic is talking about solar panels. When will we be seeing buy one solar get one TV free at Best Buy?
• Atari games reborn on ipad [from] Discovery Bay
• A prenatal boombox. Really. [from] Babyplus.
• Sport earbuds, constant activity monitors...it's the get off the couch CES.
• I still can't get over the self folding stroller...how much time have I spent struggling with strollers. It's $850 from 4Moms.
• Bone conducting headphones from Aftershokz leaves ears free. Feels fabulous to be bud-less.
New technologies:
• Most thrilling tech at CES so far: Liquipel invisibly waterproofs electronics like phones and laptops and all inputs, touchscreens etc work.
• Next holy grail is dynamic tactile interface, but that's 10 yrs off says Jeff Han, Perceptive Pixel.
• "In 15 years devices will be packed with sensors that will minimize interaction"-Marcus Goren
• I just played Asteroids just using my eyes. I did better than i used to do with the trackball version.#Tobii #CES
Appliances:
• It's not a refrigerator, it's a food management system. [from] LG
• A turbo charged laundry cycle? A high speed blast chiller for warm beer? LG seems to be changing slogan from life's good to life's fast. ...
• Couch potatoes, no place to hide—LG fridge "suggests" menus to help achieve weight goals and Samsung TV "suggests" exercise.
Quotable:
• "Technology always accelerates faster than the psychology of people can handle."--Leo McCloskey, Airbiquity
• Sci and eng education has to be made cool says Xerox CEO Burns. U.S. "will not be great if we don't fix this fundamental problem."
• "Lighting an LED is a gateway drug for making"—Dale Dougherty, Make Mag
• "There is a lot of govt and industry interest in STEM, not a lot of student interest. STEM is push, MAKE is pull"—Dale Dougherty
• "Kits are the apps of the maker world."--Dale Dougherty
• CES attendee from Cairo urges CE companies to stop integrating everything, it makes it too easy to shut it all down.
• IEEE Consumer Electronics Society's Stuart Lipoff says consumer electronics industry is where new techs incubate.
• Tom Coughlin predicts hard disk drive shortages and price increases due to Thailand floods.
• Will Lumpkins says WiFi direct will fix access point congestion. (So all these smart devices can talk behind our backs.)
• We're no longer interacting with devices, we're in relationships with them—Genevieve Bell, Intel
• 2 stories of our relation w tech: it's needy, insecure & hi maintenance (now) or machines all get sentient and kill us—Genevieve Bell
• "A social network of devices is at work. How will that interface with our social networks?"—Steve Hodge
• Genevieve Bell's dream: We will one day come to CES and half the audience will be female."
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