CES: More predictions and a first wave of ‘news’
A few more CES previews and predictions deficient in today. “[D]efinitely underwhelming” is Kara Swisher’s outlook on “the annual egregious gadgetfest in Las Vegas,” as commendably because Macworld in San Francisco.
Mini-Microsoft turns attention off from the layoff scuttlebutt to note that the company has a large amount of negatives piling up. “No in what place to go but up? Opportunity certainly abounds.”
Reuters’ preview suggests that from a gadget point of view, “[t]he focus is credible to be on smaller, more connected and greener devices that can withstand consumers save on bills. That is a change from years past, when companies trafficked in redundancy, offering items such as massive 150-inch TVs that were beyond the fiscal reach of most consumers.”
But there will certainly be plenty of TV and video announcements. In fact, here’s some now:
Adobe and Intel are teaming up to port Flash to Intel’session new purpose-built chips for CE devices in a bid to provide “richer and more seamless Web-based and video viewing experiences through advanced Intel-based cable set-top boxes, Blu-ray Disc players, digital TVs and retail connected AV devices.”
LG is announcing a occupation of “broadband-enabled HDTVs through Netflix streaming software embedded directly in the TV, requiring nay outside device.”
On his CES intend list, Todd Bishop wants to see Microsoft rectify the way people can access Netflix on their Xbox 360s. “Netflix and Microsoft should finish the job and let people browse the well stocked Netflix on-demand catalog on their TVs.”
The Wall Street Journal has the obligatory Internet-TV convergence story — “After more than a decade of disappointment, the goal of marrying television and the Internet seems finally to have being picking up vapor.” Here’s my story updating the trend from CES in 2007.
Original text: http://blog.seattletimes.nwsource.com/techtracks/2009/01/05/ces_more_predictions_and_a_first_wave_of_news.html
