CONSUMERS GET CONNECTED AT THE 2007
Consumer Electronics Show (CES) INTERNATIONAL
By Angus M. Robinson

“What defines the 2007 International CES is that it is all about the “new convergence”: the convergence of content, services and products”, announced Gary Shapiro, the President and Chief Executive of the Consumer Electronics Association in the opening address this year to the world’s largest consumer electronics show, CES International 2007, Las Vegas, 8 – 10 January 2007.

“New products and technologies challenge old businesses but create new opportunities and partnerships. Technology and the products our industry creates are driving the greatest economic expansion on our history”, he added.

With 1.8 million net square feet of exhibit space - the largest show floor in its history - and over 140,000 attendees including over 26,000 from 130 countries across the globe experiencing the latest consumer technology products from 2,700 exhibitors, the 2007 International CES proved an outstanding celebration of its 40th anniversary.

This year’s CES featured more than 20,000 exciting product launches and major partnership announcements, spanning across industries and connecting consumers with more features, services and control of the content incorporated into electronic devices. A new convergence of consumer devices emerged on the show floor, combining existing product categories with new digital content and services to create unique, multi-functional products.

With high-definition television (HDTV) taking the industry by storm, a surge of display technologies debuted on the show floor, with record-breaking sizes and even greater resolution. Much media discussion focused on which technology (plasma or LCD) would gain domination in market share during 2007. But visitors would have been impressed by the introduction by one company of a 3D LCD television (a technology breakthrough which does not require the viewer to use special glasses). Smaller award winning bench top LCDs with attractive mounting stands were also launched by another OEM – a sure bet that they will be gracing the homes later this year.

Undeterred by recent announcements of hybrid HD DVD/Blu-ray Disc players and dual format optical discs, OEMs representing the backers of both the competing formats vied for attention at CES.

Other technologies emerging on the show floor included the hottest products in digital imaging, robotics, in-vehicle entertainment, content-shifting devices and gaming. Advances in HD PLC (connecting to the Internet anywhere at home through an ordinary AC electrical outlet) were also evident at the 2007 International CES.
 
Additionally, the latest advancements in high-performance audio and home theater were on display at CES' newest venue for 2007, the Sands Expo and Convention Center/The Venetian.

Whilst wireless enabled devices continue to proliferate at the Show, in his keynote address, Michael Dell, Dell’s CEO, commented that the US industry has not managed well the steps needed to make the digital home a reality. He also challenged the telecom industry to accelerate fibre installation to the home, citing Singapore’s recently announced IN2015 manifesto promise that every household in Singapore would receive free of charge from the Government ultra high speeds of symmetric 1Gbps or more as a goal also for the US,. Dell said, “Users are the killer application”.

Dell also announced that his company believes that the customer experience starts with providing relevant technology at the best value and continues by partnering with our customers to protect the environment throughout the product lifecycle. He said that that his company is committed to minimising its impact on the environment at every stage of the product lifecycle. Dell, in partnership with The Conservation Fund and carbonfund.org, has now announced ‘Plant a Tree for Me’, a program that makes it easy and affordable for individuals, corporations or even entire communities to “go zero” by measuring and then offsetting their carbon emissions associated with the electricity generated to power their computer systems – simply by planting trees. Dell announced that this program will be available globally in April 2007.
Other featured CES keynoters included Microsoft's Bill Gates and Motorola's Ed Zander and Industry Insider - Cisco's John Chambers.

Microsoft’s Chairman focused on the upcoming introduction of two new products – IPTV for Xbox 360 and the Windows Home Server.

Bill Gates announced that in association with five providers, AT&T, British Telecom, Deutsche Telecom, C-Com in France, and Swisscom, Microsoft will be rolling out this new delivery system to consumers. Gates announced that, “the IPTV this market is going to continue to grow, and over the next three or four years is going to become a major part of the TV delivery ecosystem.

IPTV delivers everything you'd expect from a great TV experience. I can watch and record my favorite TV shows in standard and high-definition, I can order videos and movies on-demand, or I can quickly search for my favorite programs by actor, title, or director.”
 
Gates also pre-viewed the new Vista Ultimate operating system, and significantly, in association with  Mark Fields, the president of the Americas for Ford Motor Company, he announced Microsoft’s entry into the ‘connected car’ with the development of a fully integrated, voice activated, in-car communications and entertainment system (Synch) for mobile phones and digital music players driven by Microsoft Auto software. “So what Synch does is it totally integrates like never before all of your electronic devices, like your
cell phones, Zunes, iPods, all the things that are in your pockets when you get in your car, right into the vehicle, and seamlessly. Now, with Synch, what it means is you have access to the full capability of your Bluetooth phone, and it's just a voice command away,” Fields said.
 
Motorola’s CEO Ed Zander detailed a new partnership with Yahoo!, to create a mobile Internet service for Motorola’s phone products, providing local news and other content, Internet searching, Yahoo! Email and photos – this service will be available on 200 Motorola products from the end of 2007. Motorola is also partnering with Kodak and Warner in other new product offerings.
 
With the clear focus on the ‘connected everything’, John Chambers of Cisco’s pronouncement that “we’re moving from the networked home to the networked consumer” heralded the evolution of a new operating paradigm – ‘the human network’ with ‘people subscribing to people’. Chambers said, “Once video is married to voice, data and mobility, the way we work, live and communicate and live will change”. Such an environment, he added, would provide new revenue streams for content providers and device manufacturers to innovate and add value on top of the network”.
 
Given that the average US home now contains 25 consumer electronic devices, that 40% of US homes have multiple PCs, and that 65% of homes have digital cameras, it is not surprising that the consumer electronics industry is experiencing a period of high growth. And with other developed nations, and an increasing number of consumers in developing nations, all wanting to be ‘connected’, the ‘digital revolution’ is just beginning. It is no wonder that the global consumer electronics industry is predicted to achieve sales of some US$155 billion in 2007!
 
But Dell’s announced initiatives, which focus on the environment and growing global concerns about global warming increasing, signals that the consumer electronics industry is now becoming environmentally aware. As Michael Dell said, ‘It’s not easy being green!” And the challenge to be green and sustainable will test consumers, manufacturers and governments alike. On energy usage only, consumer electronics devices (exclusive of digital televisions) in the US now consume some 11% of household electricity consumption – equating to 4% of all electricity usage. With the switch over to digital television in 2008 and a continuing proliferation in the overall number of consumer electronics devices, power consumption levels are predicted to rise.
 
Ultimately, consumers will also ‘get connected’ with energy efficiency and related issues and will their choices will decide the future direction of the consumer electronics industry – a lesson that the US automotive industry is still in the process of learning!
 
eClub One Rotarian, Angus M Robinson is Chief Executive of the Australian Electrical and Electronic’ Manufacturers Association. He has visited the International CES over the past four years, and this year, he led a delegation of Australian companies which exhibited in Australia’s inaugural national pavilion. ABC 7 KGO-TV/DT was there to report on the latest developments ‘down under’ http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=business&id=4925129