CES: Touching Technology

A week back in South Africa has just highlighted how overwhelming the CES show in Las Vegas is, and how technology is touching almost every aspect of our lives today, STEVEN AMBROSE Reports.

Consumer electronics used to refer to TV, Radio, Hi-Fi and other home technologies that the average person would use regularly. The CES which had its 40th anniversary show this year was held in Las Vegas from the 8th to the 11th of January, clearly showed that consumer electronics is far broader, far more encompassing and much more pervasive than any of us ever imagined.
The change has not exactly crept up on us, we have been hearing about convergence for many years, it started in fact right after the millennium bug was finally laid to rest. The reality is that there is no longer such a simple definition as Consumer Electronics, the line has totally blurred and the CES has become the premier technology show in America, if not the world. From the launch of Windows Vista, Microsoft’s latest operating system, to the smallest cellular phone and the largest LCD TV, this show had it all.

All the major electronics companies in the world today (aside from Apple, which does its own thing) and many who are active in South Africa were exhibiting. Some of these names included Sony, Samsung, Pioneer, LG Electronics, Microsoft, Nokia and IBM, who returned to the CES for the first time in many years, and many more, were all showing off their latest hardware and software, and launching their new products and concepts for 2007.

As the name Gadget implies, that is really what I went to see, and I just could not walk fast enough to see it all. The good news is that with a few exceptions, the Apple iPhone being one, we will see a large amount of all the new gadgets in South Africa this year, and we will do our best to get them for review, and report on how they perform.

Convergence is a much used but little understood term, and this CES really made it clear for me. There were two overriding trends that became very clear the more of the show I saw. The first of these trends was in simple terms the pervasive connectedness of all technologies via the internet.
"Anywhere, anytime, anyplace" was the motto, and the enabler was the internet. Using the internet or your connection to it, be that wired or wireless, you can now see, hear, read, download, review and in fact have access to any information anywhere. A good example of this was a Sony system whereby you could watch TV from your home system anywhere you could connect to the internet, as well as view any file on your home network. Microsoft and HP previewed the home server, which offers a similar service and a lot more besides. Simply put you could visit relatives across the globe and show them all the family pictures and videos stored on your PC at home, using your Laptop, their computer or your cell phone. Now that’s real convergence.

The second major trend, which in a way is only possible if you have pervasive connectedness, is that the PC in one form or another has finally invaded the home. Microsoft and again HP actually had set up an entire home with a living room, bedroom, study, and kitchen, all fully connected and showing a complete convergence of all the traditional home appliances. Fridges that ordered the groceries, counter tops that displayed recipes and recognised the ingredients you placed on them. There were even many items that until recently you only saw in the office. All of these were seamlessly connected and talking to each other all over the house. This was science fiction for most of us, but there it was for anybody to use and try out. This technology is already available in part in South Africa, but until we get reasonably priced, fast and pervasive internet connections we really can’t fully enjoy all these advances.

The most interesting thing for me was how all these technologies that were traditionally for the computer geek or your 10 year old nephew or son, have matured to the point that they are almost as easy to use as the average programmable microwave. After spending five days in gadget heaven, at the CES, and seeing all the huge TV’s and tiny gadgets, I look forward to an exciting and gadget filled 2007.

Steven Ambrose

Steven's CES Gadget Picks

Amongst the thousands of Gadgets at the CES, my picks for most interesting Gadgets of the show are :-


S-XGen Ultra Mobile Portable Computer.


Pricey mini-PCs are supposed to be the next big thing in computing, and Seamless Internet's new mini-PC "for serious business users" aims to be a leader. The 450 gram device purportedly has an 8-hour battery life and a fold-out keyboard meant to silence two key criticisms of these ultra small computers: power drain and "dumb thumb." Other features include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and tri-band cellular technology plus an Intel PXA 270 Xscale 520 MHz processor, 256MB of RAM, a 20GB hard drive, and Microsoft Windows CE 5.0.

HP TouchSmart IQ770 PC

Forget Post-It notes on the refrigerator. Hewlett-Packard is calling the TouchSmart the "perfect kitchen PC." Unveiled at CES, this desktop computer uses touch screen technology to help users manage schedules, TV, music, movies, photos and data. It also comes with Microsoft's new Vista operating system.









Nokia 6131 NFC
Goodbye cash, hello mobile payments. Unlike cell phone banking as we all know it is South Africa, when this Nokia phone launches later this year, users will be able to use it to buy coffee, exchange business cards, and collect data with a single push of a button. In essence instead of a swipe of your credit card, you just use your phone instead. That's because the 6131 NFC has a long-awaited technology called "near field communication," which allows two devices to transfer money or swap information. The 6131 NFC also has a built-in MP3 player and camera, among other standard features.








Sansa View

With mobile video the hot topic at CES, SanDisk chased headlines with its first portable video player. On top of its 4-inch colour screen, the Sansa View has 8GB of memory for storing up to 33 hours of video, 2,000 songs or thousands of photos. The device is also compatible with Microsoft's new Vista operating system. The picture quality was very good even compared to the iPod and other portable video players.





Sharp Aquos LCD TV

Sharp LCD TV’s are not well known in South Africa, but are the largest manufacturers of LCD panels in the world, débuted their 120HZ, or in Europe and South Africa 100HZ, LCD panels with sizes up to 65”. The 120 or 100HZ simply delivers crystal clarity, especially with fast motion, such as sport, and high contrast ratios that with HD, or high definition, delivered pictures that were simply breathtaking. The 65” panel is the largest commercially available LCD on the market. Expect to see more large and fast LCD’s this year.

Steven Ambrose