CES 2009 Leaves Much To Be Desired

Goodby CES 2009. We barely knew ya!

After spending five long days & somewhat sleepless nights in sin-city, we think we trekked across more carpet than a 10 year old vacuum cleaner. After searching far & wide across three mammoth convention halls for the ultimate gadgets and latest tech gear that would strike our fancy so we could share our thoughts, we concluded it simply didn't exist at CES 2009. Although we came across allot of lame gadgets here and there, we have to admit that we walked away with sore feet and nothing substantial or even worth reporting on to show for it. We Pretty much are feeling shortchanged this year somehow.

Of course we did expect CES 2009 to be more subdued than years past given worldwide economic conditions. What we didn’t expect was for us not to find any real bombshells or game changing tech. Sure the first beta of Windows 7 was released during CES 2009, but is Redmond’s latest Windows Vista Service Pack 3 something we feel deserves coverage? Hardly! Pretty pathetic Microsoft! And to think they will eventuly make you pay for the final version once it releases later this year. Maybe.

The show was notably quieter, obviously smaller in size, and the crowds definitely down from years past. But this wasn’t something we didn’t expect. It seems that this year’s Consumer Electronic Show was all about improving existing tech. Again, nothing real major here either. Flat-Panels, both LCD & Plasma were everywhere--to a point that it bored us to tears. It seemed like the Central Convention Center hall was a flat-panel-fest-o-rama. Panasonic, Sharp, LG & Samsung all had flat panels lining their booths like excess decorations on a Christmas tree. After a while, you wonder, what’s the point? Even the Sony booth underwhelmed us despite introducing its overpriced Vaio P Netbook. Aside from that-ho-hum.

We actually caught some demos of High-Definition Three-Dimension LCD's and Plasmas from Panasonic & Samsung. The picture quality was outstanding as were the 3D effects. However with the slow adaption of HD itself amongst the public, not to mention the studios, 3D HD is more or less a pipe dream as far as we are concerned. Convincing the studios to produce content in 3D HD right now while money & budgets are cut to the bone is going to be all but impossible for now. Yes, 3D HD is the wave of the future, but it's at least 3-5 years away in this guru's opinion.

The highlight of the show for this guy was meeting Mr. Price Is Right himself-Drew Carey of What's My Line & "The Drew Carey Show" fame. We were able to talk to him briefly, take some pictures, and get his autograph. He was a really gracious about posing and answering questions. Turns out he’s a gadget guru himself. It’s pretty sad when the most exciting part of an electronics trade show is about who was there and not what was there. But that was the reality of it folks. Sitting through the press conferences proved to be even more painful with little or no substance offered by the major CE manufacturers. Again, we weren't at all surprised at the lack of any NEW true tech substance.

By now you’re getting the gist of this post-CES was all but a bust. Even the press box lunches were 4-peat. We got the same box lunch choice every day we were there. Ok, so it was complimentary, but given the amount of walking & talking we have to do, you'd think we'd at least get something more than that. You could tell that sponsorship and corporate generosity was extinct this year, something that was obvious at every turn. Even the North-Hall mobile electronics booths which are normally laden with more silicone enhancements than an ACE hardware store was all but a ghost-town compared to years past, another sign that money is tight and the models were few are far between.

All in all, we made the best of it. For a show that we had low expectations for, it didn’t disappoint too much. We were hoping to present a few key gadgets here that were unique, different, or out of the ordinary. But talking about a one-click back-up drive wasn’t our idea of fun. Instead, for all the juicy details and an item by item review and picture, jump on over to either Engadget or Gizmodo. They both pretty much covered almost more lame and crap-gadgets than you can shake a stick at from the show floor. We’re pretty positive that once you do, you’ll be glad we didn’t waste your time going through any of them here. And isn’t that why you come here in the first place?

CES Updates Coming To My Tech Man

2008 is now a memory and 2009 is now officially in full swing. This can only mean one thing. CES is upon us. For those who aren't so tech savvy, CES stands for Consumer Electronics Show. This is the annual Las Vegas Expo that always comes after everyone has had more Egg Nog than they care to admit, and right after most New Years hangovers have become a distant enough memory to forget your pledge to never allow your lips to grace another alcohol laced drink ever again. Yes folks, It's that time of year again and boy are we ready to bring you the best CES 2009 has to offer.

This won't be a booth by booth rundown. No sir. We will leave that type of coverage to the big fellows at sites like Engadget or Gizmodo. Our reporting will encompass more of the real unique, innovative and cutting edge tech items announced or introduced at the show that have been vastly improved, or are new to the world of tech. This of course will be at my personal discretion based on what I see as tech newsworthy. I will do my best to provide writings on items that are of interest to everyone.

CES officially kicks off on Thursday January 8, 2009, and runs through Sunday January 11. Press-Preview day is Wednesday January 7th where Bloggers and members of the Press are invited by the major (as well as some minor) consumer electronics companies to attend 45 minute news conferences outlining each of their major announcements and product introductions for the show, as well as demonstrating consumer electronics items in public for the first time ever. Panasonic, Samsung, Sharp, Toshiba, LG, and Sony usually have the most elaborate press conferences on Wednesday. These conferences usually happen on the expo floor at the Las Vegas Convention Center where CES itself is held, but some are also held off-site at hotels like the Venetian since most conference speakers have to compete with the remnants of buzzing saws and pounding hammers putting the finishing touches on the mammoth displays still being constructed the convention center floor.

The consensus is that CES 2009 will be a bit toned down, muted somewhat if you will, from years past given the current world-wide economic condition, with most corporate discretionary spending all but vanished. Shows past usually featured elaborate stage shows, major celebrity sightings, and plenty of concerts from the hottest artists on the scene today. Most of those types of EXTRAS probably will be far and few between. However make no mistake, CES is an electronics showcase that sets the pace for the year to come in consumer electronics. All eyes around the world will be on Las Vegas this coming weekend, with over 100,000 consumer electronics industry related attendees converging on the City of Sin, all to see, feel, and touch the latest gadgets coming from the giants of tech in the coming year. It is where buyers for major consumer electronics chains like Best-Buy and Circuit City come to map out their purchasing strategy for the year ahead. CES can launch a new product into the stratosphere, and it can be the last place you ever see an ill conceived tech product. One never knows.

So my fellow tech guru's, electronic aficionados and gadget hungry humans, sit back, relax and enjoy our unique coverage of CES 2009. We look forward to providing you with information on the best of the best at CES. Check back here starting late Wednesday evening for a preview of what we were previed to, and every day after that till the end of the show. We will try to post as often as possible, whenever possible. That is as long as our hands aren't so full of swag that we simply can't put it down to type.

Apple Media Event Today-New iPods Announced

With little fanfare, Apple today made good on its promise to refresh its iPod line of MP3 players at a special media event held in San Francisco, CA. With Apple CEO Steve Jobs stepping out on the stage and proclaiming and I quote "The rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated" referring to the recent media reports of his less than stellar health. It made for a great event opening line.

Every year around this time Apple normally announces a refresh in its line of iPods in time for the ever-profitable holiday season. Although no earth-shattering announcements or introductions were made today, the updates to both iPods and more importantly iTunes are significant enough to warrant a rundown of the major announcements.

• iTunes 8.0 was announced today and is available for immediate download with significant changes from verison 7.x. Most notable is the addition of a feature called Genius which creates smart playlists based on songs you choose from your library. Support for High Definition (HD) content and more significant here is the return of NBC television shows to the iTunes store which had been absent for the past year following a dispute between the two companies. HD versions of TV shows will now be available for download at a premium price of $2.99 vs. $1.99 for the standard definition counterpart. Shows like Heroes, The Office & Monk are available for download from the iTunes store today.

• The iPod Nano saw its form factor returning to its rectangular vertical roots with its new curved fourth generation design that makes so much more sense than the hidious looking square version introduced last year. The Nano offers enhanced video playback, an accelerometer, and a new larger wide screen LCD that changes the display from portrait to landscape by simply turning the Nano. Another cool feature is the ability to shake the Nano which in a sense orders it to cue up and play a new song (shuffle if you will). The new Nano will come in three new colors (Orange, Purple & Yellow) for a total of nine different colors-one to suit everyone's taste. The new Nano will come in two capacities-8Gb $149.99 & 16Gb for $199.99 and are shipping starting today.

• The iPod Touch also received a major cosmetic makeover as well with a new curved backside similar to that of the iPhone 3G. The back is now that infamous Apple "Fingerprint Magnet" stainless-steel. The iPod Touch now sports a built in speaker as well as hardware volume control buttons similar to those found on the iPhone, something the first generation Touch lacked. The new Touch will come with a new firmware 2.1 version that will fix some bugs that users of firmware version 2.o have been experiencing. The new iPod Touch line also were granted a price drop across the board, but will still come in three different capacities: An 8Gb version for $229.99; 16Gb for $299.99; 32Gb for $399.99 and all are available immediately. The 2.1 firmware update will be available to users who already have 2.0x firmware installed on thier iPod Touch for free. Users with 1.0 firmware will have to pay $10 for the upgrade, definitely a worthwhile update. The new iPod Touch has been dubbed as "The Funnest iPod Ever!" by Jobs and Apple.
  

• The iPod Classic line has also been updated, reducing this line of iPods to a single sku. The current 80Gb and 160Gb iPod Classics are now history in favor of a single 120Gb model that is thinner than both current Classics. No other significant changes to this line was announced. It's puzzling that Apple would eliminate its largest capacity iPod from it's line, but that doesn't mean that they won't later come back with a new higher capacity Classic later when a 1.8" drive of higher capacity becomes available. The classic will be available in Silver or Black.
  

• The iPod Shuffle line was updated as well today and it will now come in four new updated more vibrant colors in addition to the traditional silver with capacities of 1Gb $49 and 2Gb $69.

• Phone firmware 2.1. Apple announced the new 2.1 firmware update for the iPhone which is slated to become available this Friday September 12th. The firmware upgrade promises to greatly improve battery life, provide for fewer crashes, fewer dropped calls, and allow for significantly faster backups, all issues that needed addressing. Two factors conspicuously missing from mention is any reference to 3G data connection speed improvement, and the previously announced background process feature which is supposed to allow users to do tasks like instant message while talking on the phone.

• Jobs also introduced two new unique iPod earbuds at the media event. The first offers an in-line volume control that also integrates a click button which allows a user to pause, advance to the next song by clicking twice, or back by clicking three times. The earbuds also feature a microphone that allows users to take advantage of the recording feature found on the iPod Nano & Touch. Price is $29 and will be available in October. A $79 enhanced earbud set similar to those made famous by Shure will also be available for the iPod as well. This set will have an earbud that has both a wooferer & tweeter in each earbud, if you can fathom that. The earbuds come with three different ear adapters to best fit the user.
  

In all, Apple made some significant updates to iTunes and it's cash-cow line of music players at a time when the current crop of iPods were getting long in tooth. Gaming seems to be the next frontier that Apple is attempting to conquer as it demonstrated three new games for the iPod Touch & iPhone at the event including one from video game giant EA (Electronic Arts).

Even Microsoft who holds a 2.3% share of the MP3 hardware market (compared to Apple's whopping 75.4% share) is unveiling new Zune MP3 models this week that rival the capacities & capabilities of the Nano & Classic- introducing both a 16Gb and 120Gb Zune-not that anyone is really paying attention.