“Where entertainment, technology and business converge”
Every year, Las Vegas becomes the hotbed of consumer electronics with over 2,500 exhibitors showcasing more than 20,000 new technology products and services to over 120,000 attendees. The products unveiled at CES will change the face of global technology and give us a glimpse into the future.
We are always on the lookout for new trends and innovations in marketing and technology to help propel our clients' business growth. While there were thousands of innovations ranging from gaming to entertainment to smart phones, this article will focus on the top 5 business related innovations at CES 2010. These are the innovations that we thought were worth watching, and may actually help you differentiate your business amongst a sea of competitors.
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Slates
There is a lot of buzz about ‘slates’ lately. Some are saying this is just a fancy new word for tablet, but with all the rumors swirling about Apple’s new ‘iSlate’, other companies are scrambling to release their concepts first to try and capture the captive audience attention. These are basically stripped down laptops with touch screen capabilities… think iPhone that’s 2’ wide. There are a lot of business applications for this type of device, here are a couple that come to mind:
· Replacing paper at meetings – it would be great to take something like this into a meeting and everyone brings up a document from an intranet, instead of throwing out piles of paper every year. I could see us using these for this at our office
· Paperwork on a shop floor – if you are a manufacturing company, these may be interesting devices to consider for transporting and communicating product drawings or order information. Of course, you would probably want a super industrial version so that it doesn’t shatter the first time someone drops it.
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eBooks
Similar to the slates mentioned above, the advancements being made with eBooks are very exciting. Case in point, the example above. This device is a combination eBook (with an E-Ink screen on one side) and an LCD on the other side. Microsoft also mentioned them in their Keynote and demonstrated an HP prototype that will be on sale shortly.
· Catalogs – Our biggest client has a 3,000 page catalog that we print for them every 3 years. You can imagine how big and heavy that catalog is to carry! Not to mention as soon as you print it, it is out of date. These devices could hold your entire product catalog and allow your top customers to stay current with your product information, make notes, and even click on links embedded into your catalog to bring up videos related to the products on the left hand side! These are pretty new, so I would watch how this market develops over the next year…but keep them in mind! These will be the new books of the future.
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Pocket size Projectors
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I don’t need to say too much about this, other than we would all LOVE a tiny projector that we can take with us for impromptu business meetings. I haven’t personally tested one this small, but we plan on getting a couple and trying them out to see how good they are.
They even have ones you can dock your iPhone in and just project the image from your iPhone to the wall…It won’t be long before you don’t even need your laptop when you travel! |
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Cellular Service Innovations – magicJack
Advancements in this area excite us more than anything! Being a frequent traveler, my smartphone roaming costs are ‘not ideal’. Our company spends a LOT of money every year on cellular voice and data plans, and anything that could help us cut back would be very valuable. This little device plugs into your laptop, your cell phone recognizes it and uses it to make phone calls via the internet rather than the cellular network. This has been available for a while, but a new and improved device was unveiled at CES this year.
Here is a more detailed article on the magicJack if you are interested in learning more.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100108/ap_on_hi_te/us_tec_gadget_show_magicjack
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Other Notables
Even though these aren’t necessarily targeted at businesses, it’s worth mentioning them for the sheer ‘cool factor’.
Panasonic 152” TV – that’s right 152 INCHES!
This is basically all about bragging rights, but Panasonic had a 152” TV on display. Enough said….
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Microsoft Natal
This is something I’m not letting myself get ‘too’ excited about until I actually see how it works. The Natal system ‘could’ revolutionize game play and utilize gestures for motion control. Instead of trying to explain it, check out the video below. It has a lot of potential, and it sounds like Microsoft has invested a ton of money into R&D for this. This has been hyped for some time, but they are planning on having the technology ready for the XBox by this Christmas.
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Underwater and Ski goggles / camera
I need a pair of these. From Liquid Image - Underwater scuba / snorkel goggles with built in HD Video camera. The headsets are around $300 each. Coming out around May. Neat stuff!