Consumer Electronics Show Continues to Dazzle

Consumer Electronics Show Continues to Dazzle
By John MacWilliams, Bishop & Associates Inc.

The Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas is an institution. This show has taken on a life of its own over the years, and has become the must-do event for hundreds of consumer electronics companies and many CEOs—and don’t forget the consumers who come to preview and covet the latest and greatest high-tech gadgets.

This year, notable CEOs in attendance included Alan Mulally, CEO of Ford; John Chambers, Cisco; Steve Ballmer, Microsoft; Jeffrey Immelt, GE; Rupert Stadler, Audi; and many others.

As usual, hundreds of new products made their debut, like the tiny Pretec USB 3.0 drive, shown above. Most are evolutionary improvements on existing technology. Yet the combination of new LED-backlit, high-resolution LCDs, signal integrity advances, mobile electronics, iPad-like tablets, and a host of other new products, still dazzle.

Here is a list of CNET/CES award winners, by category:

BEST OF SHOW AWARD: Motorola Xoom Tablet:

The Xoom is a 10.1”, 1280x800 high-resolution LCD tablet with two cameras, a Google Android OS, dual-core 1GHz processor, WiFi/4G Verizon mobility, three USB/1 HDMI port docking connectors and station, and a Bluetooth wireless keyboard. Xoom is aimed squarely at Apple’s iPad 2, with a larger screen and Verizon’s 4G capabilities. It will be available later this spring. Based on its features, it may top out at the higher end of the pricing spectrum for tablets.

Xoom, along with its accessories, may signal competition to notebook PCs as well as the iPad and other tablets—if only because some users may not splurge on both. It is also of interest that the Xoom will have numerous internal sensor chips, assumed to be MEMS-type devices. These include a barometer, accelerometer, magnetometer, proximity sensor, ambient light sensor, and gyroscope. Shades of things to come? It’s an all-purpose personal communicator and monitoring station with personal, business, and vertical market appeal. One thing is certain, after years of trying, the industry appears to have come up with the right formula for tablets. The question remains: To what extent will this be new business vs. cannibalizing existing mobile devices, including the newer netbook and e-reader devices?

PEOPLES CHOICE AWARD: Razer Switchblade Gaming Netbook
This concept netbook is designed to be a powerful handheld gaming device. It has a more powerful Intel Atom processor and graphics engine, plus what appears to be USB 3.0 ports. Along with the Alienware MX-11, it signals a new wave of handheld gaming devices with PC-like capability.

CAR TECH AWARD: Won by Toyota’s Entune Telematics Service, which, combined with Sirius/XM Radio and various apps, gives the driver of an equipped Toyota access to a number of useful applications, including navigation, weather, entertainment, and info services—all synced with an Android or Apple iPhone. Let’s assume it only works in “Park”! Or, that it can be activated by the passenger side-seat sensor. Let’s also assume that it’s just the beginning of the next wave of electronics and connectors we’ll see behind the dash and in phones.

DESIGN AWARD: Casio TRYX HD Camcorder/DSC
Exhibiting a revolutionary design, the TRYX can turn, twist, hang, and stand to get shots you never believed possible from angles that are hard to conceive. The 12-megapixel TRYX is equipped with Casio's new Exilim Engine HS and features an ultra-bright 3” touchscreen LCD, high-speed CS technology, high-speed super resolution zoom, and HDR-Art imaging. Other features include SD card slot, micro-USB, charging adapter, and lithium ion battery receptacle.

DIGITAL IMAGING AWARD: Sony Handycam HDR-PJ50

1920 x 1080 high-definition 220 GB HDD lets you record your memories in exceptional HD positioned with GPS. It’s capable of 60p recording and playback via HDMI. It has a Built-in Projector (10 lumen), capable of up to 60” diagonal screen size. Other features: SD/MS Pro slot, HDMI, component video, two USB ports, headphone, and microphone jacks.

PC/LAPTOP AWARD:
Intel Core I-7 Sandy Bridge CPU

Sandy Bridge 32nm processors have second generation multi-tasking capabilities and stunning graphics performance. Content creation is up to 40% faster and gaming performance is 50% faster than previous chips. For desktops and notebooks; the I-7 desktop model is mounted with 965-pin LGA socket.

TV AWARD: VIZIO Google TV Platform
Fast-growing Vizio has outpaced major TV producers to top the U.S. market for large screen HDTV. At CES, the $2.1 billion Irviine, Calif.-based company announced adoption of the Android-based Google TV platform for two of its large screen TVs, along with two tablets that will be seamlessly integrated with the new TVs.

There has been some controversy about Google TV not being ready for prime time, and consumers may be slow on the uptake. But it appears to me that the integration of TV with Internet is inevitable, perhaps held back only by resistance from entrenched service providers. For the connector industry, this trend will mean more IO connectors and higher-end systems, with HDMI and USB 3.0 coming to the forefront.

WRAP-UP: Many crosscurrents are beginning to surface in our industry, and CES is the premier place to see them for the first time. Among this year’s most notable developments:

Consumer electronic devices continue to be where the action is. At least 60% of all semiconductor devices go into consumer products, and the market continues to expand into adjacent market segments, such as mobile telecom and computers. IC makers, including MEMS devices, are stepping up their efforts to find even more CE applications—or to create them.
Mobile devices threaten to marginalize, or at least compete with traditional platforms, including the highly successful, double-digit growth engines of notebook PCs, digital cameras, etc.
Along with this pervasive mobility trend, there are developing concerns for traditional industry leaders: Intel microprocessors vs. ARM and other low-power (surface mount) devices; Intel as king of the road in PCs, and Microsoft in operating systems vs. Google Android, iPhone, and other mobile platforms.
4G technologies, such as LTE, are now rolling out with multi-Mb/s streaming video capabilities. Will this compete with landline broadband? Will 4G’s ala carte data pricing discourage consumers? GB usage won’t come cheap.
Cross-platform competition—or at least confusion—is increasing, as OEMs slice and dice the market with new devices. One wonders how many different devices consumers can afford or will be willing to buy?
Hopefully, the world economy is on the mend, but there are concerns, including EU and U.S. fiscal problems. China’s inflation and a possible yuan revaluation are about to hit consumer electronics export prices—long thought to be price-inelastic.
Rapid growth in the developing world is fragile at best, but now the industry is depending on it, as Western economies mature.
The connector industry seems to move along throughout all of this, threatened by wireless, but gaining from it; downsized into mobile devices, but realizing billions of new units, and previously unimaginable miniaturization; seeing traditional IO interfaces obsoleted by new ones, yet with soft landings as legacy connectors remain.
The connector industry seems immune from obsolescence, even through successive levels of circuit integration and the emergence of on-chip wireless technology. Perhaps the greatest challenges in the consumer space are globalization, emerging competition, and low-margin pricing.
It is an interesting counterpoint that more than 60% of the semi industry is in consumer electronics, but less than 10% of connectors are in the market. But, that doesn’t count for the fact that three of the connector industries’ biggest markets—telecom, computers, and automotive—are converging into the consumer electronics market.

John MacWilliams
Senior Consultant and Analyst, Bishop & Associates Inc.
John MacWilliams, a senior consultant to Bishop & Associates, has 40 years of diverse experience in the electronics industry. He has worked in sales, market development, and management positions for IRC, TRW, AMP (prior to TE), and his consultancy, US Competitors LLC. He authors the connector chapter for the International Electronics Manufacturing Initiative, and has a website, Electronics Industry. John is a graduate of Lehigh University and resides near Newark, DE.