Phablets Dominate the Consumer Electronics Show
(CES)
Over 150,000 people from around the world attended the
International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last
week. The annual convention is a well known launching pad for
the newest and most promising gadgets of the year. CES exhibits
generally fall into one of the following major categories:
Phones, TVs, Games, Computers, Fitness & Health, and
Other (business and household products, automobiles, etc.).
Generally, we think advancements in technology result in smaller
sized products for the masses. Computers that once filled
warehouses now fit in the average consumer's pocket. But along with
the 20-inch tablet, there appears to be a shift toward "bigger is
better" - at least in the world of smart
phones.
One of the terms possibly overused at CES was the
"super phone", also known as the
"phablet". Phablet characteristics include a large
screen, powerful battery life and cutting edge display
capabilities. One of the more popular examples of the super phone
or"phablet is Sony's Xperia Z Android phone with a five-inch
1080p display. Waterproof and dustproof, it's made from
high-quality materials (glass adorns its back), and it's very fast
thanks to the 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor and 2GB of
RAM. There's no word on when it's coming to market or how much
it'll cost, but this phablet is already a candidate for
Smartphone of the Year.
In fact, 2013 just may be dubbed "The Year of the Phablet".
Barclays predicts that the market for these devices will quadruple
in value to $135 billion in the next three years.
ABI Research estimates that more than 208 million phablets will
ship worldwide in 2015.
2012 was the first year that sales of PC's went down from a
previous year. A sign that the consumer is finding the iPad
and other tablet options serve as a useful substitute for the
Personal Computer. So, for Computers, a
20-inch tablet built by Panasonic definitely
caught the public's eye. There were also some impressive (if normal
sized) notebooks on display, including Toshiba's UltraHD notebook, running Windows 8.
In fact, CES 2013 seems to have been a great showcase for devices running on Windows
8. The Other Category turned out some exciting new
inventions powered by improvements in wireless technology. To name
a few:
- Parrot Flower Power: a Bluetooth-enabled device that measures
sunlight, humidity, and temperature and alerts you on your
smartphone about what your plant needs.
- The iPotty: Toilet training a toddler is no picnic, but iPotty
from CTA Digital seeks to make it a little easier by letting
parents attach an iPad to it. This way, junior can watch a kid's
program on the iPad while taking care of business in the
old-fashioned part of the plastic potty.
- The Driverless Car: The growing use of advanced
electronics and wireless devices for auto safety, communications
and entertainment prompted a record eight automakers to attend the
show. Automakers and technology firms are jumping on the bandwagon
of the driverless car, which remains a concept as well as a
platform for new technologies to improve safety on the road.