Several of the booths were astonishingly large and expensive. At Microsoft, an entire segment was devoted to the new Kinect controller for the Xbox 360. I paced off the Samsung booth, starting at cell phones and ending at Internet-connected washing machines. It measured 110 paces by 55 paces, or approximately the size of some of the CES keynote speakers’ egos.

Tablets

No booth was complete without a full lineup of iPad clones. There are tablets with cameras, 3D tablets, tablets with videophones, tablets that convert into notebooks and game platforms. If nobody else makes a killing on tablets, then Corning certainly will, as they are the sole provider of the special “gorilla glass” used on all of the touch surfaces.

3D

Last year’s show was all about 3D. The subject continues to be hot this year, particularly in the quest for solutions that don’t require the dreaded “dork glasses.” As before, the lack of standards and the lack of content are impediments to success, although the video game world is going 3D at full throttle.

Microsoft

Beyond the very strong presence for Xbox Kinect, there was a strong push for the Windows Mobile platform. Rumor is that the new OS has little market support, and that Microsoft is contemplating acquisitions including some handset vendors in order to catch up to the Apple and Google smartphone successes.

The MediaRoom demo was essentially unchanged from 2009, 2008, and earlier. It is reported that the entire MediaRoom business is now reorganized under the Xbox business unit.

Prior to the show, there was much anticipation a new Microsoft OTT box that would be based on the Xbox platform. Either the press was wrong, or the truck didn’t arrive in time – no OTT box on display.

Google TV #Fail

Prior to CES, Google had publicly requested their partners to defer GoogleTV announcements. Poor industry reviews, poor sales, and a very negative reception by content owners have sent the team back to the labs for more work. They are very smart guys, and they will get it right eventually.

Gesture systems

PrimeSense is the Israeli chipset vendor that powers the gesture recognition features of the Kinect. One TV vendor was showing gesture based navigation, eliminating the remote control. A wrist flick left or right changed channels; other motions would mute or adjust volume.  Rude gestures switched the set from CNN to Fox News.

Cool Toys

The Wired magazine booth featured this transforming electric motorcycle. It operates as a Segway-style device at low speeds, but extends the front wheel to conventional motorcycle format for the open road. No mention of their need for DRM…

Even in off years, CES gives companies something to talk about. Please see other interesting CES insights from Kurt Scherf of Parks Associates and the gang at TechCrunch.

We would love to know your thoughts from the show.

For one, there is very little 3D content and little commitment to produce more. I heard a statistic that I can’t prove, but sounds about right: there is a total of 120 hours of 3D television programming in the world. And one reason that Hollywood is willing to invest so much in experiences like Avatar is to bring new life to the theater release window. In other words, to make 3D an experience you won’t have at home. It seems logical for them to hang on to that distinctive advantage as long as possible before making the same content available at home.

And of course, there are a lot of people who just got “spousal approval” for an HD flat screen and they aren’t likely to head back to Costco for a replacement technology any time soon. 

Is seems like there is at least a possibility of a HD-DVD vs. BluRay style overhang in 3D technology as well.  We are seeing competing standards from organizations like CEA and SMPTE, plus the announcements from Panasonic about displaying 3D TV images at 1080p along with a Blu-ray disc player supporting the same resolution. The standards battles that are upon us will surely slow down development.  Peter White of Rethink Researchwrote a great piece on the topic in the latest Faultline, 3D’s cold shower – 3D Standards merely sub-standard. Check it out. 

Speaking of Blu-ray players . . . one thing that struck me at CES was that the most promoted feature of new Blu-ray players has nothing to do with playing Blu-ray discs!  Instead, there seems to be a race to collect box-top logos for internet delivered video services like Netflix. 

Since Blu-ray is all about the quality of the picture and streaming video is all about easy and direct access to content, it will be interesting to see how consumers choose.  If convenience trumps quality, it could be fatal for Blu-ray discs. Do you agree? 

Please come visit us at CSTB 2010in Moscow, Feb. 2-4.  Our very own Steve Oetegenn will be presenting on, “Emerging Delivery Technologies that Can Enhance your Business Model.”