<IT WORLD> Absent Apple haunts CES pit By Martin J
Young
HUA HIN, Thailand - The New Year
heralds the time for tech shows and nothing comes
with a bigger bang than the International Consumer
Electronics Show (CES) running from January 6 to 9
in Las Vegas. The world's largest technology
tradeshow is expected to draw around 2,500
exhibitors and an attendance of around 125,000,
all eager to see the latest concepts and
innovations from the planet's largest tech
companies.
Keynotes from representatives
of many of the major players including Microsoft,
Samsung, Cisco and a number of others drew the
biggest crowds. A sprinkling of celebrities from
the movie and music industries also added to the
hype of the event.
Notably absent and
following its usual trend is Apple, a company
that believes it is above
trade shows. And why not? This week, its latest
share gains made it the world's second-most
valuable company, after only ExxonMobil in market
capitalization. Last May, it passed Microsoft to
become the world's largest technology company. The
irony is that many of the other exhibitors will be
showcasing products that compete with those
originally launched by Apple earlier last year,
namely the iPad.
The success of the slick
tablet device, of which almost 13 million have
been sold since April, has spurned a slew of
similar slates into a swiftly saturating market
place. The web has also been awash with rumors of
the iPad 2, which, no doubt, had Apple aficionados
drooling over the promise of smoother bevels, a
few millimeters off the thickness, and two
cameras.
Lining up to take a bite out of
the Apple at this year's show is Motorola, Lenovo,
Samsung, Toshiba, Hewlett Packard, LG Electronics,
ASUSTek and Microsoft amongst others, who will all
be touting new tablets running either Windows 7 or
Google's Android operating system. In fact it will
be a tough task to find a leading tech company
that is not manufacturing a tablet of their own
this year. CES chief economist Shawn DuBravac
estimates that over 100 new tablets will be
unveiled at the show.
With more tablets
than the local pharmacy at the event, HP will be
focusing on their laptop and desktop technology
this year, and a new operating system of its own
called WebOS. Motorola, a newcomer in the tablet
market, will showcase a new type of mobile phone
accessory called a "lapdoc", which looks like a
laptop computer but will not function without the
company's new Atrix 4G phone attached. The idea is
to make smart-phones function more like computers
for demanding applications such as viewing video.
Other leading media and tech giants will
be targeting Internet TV, set-top boxes, and 3D
TVs, which are set to become all the rage in 2011.
ESPN are amongst the media companies embracing the
CES to announce their 24 hour 3D channel for those
that have already splashed out on a 3D TV.
The relationship between entertainment and
electronics has never been stronger with media
tycoons such as Rupert Murdoch meeting up with
partners such as Google to discuss new ways of
distributing and, more significantly, controlling
content using new technology.
In their
ongoing battle against piracy Hollywood's
entertainment industry is partnering chip giant
Intel to make it harder to copy high definition
movies. A new chip is being developed that will
allow Time Warner, Twentieth century Fox Home
Entertainment, and other studios to sell HD movies
online with built in security features that
prevent them being copied and distributed.
Intel has adapted the security features
used for business computers and built them
directly into the semiconductor so that they are
harder to circumnavigate than software protection.
The new chip, dubbed "Sandy Bridge", will be
showcased at the CES this week. The processor also
features built in graphics. The company is hoping
that its new offerings will help carve out a slice
of the lucrative mobile market, which has so far
been dominated by chips from Cambridge, UK-based
ARM Holdings.
Present in many of today's
mobile devices, ARM microprocessors are favored
for their power saving capabilities which is
essential for battery powered handsets. Microsoft
added to ARM's endorsements at the CES by
announcing that the next version of Windows will
be designed to run on ARM platforms in its push to
penetrate deeper into the mobile operating systems
market.
The success of Windows 8, or
whatever they decide to call it, is likely to
hinge on how well it functions on touch screens.
Windows 7 is still too reliant on keyboards and
mice to be fully adopted by touch screen
technology.
Smart phones also feature
heavily at this year's CES, and there has never
been a greater range of choice for consumers
seeking an accessory packed mobile phone. The
rivalry between Apple and Google for handset
domination is at fever pitch; according to Nielsen
research firm, Apple still holds a slim lead of
28.6% US market share, with Android closing fast
on 25.8%. Smarter phones that pack a more powerful
punch designed to run on new 4G networks will also
be showcased by telecoms companies.
Connectivity is a major factor with all of
these new innovations as they are all designed to
be permanently online, whether they are a
smart-phone, tablet, gaming console, or web TV
box.
Unfortunately, huge swathes of the
planet, including most of Asia, where most of the
gadgets are made, are still without a reliable and
affordable high-speed Internet infrastructure so
these shiny new web devices set to debut this year
will remain the stuff of dreams for many.
Martin J Young is an Asia Times Online correspondent based in Thailand.
(Copyright 2011 Asia Times Online
(Holdings) Ltd. All rights reserved. Please
contact us about
sales, syndication and republishing.)
Head
Office: Unit B, 16/F, Li Dong Building, No. 9 Li Yuen Street East,
Central, Hong Kong Thailand Bureau:
11/13 Petchkasem Road, Hua Hin, Prachuab Kirikhan, Thailand 77110
