The annual Consumer Electronics Show always provides a preview of the great new gadgets, consumer devices and entertainment systems from big screen televisions to mobile phones. However, this year, the larger trends behind the shiny new objects were also the talk of the show floor.
In the December 6, 2011 Forbes.com, I predicted that the following ten technologies would set the pace for 2012:
1. Tablets
2. Interfaces
3. Social
4. Internet of Things (IoT)
5. Apps
6. Big Data
7. Analytics
8. Storage
9. Entertainment Everywhere
10. Cloud Computing
And, of course, mobile as the overarching technology that drives everything.
Walking the show floor at CES this week, I saw evidence of these trends in everything from the gazillions of apps and examples of social interaction on display in nearly every booth to the panel conversations around infrastructure and standards requirements connecting these devices to each other and into our lives. The buzz of the show may have been the about tablets, ultrabooks, OLED TVs and mobile phones -- the coveted toys you could see all over the massive convention -- but if you listened to the micro-phoned booth presenters, you heard the big story. They were all talking about how their various products deliver the "connected life." The technologies that will drive "connected life" are sensors, memes, chips, data storage, management and analytics, and of course cloud computing and software applications. For me, this CES is not just a preview of next December's holiday list of must have gadgets, but the story of how technology will continue to change the way we work and live.
Join me for my video tour of CES 2012 as I scout for the big technology trends behind the products:
Evan Shapiro: GlenVegas Glen Ross
excuse me, the microwave just buzzed.
Where was I? Damn, the dryer stopped. Hold on, would you?
Sorry it took so long, there was a message on my I-phone and I had to turn down the television so I could hear my I-pod.
Ah, yes, the days to come, when we can lounge about while the machines...whoops, gotta get this text...
Do you know, he bought me a scooba floor scrubbing machine.
It beeps at me, too. I respond immediately.
Tell me, who owns who? Shit..look at that. I should've said what.
Yes, I've named the thing. Named it. They're taking over I tell you.