CES Press Day 2012 Recap; Technology to Enhance Your Life

Jan 10 2012

Yesterday was the CES Press Day and I spent most of the day glued to Ustream watching all the press conferences. There was definitely a theme.

Our gadgets are getting smarter and more interactive.
TVs will be voice and motion controlled, so no more searching for the remote.
Not only will we communicate with our gadgets, but our gadgets communicate with each other.
Wifi built into many of our gadgets.

CES Storify – I’m putting together a story of CES 2012.

Here are some highlights from the CES Press Day of the technology that will enhance your life.

LG Electronics Press Conference

The 3D TVs from LG are exciting, but I’m still not convinced that I need a 3D television. But more about that later.

I’m more excited about the appliances that LG introduced. The refrigerator with Blast Chiller is exciting. the Blast Chiller chills a can of soda in less than 5 minutes or a bottle of wine in less than 8 minutes.

Then there are the smart appliances with LG’s Thinq technology.

Your refrigerator can talk to your oven. You choose a recipe from the ingredients you have on hand in your refrigerator and the fridge will turn the oven on to the required temperature.
While you are the grocery store, you can check to see if you are out of something in the fridge or if it’s expired. Scan the items in with your smart phone when you buy an item and put it in your fridge. You can create a grocery list right on the screen on the fridge and place your order with your grocery store.
Each member of the your family can start a profile and keep track with the Health Manager. The fridge can recommend recipes or menus based on your profile.
You can check the status of your laundry in the washer or dryer right from your LG smart phone.
Start your Smart vacuum cleaner before you get home.
All your LG smart devices are able to talk to each other.

LG also announced a Google TV which I thought was interesting. I thought Google TV was on its way out.

Intel Press Conference

Intel was all about the Ultrabooks. Intel plans to “own” the Ultrabook market.

In the usual Intel style, they put on a show. Here is how the “show” began (YouTube Link):

What Consumers Want!

Intel made a few comments about what consumers want and I thought they were right on (paraphrased).

To be always connected
Not wait for technology
Peace of mine (security)
Interactive technology
Technology to be small, sleek & sexy
We want to love our technology (and we should)
People buy experiences, not processors

Intel & Ultrabooks

I know that when I find a gadget that makes my life easier or enhances it in some way, I’m in LOVE with it. I don’t see my technology as something that does the job, it’s so much more than that. Buying a laptop is like buying a purse. It needs to be functional and gorgeous.

Ultrabook delivers a set of experiences that you can’t get today.
Ultrabook buzz is high and Intel plans to tell a good story around Ultrabooks.

To show how light and thin, the Ultrabooks are, Toshiba created an “I was Framed” campaign and here is the video that Intel showed at their press conference:

And Intel showed off a prototype of some future Ultrabooks with really interesting features. One has a transparent touch pad so when it’s closed, you can see through to the touch pad and use it like a tablet with Windows 8 on it. You have to see it to believe it:

It will be interesting to watch the future of the Ultrabook. Personally, I want one!!

Samsung Press Conference

I really enjoyed the Samsung press conference. It got me really excited about all their new products (and sad that I can not see them in person.) Because it was such a spectacular s show and it’s on YouTube, I’m including the full press conference. (the good stuff starts around the 10 minute mark)

For the rest of my Samsung recap, see my Samsung is Pushing Boundaries at CES 2012 post (coming soon). Samsung has figured out that consumers want technology that will enhance our lives. They are making the technology work with us and not against us. I love it!!!

Panasonic Press Conference

Here is the thing about press conferences. When you wait until the end to drop a bomb on the audience, we forget what happened before. I honestly can not remember what Panasonic debuted during their press conference, but I do remember that they are integrating myspace into their TVs to make watching TV more social. Yep, you heard me….myspace

I also remember that they are releasing all of the 007 James Bond movies in Blu-Ray boxed set.

Panasonic is also promoting living a green lifestyle and would like to be the leader of green innovation in the technology industry by their 100th anniversary in 2018.

Panasonic is also partnering with NBC Sports to bring the 2012 Summer Olympics in 3D. That may be enough to get me to buy a 3D television. We bought our HD TV in 2004 because the Summer Olympics were being broadcast in HD and I wanted to see them in HD. 3D would be AWESOME.

Panasonic is also banking on 3D being a big seller this year. As I said before, I’m not convinced yet. We own 2 Panasonic Viera HD TVs. We purchased our last one in the last year and we chose not to buy 3D.

Smart Viera in 2012

More content in 2D & 3D
Easier to use
Integrated with other Panasonic Smart devices
Saves energy

Skype Communication Device – Small monitor for Skype only. Very simple to use and easy to take with you around the house.

Tough Pad – Rugged tablet built to work with your Panasonic Viera TV.

This was a really tough press conference to watch. They introduced a lot, but it didn’t really excite me. It felt very forced and if they are not excited about their products, then neither will the consumers be excited about the products.

Panasonic is also doing a lot of LIVE streaming from their booth. You can see it at the Panasonic USA Ustream page.

SONY Press Conference #SonyCES

Sony’s press conference was exciting. I felt their enthusiasm for their products. Some of the stats:

900 million Sony devices
Will deliver 300 million new connected devices in the next 3 years
100 award nominations for Sony productions
Pope Benedict uses the Sony Tablet S (that is quite an endorsement)
6.5 million PlayStation units across all devices sold over Holiday season
Sold 1/2 Million units as of 1/5/12

Sony has a stake in every aspect including the content, devices to create the content and the device to view the content

New User Experience

Play. Watch. Listen. Share. on many devices.

Sony Entertainment Network – One common ID and wallet on any of Sony’s devices.

Video Unlimited – available on all of Sony’s devices for viewing videos and available a month earlier than on other platforms.

Music Unlimited – Unified user experience across all Sony’s devices. Unlimited access to over 12 million songs and available in 13 countries. All your music and playlists are available immediately on any new device. Will be available on the PlayStation Vita when it is released.

PlayMemories Online –

PlayMemories Home- Computer
PlayMemories Mobile for Android or iOS devices
PlayMemories Studios – PlayStation 3 experience

Sony Tablets are PlayStation certified so you will be able to play PlayStation games.

PS Vita – Netflix will be available (and working to have it on Feb 22)

Sony TVs

First HDTV powered by Google TV.

Picture Engine X-Reality Pro in the Bravia TVs improves the picture quality.

Sony Bloggie Live

This new version is so exciting. Here is a video to show it off.

As a blogger who is looking to increase my video content, this new Bloggie Live is so exciting.

Can upload directly to your own blog
Live blogging with Qik
Use horizontally or vertically
8 GB of space (3 hours of video)
Charge via USB connector
WiFi enabled
Mac or PC compatible
Has a light on front
Stereo mic
Available January 10 for $250

Sony Tablet P

First dual-screened tablet

CES Press Day

This is just the Press Day finds. I will continue to bring you new technology from CES that will enhance your life.