{"id":5843,"date":"2012-01-22T01:28:24","date_gmt":"2012-01-21T18:28:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/?p=5843"},"modified":"2012-01-22T05:17:27","modified_gmt":"2012-01-21T22:17:27","slug":"top-6-tech-product-trends-of-ces-2012","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/top-6-tech-product-trends-of-ces-2012\/","title":{"rendered":"Top 6 Tech Product Trends of CES 2012"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Lori Cunningham<\/span><\/p>\n

Editor’s Note:<\/strong> \u00a0Congratulations to Sadie Beery of Frankfort, OH on winning the cool Striiv pedometer<\/span><\/a>! \u00a0We had over 400 entries – she’s one lucky lady! \u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

I had another fun,\u00a0exhilarating, and exhausting year at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) this year<\/a>. \u00a0As always, CES does not disappoint. \u00a0With over 20,000 new products\"\"<\/a> launched just that week, you can imagine there was something new to see around every corner. \u00a0On the other hand, there was nothing that stands out as a super “wow” as in year’s past. \u00a0There was a lot of excitement around the new tablets in 2009. \u00a0In 2010, 3D was all the rave at the show. \u00a0I would say the most exciting thing this year were the 55″ OLED TV’s. \u00a0We were all amazed at the super thin 20″ OLED’s last year so seeing the technology expand to 55″ was pretty incredible to see…but of course, the technology isn’t new.<\/p>\n

There’s no doubt that the trends I identified in 2010 continue to grow strong. \u00a0Smart TV’s<\/strong> are quickly becoming the norm as manufacturers are dramatically increasing the percentage of \u00a0Smart TV’s they produce. \u00a0Smart Phones<\/strong>\u00a0and tablets are remotely controlling more things – TV’s, cable boxes’, music, home surveillance, door locks, etc. \u00a0Apps Everywhere<\/strong>\u00a0continue a strong\u00a0presence\u00a0and are part of the category trend I list below for this year under Multiple Platform Experience. \u00a0The Connected Car continues to take off as more car manufacturers are building computers into their cars to help consumers maintain their connected lifestyles. \u00a0And of course, will Green Energy e<\/strong>ver go out of style? \u00a0Let’s hope not! \u00a0To learn more about last year’s trends see the Top 6 Tech Product Trends of CES 2011<\/a><\/span> (and of 2010<\/a> for further ongoing trends).<\/p>\n

Onto the trends stemming from CES 2012:<\/span><\/h2>\n

1.) \u00a0Ultrabooks<\/strong> – Ultrabooks were introduced at the end of last year. \u00a0Ultrabooks are the next class of laptops in that they are very thin (20mm or less), weigh less than 3.1 lbs, have a long battery life (5-8 hrs), have an ultra-fast start-up from sleep (similar to a tablet), and are priced right at $1,000, though the price will get closer to the $500 mark as more ultrabooks are introduced. \u00a0There were 30-40 ultrabooks launched at CES this year. \u00a0Expect to hear a lot about ultrabooks this year. \u00a0Sometime later this year it is likely they will include touchscreens so the ultrabook can be used like a tablet as well.<\/p>\n

2.) \u00a0Multiple Platform Experience<\/strong> – Today, people have 1-3 smartphones, one or more Smart TV’s, 1+ tablets, connected gaming consoles, PC’s, Macs, connected Blue-Ray players, connected cars, connected smart alarm clocks, you name it, people have it! \u00a0Most of these different devices have apps. \u00a0Now that consumers are more connected and more savvy about the apps they use, they are expecting their app on their smartphone to utilize the same info. of the same app they use on their TV. \u00a0Facebook, Twitter, Netflix, and many others have already been doing this. \u00a0No matter what device (platform) you log into, your information will be there. \u00a0 Storing user information in the cloud enables this process for your information to follow you to each device. \u00a0This trend continues to grow as new devices and apps are created.<\/p>\n

3.) \u00a0Connected Home<\/strong> – I’m thrilled to see a much bigger presence and \u00a0focus on home automation this year. \u00a0Home automation is no longer for the elite who can afford to\"\"<\/a> have their lights turned on and their air conditioned controlled by the press of a button. \u00a0Home automation is becoming mainstream. \u00a0I have been studying this trend for a while and in fact, it’s the impetus for our new website, TheWellConnectedHome.com.<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Using certain protocols (Z-Wave or Zigbee), a consumer can install and program (it’s now user friendly) lights, thermostats, door locks, cameras, draperies, and more to turn on or off with your smartphone, PC, Mac, tablet, and more. \u00a0I know because I have done it myself. \u00a0Find out more on theWellConnectedHome.com <\/a>website as I begin posting my experiences.<\/p>\n

4.) \u00a0Connected Health<\/strong> – it’s \u00a0been fun to see fitness and measurement products grow every time I go to CES. \u00a0Pedometers have really taken off and include social elements (see the new Striiv pedometer<\/a> social enhancements in this CES video<\/a>). \u00a0Pedometers are built-into fitness watches and devices…as well as\u00a0accelerometers\u00a0\u00a0(which measure the change in\u00a0acceleration), galvanic skin response (measures how active you are), heat flux (the rate of heat leaving your body), heart rate, sleep tracker, and more! \u00a0 A number of devices even allow you to enter in your food intake to get a complete look at matching your dieting or fitness goals.\u00a0\u00a0Absolutely remarkable.<\/p>\n

In\u00a0addition, home medical testing devices are getting smarter. \u00a0I remember oooo’ing over the Withings Digital Scale<\/a>\u00a0three years ago when I first discovered it at CES. \u00a0It tracks your weight, muscle, and fat…and sends it via Wi-Fi to your computer, smartphone, or tablet. \u00a0Wow. \u00a0Love it. \u00a0Some of the new digital scales even have a social element where you can post automatically to Facebook. \u00a0Uh, no thanks. \u00a0I suppose if you have a private support group, this might be helpful. \u00a0Withings also has a new Wi-Fi enabled baby scale<\/a> coming out that is a much needed home device for parents with underweight babies. \u00a0Ideal Life <\/a>also had a number of connected products to help seniors (and others) keep connected to their doctors such as a\u00a0glucose\u00a0monitor, blood pressure monitor, Sp02 oxygen monitor, and scale. \u00a0With these devices and devices like the Sonamba<\/a>, keeping track of your health and that of your aging parents is becoming easier.<\/p>\n

5.) \u00a03D TV Content<\/strong> – If last year was the year of the 3D TV, this year is the year of 3D content…finally! \u00a0Sales of 3D TV’s are progressing well due to the end of year discounted prices of excess 3D TV inventories. \u00a0Many people bought 3D TV’s because the price was right, so, why not? \u00a0Unfortunately, besides some movies, there is not a lot of 3D content out there to watch. \u00a0This is changing. \u00a0ESPN now has a 24\/7 3D channel<\/a> showcasing football, basket ball, boxing, the X Games, and more. \u00a0Discovery has created<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

a new 3D channel, as well as other content carriers like Comcast and DirectTV. \u00a0But the biggest 3D news of the show was Panasonic’s announcement that this year’s 2012\u00a0London Olympics would be filmed in 3D. \u00a0Talk about one event that will get a whole nation talking about 3D.<\/p>\n

6.) \u00a0OLED TV’s<\/strong> – Thin is in. \u00a0As I stated above, the new 55″ TV’s are pretty remarkable. \u00a0So incredibly thin. \u00a0Your finger is thicker than these screens. \u00a0With a contract ratio of 100,000,000, you can imagine how beautiful the display is. \u00a0The colors are vivid and vibrant. \u00a0Models will be\u00a0available\u00a0in 3D as well. \u00a0Can you\u00a0imagine\u00a03D coming out of such a thin screen? \u00a0OLED’s do not use backlight so transmission of the pictures is clearer and more colorful. \u00a0Also, as a result, they have a faster response time, \u00a0enabling up to a 100,000 Hz refresh rate. \u00a0Today’s LED TV’s only go up to a 240 Hz refresh rate. \u00a0Plasmas typically have 480-720 Hz refresh rates. \u00a0A faster response rate means less ghosting when a person or object moves. \u00a0Pricing is not set yet for OLED’s. The materials themselves are actually cheaper than for plasma or LCD TV’s. \u00a0It’s the fabrication process that is so costly. \u00a0The price will drop as more manufacturers begin producing OLED TV’s.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Although over 20,000 products were introduced at CES this year, many of them are not fully functioning yet. \u00a0Most will be produced and in stores by the end of the first quarter, although some will \u00a0not be ready until the Fall. \u00a0To get a birds eye view of CES as a whole, be sure to check out The Consumer Electronics Show (CES 2012) in Pictures<\/a>. \u00a0Next week we will publish our annual CES Great Technology Products for Moms for 2012.<\/p>\n

Have questions about CES or interested in a particular product or type of technology? \u00a0Leave a comment and I’ll reply with any info. I have to update you, stemming from the show.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The WellConnectedMom.com scoured one of the worlds largest technology trade shows, the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) to identify this year’s top technology trends.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1771,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,9,14,16,801,498,20,802],"tags":[54,460,1034,1035,1026,1036,985],"class_list":["post-5843","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gadgets","category-home-technology","category-moms","category-phones","category-shows","category-tablets","category-technology","category-trade-shows-conferences","tag-ces","tag-ces-trends","tag-connected-health","tag-connected-home","tag-consumer-electronics-show","tag-oled-tv","tag-ultrabook","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/p-content\/themes\/atahualpa342\/images\/articles\/2011\/01\/ces_2011_logo.jpg?fit=500%2C316&ssl=1","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5843","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5843"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5843\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1771"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5843"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5843"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5843"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}