THE CONSUMER Electronics Show 2010 being held in Las Vegas this week will go down as an event that saw the technology industry deliver evolutionary products rather than groundbreaking new concepts, writes JOHN COLLINSin Las Vegas

While a record 330 new companies exhibited, with ideas that pushed the boundaries of what we can expect from technology, the established players, possibly battered from a downturn in consumer spending, focused on getting products to market this year.

The big products and themes on display were 3D televisions and sets that can pull content from the web, touchscreen ultra-portable tablet PCs, e-book readers, apps embedded in everything and environmentally friendly technology.

The technology industry’s largest annual get together, CES, opened officially yesterday; but, in keeping with tradition, Microsoft lifted the curtain on Wednesday evening with a keynote from chief executive Steve Ballmer. With the success of last year’s introduction of Windows 7, Microsoft would have expected to be riding high. Instead, power failures and other technical difficulties hampered a lacklustre presentation from Ballmer that focused more on the strengths of Windows 7 rather than what the world’s largest software company will reveal this year.

While there were glimpses of Office 10, some nice internet TV demonstrations and some slick improvements to the Bing search engine, particularly in maps, there was nothing of substance to kickstart CES. Ballmer finished with a glimpse of some Windows 7 “slate” PCs from HP and Archos – ultra lightweight touchscreen models with keyboards. This seemed as much a spoiler for Apple’s entry into this market at the end of the month as a statement of intent.

Elsewhere, the industry was making a big bet on the third dimension on TV, despite the fact that the current generation of technology requires the viewer to wear a pair of special glasses. Unlike the cheap Polarised glasses you are given when you go to a 3D movie at your local cinema, the so-called active glasses that are being used to deliver a higher definition experience on TV will add to the cost of a family going 3D. Current prices range from about $100-$200 per pair, although when 3D becomes mass market this is likely to drop.

Samsung unveiled what it calls a “3D home ecosystem” – a range of TVs, Blu-ray players, home theatre set-up, glasses and content partnerships with the likes of Dreamworks, the studio that has been driving the move to 3D with films such as Monsters vs Aliens.

The Korean firm also announced that the latest processor in its 3D sets is now capable of converting standard 2D content into 3D in real time, something that the president of its US operations, Tim Baxter, said would “tide consumers over until their favourite content is available in widescreen 3D”.

Sony’s combative chief executive Howard Stringer made no secret of the company’s desire to become the world leader in 3D. While it has been behind in releasing 3D sets, it is uniquely positioned because it plays at almost every part of the chain, from releasing films to selling the cameras to record 3D content and the televisions to watch it on.

While 3D advocates have been talking about the potential for sports broadcasts, such as the upcoming World Cup, and action movies, Sony is betting that live music will be a draw. Judging from the 3D version of Jimi Hendrix’s appearance at Woodstock in 1969 on display at CES, live concerts could be a surprise 3D hit.

The Japanese giant also unveiled the Dash personal internet viewer; a sort of internet-enabled radio alarm clock on steroids; the extension of its Playstation Network’s video service to more devices and TransferJet; and a way to share easily images between its Cybershot cameras that it also plans to extend to photo frames and PCs later this year.

Despite the gadget-fest that is CES, real-life celebrities are always a sure-fire draw. One of the more high-profile ones to lend their name to a technology brand was Lady Gaga, who made an appearance to announce her appointment as creative director for a new range of Polaroid products.

Although Apple does not do trade shows any more, its presence was felt in many ways, not least in the dedicated iLounge area where those making complementary products showed their wares. More subtly, the success of the App Store for the iPhone and iPod Touch meant everyone was outlining their own app strategy. Samsung talked about its plans to have apps running on everything from phones to its range of high-end LED televisions. “Hey app developers, if you like developing for that 3in phone screen, I have a 55in LED TV you are going to love,” said Baxter.

While Google did not absent itself from the show, it made its big announcement of its Nexus One phone at its home base in California on Tuesday. Despite this, a large proportion of the smartphones unveiled this week were running its Android operating system.

Following in the footsteps of Dell and Acer, PC-maker Lenovo showed off LePhone, a thin touchscreen model running Android, which it will launch in its home Chinese market this year.

Irish firms also made a mark at CES, despite having to compete against the noise of 2,500 other exhibitors. Belfast-based APTX, which makes software to send high-quality audio over Bluetooth, announced a significant deal with speaker-maker Altec Lansing and was due to unveil another possible two deals with major names. Music video website Muzu.tv did not have a presence at the show, but it was announced here that Samsung will embed the company’s service in its internet-enabled TVs and Blu-Ray players.

Given that Irish tech firms have never excelled in the consumer space it was positive to see smaller players like Dial2Do, which sells software that enables headset-makers to offer access to e-mail and other applications using voice commands, to be showcasing customers selling its service.

The vastness of CES is hard to explain until you have experienced it. Combine that with Las Vegas’s labyrinthine casinos and you’ll understand why seasoned attendees have their attendance mapped out with military precision.

The show continues until Sunday, by which time close to 110,000 people are expected to have passed through the doors.

Ces By Numbers

• 20,000 products on display.
• 2,500 companies exhibiting.
• 100,000 people attend at a minimum.
• 330 the record number of new exhibitors this year.
• 2 million square feet, the amount of space CES takes up at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
• $172.9 million, the projected economic impact for Las Vegas.
• 12 – the average number of meetings had by a CES attendee.