Show time for electronics as record numbers exhibit at CES

While there were no ‘wow’ products unveiled what was on offer at CES suggests 2012 will hold some interesting times

THE 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show is drawing to a close, but it had only opened its doors when the Consumer Electronics Association was pronouncing it a success.

Despite speculation that the yearly event was losing its relevance, a record number exhibited at the show, with more than 3,100 companies vying for attention among the sea of ultra books, smartphones, and OLED TVs.

Attendees drooled over Asus’s razor-thin Ultrabook, marvelled at the glass-encased HP Envy Spectre, and got to grips with Android-powered cameras at the event, which started last Tuesday and draws to a close this evening.

Visitors were also invited to view more quirky products, such as Empower Glasses that change focus at a touch, and robotics that would turn your iPhone into a patrolling robot.

There was no shortage of celebrity names this year either. Sony brought out actor Will Smith and director Barry Sonnenfeld to help hammer home its commitment to 3D and the consumer electronics giant's plans to reinforce its place in the entertainment market. Former Pop Idolwinner Kelly Clarkson finished off the evening for Sony, while teen favourite Justin Bieber was on hand to help unveil Tosy's new MRobo bass boost speaker.

Rappers seemed to be queuing up to promote their own line of audio products, with 50 Cent opting for SMS Audio, and Ludacris promoting his new SOUL line of products at the event.

But beneath the glitz and glamour, there were some solid product launches too. And although they had the most publicity, it wasn’t all about the big firms.

Vizio may not be a household name in Ireland, but it unveiled a range of TVs that could rival larger brands in terms of “wow” factor, and said it would introduce some new Google TV devices, which would also work with games service OnLive.

Other manufacturers talked up the benefits of 4k TVs, which will offer a much higher resolution than HD TVs.

The effect of the Kinect and its gesture controls was evident at the show. On Monday, LG announced it planned to bring in 3D gestures to control its TVs.

Samsung was quick to follow suit, showing off plans for TVs that would bring voice control, facial recognition and gesture control to the living room.

But while many of the announcements made at CES were trying to bring the PC and the TV together in the living room, Microsoft had another plan up its sleeve. Inspired by the success of the Kinect for Xbox platform, the company announced the Kinect system will go on sale for Windows personal computers on February 1st.

There was plenty of talk of 3D too, despite its lack of widespread success. Samsung tried to tackle the spectre of the technology, which was once billed as the saviour of the TV industry.

The company said it would work on building a library of content that could be streamed through its Smart TVs.

However, other companies are betting that glasses-free 3D will be the way forward. Prototype devices could be seen around the conferences, with Sony showing off two concept TV sets that ditched the 3D glasses.

MEANWHILE, STREAM TV showed off technology and a number of devices that converted normal 2D pictures and stereoscopic 3D – the kind that requires glasses – to a format that could be viewed without glasses.

On the mobile side, several phone makers announced they planned to make devices based on Intel’s new Medfield mobile chips. It will be used in upcoming handsets, including Lenovo and Motorola devices.

Nokia took the chance to unveil its latest Windows Phone, the Lumia 900, which is the company’s first 4G LTE-enabled handset. It joined the HTC Titan II in the next generation of mobile phones that will be launched on the US market.

Nokia, which Samsung said it would dethrone as king of mobile phonemakers, has also tried to grow its market share in emerging and lower-cost markets, which chief executive Stephen Elop said had some success. The company came out in support of Windows Mobile, its adopted operating system.

“We believe the industry have shifted from a battle of devices to a war of eco-systems,” said Elop. “Clearly there are strong contenders already in the field. Lumia established beachheads. Country by country, that’s what we’re now accomplishing. There is much more that we can do in this battle.”

Android wasn’t reserved only for tablets, with Polaroid taking the wraps off a camera based on the operating system which has 3G capability.

Canon debuted a new range of cameras and camcorders, while Samsung integrated WiFi into many of its cameras, proving you don’t have to have one of the latest TVs to keep up to date with the trend for connected devices.

While most of the focus was on what new and exciting products were available, services were also a big part of the mix.

Visa this week announced it would verify smartphones for use with “Near Field Communications”, meaning those with suitable devices can pay for small items through their mobile phone by simply tapping it on a terminal at the till.

While none of the announcements were too much of a shock, what was on offer at CES suggests that 2012 will hold some interesting times.