Top ten things Tech Digest is looking forward to at CES 2008, part two
We’re out in Las Vegas now, and it’s high time I wrapped up our Top Ten Things We’re Looking Forward To At CES 2008 feature. Before I have any more margaritas, obviously. Here’s numbers six to ten…
6.) 2008’s touted iPhone killer – Sigh. How I hate writing those words, but we all know it’s true. Whilst 3GSM is the big mobile-con of the year, handset manufacturers can hardly avoid the temptation of announcing the year’s ‘must-have’ fingerprint smeared devices – after all, the whole world’s technology media is in attendance, promising pages of editorial. Tech Digest is guilty. Anything promised as an ‘iPhone killer’, even it’s a bloomin’ LG Chocolate in New! Limited! Edition! Cherry! Red! Could with touch! Sensitive! Buttons! will get undue attention here.
7.)Slimmest TV/handset/laptop – As competitive as the world’s largest TV category, every company and their dog hopes to pip its rivals to the world’s thinnest product X at CES prize. Can an LCD manufacturer one-up Sharp on IFA’s 22mm prototype jobby? What are the chances of Sony launching a Vaio that is lighter and thinner than Toshiba’s Portege R500? We shall await with bated breath over 2008’s most anorexic consumer electronics.
8.) Free USB stick press packs – Companies, listen up. We obviously need to collect your press materials for writing up your releases, but what about doing us a favour, and giving them out on USB sticks, like a few key companies have been doing for years now? Not only is this easier for us to copy and paste from when time is of the essence (Tech Digest and Shiny Shiny both excluded from this nasty practice, honestly), but it’s also a little freebie we can use time and time again, or at least put in the shoebox under the bed with the other 79 sticks we’ve collected in the past 12 weeks.
9.) Green initiatives –If 2007’s IFA show was anything to go by, green is the new titanium black, and every company wants a slice of the organic West Country apple pie. Containing free range eggs, natch. Sony, Sharp, Philips, Dell and a bevy of beauties have all made promises in the last 12 months to become either carbon-neutral, or just to resemble slightly green-tinged landlubbers on a river cruise during bad weather, so who knows? Maybe this CES will show Sony actually putting their conceptual Odo goods onto the production line already.
10.) Adult entertainment show – Commencing just as the curtains draw on CES, it gives us techies something to do if we don’t fly out of Vegas straight away. You know, amongst all the supping of foot-long margaritas, and visits to Best Buy and M&M World. The hottest party of the week isn’t actually CES-related (although Monster Cable’s soiree with Mary J Blige is a close contender by the sounds of things), it’s the adult entertainment show’s party on Wednesday night. Don’t expect us to live-blog that one. This is a G-rated blog, after all.
See part two of this feature here.
