The2010 Consumer Electronics Show , which closed in Las Vegas on Sunday, was arguably the best in years in featuring products ready for primetime rather than the vapourware often on display.
Sony impressed with its 3D-readiness, there were plenty of appealing eReaders and smartphones on show, while new netbooks, smartbooks and tablets galore are on their way to the PC market.
Our round-up of the best of CES is after the jump with links to the announcements, our coverage and reviews from other tech sites.
Sony and Samsung led the way on 3D , Panasonic also promised a full lineup of 3D TVs by the spring and Toshiba emphasised 2D to 3D conversion and its forthcoming 3D Blu-ray player. The other big theme was internet connectivity, content and services. LG and Panasonic showed Skype video calls through the living room TV and Toshiba demonstrated its own version of a videophone. Blu-ray players and internet-integrated TVs will have more than Netflix streaming in future, with companies such as DivX, Vudu and Yahoo bringing hundreds of video channels, widgets and applications tothis developing platform .
eReaders had their own section of the show and Plastic Logic received the most attention for its large format Que, if only for the $800 price it planned to charge. The Skiff is another large format reader that will serve newspapers and magazines better than small-screen readers. The Alex with its dual-screen approach also made its debut. Qualcomm showed off its Mirasol technology, which means colour and faster displays later this year, although to me readability was hampered by a lack of brightness in the screens with all of the eReader technologies.
Tablets may become a preferred way of reading books with their more vivid screens, if users can forgive the shorter battery life, and much rests on reaction to Apple’s reported tablet, due later this month. There were tablet prototypes shown off by the chief executives of Intel and Microsoft at their keynote speeches and Nvidia’s CEO went as far as describing 2010 as the year of the tablet – he thinks the next generation of his company’s Tegra chip will power many of them. Dell showed a 5-inch tablet it expected to launch later this year.
Smartbooks made an auspicious debut at CES with the Lenovo Skylight and there were improvements to many netbooks, with multi-touch and high-resolution screens appearing. Lenovo also introduced an interesting hybrid laptop, the IdeaPad U1, whose multi-touch screen could be detached to become a tablet.
In smartphones, attendees were keen to try out the Nexus One, announced by Google on the eve of the show. AT&T announced plans tolaunch five Android handsets from Dell, HTC and Motorola. Motorola showed off its fifth Android phone, the Backflip. Palm unveiled new versions of the Pre and Pixi and an agreement with Verizon Wireless to sell its phones.Intel announced its return to the handset market after four years with an LG smartphone.
Best of the rest: the Sony Dash is a hybrid digital photo frame that offers hundreds of applications through its licensing of the Chumby platfrom. Sony’s Webbie camcorder, its answer to the success of the Flip, has been updated in the shape of the Bloggie. Netgear launched its Push2TV technology with Intel for streaming content wirelessly from a laptop to a TV. Finally, Samsung launched the coolest portable media player - the IceTouch – with its two-inch transparent screen.
