Next week is going to be a huge week in tech news, it’s the Computer Electronics Show down in Las Vegas. Unfortunately, we weren’t invited (probably because no one knows who the hell we are) but that won’t stop us from posting constant updates about the latest technology coming out of the show.
Since the show is still 5 days away, why don’t we list some of the rumors, predictions, and expectations from this year’s show.
The Ultrabooks market invastion
Just like how iPads paved the way for a tablet explosion 2 years ago, Macbook Airs are now the predecessor to the upcoming Ultrabook infestation. Ultrabooks are new high-powered thin laptops that are expected to take a major bite out of the market that the Macbook Air has held for the past few years. In order to quality as an Ultrabook, it’s said that the laptop must be less than 0.7″ in thickness, weigh less than 3 pounds, and have a 5+ hour battery life. Wired states that between 30 to 50 different ultrabooks are set to debut at the show.
My prediction: Ultrabooks will sell slow at the beginning due to it’s high price. What’s stopping the Macbook Airs (and the Pros for that matter) from dominating the laptop market is their higher price point. Supposedly Ultrabooks are going to start at $1200 and that’s really going to hurt them.
Superphones are coming
There’s a rash of rumors abound regarding new phones. The biggest is, of course, the Sony Xperia Arc HD which has been popping up all over the place. These superphones are expected to come packed with quad-core processors and 12+ megapixel cameras. There’s also a huge expectation that there will be a nice selection of LTE capable phones. Currently the only LTE phone in Canada is the Samsung Galaxy S II (not to mention the tablets and rocket sticks that you can grab from Rogers) so it will be nice to have a bigger selection soon.
My prediction: Though any Xperia phone from Sony is bound to generate a lot of hype – do we really care for LTE phones in Canada? What’s the point of faster network speeds on a phone when we’re only allowed a spoonful of data each month from our greedy network providers?
OLED Televisions
LG is going be showing off its new OLED 55″ television like a hot daughter. Apparently this thing is going to be really hot with it’s 4-pixel colour technology and ultra-thin display. Toshiba will probably be displaying its newest line of glasses-free 3D television.
My prediction: TVs are always a hot item even though the additional features that have been added on to them (wireless device networking and 3D) haven’t upped their sales. I’m kind of disappointed that not many television manufacturers are trying to replicate the glasses-free 3D technology that Toshiba has. However, they are finally going to set a standard soon on glasses.
The only thing that gamers will be looking at…
For the past 15 or so years, CES hasn’t been much of a ground for gaming announcements. E3 and the Tokyo Game Show sort of grabbed the spotlight from it. However, Superphones and tablets aside, gamers will want to keep their eyes peeled at Razer. Not only are they expected to showcase the Blade again, but they’ve been teasing about a new gaming form dubbed “Project Fiona”. Not much is known about it yet but most are speculating that it has something to do with the Blade.
My prediction: The Blade was the big news for gamers last year when it made its debut and it’s younger brother, the Switchblade, had us all drooling. Sadly, the Blade was delayed and we never heard anything else about the Switchblade. I’m expecting “Project Fiona” to be some sort of overpriced portable PC gaming extension, much like how the Switchblade was going to be, but with better specs. I have small hopes for Razer though – they have a track record of being unable to release 2 products that were shown off to great hype.
The fun is just beginning! Stick around for CES 2012 news as it’s announced.