DigitalLife officially kicks off in NYC today. Unlike CES which is industry oriented, DL caters to gadget loving consumers. There will be plenty of opportunity to play with all sorts of stuff (they even have video game tourneys), so if you’re near NYC anytime until the 15th pick up your free tickets and get down here. If the quantity of email and calls I’ve been receiving is any indication, this year’s event is much larger than prior events and looks to be a good time.
Like most bloggers, I do have a day job and I’m into negative PTO these days… So we’ll just have to see how much I can cram into only 9 hours on the ground. To maximize my limited time, I probably won’t be updating ZNF as frequently the last time I journeyed north.
I don’t imagine we’ll see many (any?) product announcements today, though there have been rumors a new Treo will be unveiled. I plan to spend a decent amount of time with various portable devices, check out the home media hardware, and see if Orb will finally reveal their business model. Obviously, I’ll be dropping by the TiVo booth (last year I got fresh with their mascot) and I intend to hook up with the Sling guys who’ll be roaming the floor. But wait, there’s more! I also have two classified meetings, and several interesting people to touch base with… so stay tuned.
The eagle has landed: I’m all checked in and ready to go! I’ll hit the floor as soon as my hot date, Peter Rojas, arrives. Peter, of course, founded both Gizmodo and Engadget and now you can see him weekly on TV.
Had my first visit with the TiVo folks. They obviously don’t have a whole lot to share with me, being caught up on KidZone and having an S3 in the house. HOWEVER, I did a little poking and prodding… Mac TTG is still in the works! While I couldn’t get a date out of them, they said expect an announcement in the near future. Also both Multiroom Viewing and external SATA drive storage are working through the CableLabs certification process. Sounds like, when the time comes, TiVo may sell their own eSATA drive.
I finally got to meet both my online buddy Sascha, of PC Mag, and the Excalibur/Dash in person. It’s true — the Dash doesn’t photograph well, but it’s may be the sleekest, sexiest smartphone out there… and I need it!
Had a chance to catch up with Jeremy Toeman and Brian Jaquet of Sling. I also had a few minutes on the Mac SlingPlayer — it exists, it works, and it’s coming soon. They’re also targeting those Symbian and Palm clients for a ’06 release.
Peter Rojas mobile blogs new Treo 680, 2PM
I’d like to thank the ShowStopper folks across the street for putting together a nice spread: I enjoyed steak and pastry while checking out ifrogz.
Additional coverage:
Hey, that laptop looks vaguely familiar… ;) Have fun, dude!
I’ve got this liveblogging thing down, but what I really need to work on is my posture.
Good hanging with you today!
Looks like a lot of cool toys out there. I don’t know who’s having more fun in the last picture though, you or the guitar.
Nice job covering the show. I wish I could have been there…
Spent nearly 4 hours on the floor of Digital Life today. I say nearly because I can’t fairly include the time spent in the Napster “Lounge.” ;) Let’s just say I have no idea why I got married instead of just becoming a Sugha Daddie for far less $.
More seriously, as small as the show was in terms of exhibitors and attendees, the intimacy made for great opportunities to explore certain areas in depth.
I finally found out what ViiV is, beyond what the Marketing paragraph says, and got some good insights into Vista, PlaysforSure, MS DRM strategy, and how all those interplay and overlap and where the coopetition is. Let’s just say I am more convinced than ever that TiVo desperately needs to get on board or they are done.
Over at the TiVo booth, since I’ve already used an S3, there was nothing worth seeing. I did see the Fantasy Football app, which seems to a non-fantasy player to work nicely, but everyone knows about that already. KidZone could not be more uninteresting, and I do have a kidz.
Pony gave a rendition of the S3 and no matter how many questions I asked about known problems, he stuck to the line about how easy it is to get everything going. But if you do have a CableCARD problem, you just call TiVo and they get right on the phone and straighten out your MSO. Yeah right. :rolleyes:
Unlike Dave, Pony told me that I would not buy the eSata from TiVo…I get any WD, Seagate, etal. drive and just plug it in.
TiVo was its usual close mouthed, insular self; as if they had anything to say that it is so important to keep secret anyway. Bottom line, it looks like TiVo remains the lone wolf and the big ranchers are settling the land.
Spent some time at Blip.tv, liked their “story,” and may be in touch with them again if they check out.
In that vein, anyone I talked to associated with content delivery expressed frustration about trying to deal with TiVo. I didn’t get details of course, but the reactions all had similarities.
Beyond that, personally checking out an SXRD XBR2 yielded a good impression. Of course, no 60″, which is the one I want. The hot news is the only difference between an XBR2 and XBR3 LCD is the $300 glossy bevel on the XBR3 – at least according to the Sony guys. I don’t vouch for that.
Got a Nets Cheerleader signed poster at Verizon “for my son” on the way out, and I really want to go back to Napster again tomorrow if my wife lets me. ;)
Dave gets MASSIVE props for the ‘groupies’ photo. What you don’t know from seeing here is he basically walked into the middle of their presentation/dance routine to get this shot.
Well-played, sir Zatz!
Will you be at the CrunchGear meetup later tonight?
Jeremy: You did a nice job behind the lens – thanks! It’s true… I crashed their “performance” which is why they’re both looking at me. ;) Though it would have been more impressive if I had picked up the guitar and joined the show, but I wasn’t quite ready to leave DigitalLife.
HDTiVo: Blip.tv is interesting in that people who submit videos get a cut of the advertising revenue. Though taking on the GoogleYouTube juggernaut won’t be easy.
And… weren’t you supposed to tell me you were going to be there?
Tim: Sorry, man, I’m already back in DC! They’re a few things percolating and it’s possible I’ll be back to visit before the year is out.