Reflecting holistically on CES 2011, there seems to be more diversity from the large manufacturers than what I saw last year… where I felt accosted by 3DTV. Don’t get me wrong, they’re still pushing hard on that front. But there’s more emphasis this year on Internet connected television platforms. Which works out quite well for us, given our areas of interest and coverage. And as Nilay Patel pointed out to me during my Engadget trailer visit, both Samsung and LG are running with the “Smart TV” moniker… as are several others. Of course, the tablet onslaught is in full force — another burgeoning category that interests me. Unfortunately, the only sign of the tablet-optimized Android Honeycomb was a video loop running on Motorola’s Xoom. Additionally, it seemed as if there were more phone and camera announcements out of Vegas this year – whereas I’d expect that from those specific industry’s events. Then again, it looks like both Palm webOS and Verizon are saving some big announcements for after the show… where they probably hope for our undivided attention and makes you wonder if CES has outlived its usefulness.
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