Industry

Approaching 3AM here in Vegas, we’re still about 7 hours from the “official” opening of the CES show floor. However, it’s probably safe to say most company announcements (outside “the great Palm anticipation“) have been made at this point. It’s just a matter of tracking down the interesting products in the convention center(s) going forward.

My day didn’t get off to the greatest start, plagued by a variety of technical difficulties and fighting some bug. Despite the initial slow going, I caught a bit of the Netgear press conference, visited Ooma and Sling in the convention center, met up with SageTV for a Hulu briefing, and perused a variety of products at the Digital Experience evening press event. The most compelling tech I came across today were the various implementations of Yahoo Internet TV Widgets, including the Samsung Blu-ray Netflix Soundbar and Vizio HDTV with QWERTY remote.

The day was also notable for the lack of information I was able to squeeze from TiVo… No new info on the renewed DirecTV collaboration, Comcast, or Cox rollouts. No new info on stand-alone hardware evolution. No update on the possibility of Amazon Video on Demand in HD. Although, I did come away with a bit more perspective on the new search interface/experience and heavy weighting of customer feedback going forward.

Last, but surely not least, Mari also arrived in Vegas today and hit the ground running. And, without further ado, here’s today’s earlier coverage:

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Today marks my first day on the ground in Vegas for CES. And while I was expecting a subdued crowd, I’ve never been to any tradeshow in this town without an airport cab line. Instead of thousands of folks not showing, I’m hopeful stays have just been shortened. Although, as some wonder, perhaps a trip out is unnecessary given the relative convenience of email and phone briefings. Then again if I weren’t here, I wouldn’t have enjoyed seeing fellow blogging and press buddies like Brad Linder, James Kendrick, Kevin Tofel, Ben Drawbaugh, Matt Buchanan, Sascha Segan, Lance Ulanoff, Eric Zeman, Ross Rubin, Jason Hiner, etc in person today.

I’m taking it pretty easy until the show floor opens Thursday. This afternoon I hit the ASUS press conference, followed by CES Unveiled. Probably the most interesting product (concept?) I came across was the ASUS keyboard PC. While this form factor isn’t unique, ASUS breaks new ground by providing a touchscreen that doubles as a pointing device and by integrating wireless HDMI.

At Unveiled, if I had to nail down a couple of tech trends, I’d say mobile tech was well represented. Especially in the ‘netbook’ category, with sizeable crowds at the Lenovo, ASUS, and MSI tables. Also, “green” tech (or at least “green” marketing lingo) was well represented. I’m counting on Mari, who arrives tomorrow, to follow up with some of these companies later in the week. And to let us know how “green” they really are.

I generally pass on exhibitor schwag, unless it’s worthy of a blog giveaway or something that might entertain my niece. Today’s award for best tchotchke goes to DisplayLink. While branded pens are commonplace at tradeshows, this particular model doubles as a 1GB USB flash drive and laser pointer. I might just keep it.

And, without further ado, here’s today’s earlier coverage:

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The Consumer Electronics Show is nearly upon us. And while the show floor of the largest US tech convention doesn’t actually open until Thursday, CES press events begin tomorrow in Vegas. As does the Steve Jobless Macworld in San Francisco.

Although we already know buzz and attendance are down this year, I’m looking forward to a stimulating experience and perhaps being surprised with some compelling new tech. Plus, 2009 marks the first CES in which I won’t be wearing dual hats of geek blogger and industry rep. I don’t anticipate providing a ton more coverage than in prior years. However, I am hoping for more sleep. In addition to the ZNF posts, also look for 140 character updates via Twitter while onsite. And, yes, Mari will be in attendance as well. If there’s anything specific you want us to check out, hit us in the comments or via email (contact@zatznotfunny.com).

We’re shooting for a daily summary, including post links and “tweets” … starting now:

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