The 2014 International Consumer Electronics Show is coming January 7-10 and we’ll be there! Of course we’ll have our normal small reporting staff and we’ll be blogging our little brains out trying to match engadget’s two busloads of people, but hey, you all were super supportive of our efforts this past January and that’s all we need to keep soldiering on.
The big question this year is really, what will we see? For about a decade, CES has really thrived on PCs and big TVs, with some emphasis on the things that make them better. What will the big trend be this time around?
PCs are just not that interesting, and people have proven that by not buying them. Sure tablets and smartphones are the big deal now but they seem to be released year-round and at the moment nothing really challenges the iPad on the tablet front anyway. (As usual, Apple’s skipping the show.)
As for big TVs, there’s been a lot of talk lately to suggest that young folks just don’t want monstrous TVs and that could really change the landscape of the show. There are bound to be more “small” 4K TVs, probably in the 37-55″ range, but so far 4K isn’t living up to the hype and we’re not convinced it ever will.
So what’s left? Samsung brought along some washing machines last time around. Smaller companies are betting on biometric devices that let you measure your exercise level and health. (Hello, 1983 called to tell you that was the last time Americans apparently cared about exercise.) So what’s left? Sewing machines?
That’s going to be the real question. Physical media has come and gone, so have PCs, cell phones are commodities and no one wants a big TV. It could be a colossally boring show. Let’s hope that we see some really new, interesting mindblowing thing that no one else has thought of, some segment-defining thing-a-ma-bob that will split the entire history of the universe in half. Hey, we can hope, right?
Make sure that you watch this blog because we’ll give it to you straight. We won’t deluge you with product reviews that you don’t care about… this is The Solid Signal Blog. We give you The Stuff You Need to Know… it’s right there at the top of the site.
