2011 CES Round-up

Here’s your round-up for this year’s Comsumer Electronics Show — which had some awesome new advancements and gizmos… * Keynotes From Verizon, Audi And Samsung… Ford, Cisco, Ge, Xerox and The Entertainment Community top the headlines … and we wrap with Innovation And Optimism! 3-page article!

International CES WOWs World With Innovation And Optimism
Major Product Innovation And Keynotes From Verizon, Audi And Samsung Kick Off 2011 International CES
Connected Technology, In-Vehicle Innovations and Major Technology Announcements Highlight Day One of the 2011 CES

January 7, 2011, Las Vegas – The 2011 International CES kicked off Thursday morning unveiling the next generation of consumer technology innovation from 2,700 global technology companies. Owned and produced by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), the 2011 International CES, the world’s largest consumer technology tradeshow, runs through Sunday in Las Vegas

Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of CEA, kicked off the 2011 CES during his opening keynote address. Shapiro stated that the International CES is the world’s most important tech gathering and the products and services at the show demonstrate how innovation is the engine for our global economy. In fact, CEA predicts the U.S. consumer electronics industry to grow 3.5 percent next year to $186 billion. “As you listen to the phenomenal leaders speaking, as you inhale the sights and senses of the show floor and as you take in the experience of the CES,” stated Shapiro, “you may conclude as I already have, that at this CES we have more innovation and cause for celebration than at any event in our history.”

CEA has taken on the cause of innovation under the grassroots platform of the CEA Innovation Movement, a coalition supporting policies such as deploying broadband, attracting the best and the brightest, free trade and reducing the federal deficit. Shapiro also announced the launch of his new book, “The Comeback – How Innovation Will Restore the American Dream.” “I believe innovation is our destiny,” stated Shapiro, “Innovation can and will restore the global economy.”

Ivan Seidenberg, chairman and CEO of Verizon, followed Shapiro with a keynote address focused on the future of connected technology. Seidenberg stated that Verizon’s vision is to create a connected world and take down barriers that have challenged us from moving innovation forward. He was joined on stage by Verizon COO Lowell McAdams who discussed Verizon’s plans to blanket the country with its 4G LTE network, which provides continuous nationwide spectrum.

During the keynote, Seidenberg and McAdams were joined on stage by Jeff Bewekes of Time Warner to discuss “TV anywhere” and Sanjay Jha, Motorola’s CEO, to discuss the line-up of new Droid products, including the Droid Bionic and Android Xoom tablet. Mike Cleron, principle architect for Google’s Android gave a demo of the new tablet-specific Honeycomb operating system. Seidenberg closed by proclaiming innovation’s strength to the American economy and predicted that high tech manufacturing will be back in the US.

Rupert Stadler, chairman of the board of management of Audi AG, delivered a mid-morning keynote to a packed crowd Thursday.

quoting The car of the future is part of the mobile world … and that is the future we are driving toward. end quote

Stadler drove on stage in an eTron Spyder, a fully electric concept sports car that can go from zero to 60 in 4.7 seconds, and comes loaded with software to direct you to local restaurants and attractions.

Stadler talked about Audi’s goal to link the way we drive and the way we live. He touted the company’s MMI (multimedia interface) platform that provides driver resources including navigation and entertainment. Stadler was joined on stage by Jensen Huang, CEO and founder of Nvidia, to announce a partnership that brings the Tegra 2 processor to the dashboard. Nvidia’s 3D navigation graphics require less driver attention, reducing driver distraction. Other features where technology enhances safety included a vibrating steering wheel that alerts drives if they drift into another lane and collision sensors on the front and back of the vehicle.

Thursday morning featured the SuperSession, The Hollywood Creative Masters: A Media Money Maker, produced by Variety. Moderated by Variety’s Chris Morris, the session featured a panel of Hollywood elite including Gale Anne Hurd, Executive Producer of The Walking Dead and Producer of The Incredible Hulk; Tim Kring, Master Storyteller, Executive Producer of Heroes and Tim Kring’s Conspiracy For Good; Tom McGrath, Director of Megamind; Jeff Ross, Executive Producer of Conan and Conrad Green, executive producer of Dancing with the Stars. The panel provided insight into their real-world experiences of incorporating digital media, and most especially social media, into their movies and TV shows to provide a richer viewing experience. They described the balance between growing their brands while maintaining character and plot authenticity. The consensus was that social media cannot be ignored, but should be embraced wisely to increase fan base.  

Thursday afternoon’s SuperSession, Got Game: The State of the Games Industry, addressed the top challenges in the gaming industry. The panel, consisting of executives from Electronic Arts, GameStop, Habbo Hotel/Sulake, Samsung and Vindicia, discussed how content can move forward and which devices and platforms should provide this content. Other topics of discussion included the disconnect between perception and the reality of the game space, as well as the role of social media in gaming.

CNET’s Next Big Thing: After the Computer Supersession Thursday afternoon drew a packed house. The standing room-only event featured CNET moderators Brian Cooley and Molly Wood as they posed the question of what would be the next big thing: tablet PCs, smartphones or Internet-connected TVs. The session featured two videos, three panels of experts and even audience participation in the form of a texted poll. The first panel of experts debated devices, services and operating systems, while the second discussed the content market and consumer choices. The final panel of experts held a spirited discussion on content delivery, transparency and digital rights.

Thursday afternoon’s keynote featured Samsung CEO Boo-Keun Yoon who discussed Samsung’s vision of ‘Digital Humanism,’ uniting people around Samsung products fueled by high quality video content stored in the cloud. Yoon announced a number of partnerships focusing on Samsung’s Smart TVs and other connected devices.

Yoon was joined by Comcast CEO Brian Roberts and Time Warner Cable CEO Glenn Britt, who shared their plans for Samsung’s Smart TVs. Comcast’s Roberts demonstrated cross-device portability on Samsung devices. Consumers will not only be able to access Comcast video-on-demand content on Samsung’s Smart TVs and Android-based Galaxy Tab via the Xfinity app, but will be able to pause videos on one device and continue viewing on the other. Time Warner’s Britt shared plans to deliver all Time Warner content – including live television – to Time Warner subscribers over just an Internet connection with no need for an additional set-top box.

Yoon was also joined by Hulu CEO Jason Kilar, who announced that Hulu Plus will soon be available on Android phones, including Samsung smartphones. Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen joined Yoon onstage to announce that Samsung Smart TVs will also support both Adobe Air and Adobe Flash technology. Finally, Dreamworks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg and Boo-Keun Yoon reaffirmed their partnership, bundling Dreamworks 3D titles with Samsung TVs.

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International CES WOWs World With Innovation And Optimism
Keynotes From Ford, Cisco, Ge, Xerox And The Entertainment Community Top Day Two Of The 2011 CES
FCC Chairman Genachowski Discusses Broadband, Spectrum Reform and Competition Policy with CEA’s Shapiro

A keynote address from Ford CEO Alan Mulally, the Innovation Power Panel with leaders from Cisco, GE and Xerox, along with the first-ever Entertainment Matters keynote panel were the day two highlights of the 2011 International CES. Owned and produced by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), the 2011 CES, the world’s largest consumer technology tradeshow, runs through Sunday in Las Vegas.

Friday morning’s CES Innovation Power Panel keynote provided a unique discussion with three U.S. business luminaries — Ursula Burns, Chairman and CEO of Xerox; John Chambers, Chairman and CEO of Cisco and Jeffrey Immelt, Chairman and CEO of GE. Moderated by CEA President and CEO Gary Shapiro, the Innovation Power Panel discussion included many issues that affect American businesses’ ability to innovate, including the U.S. education system, trade and exports, immigration policy and tax policy.

On education, the panelists agreed the U.S. K-12 system is broken. They recommended a measurable program with ambitious goals that would move the U.S. education to the top five in the world, from the top 30. Panelists agreed that the U.S. needs an immigration policy that encourages the best and the brightest not only to come attend college, but also to start companies in the U.S. and remain.

Burns expressed dismay about the process of the Korea Free Trade Agreement, noting that she’s on President Obama’s Export Council, and called so much of the information she receives “illogical.” Noting that innovation can help grow our economy if the right public policies are adopted, Chambers cited with approval many themes from Gary Shapiro’s new book, “The Comeback:  How Innovation Will Restore the American Dream.” The panel agreed with Chambers’ observation that the U.S. is at point of inflection, a tipping point, emphasizing that for all of these issues, we have “got to do better job of government and business working together.”

Alan Mulally, president and CEO of the Ford Motor Company, took to the stage for the second morning keynote. Mulally introduced the Ford Focus Electric, Ford’s first electric vehicle and the first car the company has unveiled at CES. Mulally announced that Ford will have five electric vehicles in the U.S. by 2012. 

“Today we are plugging in more than electric cars, but the whole Ford company,” said Mulally.  The Ford Focus Electric will charge in just over three hours using a 240 volt outlet. Owners will be able to use Value Charging Powered by Microsoft, which will only charge the vehicle when utility rates are at the absolute lowest.

The Entertainment Matters keynote panel, moderated by Michael Kassan, chairman and CEO of MediaLink, featured Akamai’s David Kenny, The Coca-Cola Company’s Joseph Tripodi, Interpublic Group’s  Michael Roth, Microsoft’s Mich Mathews and WPP’s Sir Martin Sorrell. The executives discussed the interconnection between technology and marketing, the need to leverage technology to build brand and engage customers and the challenge of managing communities rather than exclusively pushing content. Kenny encouraged companies to develop technological strength because “great innovation comes from companies that have depth.”

This afternoon’s one-on-one session with the FCC chairman Julius Genachowski and CEA’s Shapiro discussed developments in broadband, spectrum reform, competition policy and other issues impacting the consumer electronics industry.  Genachowski began by discussing spectrum saying, “what’s happening here at CES so strongly illustrates both the immense opportunity and the critical challenge around this vital public resource.”

Genachowski concluded, “To the hundreds of companies and groups that have called for incentive auctions, I share your vision of what’s necessary for U.S. leadership in mobile. I look forward to working together to fight for our future.”

At a morning SuperSession, Big Thinkers Disruptive Technologies, panelists from AT&T, Zoran Corp., NVIDIA, Real D and Synaptics pointed to advancements in smartphones and tablets, cloud computing and wireless connectivity. Ted Theocheung, vice president of the PC and digital home division at Synaptics, remarked that tablets acting as remote controls will compel consumers to be more interactive with content.

The final SuperSession, Consumer 360 – Gadgets Everywhere and the Role of Wireless, was moderated by Rajeev Chand, Managing Director and Head of Research, Rutberg & Company, LLC. The panel featured executives from GM, Intel, AT&T, Motorola Mobility and Best Buy’s The Geek Squad.  The group had a wide-ranging conversation about the role wireless networks will play with emerging devices, like tablets. The panelists agreed that at some point in the near future, consumers will be able to access all of their content anywhere, anytime across multiple devices. 

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International CES WOWs World With Innovation And Optimism2011 International CES WOWs World With Innovation And Optimism… Record-breaking 30,000 Overseas Visitors Experience World’s Largest Consumer Technology Tradeshow

More than 2,700 technology companies across global industries dazzled attendees at the 2011 International CES, with the ground-breaking event energizing the technology world. The 2011 CES set several new records, including 30,000 international attendees and 22 top CEOs participating in keynotes. Owned and produced by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), the 2011 CES, the world’s largest consumer technology tradeshow, concluded today in Las Vegas.

“The 2011 International CES was a phenomenal worldwide event that spanned global industries including technology, automotive and entertainment markets,” said Gary Shapiro, president and CEO, CEA. “This global technology gathering featured more innovation, more news, more social media buzz and more international attendance than any other show in CES history.”

Preliminary attendance figures indicate more than 140,000 industry professionals attended the 2011 International CES. More than 30,000 attendees came from outside the United States, with the show attracting more than 80 international delegations. CEA conducts an independent audit of attendance at the International CES and final verified figures will be available in the spring.

Major technology trends emerged from the CES show floor including the launch of more than 80 tablets, wireless 4G LTE, connected TV technologies, smart appliances – featured for the first time in show history – and electric vehicles. Ford’s Alan Mulally unveiled the company’s first electric car at the 2011 International CES with its Ford Focus Electric.

The 2011 CES brought top CEOs to the CES stage including Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer, Verizon’s Ivan Seidenberg, Audi’s Rupert Stadler, Samsung’s Boo-Keun Yoon, Ford’s Alan Mulally, Netflix’s Reed Hastings, Cisco’s John Chambers, Xerox’s Ursula Burns and GE’s Jeffrey Immelt. These executives were joined onstage by leaders spanning various industries including Comcast’s Brian Roberts, Time Warner Cable’s Glenn Britt, Dreamworks Animation’s Jeffrey Katzenberg and Hulu’s Jason Kilar. The 2011 International CES conference program consisted of 250 sessions featuring 900 speakers.

As the relationship between technology and the content community grows in significance, the 2011 CES featured a new program, Entertainment Matters, designed for the Hollywood community. As part of the program, the 2011 CES featured the first-ever Entertainment Matters keynote panel with leaders from Microsoft, Coca-Cola, Akamai Technologies, Interpublic Group and WPP.  

The 2011 International CES featured government leaders from the U.S. and around the world including United States Trade Representative Ambassador Ron Kirk, United States Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke and FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, along with Commissioners Meredith Attwell Baker, Mignon Clyburn and Robert M. McDowell.

The 2011 CES created phenomenal buzz in the social media world with more than 158,000 CES-related tweets since Monday, January 3, and more than 11,000 page views on CEA’s Digital Dialogue blog.

For more news on the 2011 International CES, visit CESweb.org. The International CES will return to Las Vegas next January 10-13, 2012.

About CEA: The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) is the preeminent trade association promoting growth in the $186 billion U.S. consumer electronics industry. More than 2,000 companies enjoy the benefits of CEA membership, including legislative advocacy, market research, technical training and education, industry promotion, standards development and the fostering of business and strategic relationships. CEA also sponsors and manages the International CES – The Global Stage for Innovation. All profits from CES are reinvested into CEA’s industry services.  Find CEA online at CE.org.