Las Vegas NV - Last week the consumer electronics industry held its annual showcase of products and services for the coming year, the 2006 International CES show (CES). As my readers know, I advocate participation in trade shows and conventions as a priority for Black business and self-empowerment. Whether you're a owner, a worker, or a student, trade shows such as CES, provide an opportunity for contacts, education, and deals. You can talk "one-on-one" with a corporate VP, tech, or manager, that might never have the time to personally respond to your calls and letters. CES was all of this, and a bag of chips.
With more than 150,000 attendees from 110 countries witnessing the introduction of thousands of new products and technologies from more than 2,500 exhibitors, CES lived up to its billing as the world's largest technology tradeshow. This was the place to be, if you're looking to see the latest and the greatest in electronics. It is truly an educational experience as well as a business event with many industry certification programs (see http://www.ce.org/Training/Industry_Programs/121.asp). The stars at this years show was the CEO's not the gadgets, in other words the "suits" ruled the day.
The show kicked-off with a keynote from Microsoft's Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates and included keynote presentations from Sony Chairman and CEO Sir Howard Stringer, Intel CEO Paul Otellini, Yahoo! Chairman and CEO Terry Semel and Google Co-founder and President of Products Larry Page. Additionally, Industry Insider presentations from Dell Chairman and Founder Michael Dell, Kodak Chairman and CEO Antonio Perez, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin and retail executives from Best Buy, Circuit City, CompUSA and Radio Shack gave attendees exclusive insights into the top trends and issues impacting the industry.
The key word this year, though out all the speeches, promotional literature, and product demonstrations was "Convergence". Getting devices and content to work together anywhere, on any device, was the theme of this years CES. And if you believed that, I have a bridge in Brooklyn to discuss with you. iPod the number one, must have gift over the Christmas season, will be the number one headache for consumers in 2006. For example; don't buy a Sony (store bought) audio CD and expect it to play on your iPod (without being a rocket scientist). If you have any doubts, read my story on Sony's Digital Rights Management (DRM) software (see http://www.blackwebportal.com Tech Page) But that did not stop Sir Howard Stringer, Sony's CEO from publicly stressing, that getting devices and content to work together will be "Job One" at the company...yea sure!
Bill Gates also focused on content and computers in his opening keynote speech. But his angle was more about how Vista (Windows next incarnation) will let you manage, coordinate and edit your own digital content--along with watching and listening to content from others (see http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/default.aspx). In other words, between their Windows Vista Media Center and Xbox (both are essentially multimedia Wi-Fi distribution centers), Bill Gates will rule, the digital living room of the future. By far the biggest crowds were surrounding Google and Yahoo's booths on the convention floor. Both companies demonstrating (in practice and theory) that Content is more important then consumer devices (even though CES is about electronic devices).
Google announced a new video-on-demand service that will offer its users the chance to buy CBS television shows and NBA games from its popular Web site, putting the Internet giant firmly in the middle of the fierce competition to deliver video content over the Internet. Not to be out done, Yahoo announced it's new service Yahoo Go. Yahoo is expanding its online capabilities, introducing a service that will help consumers ship e-mails, music, videos and other digital content more easily between their computers, cell phones and televisions, in turn making Yahoo's services more mobile. The race to control the content pipeline is on.
The thing that caught my attention is that content creators such as the Hip-Hop moguls Damon Dash, Russell Simmons, and Puffy were strangely absent at CES. All year long in 2005, I wrote about Hip-Hops claim to be the King of Content. Yet here in the quintessential primary marketplace for consumer electronics, the Hip-Hop industry chose to take a pass... What's up with that? Take Damon Dash's RocBox for example (see www.roc-digital.com); Here we have the first Black MP3 player (think iPod) and the only place you can find it on the convention floor, is in a catalogue. With all the buyers present from major chains such as Best Buy and Radio Shack, you would think (similar to the fashion industry's equivalent of CES, the Magic Show) that Dash, Simmons, and the rest, would be right there to draw attention, and more importantly sales to their products.
Morgan Freeman was there promoting his new production company, Revelations (www.revelationsent.com), and their partnership with Intel, called ClickStar (www.clickstarinc.com). Freeman and Intel CEO, Paul Otellini announced the release of its first feature film, “10 Items Or Less,” starring Morgan Freeman and Paz Vega (“Spanglish”). What makes this partnership groundbreaking is that ClickStar will be offering online consumers access to first-run feature film prior to DVD or pay-per-view releases. ClickStar's core mission is to become the online destination for premium content, designed to give A-list and independent filmmakers a vehicle to connect directly to their fans with new ways of experiencing home entertainment in a very affordable and flexible way.
On the product front, There were hundreds of accessories for iPod's, and just as many companies vying to be the iPod killer. Distributing multimedia seamlessly and conveniently, was the application of choice for most manufactures. Whether you're talking about Wi-Fi or net-based applications, most manufactures have integrated some facet of connectivity into standard consumer devices. It was obvious that the connected home is the next big thing. With the current governmental change in broadcast standards to digital (think HDTV), television manufactures were all touting their proprietary approach to brighter and clearer TV's (LCD vs. DLP, Blu-ray vs HD DVD). As I reported last year, the auto industry is now incorporating MP3, USB, and GPS features into new cars (think "Pimp My Ride").
Yes, CES was the place to be for Black entrepreneurs looking to sell after market goods such as car and home audio systems, or cell phone accessories. For those interested in learning more about CES please visit their website (www.cesweb.org) to read individual product announcements, hear industry podcasts, see photos and register for CEA/CES's ongoing year long programs and services. Keep your inbox's open for more on this years CES show, and answers to questions that were sent to me in advance of the show.
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