Display, Sensors, Bundling, Apps Head Up CES Trends

There are four trends to watch at January’s CES, CEA executives said Tuesday at the group’s annual CES Press Preview in New York. Demand for portability has created a segmented mobility environment with a wide variety of offerings across form factors and use-cases, CEA said.

Last year, CEA observed a void in the 5-15-inch screen-size segment, which has turned into a “battleground” between by e-readers, netbooks and tablet PCs, it said. According to Shawn DuBravac, chief economist at CEA, more than 80 tablets will come out over the next six to nine months “in every imaginable form factor.” DuBravac reported that 40 percent of tablet owners said they expect tablets to become their main computers. The top tablet uses are browsing the Internet, e-mail, watching videos, reading e-books and periodicals, gaming, viewing office documents, listening to music, calendar and contact management, social networking and online purchasing, CEA said.

At CES, DuBravac said, hot screen sizes will be 4 to 13 inches and operating systems will run the gamut from Android, Apple, and WebOS to “homegrown types.” A segmentation will occur between resistive and capacitive-touch screens and there will be more integration of other sensing technologies including cameras, microphones and antennas, he said.

The second trend involves integration of more CE features into products designed for a different purpose. Audi and Ford will have a strong presence at CES, said Steve Koenig, director of industry analysis, as consumers look more to integrate their digital lifestyle, such as smartphones, into vehicles. Printers are taking on additional functionality, he said, citing HP’s eStation 510 multi-function printer with a removable tablet that can be used for browsing and other Internet functions. Connected TVs are part of the trend, too, expanding the functionality of a set to include Internet browsing, e-mail and watching Web-based content. CEA predicts that connected TV’s proportion of set shipments will grow from 11 percent this year to 41 percent in 2014.

Devices will get smaller and pack additional sensing capability, DuBravac said. He cited the Xbox Kinect, with multiple microphones and cameras. Sensors include accelerometers, gyroscopes, touch sensors, and antennas including Zigbee, GPS and Bluetooth, and they'll become more pervasive in consumer electronics, he said. Sensing technology will be to the 2010s what integrated circuits were to the 1970s, he said.

The fourth trend is the move toward apps, which CEA said is driving personalization and utilization of technology. According to CEA, 55 percent of mobile device owners use apps, led by communication, weather, navigation and music, and 53 percent learn about apps from friends and family versus 24 percent from online reviews.

Koenig said white goods will have a stronger presence at CES with GE exhibiting for the first time. Attendees will see product bundling trend go “to the next level,” he said. He called the trend a “win-win” for retailers, which can bring in a higher ticket from matched products, and for consumers, who can get a more complete solution with discounted pricing.