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CES 2010: Pass or Fail?
Posted at 2:15 AM
While I didn't get a chance to go to the show this year, I did cover a lot of stories over at ConnectReviews. There were plenty of cool things to see, as there are every year, but to be honest, I'm a bit disappointed. First things first. Let's start with the buzzwords for this year in technology: 3D and slate/tablet.
You might ask, "What's wrong with these?". Well quite simply, they're unimportant and regressive. 3D consumer TVs have been around for years, and tablets have been around even longer. So why make a big deal about them now? Beats me.
Last year, CES featured Blu-ray players, netbooks, and all sorts of other nifty new gadgets. Being into technology, these new(ish) releases interested me and made me want to purchase them when they were released. I have no such desire for 3D TVs and tablet PCs.
Let's take a closer look at 3D TV. First and foremost, the picture quality is degraded when you move to 3D. Certain parts of the screen might seem to "pop out", but others will be degraded in quality because of how the picture is created. Not to mention you have to wear obnoxious glasses while watching. Typically I like to be comfortable while watching TV, and that does not include wearing 3D glasses.
As far as tablet/slate computers are concerned, I don't see why. Apple's upcoming iSlate might change my mind because of their genius marketing, but I can think of few instances where a tablet computer trumps a typical laptop or netbook. It's not hard to imagine that it's faster to type than to write by hand. The only time that I'd really rather write by hand is when diagrams are necessary. However, I don't want to shell out $600+ for something a piece of paper has been accomplishing for thousands of years.
All in all, CES's major offerings this year left me wanting a bit more. Don't get me wrong, there was still plenty of interesting stuff this year, but the major focus was well outside of my interests. I guess there's always next year.