CES 2012: Pre-Show Primer

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

This year we started our CES 2012 planning by visiting our favourite big box, electronics and mobile stores to see which of the products that made a big splash at last year's CES actually suceeded in the market. Working backwards from the aisles of tablets, countless smartphones and various devices that have hit the market.

Like many analysts we think that Ultrabooks will be the main story of CES 2012. The reason is that while tablets are no doubt popular, they aren't exactly flying off the shelves. Ok, one tablet is flying off the shelves, the iPad 2. As for the rest, they aren't earning their companies much or are probably clocking in huge losses as evidenced by the HP and RIM fire sales.

There are various reasons for the tepid uptake of tablets, the biggest issue we can think off is the OS and the applications. Developers seem to be holding back on apps (and rightfully so) untile the next version of the Google Android OS comes out whcih means while the specs and features of the tablets may be great, there isn't that much you can do with them.

That being said, we expect a decent turnout of new models and some sporting LTE capabilities as well as quad core processors. The 10.1 inch form factor still looks to be the general size most makers will focus on but we know Samsung has everything from 4-inch music players to 10.1 tablets so they cover the gamut of sizes.

Ultrabooks are still notebooks, manufacturers are familiar with notebooks and they all run Windows 7 which has a vast collection of apps. Ultrabooks are also likely cheaper to make than full-blown notebooks (less parts we assume) and slightly more expensive than tablets (the elimination of the touchscreen, the single most expensive component of the tablet saves a lot). Ultrabooks can also be sold at a substantially higher price than tablets and consumers are okay with that.

Ultrabooks also push the boundaries of technology now that the can run the faster Intel processors which are really the only option right now for the performance and battery life feature set. Thinner bodies, improved connectivity and increased capacities with cheaper SSD (Solid State Drives) are what we expect to see.

PMA or the Photo Marketing Association International will also be at CES this year and we expect to see some major releases in digital cameras and video. Some of the companies expected to show their stuff ate Fujifilm with their rumoured entry into the Interchangeable Lens Camera system as well as Panasonic which will be showing off their new GX1 flagship Micro Four Thirds camera.

All in all, I think we're in for a monumentals show and a heck of a sendoff for Microsoft which is doing their last keynote and who has announced that 2012 is their last CES event,