Event report: Consumer Electronics Show 2012
17 January 2012
The 2012 Consumer Electronics Show officially opened this morning at the Las Vegas Convention Center, showcasing a bevy of new consumer products offering increased opportunities for networked devices and personalized content. While the majority of these products are years away from release, here are the trends you need to know in order stay ahead of guest expectations.
1. Networked interactive TV will hit the home market soon. Interactive TV has been a staple of hotel stays for years, allowing guests to play movies or access hotel content from their guestroom television. In recent years, consumer TVs have been released with social networking and Internet browsing services pre-built into the hardware. But now, manufacturers are looking to integrate interactive TV into a broader set of applications for home and mobile devices. Samsung, according to Ars Technica, will release a series of "smart TVs " that will allow users of Samsung phones and tablets to simply interact with their TVs, and vice versa.
2. More streaming content than ever will be available on tablets in 2012. Netflix and HBOGo, among other applications, have sent hotel bandwidth usage by guests skyrocketing in 2011. Now Showtime, TechCrunch reports, will get in on the mobile video niche with its Showtime Anywhere app. Comcast, as well, has begun rolling out its live mobile stream app, according to MacRumors.
3. 3DTVs will offer Web-based services. While 3DTVs have been avaiable for the last couple years, there has been little penetration into the hospitality space due to high prices and a lack of features. Expect this to change shortly as TVs featuring passive 3D technology will bring cloud-based networking and even streaming games to the forefront with no additional hardware, according to The Verge.
4. Ultrabooks will battle tablets for mobile supremacy. 2011 will likely go down in the history books as the year when tablet computing finally hit the mainstream and begin to cannibalize notebook sales. Intel is looking to battle back against the Apple iPad and MacBook Air with Ultrabooks, a series of thin and light notebooks that will feature a number of simple tablet-like features. Engadget reports Intel will pour tons of cash into their marketing campaign for Ultrabooks this year. For a few hundred dollars more than an iPad, Intel reasons, you can purchase a powerful and sleek computer. Time will tell if their strategy will be successful, but expect to see Ultrabooks in your hotel shortly.
Originally published on our US sister publication Hotel Management
