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The WAVE Report on Digital Media
3D --- Media Creation --- Shared Space ---Published by 4th Wave, Inc.--- Issue #0801------------------2/13/08 |
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0801.1 From the Floor
0801.1.1 D-Link
0801.1.2 Logitec
0801.1.3 Netgear
0801.1.4 SanDisk
0801.1.5 Belkin
0801.2 Digital Frame Update
0801.3 Sandio Technology Game O2 Mouse
0801.4 Optimus Maximus – Every key a Display
0801.5 Video and Accessories
0801.5.1 3M Mobil Projection Engine
0801.5.2 TI DLP Enabled Miniature Projectors
0801.5.3 Sanyo HD Digital Camcorder
0801.5.4 Sony Selling OLED Television
0801.5.5 Slingbox Goes Mobile and More
0801.5.6 Gelaskins – Personalization of my devices
0801.6 Touch Technology
0801.6.1 LG Viewty Cell Phone
0801.6.2 LG Voyager Cell Phone
0801.6.3 LG 42” LCD Touch Monitor M4210D for Signage
0801.6.4 LG.Philips LCD Technology
0801.7 Interesting Products
0801.7.1 Eye-Fi
0801.7.2 ASUS EeePC
0801.7.3 My.vu
0801.7.4 Fujitsu LifeBook U810 Mini-Notebook
0801.7.5 Panasonic 150” Plasma Display
0801.8 WAVE Comments
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0801 CES 2008
By John Latta
Las Vegas, NV
January 7-10, 2008
The numbers are daunting - .140,000 attendees, 25,000 attendees from 140 countries, and 1.8m sq ft of exhibit space. The market numbers for consumer electronics were announced today.
Shipment revenues for 2008 are forecast to reach $171billion and rise 6.1%. In 2007 they rose 8.2% to $161
billion.
Approximately 16% of the CE shipment amount is due to televisions. In 2008 this category will grow 16% to
>$29 billion. DVD players will grow 173% as the next generation players come down is price. Unit shipments
of $2.8 million are predicted.
Digital televisions have reached grown to more than 50% HH penetration in the US.
Gaming consoles grew 50% in 2007 to $6.6 billion in 2007 and will grow 26% to $11.5 billion in 2008.
Portable navigation devices is a rapid growth category with 100% growth in 2007 and forecast growth of 74% in
2008. Current sales are $3.1 billion.
0801.1 From the Floor
0801.1.1 D-Link
The booth is promoting D-Life. Another theme is connecting people. The booth includes Medialounge, a means to show PC contents on the TV, self configuring technology which allows multiple products to automatically configure using a number association technology. This is accomplished with the web site D-Life.com. The power of the technology extends beyond the one home but to homes with friends and family.
Shown in the booth is securespot 2.0 which protects the home network and computers with a set of controls based, in part, on managing the home router. There are parental controls, firewall protection, spam control and identity protection. There is also a software security component which securespot 2.0 does in conjunction with MacAfee. There is 3 layers of protection: computer layer, router layer and web services layer. The managed service begins at $15/year per computer and there are multiple bundles. securespot 2.0 is a partner company with D-Link and its strength comes with the integration with D-Link home networking products.
One of the most interesting products are multiple WiFi enabled photo frames. D-Link has created a Widget which allows the photo frames to be managed from the PC. This includes sending RSS feeds to the frame. From the D-Link perspective the photo frame is just another node on the network. One of the frames is also D-Life supported which means that the product can be fully integrated with the rest of the D-Life products inside and outside the home. For example, the photo frame can be easily set up with the video security camera, as both are D-Life products.
D-Link, has for many years a home video phone solution, i2eye. This is still a set of products but not shown in the booth. Last year a SIP product was announced. When asked about a Skype product it was stated that something different is coming as a video solution.
0801.1.2 Logitech
The theme of the booth is “Making Life Better.” There are“rooms” which depict home office, kids room, game room,
living room and bedroom. A circular table at the center of
the booth holds most of the products. The keyboard and mouse
are present but overall a small element. Of the five
products announced at CES, .two are not related to the PC,
one – diNovo Mini – is PC related but is focused on use in
an entertainment environment. The other two are speakers and
a laser mouse. The new Harmony One is an all-in-one hand
held controller. The product catalog is promoting “notebook
essentials” which includes its notebook stand. Squeezbox has
now gone wireless with the newly announced Duet product.
WiLife video security products make the home safer.
Consistent with Guerrino De Luca’s presentation at IFA, this
is now a CE company making home products. Its SKU depth
reflects this.
0801.1.3 Netgear
Netgear is more communications focused. It has dual mode cordless phones with Skype. It bridges CE with the IT infrastructure using Digital Media Receivers. These include the following:
High Definition Video; Multi-Room Playback; Personal Video Recording, Access to USB Devices including the
iPOD and display of the PC desktop.
The booth had multiple flow diagrams of how the products are connected together to form a home infrastructure.
0801.1.4 SanDisk
SanDisk gets an A for breakout – its ability to go beyond
the traditional end-use flash products to mainstream
consumer products. TakeTV is unique in that it allows one,
in a very small form factor, to record television programs
and carry then with you for later playback on any
television. But SanDisk also announced upgrades to its Sansa
Clip and Sansa View digital media players. Sansa View now
supports up to 32GB of storage. A new product Cruzer
Titanium Plus puts SanDisk in the services business. It
links a 4GB USB drive with an automatic online backup. One
can access the files either online or via the device. The
content is AES protected.
0801.1.5 Belkin
Belkin has a digital media bridge which connects the HDTV to the home wireless network. Belkin has a strong emphasis on mobility with Tunebase FM, a car docking station for the iPod and iPhone, Rockstar, which allows the output of an iPod to be shared with multiple listeners, and Backpack, a carrier of personal electronics.
0801.2 Digital Frame Update
Digital photo frames are everywhere here at CES. Conversations here at CES illustrate how complex this category is becoming. Consider the following early market segmentation:
Volume is being moved at the low price points. These are plug and show frames which are marked by low quality
and low price.
Photo frame is an alternate display device on the home network. It has as many applications as any media or IT
display.
Display quality for the photo enthusiast. “The frame matches the pictures I take.” Certainly Kodak fits this
category and so does Digital Foci.
The dynamics of the 2007 market was characterized in various booth discussions.
Yes, there was a large volume in the low price points but these are based on analog panels, mostly 7” and have
low quality. There are indications that the return rate for these were as high as 20%.
There is still considerable use of used panels from Pachinko machines as a means to drive price from the
panel. Some in the industry consider this unethical in that consumers are not being informed that they are
buying a product based on used components. As Pachinko machines are going up scale to larger panels these are
also migrating to digital frames. A clear tip off is that if the panel is 10.4” it has been used. This explains,
in part, the migration of photo frames to panel sizes this large and at low price points.
Yes, there is a migration to wireless WiFi connectivity but it remains to be seen what the value is to those
seeking the highest quality images. It is important to note that many regard this as essential to make the
digital frame an extension of the IT infrastructure in the home.
Brand has become less important, including in this market. With the rapid dissemination of user assessment
of products, a positive response to a product can flow in a manner of days after release. These user views posted
on-line can bolster a product in favorable position even among brands.
It is expected that HP and Sony will have photo frames this year and it will test the value of brands.
BtoB is an important developing market. This is essentially a low cost in-store signage application.
These sales are not price conscience but quality sensitive and play well to the strengths of the major
brand names including Kodak. Orders in the 1,000s of units and more have been received in this
segment.
Many others are seeing digital photo frames as an in-home display opportunity. Frame vendors have received
a number of contacts about potential relationships to leverage the display real estate which is
being sold.
Alternate distributions channels are being developed as the digital photo frame becomes a fixture in the home.
Some of these channels include linen and furniture, for example.
The drive for photo frames has a correlation with the number of digital cameras in the home. As there are
more sources of content, there is likewise, the need for more avenues for display. Thus, multiple digital photo
frames per household is emerging.
Today, the WiFi enabled frame is at the upper end of the market but this could change as the display finds
greater application when connected to the home network.
The WAVE spoke with Digital Foci.
Our products are for the high quality display of photographs.
We have a number of unique panels which are at the leading edge of presentation. Our 5.7” panel, with a
pixel density of 140ppi, supports 640 X 480. We have a 2.8” OLED panel and pocket albums which have only a
1.5” screen and can be carried in ones pocket. There are also LED backlight panels for superior color quality and
brightness.
PhotoSafe II which allows memory cards to be copied from one medium to another.
The Digital Foci panels can show the EXIF data – clearly for the photo enthusiast.
Distribution is with the photo market including B&H and Adorama.
0801.3 Sandio Technology Game O2 Mouse
Sandio Technology has come up with a 6 DOF navigation device which integrates 3D navigation into a standard mouse form
factor. It has 3 joy stick type devices embedded into the
mouse. This is a credible product at a credible price - $80.
The Logitech 3D Connection requires this product and another
mouse to do full navigation in 3D but the Game O2 by Sandio
Technology does it all in one device. Built on the Avago
6010 chip the Game O2 boasts on the fly DPI performance of
400 to 2000. The 3 joystick devices are integrated into the
top and sides of the mouse. On first glance the mouse looks
just like any other mouse but the additional controls add a
whole new dimension – pun intended. There are 16
programmable commands. Support for 40 PC games is already
present. Availability is via the web site for $80.
It just works.
0801.4 Optimus Maximus – Every key a Display
Every key is an OLED display of 48 X 48 pixels. Each key can
even support the display of video. The keys can be adapted
to show any character and are fully programmable. The ID is
excellent. The black framed keyboard outshines the white in
terms of visual appeal. To some it may strain credibility to
call the keyboard stunning but the crowds around the booth
indicate others agree. There is one problem – how could one
justify $1,500 for keyboard? From the Art.Lebedev Studio in
Moscow.
PS Is this the ultimate digital photo frame on the real desktop?
0801.5 Video and Accessories
0801.5.1 3M Mobil Projection Engine
The demo projector was the size of a cell phone. Out of the
bottom of the unit was light that projected a VGA image on a
surface. The unit even had a SD slot for content and one
projector was showing a PP deck. One could not help but be
impressed and the booth crowd reflected this.
3M is showing this to sell its IP as a product – the light
engine based on an LCOS imager. The light source is LEDs. No
power requirements would be quoted. Products are projected
in 2008. The cell phone market is one target, We found it
difficult to evaluate the image quality given the poor
lighting conditions in the hall. The colors seemed soft but
the PP projection had sharp edges on the characters. It was
stated that the image could be projected beyond 20’ but the
projection distance is related to light output.
0801.5.2 TI DLP Enabled Miniature Projectors
Shown in the TI DLP booth were two miniature projectors -
Samsung Pocket Imager and the LG HS101. Both support 800 X
600 resolution. The Samsung has 150 lumens output at 1000:1
contrast while the LG has 2000:1 at 100 lumens. The
innovation here is not the DLP chip, which is the same as
the one used in large projectors, but the light source –
LEDs. This allows for the smaller form factor, no warm-up
time and a more conventional projector design. Lifetime was
claimed by LG to be 20,000 hours.
0801.5.3 Sanyo HD Digital Camcorder
The HD1000 Xacti fits in the palm of ones hand. It has full HD capability. Recording media is SD with the MPEG-4 format. On sale since the fall of 2007 for $799. Impressive.
0801.5.4 Sony Selling OLED Television
The price is $2,500 and the same unit as seen at CEATEC. It is personal television with a 11” diagonal. The booth was packed around the display.
0801.5.5 Slingbox Goes Mobile and More
The Slingplayer Mobile is software which runs on cell phones that allows watching TV from ones cell phone. Supported are Windows Mobile Smartphone, Palm OS and Symbian OS.
Slingcatcher is a bridge device between the PC and the television. It allows:
Wireless connectivity between a PC and a television. Any PC content can be seen on the television.
Watch any television source connected to a Slingbox on any television in the home or at another location.
Transfer video content to a USB drive for later viewing on the PC.
Resolution supported is up to 1080i.
The Slingbox Pro-HD is the next generation Slingbox. Extends the Slingbox to HD quality on any device at any location. Supportive of Slingplayer on cell phones.
0801.5.6 Gelaskins – Personalization of my devices
The concept is simple – stick on art work for iPods, iPhones and notebooks. The designs are high quality and artistic. It makes devices personal. The booth was packed.
0801.6 Touch Technology
0801.6.1 LG Viewty Cell Phone
2” full touch screen but with many other interesting features including direct up load of recorded video to YouTube. 5Mp camera with image stabilization. The touch interaction seemed clumsy.
0801.6.2 LG Voyager Cell Phone
Dual screen 2.8” display with external touch screen. Flip phone with 2nd same size display below a full QWERTY keyboard. Keyboard makes the phone much more usable for web browsing. 2Mp camera. Value of touch on the external screen is questionable with the ability to flip and gain access to a full keyboard and other interactive controls.
0801.6.3 LG 42” LCD Touch Monitor M4210D for Signage
The touch technology is based on the 3M DST overlay. It is not a multi-touch display. Marginal performance and capabilities.
0801.6.4 LG.Philips LCD Technology
This is where the interesting touch technology was.
A very interesting table was shown which outlined 4 generations of touch technology. These are classified as“outer”, “inner” and “in-cell” types. The attributes of the table included size of display, applications, input modes and reliability.
The in-cell type is based on a photo sensor within the LCD cell and represents the highest level of integration. Only one panel was on display which used this technology but it was not multi-touch. The functionality and size was too limited to form an assessment.
The largest panel, at 52”, used the IR outer cell. It specifications included:
Active area: 1152 X 648 mm
Colors – 8 bit
Resolution - 1920 X 1080
Viewing angle – 178 deg
Luminance – 550 cd/ mxm
Touch recognition – 2 points, area and gesture
Touch response time – 90Hz
Input – finger, pen, hand writing and more
The WAVE spent some time with the 52” display. Shown was a
Google Earth image of the south part of Seoul. Having some
familiarity with the area it was instructive to locate
sections of town, recognize landmarks, use Google Earth to
locate places using Korean search and manipulate the image
with the Google Earth functionality. In terms of simple
touch manipulation we were favorably impressed with the
speed and functionality. There were some glitches in the
zooming and “double click” but these were more HCI issues
and not the display.
0801.7 Interesting Products
0801.7.1 Eye-Fi
The demo is impressive. Take a picture and it is automatically downloaded to a PC on the wireless network. The amazing part of this product is that the WiFi capabilities are embedded into a standard form factor 2GB SD memory card. It is possible to send pictures as they are taken to photo sharing, printing, blogging or social networking sites. Priced at $99.
0801.7.2 ASUS EeePC
ASUS EeePC comes in 4 models with the 4G Ultra 7" display Linux Micro priced at $399. It features a 4 GB SS HD and 512MB of memory. The display is 800 X 600. The shipping units come with a suite of Linux applications. It is stated that the computer is Windows XP compatible. But early reviews are critical of the performance in spite of the price.
http://eeepc.asus.com/global/
http://eeepc.asus.com/us/product.htm
0801.7.3 My.vu
Called a personal media viewer these are head mounted displays in a stylish package. The concept has been tried by many companies before. The models are crystal for $295 and shades and edge for $199 each. Crystal is called high resolution with VGA. The WAVE experience was marginal.
0801.7.4 Fujitsu LifeBook U810 Mini-Notebook
At 1.5 lbs. with a 5.6” display suitable for one hand holding for nearly 5 hours this PC got oohs and aahs. Based on an Intel A110 it runs a complete version of Windows Vista Tablet. The display is WSVGA and there is a integrated webcam. Memory is 1 GB DDR2 400 MHz SDRAM memory and a 40 GB (4200 rpm) hard drive. Prices begin at $999. Wireless is built in including Bluetooth and a fingerprint sensor. It was interesting to hear the booth discussion on how to avoid Windows Vista which is preloaded.
0801.7.5 Panasonic 150” Plasma Display
The hit of the show. Stunning display. Great news item but little else.
0801.8 WAVE Comments
In spite of all the talk the PC and CE industries these are still technology islands in the home. Yes, there are bridges with physical connections of the PC to the television and content connections to the PC but overall the integration of the technology and seamless products users can buy has not happened. In many respects the cell phone comes closer to bridging personal electronics with IT and communications. The advantage is that it is portable, affordable and ubiquitous.
At CES 2008 we saw important trends. The WAVE found it interesting that there are signs of home solutions by the PC/IT industries. These are starting to bridge between CE and PC. The PC industries cannot continue to hold out that only it provides access to the Internet, it has the only home network and all computing is done on the PC. But much more is required – the same bridges must extend to retail where the consumers see real benefit.
When it comes to mass market migrations CES has significant holes in its coverage. This is directly related to its function – connecting sellers of hard products with retailers. What is missing is:
All forms of the cloud in terms of storage, computing and connectivity.
Software – Yes, there is lots of talk about software but little on the floor.
Web 2.0 and social networking – one would hardly know this exists at CES
Gaming – Gaming left years ago and has not come back Home and family – CES is all about leisure activities. Home life is
not a part of this venue.
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Copyright 2008 4th WAVE, Inc.
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