CES Tidbits

Various newsbits from the Consumer Electronics Show: Verizon promises cell phone TV; USB flash drives get more useful; Transmeta promises a fanless media center device, sometime; things you can stick on your iPod; and a tech site offers a photographic overview of day 0 of the convention.

Comments

Cell phone TV

[nizo]

Great, now people can not only talk on the phone, but also watch tv on their cell phone while they drive.

What it's all about

[buckhead_buddy]

If you take the worlds of television, telecom, games and music, and then remove content, you wind up with the consumer electronics show. Despite what you may be assuming, I think the inteligence level goes up quite a bit once content is removed. I envision telecom devices having fascinating conversations with my sister in Uganda rather than listening to telemarketers. I recall television products replaying some of my favorite cancelled shows rather than endless hours of mind-numbing nonsense.

I find it a bit disheartening that so much of the success of these products will depend on the success or failure of the content. Finally, when I heard Conan's lame double entendres about flacid penises (as in the Microsoft intro) that shook me out of my interest in what was presented at this convention. More and more I'm coming to the conclusion that products that allow the common man to produce content are far more interesting, revolutionary, and important than the evolutionary products shown at the Consumer Electronics Show to allow you to consume the content of others. The products at CES that catch my eye are ones that allow me to create or enojy the creations of others, unfortunately I think I'll see more of that sort of thing at NAB in April than I've seen at CES so far.

Please, tell me that I'm wrong and point out some great consumptive and productive tech that's made its debut.