2012

Today will be the last day for CES 2012. This year’s edition brought numerous tech premieres and generally allowed us to take a glance at what 2012 will be all about, technologically speaking.

Tablets were there (the top of the class sporting the Android Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0.3 update on top of  quad-core processors and high-res displays), ultrabooks were there too waiting patiently for Windows 8 Metro touch UI, enormous smarthphones like the new Sony Experia S or the HTC Titan II (4,7 inch display!!!) were also present. Similarly, HDTVs looked their best after some harsh dieting (see the 4mm thick 3D OLED HDTV from LG) and seemed to have lost their remote controls solely to rely on Kinect-like interaction with the user.

Apple was not present, and for that matter they didn’t needed to be – 2012 will be all about iPad 3, Apple TV and maybe even a new iPhone. Let’s not forget Apple is expected to refresh its Macbook line any time soon.

Also, keep a close eye on Windows 8, as its good looks are not the only great feature it brings to the PC world – it also comes with improved multitasking and security, build-in cloud features, own app store and even ARM support of the box (yes, that means tablets).

Happy 2012!

Kinect fever

While Kinect was certified by the Guinness Book of World Records as the fastest-selling consumer-electronics device to date, Phil Izzo of the WSJ points out that this is actually not entirely true:

But a closer look makes it clear that the comparison isn’t exactly apples to apples. The Kinect launched right before the beginning of the holiday season, while the iPad launched in the spring. Electronic sales are always much stronger in November and December than April and May. Bragging that you had stronger sales with a holiday launch date is sort of like someone with an August birthday in a room full of people born in December bragging that he had the warmest weather for his party. [...]

Nevertheless, both Apple iPad and Microsoft Kinect are amazing gadgets, with iPad 2 taking another shot at becoming the world’s most craved for piece of technology.