At this year’s CES, tablets will get cheaper, laptops will get thinner, and cameras will become more like phones. Apps will be everywhere, including in cars. And Microsoft’s phone-inspired Windows 8 will edge closer to release.

1. January 7, 2012
batteryfast.co.uk
CES 2012: Mobile Technology Will Leading
Everything
CES 2012: Mobile Technology Will lots of new mobile products and technologies at CES,
Leading Everything but we’ll also see older products–laptops, cameras,
and even desktop PC OSs–trying to remain relevant
CloudTags: CES , 2012 , Mobile , Technology , laptop by adopting features of mobile devices.
batteries uk , Toshiba pa3534u-1brs , 485041-003
batteries A prime example is the Ultrabook, the year’s hot new
laptop design. Ultrabooks are razor-thin and light,
Lots of tablets and apps will be on display at the but unlike the cheap netbooks of a few years ago,
gigantic CES show in Las Vegas next week. But we’ll they aim for beautiful, sophisticated designs and
also see older technologies that are trying to behave enough power to buzz through most of the tasks that
more like mobile devices. an average user needs to perform. You can look at
Ultrabooks as Windows versions of the MacBook Air,
since Apple’s svelte laptop has clearly helped inspire
the new designs. But the Ultrabook is just as clearly
a response to the growing popularity of tablets. By
http://www.batteryfast.co.uk/battery-technology/ces-2012-mobile-technology-will-leading-everything/
cutting the weight of their laptops to a level only
slightly greater than that of a full-size tablet, and
by focusing on cutting-edge designs, laptop makers
can argue that Ultrabooks are almost as portable
and just as fashionable as tablets–and that they’re
more useful, thanks to the built-in keyboard and
ability to run more-capable software.
Tablet makers aren’t focused on the competition
from Ultrabooks, however. Instead, they’re trying to
figure out how to beat Apple’s iPad. The only tablet
that came close to competing with the $500-and-
At this year’s CES, tablets will get cheaper, laptops up iPad in 2011 was Amazon’s $200 Kindle Fire.
will get thinner, and cameras will become more The lesson seems clear: Tablets need to be much
like phones. Apps will be everywhere, including cheaper than the iPad to have much of a chance of
in cars. And Microsoft’s phone-inspired Windows widespread adoption. Expect to see lots of budget-
8 will edge closer to release. priced tablets at CES, many of them running the
new version of Google’s Android operating system,
Beneath all of the specifics, though, mobile techno- nicknamed Ice Cream Sandwich.
logy will be driving many of the trends on display
atCES 2012 in Las Vegas next week. Phones, tablets,
and mobile software are soaking up most of the
energy and attention in technology today. We’ll see
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2. January 7, 2012
batteryfast.co.uk
CES 2012: Mobile Technology Will Leading Everything
CES to include lots of phones that allow users to
upload images to Facebook, email them to friends,
or put them on a photo-sharing service–instantly
and wirelessly.
Here’s a summary of what PCWorld’s product ex-
perts expect at CES 2012 (click the subject link to go
to a longer discussion of the topic):
Windows 8 is another example of older PC techno-
logy hoping that a mobile makeover will make it
look hip again. The most notable part of the new OS
is its Metro interface of brightly colored, interactive
tiles. That design comes directly from Microsoft’s
Windows Phone 7 OS, which reviewers have prai-
sed, even though it hasn’t yet broken through with
http://www.batteryfast.co.uk/battery-technology/ces-2012-mobile-technology-will-leading-everything/
consumers.
We don’t expect to see the final version of Windows • Tablets: We’re looking for a flood of tablets,
8 until the second half of 2012, but at CES we hope including some with budget prices. We also
to see a more evolved beta version of the software expect to hear some buzz about Windows 8
and perhaps to try it out on prototype tablets and for tablets.
laptops designed for the new OS. • HDTVs: The HDTV industry will focus on
improving the TV-watching experience,
No product faces more of a threat from mobile with less emphasis on improving the TVs
technology than cameras. In the past few years, themselves.
camera makers have come out with tremendous • Laptops: We anticipate announcements of
innovations, including pocket megazoom models thin-and-light Ultrabook laptops equipped
and compact interchangeable-lens cameras that arm with Intel’s upcoming line of CPUs (code-
point-and-shoot models with DSLR-like capabilities. named “Ivy Bridge”) that promise improved
But single-purpose cameras haven’t overcome the graphics capabilities.
convenience advantage that phones enjoy. • Smartphones: Perhaps we’ll see the first LTE
Windows Phone for AT&T, or maybe a Sony
Today’s smartphones take decent images; they’re in Ericsson phone equipped with a 13-mega-
people’s pockets virtually 24 hours a day; and once pixel camera.
you get a great shot, you can share it with friends • Cameras: Look for Wi-Fi-enabled imaging
with the touch of a button. So to combat phones devices as camera manufacturers try to beat
that are becoming more like cameras, cameras the competitive heat from smartphones. We
must become more like phones. Expect this year’s also expect to see a lot of very small came-
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3. January 7, 2012
batteryfast.co.uk
CES 2012: Mobile Technology Will Leading Everything
ras with big optical-zoom ranges.
• Desktop PCs: The biggest desktop PC news
likely to come out of CES will involve the
inclusion of Ivy Bridge CPUs, and the emer-
gence of thinner, lighter all-in-one PCs.
• Networking: We’re looking forward to
demos of a new wireless standard that will
mark the next step up from 802.11n.
• Apps: Expect a deluge of apps, including
some that will be available in new cars from
Ford.
Now let’s take a more-detailed look, category by
category.
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