The Dominant Trend of CES 2008 - The Proposals
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On the previous page the problem was pretty much specified. We, the consumers, need some sort of "Mobile Internet Device." This is exactly what Intel proposes, the MID. According to Otellini's definition this device should be powered by a low-power high-performance chip with at least 3" (7.5 centimeters) of screen and with a miniaturized keyboard. Intel's newest processor Silverthorne "fits" this MID bill quite well.
In addition, the MID would also do a lot of important things resulting in a better performing and feature-laden device than cell phones that is more mobile, efficient, and faster than laptops and notebooks. The prototype MID exposed at Vegas sported GPS and a mobile broadband connection. The audience was impressed by its translation functions: MID translated Chinese street names and store fronts.
This little MID certainly has lots of potential. The user will have the ability to search the Internet based on speech (talk to the gadget and it obeys), while some foreign language translation software with a database will also be included. An English speaker would be able to hold a conversation with a non-English speaker and translate to English on the fly. Wouldn't that be amazing for traveling businessmen? Or just traveling enthusiasts... I would head over to Moscow!
The one and only drawback of MID is similar to the one we experienced with Amazon's Kindle (the e-book reader). Wireless broadband services aren't widespread enough throughout the world to support such a powerful device just anywhere. You know what a struggle it can be to find a hotspot, right? As a VoIP dealer it looks like Intel has partnered with Skype already as their supplier.
Jerry Yang, CEO of Yahoo! Inc., approaches the situation relying on cell phones. He proposes a new feature of Yahoo! that's called Go3.0. To be honest, this Go3.0 project really seems like Yahoo's variation of the Google's Android. It's a reply... a necessary one if they don't want to lose even more. It's going to become an open platform on which software developers are able to code and write applications.
At first, Go3.0 should have personalized email support, news, search engine, maps, and weather forecasts. They have already partnered with eBay, MTV Networks, and MySpace to supply content as soon as Go3.0 is functional. The CEO believes that Yahoo!'s going to redefine the way we manage our email. According to Mr. Yang, we handle our messages primitively. Yahoo! attempts to improve this.
Now comes Microsoft but let's not dwell on Bill Gates' retirement from the chairman position of Microsoft. They have done their homework regarding the Olympic Games of Beijing 2008; their recent partnership with NBC Universal resulted in launching a new website where the users can watch live or on demand thousands of hours of the Olympic Games. This portal will be free, run on Silverlight.
Enough with TV-related broadcasts, because their other project involves resurrecting classic movies such as "The Terminator" via MGM-Microsoft. What really interests us is the equipment that Mr. Gates demonstrated at the CES 2008. This device sounds really over-the-edge, a bit scary, amazingly controversial and challenging. It should be based on a very powerful DSP and image processing engine.
In a nutshell, it should identify people and recognize public areas. That's fine... but what if I told you that this device would display "everything" (that's public information and available via the Web) regarding you as a person on its screen once it is targeted toward you? Yes, that's right. This device should be able to interpret and comprehend persons and likewise streets, restaurants, hotels, gas stations, you name it.
With the incorporated GPS function can you imagine how helpful the equipment would really be? It's like targeting its sensor on a street sign and then you could locate yourself on the map via the GPS. You wouldn't get lost anymore if you were dropped in the middle of nowhere. That is, assuming there's both GPS and a wireless broadband hotspot. Yes, this amazing technology suffers from the usual drawback of new-era hi-tech devices.
Comcast impressed the audience by showing off the possibility of super-fast high-speed Internet service. Their modem presented at Las Vegas sported a 160Mbps connection speed. Apparently they downloaded a high definition movie in about four minutes (16 times faster than today's top speeds). This was a shocker and dazzled the majority of the bandwidth-fanatic audience.
Brian Roberts, CEO of Comcast Corp., believes that we're currently emerging into a time where finally the advertised super-speeds are going to be available. He also explained that content delivery should be revolutionized in the near future, and that we're only at the beginning of download "super-speeds."
Last but definitely not least, Google's absence from CES 2008 was quite a surprise because so many expected them to be rent a pavilion and show off some of their revolutionary ideas. Still, others predicted their absence given their de facto standard low-profile strategy. Google follows the guideline of more action than words.
CES 2008 wasn't complete without Google, and how could it have been since Google is the number one company in the field of IT&C? Consider their recent involvement in every areas of the web. Google was arguably one of the first and most powerful corporations to turn the myth of Web 2.0 into reality. Thus, CES was indeed "missing" Google this year. All we could find out is that they have partnered with Panasonic to deliver high-definition YouTube and Picasa features on their hi-quality plasma screens.
Next: Web 3.0 Demystified >>
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