Further News from Las Vegas

When scanning the many items considered newsworthy about the Consumer Electronics Show, it becomes clear that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

First, there are two types of people who go to CES.

The first type go because they are truly interested in all the things produced, no matter how seemingly stupid or useless. This is the ‘wide-eyed wunderkind’ person, who will gloss over the stupid explanations for certain things, and try to envision a good use for some aspect of the items they see. We need more of these people (and I try to be of this type - especially since I am not running an electronics store now, and can afford to remove myself from the second group).

The second type of entrant to the CES floor is the sales person or managerial type, with an eye on what will sell, quickly weeding out the stuff deemed too silly for most people to consider buying. This person is interested in finding things from the vendors that are familiar, checking offerings, making quick handshake deals, and moving on to the next item on the list of things to fill what the retail space they work in needs.

When viewing the items that are reported it is easy to see to which group the reporter belongs.

The 4 models of JVC televisions which feature an iPod dock clearly belong to the second type, as this is a product that will sell to many - it seems like a good idea, doesn’t it? I am not sure, as I am thinking about the actual screen product - something designed to run on a screen of less than 4 square inches will most likely be underwhelming on a screen of at least 40 times that size. Digital enhancements only go so far…

Looking at the ‘new’ fashionable laptops, it seems like the emperor’s new clothes, and makes the cynic in me wonder if ideas have run out with several manufacturers. As a salesman of a few years, I know that people buy with their eyes, and that some things are difficult to make exciting for the prospective buyers, but substance is also a better sales talking point than fluff.

a ‘new’ laptop, complete with fur… how disappointing. Apparently ‘form follows function’ is a foreign phrase to these purveyors.

this is more like it!

Asus Lamborghini VX3
Mirror-like piano finish of Lamborghini carbon fiber casing enhances
LCD screen protection
12.1” wide
LED backlit panel
Leather-bound palm rest
Two colors: Black and Lamborghini yellow
Intel® Centrino® Duo Processor Technology

Right now, many of the larger websites are hammered, so getting updated information is a matter of moving site to site. Of course, for a low tech look at high tech, the television news programs all have their own take on the happenings in the desert.

-

[tags] CES, Las Vegas, laptops with style, iPod, televisions [/tags]