Plasmasized

Plasmasized
Originally uploaded by kardinalsin.

Motorola bared its teeth by showing many bluetooth capable phones and some keen snowboarding gear that worked with one's iPod and cell phone. I didn't get a chance to see any of their next-generation phones, unfortunately, as there was a crowd of people circled around the display. Would have been nice, since I do find myself to be an advocate of their phones.

Another cell company, and perhaps more now, is the Korean company LG. This photo happens to be their premiere product, the 71-inch plasma screen television. This plasma was not only very, very pretty but it also happens to be the largest in the world. Impressive as it was, there weren't as many people crowded around it as there were crowded around the cell phones.

Truthfully, I was sad I didn't get to see the TiVo booth, if they even had one. I'm sure it was much more friendly than the Sony room (which had some of the most anal customer service people ever). There were many announcements from them, including their high-profile TiVoToGo, but I would have liked to see it in action. Unfortunately, many are predicting that TiVo is on the downturn as many local cable companies offer DVR service for a minimal cost in addition to their cable box, but I still have faith in the company. I'll keep my eyes open though, and see what other companies are coming up with to compete.

That's what CES is all about though. Improvements, improvements, and improvements. Sometimes there's some questionable products and sometimes there's some outlandish high-end extravagance. The ultimate pay-off is that you get to be informed, first-hand, and in person what new technologies may be available to people like you and me. Pretty cool, can't wait for next year.