Category Archives: CES 2010

Apple iPad Launches Today. Lowest priced model only $499

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The new iPad tablet computer from Apple launched today and I’m going to try to summarize the reviews as they come in – which frankly is a better indication of the quality of the device than if I had one in my own hands…. which I don’t ….  However at an iPad Price of only $499 this looks like an amazing device at a great price.

One of the big issues at CES 2010 was the fact that Apple’s Tablet would almost certainly raise the computing bar in terms of expectations for the “robustness” of something that is a cross between a full computer and an e-Reader.    To my way of thinking (ie rational computing purchases)  good tablets may wind up as e-Reader killers – or at least will force e-readers to become real computers and offer a lot more features than they currently offer.

Why buy a Kindle or Nook when you can have a full computer and internet at your fingertips for only marginally higher cost?    At $499 the Apple Tablet “entry level” model is coming in much cheaper than the predicted $1000 price tag – perhaps as part of Apple’s normally brilliant quality and marketing approaches which generally lead to early widespread adoption of devices.

iPad Apple Tablet Computer

iPad from Apple

CES 2010 Coverage at Technology Report

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The show is over and I’m back home in lovely rural Oregon, which is a lot like Las Vegas … if you take away the mega Casinos, lavish hotels, hundreds of national class restaurants, 24/7 dining, hundred-million-dollar theaters, zombie gamblers, throngs of people, massive convention centers, and the nasty city underbelly you find just away from the fancy venues.

For the next several days I’ll be writing up the show from the approximately 400 pictures I took of CES 2010 and Las Vegas over the past week.   That coverage will mostly be over at Technology Report

Although I tend to see things through Web 2.0 colored glasses I really think CES 2010 this year was really pushing the 3D TVs (skeptical of how well consumers will receive this) while ironically much more powerfully showcasing something something that cannot be directly sold – social networking and global device connectivity.

Tim O’Reilly and others have talked about “Web 3.0” which some see as a device-O-sphere  where our computers, cameras, phones, household appliances, cars, etc are all streaming data into online environments where that information can be used by other applications in a variety of ways.    I think we are very close to having the technical ability to do that, and soon we’ll see a lot more websites and other computerized ways to process and learn from that data stream.

Obviously there’s a downside in terms of the fact our personal drivacy is being eroded away but that ship has sailed and I’m optimistic that the Device-O-Sphere will bring us far more efficient ways to use our resources and time.

Inefficiency is massive in all sectors of the world and I think the folks who are fretting far too much about looming catastrophes from things like global warming should be spending a lot more of their valuable time helping to engineer systems that create energy and resource efficiencies by

1.  Finding the waste and 2. eliminating some of that waste.

FYI – start with your conventional water heater – for most turning it down a few degrees won’t create a noticeable change yet it will save more energy than switching off lights from now  through the climate apocalypse.

Technology Report

CES 2010 in Las Vegas

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I’m off to Las Vegas for CES 2010 so most of the posts will be over at  Technology Report.    The press events begin Tuesday so I’ll have Monday to play some Table Tennis at the excellent Las Vegas Table Tennis Club.    I understand they actually have two clubs there but I’ve only played at the one on Industrial about a mile from the Trump Tower.    Monday is a local tournament night so it’ll be a lot of good play for sure.

CES kicks into gear on Tuesday with the big press event “CES Unveiled”.     I think there’s a tendency now to release news early and avoid the tsunami of stories and press that come out from the show starting about Tuesday and lasting through the following week.    The big attention from mainstream media will come on Thursday – Saturday as the full conference kicks into gear, and I’m guessing this will create even more buzz than usual as everybody is looking to see how the tech sector weathered the economic storms and how it plans to move ahead.

I’m especially looking forward to our backstage Cirque du Soleil Tech tour at the KA theeater at the MGM grand on Wednesday, and then watching the show from the Tech box on Thursday with some other bloggers.     Cirque was fantastic getting this tour set up where we’ll see the inner workings of the show from several technology angles.

So join me at CES 2010 over at Technology Report!

Press Release Primer for CES Exhibitors

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The 2011 CES Party List will be live soon at Technology Report

As we gear up to cover the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next week over at Technology Report my email box is simply flooded with PR pitches from hundreds of the thousands of companies that will be exhibiting at the show.

The pitches vary in size and scope but most share a pretty common and I think a very uninspired format along the lines of   “You will want to check out our products”    “We have extraordinary innovation in …  iPOD accessories (!) ”  “Would you like to interview our product manager?”

Here are my three PR tips for the firms that … well … maybe ought to be doing something else:

1.  Personalization Matters.   I’d guess the response to personalized emails is at least twice that of a simple canned message, even when it’s just a name from the Press database but ideally where you’ve bothered to figure out where the person is writing.  This is one of the best PR opportunities of the year, so it seems you should at least target a handful of bloggers who write specifically about your stuff.     Challenge them a bit to critique the product.   Consider going for several “smaller” blogs rather than trying to get lucky with a feature in Engadget or Gizmodo, where the whim of an angry review alone could hurt your products reputation.    If your product is great they’ll get around to it eventually, and if the smaller guys don’t like it you probably need improvements before the big time anyway.

2.  Parties matter.  It’s not fair but neither is the world.   Certainly business in general isn’t fair.   So if you want some attention and you’ve already invested tens of thousands in staff and exhibits you probably should follow the lead of the big CES *playaas* and at least throw a small party.    What would be a clever  time for this party?  Monday night before CES, when a lot of folks have come into town but generally there are *no* parties yet.     Tuesday after CES Unveiled (the big press event) and Wednesday night are also generally pretty open for many press attendees who tend to get into town a few days early for the Press events.   The *bad* night is Friday, when your little party will have to compete with  the big ticket gigs like the Monster concert and several other parties thrown that night that attract most of the bloggers and press.   I think my favorite event at all of CES was a small poker party at Hard Rock Casino, thrown by SONY to launch the game “Pirates of the Burning Sea”.  I’m sure it wasn’t cheap –  probably ran them perhaps  $100+ per person for perhaps 100 people who attended, but it was a superb venue to generate the positive buzz they needed for the game.   $10,000 is chump change by SONY standards yet they captured attention of a lot of media for the entire evening.

Getting attention early gets you pre-CES buzz in the search rankings to boot, because by Saturday your product announcement – no matter how big – is going to be drowned out by the 1000 other announcements coming out of the show.

3.  Products matter.    For some of you some product humility is more likely to win supporters than product hype.   It’s laughable when an overzealous PR person waxes poetically, capturing your attention for a moment until you realize they’ve penned an ode to a cheap plastic cartoon  iPhone case or the equivalent.   Nothing wrong with those products – they represent an extraordinarily large market –  but your time is probably better spent targeting buzzworthy folks and sending them samples or … throwing a party … rather than trying to explain why bloggers should be scrambling to do a feature about your plastic cartoon iPod case.

Louis Vuitton iPod Case:  $280

OMG I’m writing about iPod Cases!

See you at CES!

Changing the world, one PR firm at a time

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The CES 2010 pitches are coming in strong now as John and I get ready to cover the year’s biggest technology event over at  Technology Report.

I was so happy today to see one of them signing off saying they were a proud supporter of the Room to Read Project, which is a major effort to work towards world wide literacy and education.   Readers of this blog know I’m a huge fan of that kind of project, and one of the reasons I’m very optimistic about the world’s future is that for I think the first time in history it’s become very, very “fashionable” to support global poverty reduction efforts in even the strongest bastions of capitalism (e.g. big time PR firms).

Now, cynics will suggest – correctly to some extent – that part of the motivation when capitalists support charity is to benefit from the positive buzz.    However I’m fine with that, and furthermore I’m *glad*  to see potential win-win economic relationships develop around charities like this.

2010 CES Party List at Technology Report

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Yes, Technology enthusiasts, it’s almost time for CES 2010 – the world’s most important technology show – and that means lots of great Las Vegas parties, especially for those of the blogging persuasion.

We now have a good  list of  CES Parties over at Technology Report and will continue to add them as information comes in from various other lists and sources.

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 Technology Report’s CES Coverage is Sponsored by:
Aria Resort and Casino and Vdara Hotel at Las Vegas CityCenter.

NOTE: Most of the CES parties are by *invitation only* and even with your CES pass you’ll want to confirm you are on the specific list for that party before walking the great distances required to get from venue to venue. Generally registered CES bloggers and CES press have the best party options at the show.

Tuesday January 5th

4-7 pm:    CES Unveiled – Venetian Hotel in the Venetian Ballroom. This is a major press event of the conference where several dozen sponsors set up booths to showcase their technologies to the press. Last year (2008) the dinner buffet was excellent and drinks were free. Registered CES Press and CES bloggers.

The CES Party list continues after the click  ….

Google Adwords: All Your Advertising Base are Belong to GOOGLE!

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I’m firing up an Adwords campaign to support our  CES 2010 Coverage over at Technology Report and … ummm… I am NOT enjoying revisiting the frustration of working with the world’s most sophisticated advertising monopoly.

I really would NOT complain that much if Google’s silly “ad diagnosis tool” said something like this:

“Dear Joe, we noticed you wanted to run some advertising on our blank results pages.    Although we realize your content is very relevant to users and there is low competition for the space we are going to gouge you on pricing … why Joe?  BECAUSE WE CAN YOU SUCKER!”

I really would chuckle and appreciate the honesty.    In my view Google does not have an obligation to me with respect to pricing ads.   They can do as they please and let the market decide.

BUT … they do have an obligation to be more honest than they are with Adwords comments and as usual the recommendations take the ridiculous forms as they do wth organic search problems where Google is often vague or non-responsive.     Why am I saying they aren’t being honest?    Although it’s true that there appear to be ways to increase your chances of appearing without paying more, the notion that the quality of the keywords and what you pay are unrelated is preposterous.  In fact it clearly defies the claim of “user centric” so often heard from Google.

What can I do?
There are several ways to improve the quality of your keywords, thus decreasing your advertising costs. Learn how to build a more effective keyword list, and take advantage of our campaign optimization tips. You can also raise your bid. See the ‘Quality Score’ tab for recommendations.

So yes Google I will pay more to show up, but it would be nice if you’d at least make it clear that the reason irrelevant ads are trumping others is that they *make more for Google*, not because they are better for users.

What, you wanted an example of pay to play clear irrelevancy?    Here’s ONE among what I’d estimate are millions of inferior ads running at Google at higher rates than more relevant ads:

Consumer Electronics Show
Consumer Electronics Show Online.

Free Shipping on 100,000+ Products!
http://www.Target.com

Disclaimer:   Hey, on other websites I make money from Google Adwords via Adsense.  I am thus one of the *beneficiaries of this process.  So, why am I biting the hand that feeds me?    Because ya gotta calls ’em like ya sees ’em.

CES 2010 at Technology Report

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Over at the tech blog Technology Report we’ll have a lot of coverage leading up to and through the CES 2010 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

A big thanks to the Aria Resort and Casino and Vdara Hotel.  These amazing new properties in the  Las Vegas CITYCENTER Project are sponsoring our CES 2010 coverage this year and into the show in January.

Aria will open in December and along with the Mandarin Oriental Hotel the Aria will feature the world’s most advanced guestroom technology along with CityCenter’s incredible WiFi footprint that covers the entire campus with broadband thanks to thousands of antennas and WiFi access points.

Over at Technology Report I’m going to feature a “First Timers Guide to CES” focused on people who have never been there and also some tips on how to find out the party and event schedules.   CES is one of the world’s largest conferences and even in these troubled economic times I’m sure that Las Vegas will be rockin’ with some amazing technology and events at the January 2010 CES.

For more about this please head over to Technology Report‘s CES 2010 coverage, starting …. now!