CES: Tablets and Wireless

I am inclined to continue giving Verizon credit for setting realistic expectations for its 4G LTE network. It is stating, for the record, that on a loaded network users will be experiencing 5 to 12 Mbps from the network down to the device and between 2 and 5 Mbps from the device to the network.

It’s a little late, but I’d like to wish you all a Happy New Year. For us, the new year began at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. Attendance was pegged at 140,000, up more than 10% over last year and a good sign that there is a recovery in process, not only because attendance was up, but because more companies than ever were on the exhibit floor showing products that could be available this year in time for the holidays, and some that will never be commercialized.

It is impossible to walk the entire show and since CES had been promoting the Wireless Pavilion, I spent most of my floor time on the second floor of the South Hall. From a wireless perspective, the highlight of the show was Verizon’s coming out party for its 4G LTE network. The network was launched in 38 cities in December but Verizon used CES to get the word out to companies at the show that will want to add 4G LTE capabilities to their products, buyers, consumers, and the business world.

Verizon made a big splash with a large booth and lots of demonstrations. For the press and analyst community, several press conferences and analyst luncheons were convened to talk about what 4G LTE can do and what devices will be available for the network this year. When the network was launched in December of 2010, there were two USB 4G LTE/3G modems. At CES, Verizon introduced companies that will be releasing devices for the network this year, and most will be available during the first and second quarters of the year.

Several new smartphones were shown. These devices will provide voice services on the Verizon CDMA 1X network and broadband data services on both the 3G and 4G LTE networks. They can be used as standalone devices or notebooks and other devices can be tethered to them so they become 4G LTE broadband modems. The phones that were shown were the HTC Thunderbolt running Android 2.2 and sporting a 1 GHZ Qualcomm Snapdragon Processor, the LG Revolution, also running Android 2.2, and the Motorola Droid Bionic that was talked about but not shown.

Samsung announced and showed its Galaxy small tablet, also with Android version 2.2. A day after the Verizon Press conference, Motorola announced its 10-inch Xoom tablet for the 4G LTE network. Novatel Wireless and Samsung rounded out the device announcements with their 4G LTE-to-Wi-Fi hotspot devices. (Note that the Samsung Galaxy and LG Smart Phone are also capable of being used as a Wi-Fi hotspot.) All in all, it was a busy show for Verizon and its partners. So far, I have received the Samsung Galaxy Tablet and an LG V600 USB 4G LTE modem and will be providing feedback on both devices as well as the 4G LTE network’s performance.

I am inclined to continue giving Verizon credit for setting realistic expectations for its 4G LTE network. It is stating, for the record, that on a loaded network users will be experiencing 5 to 12 Mbps from the network down to the device and between 2 and 5 Mbps from the device to the network. Earlier customers will experience faster data speeds until the network begins being loaded with customers, and Verizon is quick to point out that the initial speeds experienced by its 4G LTE customers will change over time. Still, its published data speeds are faster than many DSL and some cable modem connections provide today.

For the balance of my available floor time, I walked the wireless section of the show and attempted to count the number of tablet computers being shown (I finally gave up). It seems as though everyone has a tablet either on the market or ready for the market. I am using the term “tablet” to describe not only tablets such as the iPad, but also tablets that are called e-readers. We all know that the leaders in this field are the Apple iPad and Amazon Kindle. However, that does not stop the many vendors with their eyes on this market from trying their own designs.

I already mentioned the Samsung Galaxy and Motorola Xoom. Another tablet I spent time with was the RIM PlayBook. My first impression is very positive and I really like the idea of being able to use my BlackBerry as a wireless wide-area modem for the Xoom. It is fast and responsive, and while it has a smaller form factor than the iPad, it is easy to hold and view. I have found that using the iPad in place of a Kindle is a good experience, but holding it tires my arm after awhile. If I am in an airplane and put it on the tray table it works okay, but I can see where the PlayBook would be a better fit as a device that replaces my Kindle and enables me to do a lot more.

I also was intrigued by the tablet NEC was showing. It is scheduled to be introduced in Japan first, then into the United States. What makes it unique is that it is actually two tablets hinged together like a book. The screen size on each side is about 7 inches and it is great for those who are still transitioning from the world of print media to e-readers and tablets. I was also impressed with the fact that I could use one side for browsing the web and the other side for looking at my results. On my desktop, I have three monitors: one for email, one for work, and the third for research. When on the road, I miss having two or more monitors. I will have to play with the NEC tablet more, but I certainly like the concept and unique design.

As I walked down the aisles, one of my business partners asked why all tablets are black and all e-readers are white or beige. I don’t have an answer, but since there are so many “skins” available to cover them, perhaps the color doesn’t matter, but from what I have seen, all tablets are certainly black. Speaking of skins, it always amazes me how fast the aftermarket follows devices. There were racks full of tablet cases, covers, and skins, all sorts of adapters for connecting tablets to other devices, cables for tethering tablets to smartphones, and all sorts of add-ons.

In our Blog this week, Bob Chapin, one of my business partners, shares his view of the tablet market. I agree with him in regard to the number of tablets that will be left standing at the end of the year. Feature creep has already begun: internal hard drives (reducing battery life), better screens, and additional features and functions that vendors hope will give them a leg up. Yet it appears to me that there will only be about ten survivors by the end of the year, and they will all be from well-known companies.

So far, Google’s Android operating system seems to be the most popular tablet OS. The iPad uses its own, the RIM PlayBook uses an OS by QNX, but the bulk of the devices are falling into the Android camp. This will make it even more interesting for the vendors since they will have to find other ways to differentiate their tablets, perhaps by improving the user experience of the OS or perhaps by other means. In any event, the large number of 7-inch and 10-inch tablets running Android will make it difficult for customers to choose which one is best for them. Perhaps customers will stick to brands they already know: Motorola, Dell, Samsung, HTC, and a few others. As I was writing this, Lenovo announced a new division to concentrate on tablets and smartphones. Given its history of innovation, Lenovo could emerge as a major player, especially if it spends some time developing products more suited to the business customer.

The Android tablets won’t give RIM much competition because of the tight integration of RIM’s devices and the corporate back-end services. Lenovo, whose black ThinkPad has been a corporate tool, could challenge RIM, but if Lenovo sticks to Android I am not sure it will be able to pull it off.

On Thursday night we held our first Wireless Dinner at CES. This was our 21st annual dinner. The first ones were held during Comdex and then we moved to CTIA. We decided to move to CES this year because so many consumer products are becoming wirelessly-enabled and the CEA, which sponsors CES, understands the importance of wireless to the consumer industry and has embraced wireless as one of its major vendor segments. The dinner was another success, but we relearned a lesson we had learned during our Comdex days. With 140,000 attendees at CES, taxis and shuttle buses were packed and many of our guests were late arriving. Next year we will move the time for the dinner back half an hour and look into providing our own shuttles for those who need transportation from the convention center.

I would like to thank all of our sponsors for making this dinner possible and they are: Alcatel-Lucent, Buongiorno, Motorola, Panasonic Solutions Company, Qualcomm, Research In Motion, Verizon Communications, Voice Assist, BlueAnt Wireless, and Wilson Electronics. We have posted all of the pictures of the event. We are already planning our 22nd dinner at CES in 2012, and hope you will join us or that you might consider sponsoring this long-running social networking event. To my knowledge, it is the longest running wireless event in the industry.

CES was busy for all who attended. I really enjoy this show because I get to see what is coming in 2011 from many different companies. This year was no exception, although I wish I had had more time to visit some of the other pavilions. Technology is advancing at a wild pace in many segments of the electronics industry and it is becoming increasingly difficult to keep up, but this keeps life interesting.

Andrew M. Seybold