The following entertainment article was written for Spreety TV Online by professional journalist Carolyn Giardina.

Mobile Computing Sales On the Rise

By Carolyn Giardina

The Consumer Electronics Association has made some positive predictions about the state of its industry, underscoring the growth in online video content, which is clearly a driver.

According to the organization’s semi-annual “U.S. Consumer Electronics Sales and Forecast,” the consumer electronics industry will exceed initial revenue projections for 2010, with growth of three percent over 2009 and overall shipment revenues of $174.9 billion in the U.S. The report also suggests that industry shipment revenues will climb four percent to an all-time high of more than $182 billion by 2011.

Mobile computing products are expected to become the industry’s primary revenue driver by 2011. CEA projects that sales of laptops, netbooks, tablet computers, and related products will reach more than $26 billion in shipment revenues by next year. Most of the growth in the computing category will be driven by tablet PCs as more companies enter the marketplace, CEA predicted.

Wireless handsets are also seeing growth. CEA projects that by 2011, these products will result in $26 billion in sales. Smartphones continue to be the key driver in the category, with more than 54 million units expected to ship in 2010, an increase of nearly 31 percent. By 2011, more than 66 million smartphones will ship to dealers, generating $19.6 billion in revenue.

“We anticipate a robust holiday quarter,” reported Steve Koenig, CEA’s director of industry analysis.

CEA President and CEO Gary Shapiro summed up in a released statement: “The response to innovative new products like tablet computers and 3D displays, and continued growth of other product categories, illustrate that consumers love technology. The freedom to innovate delights consumers, sustains our industry and strengthens the economy.”

CEA produces the annual Consumer Electronics Show, next slated for January 6-9, 2011 in Las Vegas. Registration is now open.

The following entertainment article was written for Spreety TV Online by professional journalist Carolyn Giardina.

Consumer Electronics Association Offers “Mid Year” Report

By Carolyn Giardina

During a “Mid-Year Reality Check,” the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) suggested that televisions, computing and gaming are positively impacting consumer electronics growth.

Still while speaking at a recent CEA Line Shows in New York, Shawn DuBravac, chief economist and director of research at CEA, warned: “We’re at this very delicate handoff as we move into Q3 and Q4 from a stimulus economy to one that needs to be driven by the private sector.”

CEA–which hosts the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas–also identified some key areas for the industry. This included green technologies, digital publishing and eReaders, IPTV, tablets and smartphones, online retailing, social networks and 3D HDTV.

3D is actually entering homes through streaming over the Internet, as well as via cable television. “From the creation and production of 3D content to distribution via satellite, cable, Blu-ray Disc and streaming to playback on specially equipped 3DTVs, there are many pieces and moving parts that need to work together seamlessly,” said Rick Dean, THX senior vice president and chairman of the 3D@Home Consortium. “Hollywood studios, content production firms and companies from all corners of the electronics industry are working to make that happen.

“The success of Avatar and, more recently, Toy Story 3, has greatly raised the public’s awareness of 3D,” he added. “Now the challenge is to translate that theatrical success into a wonderful home entertainment experience.”

Also during the CEA event in New York: ThinkEco’s modlet, a device that allows consumers to plug a consumer electronics technology into an existing electric outlet and use a web browser to wirelessly manage their power consumption, won the CEA Line Shows Best in Show award via attendees’ text vote.

StickyBits, a new mobile app that lets consumers scan any barcode and attach a message to that physical object, won the NY Tech Start-Up Classic, produced by NY Tech Meet Up.

The 2011 CES will be held January 6-9 in Las Vegas.

Your Car: The Next Digital Living Room?

By Carolyn Giardina

“The car is becoming the next digital living room,” asserted Consumer Electronics Association president and CEO Gary Shapiro during a recent press conference.

In fact, CEA suggested that the automobile is becoming the “fourth screen,” along with televisions, computers and mobile devices. This year, sales of in-vehicle technology are expected to top $9.3 billion, the organization reported.

Reflecting this development, president and CEO of Ford, Alan Mulally, will deliver the opening keynote address at the 2010 International Consumer Electronics Show, January 7-10, 2010, in Las Vegas.

“Convergence and personalization are a particularly important trend, and mobile technology and wireless had become the epicenter of our lives,” Shapiro said. “Ford is acting and thinking like an electronics company… listening to those who demand a connected experience.”

The 2010 CES is expected to feature in-vehicle technologies including advancements in portable GPS, location based services, in-car video, wireless technology and integrated products for combining entertainment with navigation and security.

Jim Buczkowski, Ford’s director of electrical and electronics systems engineering, explained that driver distraction is an important issue, and therefore Ford is looking to developments such as voice recognition technology, in an effort to ensure that consumer electronics devices are used in a safe way.

Some of the Consumer Electronics Show’s scheduled in-vehicle electronics exhibitors include: AT&T CruiseCast by RaySat Broadcasting, Directed Electronics, Dual Electronics, InstallerNet, Kenwood USA, Kia Motors, Metra, Mitek, Pioneer and Scosche.

Mulally joined Ford in 2006, after serving as executive VP of The Boeing Company and president/CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes. He has served as a past president of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and is a former president of its Foundation. Additionally, Mulally served as a past chairman of the board of governors of the Aerospace Industries Association. This year, he was named to Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People.