The international viewpoint of CES was presented by CEA Director of Industry Analysis Steve Koenig during the State of the Global CE Industry pre-show event staged at the Mandalay Bay on Sunday, January 6th. While most major international markets suffered a 1 percent drop in GDP last year, it is expected that as developing economies improve we will still only see single digit growth during a modest recovery. Continue reading CES 2013: CEA Presents State of the Global CE Industry

A favorite pastime of analysts in recent years has been attempting to forecast what will prove to be the top trends emerging from the annual International CES confab in Las Vegas. Of course, this year is no different, as consumer electronics continue to branch out from purely an interest of the technorati, become more intrinsically tied to our lifestyles and subsequently draw more mainstream media attention. As we get ready to hit the show floor when the exhibition opens its doors tomorrow, we take a look at some of the more interesting forecasts recently published. (One of our favorite pastimes is discovering who will be right and who will end up missing the mark.) Continue reading CES 2013: A Look at Some of the More Interesting Predictions

In a five-minute video report on the Wall Street Journal, Walt Mossberg discusses four personal technology topics that he believes may prove to be significant trends in the coming year, including a new era of smart TVs, more affordable smartphones and mobile plans, a new wave of more expensive music players and new health and fitness gadgets and accompanying apps. Additionally we should expect to see more tablets and more use of the cloud. Continue reading Walt Mossberg Looks Ahead to Personal Tech in 2013

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos got a “wake-up” call a decade ago, when he got word of a project at Google to scan and digitize product catalogs. “He saw it as a warning that the Web search engine could encroach upon his online retail empire, according to a former Amazon executive,” reports Reuters. That was just the beginning of a rivalry that will continue heating up in 2013. The two will compete even more fiercely in the online advertising, retail, mobile gadgets and cloud computing realms. Continue reading Are Amazon and Google on a Collision Course for 2013?

Industry analyst Tim Bajarin offers his perspective on the leading tech trends we can expect in the coming year. Bajarin, who has been writing an end-of-the-year prediction column for 23 years (and says he has been “reasonably successful”), predicts some interesting developments, including: Augmented Reality going mainstream, increased consumer attention for Google’s Chromebook, a new interest in hybrids and convertibles from IT managers, a dramatic increase in mobile malware, and more. Continue reading Tim Bajarin Details Top Six Tech Trends Expected in 2013

Nick Jr.’s newest television project “Wallykazam” will first be introduced to the public as a mobile product. The show doesn’t come out until 2014, but educational apps based on the show’s characters and concepts will appear in app stores late next year. According to The New York Times, it is parents who are steering this industry shift. “Driving the change, at Nickelodeon and other preschool television brands, are parents who are increasingly putting mobile devices into preschoolers’ hands and laps,” notes the article.

As TV set ownership declines, tablet ownership is on the rise. “Eighty-eight percent of the parents surveyed said they owned a television, down from 95 percent in 2010,” according to new research commissioned by Sesame Workshop.

The research also shows just how striking educational app growth has been recently. “In October, 27 percent of United States households with children ages 3 to 5 had an iPad, up from 22 percent in April. In those households, 40 percent of preschoolers used the iPad for educational apps, up from 27 percent in April,” writes NYT.

The thinking at PBS is different now, a combination of digital and television. As the article notes, the network has “‘sent away’ a number of producers who came to PBS with ideas for television shows with no thought-out mobile component, telling them, ‘Come back when you have a plan.’”

For around $200, parents can buy their kids child-appropriate tablet computers. According to The New York Times, children “understand that this single device is a million-channel TV, music collection, game machine, camera and e-book library, and a way to socialize with friends.” The article reviews 21 different kid-friendly tablets, including the $150 Android-powered Kurio 7, MEEP and Tabeo tablets. “The Nabi 2 costs a bit more ($200) but has a noticeably better screen,” suggests the article. “The Nabi Jr. ($100) is smaller and can double as a baby monitor.” Continue reading For the Cost of a Bicycle, Parents Can Purchase Kid-Friendly Tablets

Mobile virtual network operator Kajeet is partnering with WiMAX carrier Clearwire in a move that could sell 4G modems and hotspots to families with children, reports GigaOM. The deal will officially allow Kajeet and Clearwire to resell 4G connections. Kajeet currently sells mobile broadband dongles and hotspots to schools, but may be looking to expand into a broader consumer base. Continue reading Kajeet Strikes Deal with Clearwire to Launch 4G Mobile for Children

Sprint has announced plans to acquire the remaining 50 percent stake of Clearwire that it doesn’t already own. According to the press release, Sprint is seeking 100 percent ownership of Clearwire for $2.97 per share, at which point it will be positioned to leverage Clearwire’s 2.5 GHz spectrum assets. Continue reading Wireless: Sprint Announces Plans to Acquire Clearwire for $2.2 Billion

Most consumers who watch television programs or movies on their wireless devices are not actually doing so while on-the-go, suggests a new report from the Interactive Advertising Bureau. The IAB report found that 63 percent of viewing takes place at home, while 36 percent takes place in a room that already has an existing device available to watch the content.

The report notes that two-thirds of respondents watch more than one hour of video a week on their smartphones or tablets. However, 85 percent of it is consumed in short bites of less than 10 minutes, according to VentureBeat.

“We need to see mobile as a primary screen for on-demand consumption, not as an afterthought,” says David Levin, president of digital agency 360i.

The report also points out that entertainment content is the most consumed, with music in the lead, followed by movie trailers, tutorials and funny short video clips. Perhaps most interesting to advertisers, the IAB study learned that 53 percent of respondents indicated they’re okay with mobile video advertising and 48 percent said the ads should relate to the video content being watched.

“The perfect search engine would really understand whatever your need is,” says Google CEO Larry Page. And that’s exactly what the search giant wants to do. Moving past mathematical statistics and indexing, Google is building up its Knowledge Graph, a new database for understanding “things, not strings.” Continue reading Google Wants to Change Everything You Know About Online Search