The prediction in the last advertising week (44/17.12.2009) that eReaders would dominate the new year was impressively confirmed. Tablet PCs, eReaders and oversized smartphones were omnipresent. A few days before the trade fair, Google presented its Nexus One super-phone; Microsoft generated little enthusiasm with the presentation of a tablet PC from HP, and various manufacturers showed dual-screen models that can be opened up like a book. The IdeaPad U1 Hybrid from Lenovo caused quite a stir: the screen of this notebook can simply be removed and then functions independently as a tablet PC, whereby current information (such as open websites) is synchronized when docking and undocking. The Adam Prototype from Notion Ink is also noteworthy: At the touch of a button, the display can be switched from color LCD mode to a power-saving but still fast ePaper mode.
It will now be interesting to see which devices, together with which business models for content and telecommunications, will be accepted on the market and which will fail. One important question is whether pure eReader reading devices bundled with data services and content will be able to establish themselves against multifunctional tablet PCs. At present, the industries concerned are still eagerly awaiting Apple's announcement at the end of January, which is also expected to involve such a device (iTablet/iSlate). However, the cult brand will only be able to gain significant market share if Steve Jobs can come up with truly revolutionary features. Otherwise, as the CES clearly showed, even an Apple tablet will be just another (presumably expensive) competitor. What is clear is that mobile will establish itself as another media channel and will be far more multifaceted than the online world to date.
Two previously largely Internet-free rooms, the living room and the car, are now to be opened up to the Internet. The big hype word in Las Vegas was 3D TV. The question remains as to who was seriously waiting to gather in front of the TV with the indispensable special glasses to consume a very meagre range of programs for the time being. But that's not the point: more and more computer power is being built into TV sets, be it for image processing for 3D programs or for Internet TV or video conferencing (via Skype). New standards (WiDi or WHDI) were also presented to connect PCs or notebooks wirelessly to televisions. In addition, there is an ever-increasing range of separate boxes (such as Boxee or Roku) that can be used to connect the home altar to the Internet. Program offerings are often bundled with these boxes. Widgets, small information windows that can be displayed alongside the current program - for example to show the latest news, sports results or new e-mails - are particularly interesting for advertising. With all these possibilities, TV consumption will become far more individualized. With niche programs, it will be possible to reach target groups for advertising very precisely - and content producers will be able to charge a premium for this.
Anyone who got into a car in the past fell back to the 1970s in terms of communication. With the car radio and the cassette or CD player, the possibilities were exhausted. The American car manufacturer Ford is now leading the way with MyFord Touch, offering an integrated overall solution that should be standard in 80 percent of all new cars within five years. The core element is voice control, which not only determines the entertainment program, but can also call up content from the Internet (such as navigation instructions). There is a WiFi hotspot for passengers to access information with their own devices via mobile data networks or with each other. It is quite possible that conventional radio stations will soon have to say goodbye to an important part of their regular audience that commutes in the car. This trend is interesting for advertising because drivers can now be conveniently supplied with location-based messages. Anyone turning into the parking lot in front of the shopping mall will immediately hear announcements of the day's special offers...
Christoph J. Walther

At the CES, the largest trade fair for consumer electronics, thousands of new products are presented every January in Las Vegas.

(Pictures: Keystone)

The prediction in the last advertising week (44/17.12.2009) that eReaders would dominate the new year was impressively confirmed. Tablet PCs, eReaders and oversized smartphones were omnipresent. A few days before the trade fair, Google presented its Nexus One super-phone; Microsoft generated little enthusiasm with the presentation of a tablet PC from HP, and various manufacturers showed dual-screen models that can be opened up like a book. The IdeaPad U1 Hybrid from Lenovo caused quite a stir: the screen of this notebook can simply be removed and then functions independently as a tablet PC, whereby current information (such as open websites) is synchronized when docking and undocking. The Adam Prototype from Notion Ink is also noteworthy: At the touch of a button, the display can be switched from color LCD mode to a power-saving but still fast ePaper mode.
It will now be interesting to see which devices, together with which business models for content and telecommunications, will be accepted on the market and which will fail. One important question is whether pure eReader reading devices bundled with data services and content will be able to establish themselves against multifunctional tablet PCs. At present, the industries concerned are still eagerly awaiting Apple's announcement at the end of January, which is also expected to involve such a device (iTablet/iSlate). However, the cult brand will only be able to gain significant market share if Steve Jobs can come up with truly revolutionary features. Otherwise, as the CES clearly showed, even an Apple tablet will be just another (presumably expensive) competitor. What is clear is that mobile will establish itself as another media channel and will be far more multifaceted than the online world to date.
Two previously largely Internet-free rooms, the living room and the car, are now to be opened up to the Internet. The big hype word in Las Vegas was 3D TV. The question remains as to who was seriously waiting to gather in front of the TV with the indispensable special glasses to consume a very meagre range of programs for the time being. But that's not the point: more and more computer power is being built into TV sets, be it for image processing for 3D programs or for Internet TV or video conferencing (via Skype). New standards (WiDi or WHDI) were also presented to connect PCs or notebooks wirelessly to televisions. In addition, there is an ever-increasing range of separate boxes (such as Boxee or Roku) that can be used to connect the home altar to the Internet. Program offerings are often bundled with these boxes. Widgets, small information windows that can be displayed alongside the current program - for example to show the latest news, sports results or new e-mails - are particularly interesting for advertising. With all these possibilities, TV consumption will become far more individualized. With niche programs, it will be possible to reach target groups for advertising very precisely - and content producers will be able to charge a premium for this.
Anyone who got into a car in the past fell back to the 1970s in terms of communication. With the car radio and the cassette or CD player, the possibilities were exhausted. The American car manufacturer Ford is now leading the way with MyFord Touch, offering an integrated overall solution that should be standard in 80 percent of all new cars within five years. The core element is voice control, which not only determines the entertainment program, but can also call up content from the Internet (such as navigation instructions). There is a WiFi hotspot for passengers to access information with their own devices via mobile data networks or with each other. It is quite possible that conventional radio stations will soon have to say goodbye to an important part of their regular audience that commutes in the car. This trend is interesting for advertising because drivers can now be conveniently supplied with location-based messages. Anyone turning into the parking lot in front of the shopping mall will immediately hear announcements of the day's special offers...
Christoph J. Walther

At the CES, the largest trade fair for consumer electronics, thousands of new products are presented every January in Las Vegas.