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Consumer Electronics Association Releases Latest Issue of Five Technologies to Watch (21/10/2003)

The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) released the most recent edition of Five Technologies to Watch. The annual publication explores five technology trends poised to shape the consumer electronics industry in the year ahead. This edition examines home operating systems, Wi-Fi/ultra wideband, recordable digital video, mobile gaming and hi-res audio.

"With so many promising digital technologies on the horizon, it is increasingly difficult to select only five," said Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of CEA. "But through extensive market research and analysis, we have selected the technologies that will bring the most value to consumer's lives and have the greatest impact on our industry during the coming year."

Geared toward industry professionals, Five Technologies to Watch provides a comprehensive analysis of all five trends and their impact on the consumer electronics market. Each of the five technology sections details the strategic issues, market forecasts, consumer perspectives, key players, partnerships, business models, and public policy changes for that particular technology.

Home operating systems have been around for decades, but Five Technologies to Watch reveals that future versions offer capabilities that reach far beyond automated lighting. The over-riding notion is for a PC or central server to act as a gateway, funneling content into and out of the home and connecting all devices and users inside and outside the home environment. The publication discusses several possible applications including, controlling temperature in distinct zones throughout the house, accessing centrally stored content such as music, TV shows and digital photos from any room in the house; and being alerted to any security problems while on the go.

Wi-Fi, short for wireless fidelity, is a short-range wireless radio technology that frees PCs, laptops, notebook computers and other electronics devices from physical links to the Internet. According to Five Technologies To Watch, currently there are more than 70,000 wireless hot spots worldwide and 795 Wi-Fi certified products on the market. The publication also forecasts ultra wideband, another new wireless innovation, to make a splash in the market in the not-so-distant future. Ultra wideband transmits a flat signal over a wide array of frequencies, making it faster and more efficient than Wi-Fi. Research shows that speeds of one Gigabyte per second may be achievable, which is fast enough to download entire theatrical films in a matter of minutes.

Digital video recording allows consumers to record up to 300 hours of programming without a videotape, skip commercials and pause live TV. According to a CEA study, 72 percent of consumers are very or somewhat interested in buying a digital video recorder (DVR), and believe that the technology will edge out the VCR in the near future. Five Technologies to Watch notes that HDTV camcorders, which allow consumers to film and playback their own HD content, and Blu-Ray discs that can store more than two hours of HDTV programming on a single disc also are in the works for digital recording.

The publication further reports that mobile gaming continues to grow in the United States, especially over wireless devices such as cell phones and PDAs. The number of wireless gamers in the U.S. could reach 19.6 million by the end of this year and 112.4 million by 2007. Faster processors, more vivid displays, expanding capacity and easier connectivity are improving the performance of mobile gaming devices. According to Five Technologies to Watch, new mobile gaming systems such as wireless gaming decks and in-vehicle entertainment solutions also are on tap to provide additional wireless gaming solutions.

The final technology to watch, hi-res audio, short for high resolution audio, is seeing growth similar to that of the compact disc, and is likely to grow even faster as the technology becomes more innovative in the coming years. Both formats of hi-res audio, super audio CD (SACD) and DVD-Audio have a capacity more than seven times that of a standard CD, provide superior quality output and offer 5.1-channel surround sound. In the future expect to see hi-res audio that can be downloaded and played over the main home audio system, reports Five Technologies to Watch.

New to the publication this year is a special section dedicated to new and emerging consumer electronics technologies coming down the pipe, including software-defined radios that can accommodate calls from anywhere on the globe, flexible display screens and three-dimensional TVs.

www.CE.org