The 2012 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) displayed a range of electronics that are getting thinner, smarter, more mobile and more connected than ever. While many of the new products have little relevance for businesses, some new introductions could have direct impact upon business strategies in the coming years.
Immediate Impact on SMBs
4G Is Here – At CES last week, Verizon announced that all the smartphones they introduce this year will be 4G. After a year of talk, 4G is emerging as a significant protocol that will impact every business. Verizon, Sprint, AT&T, and MetroPCs all offer some form of 4G. The networks are currently expanding, and Verizon promises to offer 4G coverage across its 3G footprint by the end of 2013. While the full impact of 4G may not fully hit until sometime between 2013 and 2015, 4G is here and was in big showing at CES. The long-term significance for business is quite extensive but the immediate impact is much faster upload and download wireless speeds. 4G brings broadband speeds to wireless computing, opening the door for increased reliance upon tablets, smartphones and cloud computing.
Tablets – While 2011 was originally touted as “the year of the tablet,” 2012 is shaping up to actually be the “year of the tablet.” Small business have actually budgeted tablet purchases for this year (see NPD Group). At CES, vendors unveiled over 100 new tablets. While iPad is still the premium and untouchable tablet, other tablets are emerging as worthy contenders including the light and thin Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7, the Asus Transformer Prime, and Blackberry’s Playbook (see all the new tablets at BGR).
Ultrabooks – Even as tablets are thriving, notebooks have become thinner, and lighter. In an attempt to answer the MacBook Air, PC makers have introduced ultrabooks. Two standouts include the Dell XPS 13 Ultrabook (its entry-level unit comes with a Core i5 CPU, 128GB SSD, 4GB RAM and a backlit keyboard) and Lenovo’s IdeaPad Yoga.
Smartphones – The big news here is not specific smartphone models, but the ubiquity of smartphones. With 4G speeds on most smartphones (including the iPhone 5) and the explosion of applications, smartphones are becoming an essential utility for many SMBs. Smartphone security is and will continue to be an important issue that businesses must watch. At the same time, a variety of robust applications are being developed that take advantage of the 4G speeds and low-latency, and that interact directly with other 4G devices.
Invoxia NVX 610
VOIP Teleconference – The Invoxia NVX 610 captured the interest of a variety of attendees as a sleek, intelligent and intuitive VoIP phone. Integrating your iPhone, iPad or iPod with the desktop phone unit, the NVX 610 delivers high sound quality for hands-free calls and even large conference calls.
New Innovations That Could Impact SMBs in the Near Future
OLED – Samsung and LG debuted OLED televisions that wowed reviewers. At only 4mm wide, these ultra thin displays deliver brilliant images. Researchers are currently developing bendable OLED displays, which could open the door for all kinds of display possibilities from wearable computers to display panels that cover walls and other surfaces. Look for OLED technology to continue growing and making an impact in the consumer and business markets.
Near Field Communication – One display that received little coverage was the Near Field Communications (NFC). Since most smartphones did not come equipped for NFC it is still not catching on. As you may remember, NFC made a splash last spring with the Google Wallet announcement. Art Wittmann at Information Week suggests that we must not limit the possibilities of NFC to monetary exchange, it has possibilities for exchanging all sorts of information from business cards to information about products on display, agencies and so on. While the time hasn’t fully bloomed for NFC, it could be important in the near future.
