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To: PeterR1700 who wrote (230)	1/4/2000 10:44:00 AM
From: J_W	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2093

Consumer Electronics Show to Feature Internet-Access Devices Las Vegas, Jan. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Cyberspace is expected to define the orbit of this year's Consumer Electronics Show, known as the launching pad for devices that became standard equipment in homes around the world. The trade show has been the forum for the introduction of the video-cassette recorder, the compact disc player and the camcorder. At this year's event, expected to draw 90,000 people from Wednesday to Sunday, analysts are looking for new Internet access capabilities to be tacked onto all types of conventional devices. Companies will be touting products from cell phones and electronic organizers to television set-top boxes that let users log onto the Internet. The move to emphasize online access comes as they seek ways to profit from the continued rush to access the Web in the U.S. and abroad. ``The Internet is making its way onto almost any consumer electronics device,' said David Schick, an analyst with Robinson- Humphrey Co. About a half to two-thirds of the U.S. population has yet to be connected to the Internet, and many companies are betting that Web-access devices simpler than personal computers will prove appealing. Internet-related companies are teaming up with electronics retailers to attract more consumers. Last month, America Online Inc., the No. 1 online service provider, allied with Wal-Mart Stores Inc., and top Internet directory Yahoo! Inc. linked with Kmart Corp. Microsoft Corp. has marketing alliances with Tandy Corp.'s RadioShack and Best Buy Co. Inc. Scheduled keynote speakers all hail from Internet-related companies. Microsoft's Bill Gates, Sun Microsystems Inc.'s Scott McNealy, 3Com Corp.'s Eric Benhamou and RealNetworks Inc.'s Rob Glaser are expected to deliver speeches. Stealing Thunder Gates may use his speech to unveil a widely expected Internet-ready video-game console system to compete with Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 2, which will be released later this year. Unveiling the console at the electronics show rather than at the annual video-game industry show in May would allow Microsoft to command the spotlight without competition from Sony or other rivals, said Joseph Spiegel, an analyst with Spinner Asset Management. Along with Internet-related gear, analysts are looking for more details from exhibitors about advanced TV sets. Much ballyhooed high-definition TVs have failed to gain popularity because few programs are broadcast in the HDTV format. About 28 million regular TV sets were sold in the U.S. last year, compared to 95,000 of HDTV sets, which can cost $5,000 and more, according to market-research firm Dataquest. Some observers are looking for the emergence of a new breed of digital sets, which provide a superior picture without relying on enhanced broadcasts. Such sets also are cheaper than HDTV models, and could be less than $2,000 by year end, said Jay Srivatsa, a Dataquest analyst. DVD Enhancements Analysts also will be monitoring developments in Digital Video (or Versatile) Disc players, a category that expanded rapidly in 1999, with more than 4 million units sold in the U.S. Consumers for the first time may be able to buy DVD players that also record programs. The players may be available by the third or fourth quarter of the year, though the industry still must address copyright concerns of movie studios and settle on one of two competing formats, said Rebecca Yarchover, an analyst with U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray. Related products that should draw attention are personal video recorders made by TiVo Inc. and Replay Networks Inc. that allow viewers to pause and rewind live TV broadcasts. Sony may introduce a player based on TiVo's technology at the show, analysts said. Advances in digital-music players such as Thomson Multimedia's Lyra, which let users store and play music downloaded from the Internet, also will garner attention, said Todd Thibodeaux, a senior economist with the Electronics Industry Alliance, which is sponsoring the show. Manufacturers' sales of consumer electronics in the U.S. are expected to rise about 5 percent to $85 billion this year from $81 billion in 1999, the industry group said.