Hey coopie. Here's some CES info...
Consumer Electronics Show Isn't Comdex -
But It's Close
Date: 1/8/98
Author: Nick Turner
Look out: The Comdex crew is invading the Consumer Electronics Show.
The annual Las Vegas tribute to the consumer-electronics industry opens
today, and makers of TVs, VCRs and stereos aren't the only ones strutting
their stuff. Computer moguls - led by Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates,
Oracle Corp. Chief Executive Larry Ellison and Sun Microsystems Inc.
CEO Scott McNealy - are making their presence known.
Typically, personal computer companies make their biggest splash at
November's Comdex trade show in Las Vegas. But PCs and consumer
electronics are fast converging, making CES look much like Comdex - and
vice versa.
''A lot of the computer folks were getting ticked off that people like Sony
Corp. were showing their consumer stuff at Comdex,'' said Sean Kaldor,
an analyst at International Data Corp. in Framingham, Mass. ''But the same
thing (in reverse) is happening at CES.''
The products from traditional consumer-electronics firms will still generate
plenty of excitement. High-definition television, for instance, is highly
anticipated. But computer and software products will be showcased
aplenty.
Redmond, Wash.-based software titan Microsoft has one of the biggest
booths at the show. International Business Machines Corp. of Armonk,
N.Y., Advanced Micro Devices Inc. of Sunnyvale, Calif., Digital
Equipment Corp. of Maynard, Mass., and other PC and chip companies
also will be there.
Some representatives from Intel Corp., the Santa Clara, Calif.-based
maker of PC microprocessors, drove to the show in a technology-laden
Ford Expedition. As they cruised to Las Vegas they surfed the Internet,
played computer games and checked their location with satellite navigation.
The Ford's a preview of future cars.
''A lot of these high-tech guys want to get into more mundane areas uch as
cars),'' Kaldor said. ''There are a lot of chips in cars.''
Still, computer companies won't completely steal the show this year.
Consumer-electronics giants such as Sony and Toshiba Corp. of Japan and
the Netherlands' Philips Electronics N.V. plan to wow attendees with
snazzy new video and stereo equipment.
High-definition television is generating perhaps the most excitement. Several
TV manufacturers will be demonstrating the new sets, which provide
supersharp pictures and crisp sound. This is the year HDTV finally hits the
market.
''The show is really the commercial debut of high-definition television. It's
something we've been talking about for nearly a decade, and now it's
actually here,'' said Ed Korenman, a spokesman for the Consumer
Electronics Manufacturers Association, the trade group that hosts the
show.
Though HDTVs should hit stores late this year, they face several hurdles to
acceptance. The sets will be expensive -probably $5,000 to $10,000.
They also require broadcasters to send programs in digital form. It will take
time for stations to upgrade their equipment to do that. CES attendees,
though, will get a taste of the future. Local stations will send digital
broadcasts during the show.
Although it's smaller than Comdex, the industry's largest U.S. show, CES
also can be overwhelming. Booths from 1,500 different companies will
cover 22 football fields of space. About 90,000 people are expected to
attend, a little less than half of Comdex's numbers.
What besides HDTV will draw crowds? The digital video disc, the darling
of last year's show, will be back. DVD players hit stores last year after
numerous delays, and slowly are winning consumers. DVD players
generated $170 million in factory sales in '97, reports CEMA. This year,
the group expects that figure to almost double.
The discs, which hold movies and other information, offer better quality
than do videotapes. They're also designed to work in both PCs and
stand-alone players. There is more than one DVD standard, however, and
that confuses consumers.
Slimmer products also are big. Manufacturers are using plasma technology
to build TV sets that are just a few inches thick.
''It's really what people have wanted since the advent of television:
something they can hang on the wall,'' said Jim Newbrough, senior VP and
general manager of mainstream products at Philips Electronics.
Philips' FlatTV, which will go on sale later this year, boasts a 42-inch
screen. Once again, though, it's not cheap. The set sells for nearly $15,000.
TV makers aren't the only ones thinking flat. A company called New
Transducers Ltd. plans to unveil ''flat-panel speakers.'' It says its
technology will let manufacturers build high-performance speakers that are
just 1/64 of an inch thick.
After a lackluster holiday season, the industry needs a jolt. The question is:
How soon before new products such as HDTV and DVD take off?
''For many retailers, Christmas was below expectations,'' said Bob
Borchardt, chief executive of Lake Mary, Fla.-based Recoton Corp., a
maker of consumer-electronics accessories such as speakers. Borchardt
also chairs CEMA's board. ''Consumers tended to spend more on luxury
products -vacations and things like that - at the expense of a lot of
consumer goods.
''People are treading water until this digital age starts.''
The computer industry may provide some aid. PC prices are dropping fast,
and first-time buyers are snatching them up. That helps makers of PC
accessories such as digital cameras. CES is devoting a special pavilion area
to digital imaging. Software, cameras and other peripherals will be
displayed.
Microsoft and others will be showing off new Windows CE devices -
pocket-size PCs that can link up with desktop models. CE is Microsoft's
operating system for such gadgets.
Cell phones, meanwhile, are giving way to ''smart phones,'' which let callers
send e-mail and surf the Internet.
Other so-called PC-to-consumer ''convergence'' products include
television set-top boxes that provide Net access. Microsoft unit WebTV
Networks Inc. sells the leading model. France's Thomson-CSF and Zenith
Electronics Corp. , meantime, will exhibit their network computers - cheap,
stripped-down PCs. Oracle and Sun Microsystems are among the NC's
backers.
And Intel isn't the only high-tech firm with its eyes on the automobile.
Microsoft will be making an announcement with Clarion, a maker of car
audio equipment. Details weren't available.
All this activity should lead to a record-breaking year. U.S. consumer-
electronics sales will reach $75.6 billion in '98, CEMA says. That's up 5%
from last year. Home-information products, which include PCs, are the
fastest-growing segment.
(C) Copyright 1998 Investors Business Daily, Inc. |
