A Personal CES Summary

CES, aka the Consumer Electronics Show, is a huge show in Las Vegas where the world gets to see the next generation of everyday technologies.  While it is not a games event specifically, given the importance of new platforms such as smart phones to gaming and the ongoing intertwining of games and networks, this show is on my radar.  While I was not there I thought I’d share a summary of the event…

First off we have the dramatic change in that Windows is going to move to more mobile platforms by becoming compatible with Arm chips.

Second the event saw over 80 tablet PCs launched.  This seemed to be the major theme of the show – Tablets and tablets:

One emerging market that kept the masses of show attendees on the move was tablet PCs, as hardware makers showed off new devices, and Microsoft, Google and RIM announced future plans for their respective operating systems on tablets.

Third, Android launched a new version of it’s OS – Honeycomb – which seemed to be designed for Tablet PCs (them again);

While Honeycomb hasn’t been fully unveiled, there have been some tantalising features leaked and shared already – like discussion of email that exploits the features and full screen of the tablet and a 3D maps program, allowing renders of the environment featured in the map. While other features will be announced over the course of the CES, the conclusion so far is that Honeycomb is looking [solid].

Finally – Sony carried on it’s E3 push on 3D into CES…