I’m still at CES… And not only am I behind on events/info occurring here I’m also still getting caught up on Apple’s announcements.

I just took a brief gander at the $299 iTV (now branded Apple TV), and am disappointed with the first rev of their software. What I’m bothered with as a consumer is that a Mac or PC is needed as an intermediary for iTunes video purchases. With a 40GB hard drive, it’s probably safe to say at some point they’ll take the computer out of the equation… right? For $100 more you could pick up an Xbox 360 with TV and Movie downloads direct to the console, no PC required. Oh yeah, you can do a bunch of other stuff too. The second issue I have is that Apple continues to lock us into their ecosystem — A model that has worked well for them with audio, but may not be as successful with video in the era of YouTube and DivX: The iTV has limited multimedia format support compared to products such as Netgear’s new Digital Entertainer HD.

Good, bad, or just average - I’m sure Apple will move a decent amount of product. They build sexy looking hardware and software, and seem to have the marketing game figured out. However, they can’t count me as an early adopter. I’ll be looking forward to Matt’s review if/when he picks up a box.

• The Meek Shall Inherit The Earth
• The NETGEAR Booth Tour
• Blogging CES: Tools of the Trade

Yes, I’m still here in Vegas and have a decent amount of stuff to share! I was briefed on the Comcast-Motorola-TiVo box and Digeo’s upcoming boxes. Yahoo also has some interesting stuff in the works and of course there’s the Xbox 360 as IPTV ‘cable’ box news. It’s just a matter of finding some time to get it all together.

In the meantime you can listen to two podcasts I did. In fact, you’ll hear them before I will! Let me know if they’re any good, otherwise I’ll pass.

• Podtech talks to me about being selected as Netgear’s CES Blogger in Residence. We recorded it right before the holidays and it was posted 1/2/07.
• PVRWire gets my thoughts and some info on Digeo, Microsoft, TiVo, and Sling Media announcements here at CES. We recorded it at 6:30AM today.

• Netgear nabs Best of CES nomination
  
• At CES, Size Matters
• The Cars of CES

When I say insane, I really mean it in the most positive of ways.

Over the summer Blake Krikorian (CEO) gave me a personal demo of a feature in the works… On his computer we fired up his Slingplayer to remotely view his satellite television feed and then he pointed out the record button. I thought that was somewhat cool — it’s not something I’d use, but I’m aware a certain percent of users have requested the ability to save clips or shows to the PC.

But then things got somewhat strange… You see, we weren’t scheduling a recording we were recording after the fact, via the buffer. And the video was being automagically sent somewhere. And then we watched the clip through a web page. That we could share with others.

I told him he was insane. I told him not enough people would be interested to offset the risk. Because, I also told him he would be sued into oblivion. Good thing for Sling Media he didn’t take my advice to bury it.

Read the rest of this entry »

Being at CES, I’ve had very little time to take in anything other than what I’me seeing first hand. Obviously this is a big day for Apple, so I set aside a few minutes to catch up with the news. No time now for a proper analysis and write-up, but I’m providing links to some of Engadget’s coverage if you too are behind in your reading.

If the iPhone works as advertised, they’re going to sell a ton and really bring “smart phones” to the masses (despite the $500-$600 price tag) — along with music and video. I prefer the tactile feel of keys to dial with (especially when driving), but have grown accustomed to my 6700 (”the brick”)… so I can probably live without. Thank God the phone’s not ALL white. Though I would have been fine if they dropped the “i” as well, calling it the Apple Phone instead. In fact, I think that’s what I’ll call it.

One last tibit: I heard from Yahoo’s PR people and I’m super pleased they will provide “full synchronization and address book integration.” I don’t know for sure, but it’s probably going on a decade I’ve been a user of Yahoo mail… At this point, I won’t consider a phone that doesn’t sync my contacts. (I’ll also need to use the phone as a tethered or Bluetooth laptop modem… we shall see!)

• The Apple iPhone runs OS X
• First iPhone pics!
• iTV becomes Apple TV
• Apple confirms Paramount and iTunes deal

I have to admit, working with Motorola does have its perks. Last night Carson Palmer made a surprise appearance at Motorola’s evening reception. We’re best buds now! I think I got a better deal than Dave.

As for the rest of CES, it seems oddly subdued this year. Not that there haven’t been important announcements, but a lot of the good stuff seems to be happening behind closed doors. That, plus a lot of focus is now shifting over to Macworld and the newly announced iPhone.

A few highlights from walking the CES landscape yesterday:

Ecosol PowerStick P1

Despite the huge displays by a lot of big companies, some of the best things can be found in inconspicuous nooks and crannies. Here’s the Innovation award-winner Ecosol PowerStick P1. The company’s not even at the show, but the product was displayed in a case with a tiny placard. The PowerStick powers up via USB and then charges all your CE devices via various adapters. I could have used one of these yesterday, particularly for my Sony Cyber-shot.

Yahoo “Booth”

I really liked Yahoo’s tent set up across from the central hall of the convention center. Good move on Yahoo’s part because once you’re in, there are no distractions from other companies waiting tantalizingly just across the hall. Yahoo also had some knowledgeable folks on hand. The company has an electronic program guide in the works with social networking features wrapped in. The woman demonstrating it actually referenced the opportunity to avoid dealing with middleware. Clearly an interactive-TV veteran. Read the rest of this entry »