As we hightail it out of Vegas with the desert dust settling behind us, the ETC reporting team would like to recommend a few things worth keeping your eyes open for in the upcoming year, based on our observations of CES 2010:

A revitalized industry-wide commitment to 3D. Fresh on the heels of theatrical successes (congratulations, Jim Cameron…) and the gradual adoption of other 3D screenings involving sports, stage performances, live music, etc. – the CE industry and content providers are tackling 3D for the home with renewed vigor:

– Watch for a slew of new 3D devices promised by nearly every major CE manufacturer, including (but certainly not limited to) 3D HDTVs, 3D Blu-ray players, and 3D-capable gaming systems.

– We’re looking forward to the first wave of 3D Blu-ray titles, especially “Disney’s A Christmas Carol,” Sony Pictures Animation’s “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” and DreamWorks’ “Monsters vs. Aliens.”

– Attendees at this year’s show were excited to hear announcements of planned 3D broadcasts and new 3D cable channels.  Watch for ESPN3D to begin airing in June… and watch for the first 24/7 exclusively 3D channel to debut from Discovery, Sony and IMAX.  Also, look for DirecTV live 3D like we saw on the show floor at Panasonic, LG and Samsung.

– In addition to the ongoing efforts we’ll be coordinating at ETC, we were thrilled to hear about new 3D testing facility commitments from the likes of CableLabs in Colorado and Testronic Labs in Burbank.  Additionally, CBS is expanding its Television City consumer research facility located at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.  CBS and Nielsen are partnering to add 3,000 square feet onto the existing facility, and Sony has promised to provide the initial 3D equipment.  We should also mention that the MPEG Industry Forum has created a new 3DTV Working Group, that held its first meeting during CES.

Touch screens, netbooks and tablet PCs were rampant at this year’s show, with speculation and promise of a slew of new products in development. Not surprising, it seems that portability, cost, functionality and connectivity are at the forefront.  And with an increasing demographic growing reliant on the touch screens so popular with iPhones and similar devices, we should expect to see an impact on nearly all CE products.

Will time prove that Google and Apple were wise not to debut the Nexus One and Apple Tablet (whatever it will be called) at CES? Google’s new Android smartphone marks the company’s first foray into hardware and could wind up protecting the company’s dominance in online advertising.  But will its self-proclaimed “superphone” with speech recognition take on Apple’s iPhone over time and help expand Google’s reach from the PC to the mobile world?  And what impact will the Apple Tablet have, if any, on the array of tablet PCs showcased at CES?  We’ll be watching this race carefully this year.

Over-the-top connected services will take on a new dynamic. When this theme emerged at last year’s show it was little more than a conversation, but by CES 2010 things had really taken flight with Net-connected TVs and widgets from the likes of Vizio and LG, among others.  By next year’s CES, we expect it will be difficult to find a TV or device that doesn’t connect to the Internet via ethernet or wireless.  And the number and types of over-the-top products and services that begin to crop up in 2010 should be really interesting to watch.

Gestural interfaces still had a presence at this year’s show and may integrate with a new direction in CE devices. Last year, we saw the first gestural interfaces from pioneering companies such as PrimeSense.  During 2009, we saw Microsoft announce and demo to universal acclaim “Project Natal”, based on PrimeSense’s chipset.  And if the Wii has revolutionized and democratized games by providing two points of information (from the IR controllers), gestural interfaces potentially bring millions of points of information into the equation without asking people to have a remote control.  Watch this trend… It’s going to be big.

Keep thinking about LTE and 4G. Even though they didn’t have an enormous presence at the show, these are technologies that should start to play out in the next 12 months.  For example, ZyXEL showed its fixed LTE router for the home.  The router will enable operators to offer high-speed Internet service to the home via cellular networks with data rates up to 50Mbps throughput.  There were several other LTE/4G products on the floor including products from LG and Samsung.  In addition, Sprint, Verizon and AT&T have all announced network upgrades to support these systems.  This is a big trend to watch for 2010 and you can bet that next year at the show LTE/4G will be a hot topic.

Better Organization, Search and Discovery. The myriad over-the-top services cropping up at the show this year creates a double-edged sword for consumers.  So many ways to get content (now on your TV), so few ways to easily find it.  The explosion of over-the-top and new access-enabling options (e.g. DECE and KeyChest) will highlight a void and an opportunity for companies to make super-simple search, discovery, and access to all your digital content.  This should begin to be a major theme in 2010.

And finally, keep a close watch on multifunction AV data cabling. Probably not the sexiest theme at the show, but one that will be paramount to a new generation of connected devices.  Intel garnered a lot of attention when it touted its Light Peak high-speed optical cable technology that can achieve data rates of 10GB per second.  And if you thought HDMI made connections simpler, wait until you see HDBaseT… The demo we saw from an Israeli company called Valens was of a single Cat-5 ethernet cable carrying power, uncompressed 1080p video, ethernet, and control data.  Very impressive.

We’re sure there will be a few surprises in store for us in 2010, but these are the technologies and trends this year’s show has us excited about as we start the new year.

Thanks for reading the blog for this year’s CES 2010.  A special thank-you to ETC’s sponsors who make our work possible.  We’re Leaving Las Vegas…

KC Blake, Sarah Blake, Carlos Crooks, George Gerba, Carolyn Giardina, Bryan Gonzalez, Frank Irving, Leander Kung, Phil Lelyveld, Edie Meadows, Paula Parisi, Mark Schroeder, Rob Scott, William Sheng, David Wertheimer, Joyce Yi

And our sponsor-contributors/tipsters:

Wendy Aylsworth, Bryan Ellenburg, Bob Kisor, Bob Lambert, Theron Trowbridge

What you should know about ‘Gear for Geezers’…

If you think focusing on seniors means making phones with oversized keypads and “I’ve-fallen-and-I-can’t-get-up” alarms, think again.

The exhibitors at CES’s Silvers Summit spoke with us about advice for the entertainment industry, based on their experience designing and marketing products for an aging population.

“They are the best customers in the world, but nobody has figured out how to do it right for them,” said Aaron Pollack of cell phone provider Jitterbug.

Boomers pay bills on time, give conscientious customer feedback, and are extremely loyal (witness Jitterbug’s churn rate of 1.5%).  While they may be beginning to have issues with hearing, vision, and manual dexterity, they also have the interest, the income, and the time to enjoy great technology and entertainment.

Some advice from the pros for reaching this valuable demographic:

Stick With Sexy Design
Just because they’re aging doesn’t mean they’re square, exhibitors said. Reaching the key baby boomer demographic means creating products that don’t make them feel like they’re getting old.

“My number one advice is to make it sexy.  In their minds, they’re young and cool, and they’re not ready for the old folks home,” said Curt Stone of the Quality of Life Foundry at Carnegie Mellon University.  “You don’t have to dumb it down for them.  Make tech that is universally appealing but also adaptive to special needs, and you’ll have a winner.”

Simplify, Simplify
While the CES floor is crowded with complicated devices and expanding choices, this population wants it simpler and streamlined.  They’re overwhelmed and turned off by remote controls or set-top boxes with too many or unclearly-labeled buttons.

Swedish company Doro has taken it to the ultimate extreme, with a six-button universal remote control (on/off, volume up/down, and channel up/down) that won’t overwhelm anybody.  That may be going farther than most of the 55+ crowd needs, but the key feature of all exhibitors in Silvers Summit was that they cut out extraneous content and features, rather than adding more.

Focus on Making & Strengthening Connections
This population uses their tech to stay in touch with people they care about, exhibitors said.  Companies that support those goals will succeed.

“People stay connected by watching TV together or talking on the phone, and when they lose their hearing and stop sharing those things with their families their connections unravel,” said Michelle Maher of ClearSounds.  “Use technology to appeal to the emotional side of those family connections, and you’ll reach this group.”

Provide “High-touch” Customer Service
That means no labyrinthine automated telephone directories, no overseas customer service, and extremely patient and flexible reps.

“The relationship that develops is more like a family relationship,” said Chuck Lalonde of MyGait, which offers computer systems for elderly customers with custom hardware, software, and support.  He said people call or email with questions like, “How do I find a good Chinese restaurant in Vegas?” and their reps just roll with it, emailing back links to a Google map with directions.

“It definitely costs more to run a call center out of America than India,” said Pollack of Jitterbug.  “But it is absolutely what these customers want.”

Think Differently About Billing & Privacy
As mobile entertainment takes off, mobile purchasing and billing issues will become more complicated, and many aging customers simply aren’t comfortable with paying for things on the fly.  Reaching them may require some creativity and a range of payment options.

Jitterbug found that many users were afraid of contracts and worried about sharing social security, credit card, or bank account numbers over the phone or the Internet.  So they let them pay the old-fashioned way, month-to-month and through the mail.

“We mail them a bill and they pay on time,” said Pollack.  “We have far fewer problems than you might expect.”  Jitterbug also offers automatic online billing for those who are interested.