Speeches from leaders of Nokia, Qualcomm and Hisense, a
candid discussion with Federal Communications Chairman (FCC) Julius
Genachowski were recent highlights at the
2010 International CES.
Nokia CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo addressed a packed theater Friday morning
as the opening keynote for the third CES Technology and Emerging
Countries (TEC) program, which focuses on technology's impact on
developing economies. Kallasvuo stated that his own belief and message
to the global industry is to "do good business by doing good."
Kallasvuo introduced Nokia's Social Anthropologist Jan Chipchase as well
as Progress Project journalist Frances Lindsay Gordon to discuss how
Nokia phones, equipped with Nokia tools technology, are improving lives
around the world. Through Nokia technology people in emerging countries
have increased access to weather and crop prices, are able to order
products from other areas of the world and can transfer money to
relatives far away.
Kallasvuo also announced the Growth Economy Venture
Challenge which Nokia, partnering with Sesame Street, launched as part
of their Calling All Innovators program (www.callingallinnovators.com).
This international contest will award a one million dollar investment
for the winning innovation - which could be a new technology or
application designed specifically to improve lives globally.
During Friday morning's second keynote, Qualcomm CEO Dr. Paul Jacobs
took the stage to talk about convergence in the wireless world, health
care and FLO TV. Jacobs noted that "wireless has the power to change our
lives for the better," by having all devices linked together and driving
growth and innovation across the world. Jacobs also highlighted how
wireless is changing health care to help manage and monitor patients'
health.
During the keynote, Jacobs showcased Qualcomm's new Snapdragon
processing chip which was displayed in the Lenovo Skylight
smartbook. Mirasol, which will bring color and video capable display
technology to eReaders and smartbooks, was also featured on
stage. Jacobs then highlighted Qualcomm's N-Stream technology, which
manages digital entertainment in the home with a dual-band wireless LAN
connection. Qualcomm also announced FLO TV will soon be coming to the
iPhone and iTouch.
Friday's one-on-one with the FCC chairman Julius Genachowski and CEA's
Shapiro discussed broadband, spectrum, innovation and
ethics. Genachowski began by discussing the importance of promoting,
preserving and accelerating innovation. He announced that the national
broadband plan, expected out this March, will be a living, breathing
strategic plan for our country, and noted the U.S. is currently
experiencing a "limited spectrum crisis."
During the discussion, Shapiro announced the Innovation Movement's Apps
for Innovation contest winner, GovPulse, an exciting app which helps
connect consumers to government data. In response, Genachowski announced
the launch of FCC.Reboot.gov adding, "digital participation in
government can fulfill the dreams and goals of our constitution."
On Friday afternoon, industry leaders took part in the SuperSession "Big
Thinkers and Disruptive Technologies- Today's Thought Leaders,
Tomorrow's Technologies." A panel of executives from Plastic
Logic, Media7, Zoran Corporation, Sonic Solutions/CinemaNow and Real D
discussed technology trends that will revolutionize the consumer
electronics industry. They agreed that patterns leading to disruptive
technologies happen over time. They also agreed that the digitalization
of content has caused manufacturers and content providers to change
their business model to create choices for consumers. The group
concurred that as the world of personal portable computing increases,
consumers will be able to access content on the device of their choice.
Friday's afternoon SuperSession, "Drivers, Consumer Electronics, and
Highway Safety: How Can Technology Help?" focused on distracted
driving. Peter Appel, from the U.S. Department of Transportation, spoke
before the panel and said the CE industry is doing a good job of
understanding the current environment. He encouraged innovation as a way
to find a solution to the issue.
Executives from Safe Driving Systems, Illume Software, ZoomSafer Inc.,
Tomahawk Systems, Marketing, Best Buy Mobile, TxtBlocker and Global
Traffic Network all agreed that legislation and education together can
help reduce driver distraction. The panelists believed technology and
innovation over time can help solve the problem, but no one product can
fix distracted driving.
Josh Silverman gave the keynote address at Friday night's Leaders in
Technology dinner. He was introduced by Maria Bartiromo, the anchor of
CNBC's "Closing
Bell with Maria Bartiromo" and host and managing editor of the
nationally syndicated "Wall
Street Journal Report with Maria Bartiromo." Silverman discussed how
disruptive innovation is accelerating the rate of change but also
challenging the status quo.
The popular Last Gadget Standing SuperSession on Friday morning, hosted
by Robin Raskin, has been a CES favorite for nine years. The standing
room-only session featured 10 finalists vying to win over the audience
with their four minute product demos. The winner was The Boxee Box by
D-Link - an open-source media player with integrated social networking
features and a large selection of online content.
The online winner was
the SHOWWX Laser Pico Projector by Microvision that was playfully demoed
by Dr. Evil that uses lasers instead of LEDs, fluorescent or
incandescent lights and fits in a pocket or purse. Other finalists
included in order of demo: Neato Robotic's Neato XV-11, The Acer Aspire
5738D 3D laptop, the Que proReader, the Haier Trainer, NVIDIA's ICD
Ultra Tablet, the Sony
dash Personal Internet Viewer, the Intel Reader and Motorola's Droid.