Yesterday, we flew into Las Vegas, for a whirlwind tour of CTIA Wireless convention (something very easy for Californians.)
The CTIA exhibit area was slightly smaller than last year, with fewer phone announcements, however there is always something interesting to report. Screens are getting bigger and prettier with AMOLED, phones have lighter feel, app are mutiplying, and accessories are looking marvelous.
Really Big Screens
Holding the HTC HD2 and viewing the HTC EVO 4G phone for Sprint revealed much larger AMOLED clearer screens, which at 4.2 inches is MUCH bigger than the iPhone's 3.5 inches and they are lighter to the touch.
From Paper Weight to Paper Pad
Right now many of the 1GHZ
smartphones are like carrying a paper weight, they are heavy in hand,
purse or pocket. New battery technology, makes the HTC HD2, HTC EVO, the Galaxy S and Zio feel much lighter. Instead of holding a
heavy metal feeling object it feels more comfortable and like holding a
pad of paper instead. Writing or surfing on the the touch screen is
like holding a pad of paper or notebook(the school kind, not computer.)
There was a separate apps area and stage in the Las Vegas
Convention center. There different apps presentations for carriers,
device makers and discussions from mobile marketers who love to talk
about engagement and personalization. We will writing about the new
breaking apps tomorrow.
In the accessories retail area there were
cases for smartphones that were more expensive than phones themselves.
Zagg introduced some western carved leather stick-on protection that
will be welcomed by cowboys and fashionistas alike.
Then there is
the usual long list of announcements including award winners.