A Geek's Perspective

If there was a product that truly surprised me, it was the new Sony “NEX” cameras. If you have read my earlier blogs, you can tell I’m no fan of the evil empire that is Sony. So this is a huge surprise to me as well. But it was deserved. The panoramic capabilities are nothing less than astounding. Shooting at 7FPS (frames per second) you simply sweep the camera from one side to the other (it doesn’t matter which direction) and it will seamlessly tie all the frames together. No external computer required any longer. The results speak for themselves … this may well be the best all purpose camera for sale today. On top of that amazing ability, it’s the first “point and shoot” camera with interchangeable lens … and what wonderful lens they are. They aren’t cheap, but they feel and perform at levels far beyond their price. This is SLR quality folks … just like the pros. It will even shoot in the pro format of “RAW” (which is sometimes called a digital negative … like the old film cameras). But should you decide to use “RAW” you’d better have the special software on your computer to process it and lots of SD memory cards … and I mean lots! A “RAW” format picture on a ten megapixel camera (which is around three meg using the .jpg format) may be around twenty-five meg! So a two gig memory card that may have held 400+ images may only hold around eighty.

Unlike most of its primarily plastic “point and shoot” brethren, the body is made of a magnesium alloy. The build quality reminds you of the Sony of twenty-five years ago.

And just like your TV gadget huckster … “Wait!  There’s more!”

It shoots 3D stills and even will even record 1080i HD movies.

Sony had National Geographic’s premier photog go to Chile with it, and the shots he returned with (completely unedited in any fashion) were magazine quality … and this from a point and shoot pocket camera.

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The next big winner is: Motorola

If there was ever a company that only produced “dead on delivery” products and was gasping its last, it’s Motorola. Just a few years ago their Razr phones set the standard. But the electronics biz loves a stationary target. And while they twiddled their thumbs, Apple put an arrow through the heart of Motorola. Razr sales plummeted and the iPhone became the new standard. While Moto won’t have the Apple fan boys dumping their precious status symbol, the rest of the world may see the new Android phone halt Motorola’s slide into obscurity.

In a stroke of pure genius, the kind that would have Steve Jobs gasping for air as he screams at his development team “why didn’t we think of that?”, Moto is releasing a phone that is essentially a dual core micro-computer. Its capabilities far outstrip the iPhone and iPad, but that isn’t the only thing that really sets it apart.  The new Android has ports on one side that allow it to be placed into a dock that a standard monitor/mouse are attached to, effectively turning it into a desktop computer. Additionally Moto is producing what amounts to a dumb laptop terminal that the phone drops into. Start up is virtually instantaneous and resumes exactly where you left off when you “plug-in”. And voila!, … you have a basic laptop computer with 4G capabilities that allow mobile computing without paying for another mobile data account.  That fact alone is worth about fifty bucks a month in savings for people that need on-the-go access to the web. The terminal even has a battery that runs the screen and charges the phone. The design can only be described as elegant. This is one of those items that needs to be seen, to be fully appreciated.

For many people this is the only computer they really need. Almost as powerful as a netbook, but less expensive and more flexible than a laptop. If you don’t need specialized software for your business, are a gamer or do video editing, this is very probably all the computer you really need. Retail for the laptop terminal is expected to be under $200.00. The phone’s release date is sometime this quarter.

All the hype surrounding CES this year was the amazing amount of new iPad competitors that were going to be unveiled.

It was said to be the “CES of the Tablet” by national television companies and newpapers. Seemingly there’s always a theme each year.

But it took me almost three days to find more than a tablet or two. Finally I found in the furthest recesses of the last great hall, a few of these devices.

I wasn’t impressed. Even Samsung’s was a fairly lame device compared to the Apple … That they were predicting the hoards who rush to buy the latest gizmo from Apple, would instead choose an essentially app-less clunky generic copy, seems absurd.

But instead it was clearly the “Show of the 3D sets” … again.  Basically when you entered the booth of a company that sells 3D sets, that’s about all they really hype up.

It didn’t matter if it was Panasonic, Sony, LG, Samsung or Toshiba … probably a full 90% of the displays were about 3D technology. The basic 2D televisions were all but forgotten, with the one exception being the crazy expensive OLED ultra thin sets. (less than a quarter of an inch thick)

At this show there were 3D sets that didn’t require the shutter glasses … And believe it or not, the picture was actually worse. I can’t imagine what their marketing people were thinking … to bring a decidedly unwatchable “thing” to the world’s largest electronics show. Perhaps trying to prove that they were working on it too? I can’t see how this would help any company’s image.

In any case, all the 3D televisions that did require glasses, didn’t look even slightly better than last year.

All of the manufacturers of 3D sets are quietly disappointed in the sales, but are sticking to their guns. They truly want 3D to take off … but here’s the simple truth that they ignore … THERE IS NO CONTENT! No satellite broadcasts excepting the rare, odd show on ESPN … and only on DirectTV. Nada on cable. Virtually all the 3D DVD’s are cartoons … and this is with an entire year to get more content out.  Why buy a 3D set, when there’s nothing to watch in 3D?

When someone eventually points this out to the execs at the giant TV companies, then perhaps there will be a change. After all, some of the 3D manufacturers are in fact, the owners of some of the studios. (Hello Sony!! You awake??)

Seems I always encounter a “celebrity” or two at CES and this last one was no exception.

On this occasion I ran into Gene Simmons of Kiss (or a really good imitation) and a supposedly famous “nasty” woman (not my description … but from the one person who actually watches it) from “Big Brother”.

Then there was this … Who ever said Halloween is in October?

This is one of the those cases, (no pun intended) in which a picture is worth a thousand words.

But, I have a question … If you use the new iPhone addition heavily, should you really be using the originally designed function of the phone?

One of the must see areas at CES each year is the “high end” area at the Venetian. This is where the audio purists and audiophiles converge to pay homage to the most extravagant offerings from the most sophisticated and accomplished vendors.

As you stroll down the football field length halls of suites on five floors, you can enter each to listen/touch what they have brought to impress. Understanding that people will fork over hundreds of thousands of dollars based on what one speaker will sound like compared to another, would lead you to believe that the choice of music for that all important first impression is immeasurably important.

I have actually seen manufacturers get a direct digital copy from the original tapes of Peggy Lee, the Doors and even the Beatles. Since a tape degrades and deteriorates with each and every playing, you can see just how important really good samples of music are for making a sale. Each of these tapes (such as with the Beatles) could literally be valued at hundreds of millions of dollars. So extreme importance is placed on the “right sound”.

With this in mind, one of the first demo rooms we encountered was a Chinese company selling speakers whose value was only slightly less than a small vacation home. (With Chinese speakers companies there are only two actual types of speakers produced … the very, very high end and the very,very generic.) After finding a seat, the rep fired up the monster Class “A” amplifier (tubes, not transistors). I was admiring the the probably $500 a foot speaker cables when he inserted the all important first SACD (eg. super audio compact disc).

What happened next probably will cost me about $1000.00 to repair.

Instead of an ear-popping delight, I was besieged with the “voice” of what had to be the grand prize winner of a Yoko Ono karaoke contest.

It was so bad that I didn’t even ask the name if the singer. I didn’t want to pollute my mind with that thought. So as avoid being looked as rude, (since the inventor was standing directly behind me) I had to sit there in agony for an excruciating two minutes. The gnashing of my teeth surely wore away some of the finest work my dentist has ever done.