Apps and Touchscreens Dominate CES 2010

As I mentioned in a previous blog, I was lucky enough to attend CES this year and spend a good amount of time on the showroom floor. Now that I am home and have had a chance to organize my thoughts, here are some of the noteworthy trends that caught my attention.

Apps:
CES confirmed that apps are no longer just for phones. For example, Ford revealed new in-car technology complete with a color touchscreen in the dashboard that links to apps such as Twitter, Internet radio, free maps and turn-by-turn directions.

Vudu Streaming Movie Service unveiled a service that will deliver apps and services to home theaters, HDTV's and Blue-ray players. Consumers will be able to access a range of Internet based applications and services...including streaming radio, photos and social networks. The conference room TV just got a lot more interesting.

Touchscreens:
Touchscreens undoubtedly provide a sleeker, modern look and feel and can enhance productivity along with the user experience. This was a feature I saw all over CES.

Many vendors rolled out tablet PC's, devices that do the majority of tasks a laptop does, but with touch controls. Lenovo separated itself from the pack by introducing a normal looking laptop complete with a physical keyboard, but with a detachable screen. These tablets - or slates - can make road warrior life simpler...and fun.

Light Blue Optics introduced the Light Touch interactive projector, which turns any flat surface into a touchscreen. This could definitely add a whole new component to interactive presentations.

Green:
Being green has gone from being an afterthought to now being the standard. Judging by the CES floor, developers have definitely taken that mindset into account and are working to incorporate practical and easy-to-use green functions and features into products.

Control4, which makes home automation software, introduced its Energy Management System that combines a thermostat and touchscreen energy controller. This system allows people to effectively track energy usage and correctly identify how much energy certain items use.

Sony also introduced an Eco Edition notebook, an uber-green mini laptop outfitted in a green tinted plastic enclosure made from 23% recycled CD's. The green doesn't stop there - the carrying case is even made out of recycled plastic bottles.