Living with the iPhone

If you're a brand devotee to a certain electronics brand then CES and other trade shows are for you, stop your career now and get a vendoring job. Usually, most retailers usually group products by type, not brand. Thus breaking the brand's presence up in stores thus forcing companies to package their products even more boldy. Reverse that and you have CES, so here you can really buy into the 'lifestyle' of the brand (or are subjected to it before you move on to the next booth). So you have newly emerging companies like Sorny along side Sony for example (no, there was no Sorny, but plenty of companies that are in desparate need of a re-brand).

Some brands already do the whole lifestyle approach: Sony has Sony Style, Bose with, well Bose stores, and of course Apple with Apple Stores (located near you). But CES allows these brands (which are all, in fact, corporations on pieces of paper probably registered in Delaware) to go gangbusters. CES attendees are immersed by a total brand experience that is dizzying. Depending on the crush of attendees, the design or the corporate speak employed at each, these lifestyles can turn to be repellant, no wonder why retailers break it up.

The open assault on cables and wires was on particular display at CES. Apparently, wires clutter your life and cause you misery, or some vendors would have you think. Whether it's faster and faster Wi-Fi from Intel, streaming video from Slingbox, in-home HD distribution, Bluetooth home theater audio from Samsung at different parts of the radio spectrum, the trend is moving away from physical media and physical connections.

That said, I wondered how a leading wire cable company, Monster, would make themselves relevant in this anticable movement. Apart from having a sold-out Mary J. Blige concert, Monster has made itself relevant by marketing cables and wires that meet measures and criteria for given equipment and price points.

Various measures of fidelity, range, and quality were touted by the Monster rep I talked to, who naturally said there is nothing better than a physical connection. In an age that features cleanly designed, minimalist, and clutter-free environments and products, it is kind of difficult to reconcile the need for cables and wires to connect our amazing HDTVs to our computers, DVDs, and other devices with the urge to minimize. It's telling that Monster is, itself, pursuing wireless technology.

What's an electronics show without a robot, or 20. Well there weren't many at CES this week. Robots must not be the way forward to mass consumer electronics manufacturers. But this one was cute, dorky, and according to the rep, easy to build for your own home (AI not coming soon). And, as far as vendors go, this company (whose site is not up) was one those vendors that just seemed genuinely nice, unlike many massive CES booths that made you feel like you're at a cell phone store - impersonal and livestock-like. So, when robots come to rule the Earth, maybe these robots will be in charge and life will be good. But seriously though, these little toys brought out a smile in the geek in me. Overall assessment: Aw.

As if reality were too mundane for you, many of the vendors at this year's CES would like to sell you a chair that vibrates in synch with your home theater system, a ultra-thin Hi-Def TVs that defies reality in terms of fidelity, clarity and color and now, televisions that attempt to be 3-D. Not satisfied? How about high-definition cameras? While I can't show you a picture of what 3-D TV image looks like, it's nowhere as cool as you may think.

The people in the picture look like the SIMS and kind of resemble animated diorama. In other words, the fidelity and tactile experience from the Star Trek's Holodeck is still science fiction unless you wander over to the Hilton and check out the Star Trek Experience.... Of course, you do look incredibly goofy with those 3-D glasses on.

Like moths to a flame, CES attendees were drawn to LG's prototype of Dick Tracy's wristwatch cell phone updated (of course).

Based on currently available information, it's Bluetooth and GSM-based. It would have to be Bluetooth enabled, otherwise you'd look quite odd talking on the phone. No release date, no cost, no lack of interest. But here, at least is a picture.

Assessment: The watch phone would be coveted (if the crowds even near closing time were indicative) but the downside is that you'd definitely have to use a Bluetooth headset if you were out and about. This may not be a downside for you, but it's a deal breaker for me.

So yes, there are iPhone-related products at CES 2008 primarily focused covers and protective skins and audio speakers. Two products that really caught my eye in terms of form and function are B&W's Zepplin (yes, a Zeplin, like the Hindenpeter of Family Guy fame - hope this one doesn't burst into flames) and THX/Razer's Mako speakers. Both are definitely against the grain from a Bose or a Altec Lansing iPod docking audio system. I've never liked the Bose docks - the sound is too grainy or metallic, and the Altec Lansing product at the CES just looked boring.

The Zepplin (it's just fun to say, isn't it?) and the Moko were fun. The B&W Zepplin weighs a ton and costs a ton too ($600) and was released late last year. It was the first time I'd ever seen it. The B&W rep invited me to plug my iPhone in and to ignore the error message. After this error, the devices eventually synched. The Zepplin is a complete one-unit speaker unit and, well, obviously looks like a Zepplin, supposedly to replicate a musical instrument's design. I tried the various music tracks on my iPhone - classical, to hip hop to the Counting Crows.

While the Convention Hall may not be the ideal place to test it, I was surprised as I pumped the volume and the Zepplin appeared to handle it well without bursting into flames and maintaining sound quality. I wonder how it'd do in an office or home setting.

In contrast to that, THX and the gaming company Razer are releasing a two satellite, one subwoofer Moko desktop system that looks somewhat like a Cylon (yes, I geeked out there).

The Mokos supposedly uses the desk surface it sits on to reflect sound up and is not as expensive as the Zepplin coming in at $399 (comparable to the Bose Companion 3 series). As would be expected the Moko's bass was strong and solid. Dance music a pumpin would be great on this system. The clarity, again in a sound hall, is hard to tell as I never plugged in my iPhone, but the THX rep spouted a bunch of numbers and hertzs to me to reassure me of its worth. The fact that I could hear what was being played over the din of the hall may speak volumes itself. (oh yes, what a pun!) Also, both the Zepplin and the Moko's come with remotes, one looking slender and sleek and the other like a contraceptive device.

Assessment on both:

Form factor/design: solid and sleek. Each are unique.

Function: Couldn't really tell the sound quality as the convention hall din was overpowering, but based on extrapolation - good. The Zepplin hooks up to TVs as well and you can watch videos on your iPod and iPhone.

Price: At $600 and $400 respectively, a bit pricey, but other entries by others like Altec Lansing just fell flat.

Overall: The Zepplin is more of a status symbol and the Moko is an edgier product for gamers. Picking between the two would be based on what image you want to convey.

So what do the other fellow geeks at CES look like? Predominantly youngish to middle-aged male (white or Asian), blazer and jeans, and almost certainly on a cell phone. Vendors at the CES have certainly kept that in mind. Whether its attractive women wandering the floor (I still have no idea what the cheerleaders were selling), sports stars opining on this year's Superbowl at Samsung (Randall Cunningham), or cars galore (everywhere you look), vendors know their market, but in what sense? Of course there are women attendees here, and of course these decision-makers will sift through market data and consider variables of selecting items to stock in their stores, but CES is a very visceral event. If I don't know the brand or what vendors are hawking in less than 10 seconds chances are that I would have already moved on to the next booth unless there is something shiny or sexy grabbing my attention. Even with Pioneer's 9 mm thick Kuro plasma screen tv I had to do a double-take and stop as I was walking by it, it even had shiny flashy things too.

Here are some of the scenes from CES.

Cell phone/PDAs or other iterations of what you want to call the convergence of handheld devices are featured prominently at the Consumer Electronics Show, no doubt. Whether these devices from Motorola or Samsung overtly claim to be iPhone killers is beside the point. The point is that most devices feature cleaner user interfaces and better bundles of applications that access more and more content. Nearly all of these gadgets are touch-based. Nearly all the devices, though, still don't come close in terms of usability and elegance to the iPhone's user interface. You can check out all the performance reviews of the upcoming phones here, but more interesting is the convergence of high-end couture brands with traditionally utilitarian brands like Samsung on display at CES.

From carrying cases to the actual device itself, incorporating couture elements is on the rise. From Case Logic, for example, comes a leather case for an iPod Touch that arguably pays homage to Hermes orange. Case Logic's other designs range from basic to quasi-personal, if you can achieve such a thing on a mass scale, to highlight your own personality.

Other designers, while not at CES but otherwise available in Las Vegas, are offering high-end phones/PDAs or MP3 carrying cases. (Louis Vuitton's cigarette case, for example, is the perfect iPod Classic carrier.)

As for the devices themselves, Samsung has partnered with Georgio Armani to release a Samsung-made phone only available in Europe. Meanwhile, Bang & Olufsen collaborated with Samsung and has released an updated phone that is GSM-based (AT&T and T-Mobile only). I'm reminded of T-Mobile's attempt to sell a D&G phone or Prada's foray into the cell phone market. Using the B&O phone, however, was not easy. An actual metal click wheel got dirty quick (the clerk at the booth kept wiping it down) and I would question how the sound quality is to be superior given that you're often victim to your network provider.

While brand fixation and loyalty have been a delight to marketers since time immemorial, it seems that this trend of buying into a brand's exclusivity (the B&O phone retails for $1,600) is on the rise. High-end consumer products from high-end designers are nothing new, either. Increased demand for high-end couture in a credit crunch era, while unwise, is not surprising as many people may be buying into the idea and image of being successful as represented by branded possessions. Combining the designer brands with a utilitarian gadget may not be the newest thing, but, if any indication can be gleaned by the crowds ogling these blinged-out couture cell phones, it appears to be phenomenon here to stay.

The Koncept folks, who've already won design-of-the-year accolades, launched further designs of the LED-based desk and floor lamps at 8 to 9 watts. Banks and rows of LEDs provide light instead of compact fluorescent, incandescent, or halogen bulbs.

I'm not sure how they look away from the convention hall, but the fact that you can grab onto them without burning yourself, and the fact that they were right near the entrance got my attention.

Not burning yourself may be a key thing if you've happened to fall asleep at your desk and wake up, for example. It's pretty ecofriendly, and should reduce clutter on your desk. Designed in Maryland and made in China, Koncept told me that while they sold out of their lamps online the first day they launched, they assured me more were coming and would be available in a couple of weeks.

Assessment: Form factor is cool. Price is OK ($100-$200). Cool factor is high. Whether the light produced is nice...well, I am a light snob and I will withhold judgment on that.