Between the Lines
By Bonnie Optekman, NBC News (@boptekman)
Netbooks, Smartbooks, Tablets, Nettops, e-Readers, PC TVs, 3D, Smartphones, Interactivity, Microsoft's NUI (Natural User Interface), Project NATAL. Those are the buzzwords. But I want to talk about what I'm learning around the show.
First of all. Holy pat down Batman. I'd never seen such lines getting thru security at JFK. Yes, it moved along but yikes. Then, desperately needing coffee, I went to Dunkin' Donuts where there was, yes, another huge line. Can't get the word line in the next sentence but I was in the next to last row in a middle seat. Ugh. After landing I then found myself on the longest taxi line in history. I think that took longer than the flight. And then, of course, there was the (fast) line to check into Mandalay Bay.
Ok, enough complaining. Things started to look up when I found my room. It has an iHome! I could play my music! Then downstairs to a, yes, line for a taxi to the convention center where I stood on a line to get my credential holder and, finally, the line to see Steve Ballmer of MIcrosoft. That line was so intimidating, I showed my press pass and was able to go in on a faster line. Do I feel badly about that. Not so much. Speaking of lines, some power line wasn't working so well for Mr. Ballmer delaying his keynote address for 25 minutes. Can't imagine he was too happy about that. Pretty ironic actually.
Dinner and brainstorming with my colleague - the awesome Jon Dakss - on our next steps for advancing News interactivity. NO line at Table 10, Emeril's restaurant. I was half asleep at that point but awake enough to know that dinner was awesome!
Today was all about sessions for me. Here come more buzzwords - WiMax, LTE, tonnage, network optimization, standardization, transparency, interoperability.. There. Those were from the session 4G - The Next Big Thing in Mobile Phones. But what did I take between the lines? LTE is going to be so fast that there is a school of thought that a whole lot of people won't obsess about being "wired." They're probably the same people, especially in the "younger demo" who only use cell phones. I personally always need a princess phone. [insert joke here]That's in case of a power outage that makes even my handheld unusable.
Next session: Superphones - One Device To Rule Them All. According to this esteemed panel, some devices (like navigation devices, low end cameras, mp3 players - hmm, not so much, iPod going strong, portable DVD players, handheld games) may eventually disappear because of the advances of the Superphone (Not to be confused with the Smartphone. Smartphone=phone and email. Superphone=all those apps. Those definitions=mine.) What may come? Bluetooth devices to speak to your phones - like a watch that vibrates when you get a text message. What may continue to exist alone? Very possibly the e-Reader along with the iPod. When one questioner asked when those required data plans may go away, the ATT rep said they were talking about it. Actually, at that moment the microphone gave off uber-feedback so he joked that the timing of that for him was perfect.
During both those sessions and a brief trip to the floor, I've been on a personal campaign for more phones that have Flo-TV, where you can see NBC News To Go. Flo says they're working hard with the carriers and plan for more to be here mid 2010. Carriers say it's a balance of technical and commercial feasability but that the consistency and speed of the 4G signal should make it more prevalent.
On my way to the next session, I ran into the Casio Exilim display of DYNAMIC PHOTOS. Very cool. Videos within videos. Check it out.
I also saw the enTourage EDGE. It's the eReader I like best so far. It's a netbook on the right side which will display a hyperlink or play a video embedded in what you're reading on the left. It's color. They're working with Google, McGraw Hill and other publishing sources.
Ok. Here's a cool way to think about 3D that I heard from Natalie Del Conte at the What's Turning Our Heads This Year seminar.(Oh and she likes the enTourage EDGE too.) Natalie thinks the cool/dorky glasses you have to wear are not the biggest obstacle to a 3D set in your living room. She pointed out how positional the experience is. Sitting straight up in a chair - great. Reclining on your side - forget it. Natalie also thinks the term "widget" will be replaced by "app." That makes sense. And I agree with her that we don't really know what device people will choose to use in between their smartphone and their computer.
Finally - a session about the business of TV. The best part? Seeing my old friend and colleague Tom Wolzien. Look him up. He's brilliant. Headline for me came from Tom. The ratings gleaned from Tivo and other DVRs are so nuanced.. For example, TV households with the 18-49 demo and incomes over $80,000 skip more through Visa and MasterCard ads than American Express. GEICO ads are skipped through more on ABC than CBS. Another interesting area of study - when people record things, when are they watching them? If they're shifted to a time where TV was never watched before, it's additive. Although that can be a bad thing if that additive is at the office or taken away from reading to your kids. If it's shifted to a time when a less popular show or repeat is on, that's a loss for the networks. But it's clear that the era of "least objectionable programming" is over.
By the way, I feel way more connected at the show this year. With my Sony Bravia HD TV, HD Tivo, and Blu-Ray player all connected to the Internet and streaming Netflix and Blockbuster straight to my TV as well as watching HuLu on my TV, I am finally in the 21st century. I was shamed into it by my nephew. When he found out I didn't have all that, he said, "What business are you in?"
Time for my plug. Go to http://alerts.msnbc.com and sign up for some of our really cool alerts.
More tomorrow. I'll try to keep it shorter. ;)
