This Friday, I’ll be attending the 2011 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) for the first time in my life. I’m looking forward to picking up my media kit (I’m attending on a media pass) and picking up lots of strange freebies – most of which will become toys for my smaller children if past technical conferences are any indication.
But what I am also interested in finding out is something quite different – is there anything new out there that would be a breakthrough tool for project managers and technical consultants working with clients.
I have the writer’s pass. If I had the time to attend some of the early media-only presentations that are going on in advance of the conference starting officially in two days then I’d probably already know this stuff – though I wouldn’t be able to tell you anyway. So let’s speculate about what may be coming out of the CES show this year….
Motorola’s tablet
Motorola is apparently unveiling a 10” tablet to rival the iPad. iPads are nice and have their place, but as a project management tool I just don’t see it. The same will be true, in my opinion I’m sure, for the Motorola tablet. If it looks like a dog and smells like a dog….
Verizon 4G phones
Smartphones to me are a different story. Once I got my latest smartphone my iPad usage became non-existent. Give me an even faster and more powerful smartphone than the one I already love and I’ll likely use it even more. So for remote project management – actually any project management and consulting – I give this a big thumbs up and will be looking for info on these products at the show.
Vizio tablet
TV or computing device? Not sure – probably more like an iPad, but it will be interesting to check out. I’m not guessing it will be a project management tool, though. Although I could see tablets being part of an implementation solution for a client, just not something I would really need in order to implement that solution.
Lenovo tablet/laptop
Lenovo is introducing a laptop that doubles as a tablet. The screen is removable and becomes a tablet by itself. This might work. Since it adds significant versatility, I might find this worthy of some usage. Again, it needs further examination. Hey Lenovo, want to send me one to test? Hint, hint.
iPad2 or Verizon iPhone
While it would be nice to see these introduced at CES and check out their features – though I don’t see myself having a need for them personally or professionally – it’s not likely we’ll see these rolled out this week. Apple has unveiled big things every January for the past decade, but never at CES. So don’t hold your breath. It’s not likely to happen. And with what has leaked so far this week, it likely already would have happened.
Summary