The thousands of products and services on display at the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show can crowd out perspective, like so many trees that you cannot appreciate the forest. Attending a keynote address or an informational program or two brings larger perspectives to what one sees at CES.
I attended the one-on-one interview of Julius Genachowski, FCC Chairman, and the keynote address by Stephen Woo, President of Samsung, which ended with a surprise address by former President Bill Clinton. Here some of the trends in consumer electronics shown by 2013 CES.
Everything on Mobile Devices
Manufacturers are convinced that consumers want their mobile devices to do everything. Today’s mobile devices are smartphones and tablets. As a result, manufacturers are committed to developing smartphones and tablets with ever increasing capabilities.
Communications by phone and email are now traditional functions of mobile devices. In addition, banking transactions, watching videos on You Tube, streaming TV newscasts and shows, and playing competitive video games are happening on mobile devices now and will increase over time. President Clinton pointed out that Haiti developed post-earthquake banking services throughout the country using cell phones. Much more is coming, however. For example, manufacturers envision smartphones and tablets that can receive and display streaming ultra HD, high-resolution movies, even 3D movies.
The implications of this commitment to mobile devices are amazing. Mobile devices must by definition remain hand-held and light in weight, but to handle the increasing quantities of data they must have (1) faster processors handling multiple applications simultaneously and consuming less power, (2) more memory, and (3) longer battery life. Good technological progress has been made in each of these areas, as Stephen Woo demonstrated in his address, but the data demands on mobile devices could outpace the technology.
All Devices Wirelessly Connected
All other devices will be wirelessly connected to mobile devices through Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. These devices include the TV, radio, audio speakers, cars, and home appliances. This connectivity will be centered on mobile devices, not on the desktop computer.
Pictures and video will be transferred from cameras to smartphones and tablets for distribution to social media sites and/or for posting and storage on You Tube and similar video content sites. Wi-Fi Direct is the new standard that will allow Wi-Fi enabled devices to connect device-to-device, even in the absence of a Wi-Fi network environment.
Exploding Data Creation
Consumers will not only receive and process large quantities of data; they will cause an explosion in data creation. Seventy-two hours of video are uploaded to You Tube every minute, and three of those hours are uploaded from mobile devices. Consumers are joining network and cable TV broadcasters, movie studios, and record labels as producers of content that will be viewed over smartphones and tablets.
Immense Data Storage and Processing Needs
So where does all this data reside and how is it retrieved and streamed to viewers? It is stored in data centers with millions of servers. These data centers also provide services that organize, retrieve, and distribute data to users upon request. These servers consume power and are a significant data cost, presenting major challenges to manufacturers and content holders.
For Data Security, You’re on Your Own
While more and more personal and financial data is being sent and received over mobile devices, relatively little attention is given to data security on smartphones and tablets. Manufacturers are not building data security protections into the mobile devices. Data security is the consumer’s responsibility and it is far more prevalent on desktops and laptops than on mobile devices.
Carriers have secured their wireless networks, as have financial institutions that offer online services. It is the data on the mobile devices that is exposed to cybercrime. A number of companies sell mobile security protection, such as McAfee Mobile and Norton Mobile security. These data security programs, however, use processing, memory, and power that could lessen the speed of your device, which explains why mobile device manufacturers do not build-in data security protection.
More Spectrum for Carriers to Provide to Wireless Broadband to Consumers
The radio frequency spectrum is a public resource that, in the United States, is regulated and optimized by the Federal Communications Commission. Over the years, frequency ranges on the spectrum were assigned to the military organizations, governmental and public safety organizations, and broadcasters.
Wireless mobile devices have created a huge consumer demand for “wireless broadband.” Through voluntary auctions of spectrum and spectrum engineering and management improvements, the amount of broadband available to wireless carriers has increased. Less of the spectrum will be used by traditional and regulated broadcasters, and more of the spectrum will be made available for unregulated use by consumers.
For now, Chairman Genachowski made clear that there is enough available spectrum to satisfy various demands. In the years ahead, consumer demand for wireless broadband will be controlled by market forces, such as the prices charged consumers for data plans, or by regulatory management by the FCC for the public good.
This article was first published in The Daily Record on January 14, 2013.