Last week at the 40th annual CES, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman Kevin Martin joined Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) president and CEO Gary Shapiro to discuss some of the newest, hottest issues facing the 21st century tech world. Categories included the digital television transition, cable compatibility, net neutrality and other issues critical to the consumer electronics industry. Along with this, Mr. Martin stated that he is very proud of consumer and their the increased use of broadband during his term as head honcho.

“The goal is that everyone has access to broadband,” said Martin. “It impacts the way that we get entertainment, seek healthcare and receive education. Trying to put in place a regulatory environment that allows operators to invest in broadband technology is critical for consumers to be able to take advantage of the technologies we see on the show floor.”

A panel of experts was also founded to discuss the new barriers to integrating consumer electronics with vehicles. This panel was moderated by Chris Cook of AAMP of America. The roadblocks discussed were supply and consumer demand of products, the different standards held in the electronics and automotive industries, and the ups and downs of product cycles within the industries themselves. This panel went into the meeting facing these barriers and came out with some interesting ideas on how to help integrate these two fields. First they talked about better integration of CE into automobiles, and then articulated that they must focus on four key factors: the convergence of car and home, consumer content, ease of use for consumer, and convenience to drivers. The panel obviously thought they had the right thing going on because afterwards, Stephen Witt, vice president, Brand Marketing, Alpine Electronics said that: “Never before have the points of view of these two industries been as similar as they are today.”

Another big issue discussed at CES was electronics recycling. Yup, you guessed it, they had a panel for this too. This panel included environmental experts, analysts, and consultants, along with some economists. It appears that CEA actually conducted a consumer survey, which found that 76 percent of consumers are unaware of electronics recycling options. Of that 76 percent, 71 percent said they would recycle, the only problem was they didn’t know where to dispose of their old/unused electronics that just take up space in the garage. Or get thrown into the trash which somehow ends up in the ocean and kills fish. Ok so maybe it’s not that bad, but people just don’t know what to do with their stuff. In response to this, CEA now has a new website, myGreenElectronics.org which provides local recycling information and apparently the latest in environmental tips as well.

On Wednesday, a Last Gadget Standing SuperSession was held. 10 finalists competed head-to-head with a 4 minute demo for votes and laughs from the crowd. This event was moderated by Hosts Robin Raskin and advisors from Yahoo!Tech. Finalists included the V-Click cell phone from D-link, HP TouchSmart PC, RoboSapien’s RS media robot, Nokia n95, Data Drive Thru’s Tornado data port, Archosa Wireless Portable Media player with touch screen, a Salton coffee maker with weather information, Great Call Jitterbug, Pure Digital Point and Shoot Camcorder and Samsung Ultra Music Phone. The HP TouchSmart PC won the online votes while the Data Drive Thru Tornado won over the crowd with the most applause.

It was a busy day at CES. From presidents of companies getting together to discuss integration between autos and electronics, to panels discussing the environmental aspects of the technology industry, to product competitions. Looks like they made some progress overall.

Comments are closed.