CES Preview: Tablet PCs, Smartbooks Take Spotlight

This year's International Consumer Electronics Show, which opens in Las Vegas, Nev., Thursday, is shaping up to be less of what's brand new in the industry and more about new twists on technology still struggling for the limelight.

Evolutionary technology to be highlighted includes an emerging class of mobile devices called smartbooks, tablet PCs, and 3D television, each of which is expected to be in sharp focus at CES. While the product categories are not exactly new, vendors are still trying to win the hearts and wallets of consumers.

Smartbooks and tablets are mobile computing devices that have been around for awhile, but have yet to excite mainstream consumers. With the latest wave of devices, vendors are targeting teenagers and young adults, who may consider an inexpensive device with a larger screen than a smartphone for quick access to social networks, such as Facebook and Twitter, and to Web browsing. The new products are also marketed as entertainment devices that can play back Web video and downloaded movies, as well as be used to buy and play digital music.

Among the vendors showing off a tablet PC is Freescale Semiconductor, which released this week a reference design for a model with a seven-inch touchscreen, optional keyboard, and support for Wi-Fi and 3G mobile broadband. The device would have a starting price of about $200.

While Microsoft will be at CES to talk about Windows 7, the company is also expected to discuss its Courier tablet. HP, Lenovo, and an Indian startup called Notion Ink are also expected to introduce tablet PCs at CES.

On the smartbook side, Lenovo has already grabbed some pre-show attention with the introduction of the Skylight. Scheduled to be available in April, the clamshell device weighs less than two pounds and has a custom interface for quick access to online services. The device has a starting price of $499.

But the company that has probably done the most to re-energize interest in devices that fall between a smartphone and mini-laptop won't be at CES. That company is Apple.

Speculation has traveled across the Web for weeks that the computer maker will introduce a tablet PC at the end of the month. Of late, the speculation has turned into a growing number of media reports quoting anonymous sources who are "in the know." Apple, however, has declined comment.

If Apple launches a tablet, then industry watchers say it could give a big boost to the smartbook/tablet market. That's because the company is known to jumpstart product categories. Examples include Apple's iPod, which energized the market for portable media players, and the iPhone, which drew consumer attention to the smartphone market.

Nevertheless, some analysts still aren't sold on the idea that the time is right for a phone-less, Web-enabled device that has a bigger screen than a smartphone, but essentially doesn't do much more.

"The area between a smartphone and a netbook (inexpensive mini-laptop) remains kind of a no-man's land," Baker said. "Smartbooks, tablets will still have a really tough time."

This year, however, could see vendors making some progress elsewhere. Three-D television, for example, is expected to get a boost from the increasing number of 3D Hollywood movies, some of which have been very popular. Four of the 10 top-grossing films last year were presented in 3D.

In addition, entertainment companies announced this week the launch of two 3D networks. One is a joint venture of Sony, Discovery Communications, and IMAX, and the other is from Walt Disney's ESPN.

With 3D content on the rise, consumers are more likely to take a second look, and vendors are getting ready. Major TV makers that will demo 3D screen advances at CES include Sony, Panasonic, LG ,and Samsung.

Not all analysts believe the time is quite right, however. Current 3D technology requires viewers to buy special polarized glasses, which people are unlikely to want to wear in their living rooms, Van Baker, analyst for Gartner, told InformationWeek in an interview. "The technology has to evolve to where you don't need glasses, but we're years away from that happening, if ever," Baker said.

In addition, consumers are still getting used to the immersive feelings 3D can bring to the movie viewer. "Some people get nauseous and some just don't like it," Baker said.