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1. CES Key Trends
2012

2. KEY TRENDS FROM THE
GREATEST TECHNOLOGY
SHOW ON EARTH...
The annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) held
in Las Vegas has become known as the global event
to experience the cutting edge of technology.
Mariel Brown (Head of Trends) and Ben set top to Rule
Watson (Associate Design Director)
from design and innovation company
In recent years the TV has felt like the
most under-developed opportunity in
What excited us
Seymourpowell, elbowed their way through consumer electronics. As our mobile far more was the
the record-breaking 153,000 strong crowds,
and trawled every inch of the 35 football
phones have evolved into mobile
devices, our TVs seem to have only developments being
pitches worth of technology stands to
uncover the key trends from this years show.
progressed by becoming thinner and
larger versions of their former selves.
made in passive 3D
However, TVs have now stepped out of technology that allows
3D InvasIon
Since 2010 visitors to CES would be forgiven
the shadows; now smart and connected,
they are once again set to become
you to view 3D TV
for thinking that the only way to see the the hub of our home. With technology without glasses. In
including gestural interfacing (such as
technological zeitgeist is through a pair of 3D
glasses. This year’s show was no different. LG’s smart remote) and touch screen previous years this had
LG led the charge with their slogan “How
smart is your 3D TV?” Walking through their
technology (such as Sharp’s new 80–
inch touch screen) being heavily pushed
appeared extremely
prime-position stand wearing a pair of 3D at this years show, the TV is equipped crude but it is now
glasses, one could see all manner of things
flying through the air; from swarms of
to become the primary interface for our
smart devices. starting to feel like a
butterflies to fencing swords – the obligatory
the DIalect of DevIces
viable option for the
3D demo. All very eye-catching and dramatic,
yet what excited us far more was the With TVs becoming more intelligent, first time.
headway that is being made in passive 3D the way in which they talk to our other
technology that allows you to view 3D TV devices is becoming a hot topic:
without glasses. In previous years this has Ecosystems that can connect all your
appeared extremely crude but it is now starting products together (so we can access our MaRIel BRoWn
to feel like a viable option for the future. content from any of our devices wherever head of trends at seymourpowell
Confidential. © Seymour Powell Limited, 2012. All rights reserved.

3. © Seattle Times © Wired.com
we may be) were a clear theme at this are closed and demand absolute brand rate. Manufacturers believe that the key to
years show with all of the big players such loyalty. This is obviously fantastic news keeping people commuting in their own car
as Samsung, Sony and LG launching new for the manufacturer that wins your vote, is to make the drive more enjoyable and
smart systems. but perhaps less good news for the savvy connected. This sets a big design challenge
consumer that likes to shop around. – how can a greater number of software
Having all of our devices connected to one features be made available to the driver
another in a deeply integrated way offers auto sMaRts without distracting them? Ford’s response to
some clear consumer benefits, for example The notion of connected appliances is now this dilemma had many tech geeks’ pulses
we can start watching a film in our living venturing out of the home and extending racing at the show. The Ford Evos is a
room and carry on from the same position to our cars. A key driver for this trend is the concept car that aims to create a seamless
on the bus to work. But these benefits predicted global increase of Megacities (a lifestyle between the home, office and car by
are not without their compromises; in this metropolitan area with a total population in accessing the driver’s personal information
instance these smart devices play dumb excess of 10 million people). As more and and anticipating their needs. If CES 2012
when you try to connect them to another more of us globally migrate into the city, is anything to go by it won’t be long until
brand’s products. These ecosystems congestion is set to worsen at an alarming our cars will be monitoring our well being,
streaming our content, and steering us out
of trouble.
the ultRa coMpetItIon
But these product ecosystems aren’t without Since it was introduced in 2008 the
MacBook Air has reigned supreme over
their compromises, in this instance these the ultraportable notebook market. This
smart devices play dumb when you try domination looked set to change at this
years CES as word got out that many of
to connect them to one another. the big players would finally be releasing
some serious competition. Indeed many
manufacturers such as Acer, Asus,
Confidential. © Seymour Powell Limited, 2012. All rights reserved.

4. ManufactuReD By Me
The notion of printing our products at
home has felt like an exciting yet distant
Should print-at-home dream of the future for many years now.
However, the dream has finally been
technology reach a brought into the present thanks to the
tipping point the launch of Cubify. Cubify is a desktop sized
3D printer aimed at the consumer market.
economic and It allows people to download designs from
the Cubify website, customise them, and
environmental then print them off at home in ABS plastic.
implication could be We’re looking forward to watching this
huge... technology develop. Should print-at-
home technology reach a tipping point
© The Digital Story the economic and environmental
implication could be huge.
Samsung, HP, Toshiba, Dell and Lenovo all extremely impressive. From affordable point DesIgneD to evolve
launched ultra books at the show. For Mac -and-shoots all the way up to ‘re-mortgage
The most exciting trend to emerge at this
devotees the hype may have been a little your home’ DSLRs, CES 2012 reflected the
years show, and the one that felt the most
optimistic as some of the models still felt exciting period we are moving through in film
relevant in these financially and environmentally
relatively heavy and bulky. and photography. A period in which camera
unstable times, was the notion of designing
manufacturers must pull out all the f-stops
products to evolve. Manufacturers are
But, it wasn’t all doom and gloom for PC to compete with the increasing ability of our
realising that consumers do not want to
enthusiasts with definite signs of progress smart phone cameras.
purchase expensive goods such as TVs,
being made - Dells new 13” XPS uses an
only to have to update them a year later.
incredibly compact design, whilst Samsung’s At the heart of the fight back is the creation
So instead of creating products whose
Series 9 ultrabook combines a great of ‘smart’ cameras, which (as with smart
technologies quickly become obsolete, they
technical package with good design and phones) allow users to connect to the
are designing products that can have their
high quality manufacture. Many of these new Internet for instant photo sharing. Where
software updated. A fantastic example of this
PC contenders were hitting the mark with camera manufacturers are aiming to
was seen from Samsung who impressed by
appealing form factors, combined with an differentiate themselves is the quality of
“future proofing” their Smart TVs by adding
excellent finish and striking use of materials. the photos. A particular favourite was the
an upgrade slot. This could spell an end
How these new releases will compete with nostalgic fun offered by Polaroid’s new Z340
to hours of frustration finding the right TV
the soon to be released next generation of - a fully-functioning digital camera with an
model; instead we could be scratching our
MacBook Air remains to be seen; this may integrated printer. The enthusiastic crowds
heads over which update we need.
raise the bar yet again. gathered around Polaroid’s stand were all
desperate to get their hands on this new
MARIEL BROWN Head of Trends at
photo/fIlM RenaIssance release. This highlighted the fact that, in an
Seymourpowell. To find out more please
This years camera releases at CES were increasingly digital world, people still crave
contact: mariel.brown@seymourpowell.com
the tactile and tangible.
Confidential. © Seymour Powell Limited, 2012. All rights reserved.