Tablets expected to roll high at CES this week
Cisco looks like it will be glued to TV at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas later this week but the real focus will be on tablets, according to analysts sizing up the upcoming event. Cisco, as you may have read from our colleague Matt Hamblen, will “make an announcement regarding Cisco’s role in helping service providers and content providers meet the challenges and opportunities presented by the convergence of pay TV, online and on-demand content.”
That’s so last year. The real action this year will be on those cute little legal pad-sized computers that everyone is so gaga about now. Ticonderoga Securities thinks the 2011 CES will usher in the Year of the Tablet:
The big product buzz during last year’s CES was the plethora of 3D TVs on display, however, we believe the spotlight will clearly be on the tablet market this year…(AppleiPad) competitors are eagerly waiting to make tablet announcements this week at CES and we estimate there could be 60-70 tablet products shown off at this week’s show, the majority of which we believe will be based on a version of the Android operating system.
Ticonderoga projects 61 million units to hit the market this year. The firm also expects a second generation iPad to be unveiled by Apple in the March/April timeframe with “expanded features, a boost in computing performance, improved display technology, more memory, a thinner/lighter form factor and other potential surprises.” But features aside, it may be hard for iPad competitors – Cisco doesn’t consider its Cius tablet to be one – to match the Apple ecosystem (iTunes, App Store, etc.) and cross-Apple-device compatibility.
Oppenheimer & Co. also notes that tablets will be showcased among other wireless themes at CES this year, including the continued rapid adoption of smartphones and the beginning of the global transition to 4G LTE. Oppenheimer expects shipments of tablets to more than double in 2011, to about 40 million as handheld device and PC vendors jump on the trend:
We expect Motorola Mobility to be active at CES, expanding on its customer, geographic and product diversification goals, with tablets a likely event highlight. We look for Samsung, LG, HTC and RIMM to also push tablets (Tab2, Optimus Pad, Scribe and Playbook) and smartphones (Android, Win7, LTE…).
Cisco won’t be an island in TV land at CES, however. Ticonderoga believes LED/LCD TVs have been highlighted at CES for years now, so the novelty has worn off. But 3D TV and Internet TV innovations will still be shown off at the show.
Meanwhile, Las Vegas bookmakers have started putting odds on which rumored product launches will actually be made at CES. Here’s a lineup from Mickey Richardson and Bookmaker.com:
VERIZON WILL ANNOUNCE AN EXACT LAUNCH DATE FOR A CDMA IPHONE +250 28%
MOTOROLA WILL DEBUT A 10-INCH TABLET +300 25%
HTC WILL DEBUT A LTE PHONE CALLED THUNDERBOLT +250 28%
SAMSUNG WILL DEBUT THEIR FIRST GOOGLE TV +400 20%
SONY ERICSSON WILL DEBUT A PLAYSTATION PHONE +400 20%
HP AND PALM WILL INTRODUCE A TABLET +350 22%
The +/- indicates the return on the wager, Bookmaker.com explains. The percentage is the likelihood that response will occur.
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