CES 2010 - pix and notes from Saturday

[Harvey]

Hello all, it's your loyal reporter checking in from the halls of the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show. I'll save details for later, but here's a rundown of my travels today:

The day started with a small meet-up at a Starbucks on Las Vegas Boulevard. Thanks to Debbie (traveldiva) and Steve for an enjoyable conversation over Kindle and coffee.  We also demo'ed our Kindles to some locals who asked about them.



Next up, at the convention center, was a celebrity sighting: Pauley Perrette. (Any NCIS fans here?) Pauley appeared at the Marvell booth.



Marvell makes microprocessors for consumer electronics, including eReaders like Skiff, eDGe, ALEX, and Que. (Haven't heard of these? More to come on each of these shortly.)



C|net has been reporting live throughout the trade show.



Samsung is releasing four eReaders in the March/April timeframe: a 5" model, two 6" models, and a 10" model. They were not permitting pictures or videos in their exhibit area; I have some detailed notes that I'll post on those.



I met with Len Edgerly, who recorded our conversation for his Kindle Chronicles podcast (http://www.thekindlechronicles.com). Len does a great job with his podcasts; I'd recommend subscribing to them as a good source of Kindle tips and news. Some of you may recall his conversation with Leslie - it's available here: http://www.thekindlechronicles.com/2009/01/09/52-leslie-nicoll/



I spent quite a bit of time talking to the Plastic Logic people about their new Que reader. It's aimed at business users and supports the display of Word, Excel, Powerpoint and other files. You can also sync Outlook data to it, to make your schedule data available through the reader. It uses the B&N bookstore as its online bookstore.



The enTourage eDGe is a dual reader that integrates a color LCD with e-ink. I video'd a demo of this that I'll post in the boards once I get it uploaded.



Accessory-maker Speck gave me a sample Kindle cover - their DustJacket. I really like the retention method in this cover and look forward to giving it a full review.



I spoke with a couple of people from Skiff, which is owned by Hearst corporation. Skiff is a content distribution system, and as part of that Skiff has developed a reference design for eReader hardware and software. They are making that reference design available to player makers, with the intent being to have multiple eReader models that are compatible with accessing and playing Skiff content.



Here's part of that reference design. Ahhh, so *that's* how it works!  



Did I mention it gets crowded at CES?

[911jason]

Wow! You're not kidding about the crowded part! 

[Vegas_Asian]

*happy dance* only 8 hours left!!

[Ann in Arlington]

Hello all, it's your loyal reporter checking in from the halls of the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show. I'll save details for later, but here's a rundown of my travels today:

The day started with a small meet-up at a Starbucks on Las Vegas Boulevard. Thanks to Debbie (traveldiva) and Steve for an enjoyable conversation over Kindle and coffee.  We also demo'ed our Kindles to some locals who asked about them.

O.K.  I'm intrigued by Debbie's cover. . .looks like it holds the Kindle with an extra pouch for something like a cell phone as well. . .what a cool design.

Next up, at the convention center, was a celebrity sighting: Pauley Perrette. (Any CSI Las Vegas fans here?) Pauley appeared at the Marvell booth.

I LOVE Pauley Perrette. . . . Except she's on NCIS not CSI. . .she's Abby: the brilliant, tattooed, goth-with-a-heart-of-gold lab geek.

[drenee]

I love Pauley Perrette also.  Her character is so quirky and lovable. 

Ann, the first thing I noticed was Debbie's cover also.  I wonder if it's an actual K-cover, or something she fashioned herself.
deb

[kimbertay]

Love the CES pictures!

I noticed the cover too and am very curious about it!  As if I don't have enough "stuff" for my Kindle!   

[B-Kay 1325]

I agree, Debbie's cover is very interesting.  I am curious to know where she got it and maybe she could post a more detailed picture?  Harvey's coverage of the CES has been wonderful and I can hardly wait to hear more details and see more pictures.
Harvey "You da Man"!!

[Ann in Arlington]

I just PM'd Debbie and told her we were all very curious.  But, she's in Las Vegas, so I expect she's still snoozin' on a Sunday morning, so we'll just have to be patient. 

[Kindled Spirit]

http://www.casecrown.com/e-book-reader-slim-pocket-case-map

It looks like it may be this one. Altho I could be wrong. Certainly wouldn't be the first time.

[corkyb]

It does look like that one.
It looks better in Debbie's hands though as it looks like suede instead of neoprene.
Paula

[Anju No. 469]

Wow Harvey - your helmet cam would not have surprised anyone, you really shulda worn it    Thanks for all the pics.

[Harvey]

...
I LOVE Pauley Perrette. . . . Except she's on NCIS not CSI. . .she's Abby: the brilliant, tattooed, goth-with-a-heart-of-gold lab geek.

Ah, you're right - corrected that in the OP.

[Hoosiermama]

I love that case. I like the idea of being to keep the charger with it in the extra pocket. Nice design!

[hsuthard]

Thanks for all the info! I imagine it's pretty overwhelming there -- it's much more crowded than I had realized. That place is so large it takes a lot of people to look that full.

I was intrigued by the Speck cover so I looked up their website. Here's the web link for it:

Speck Kindle products

Can't wait to read your review of it!

[Harvey]

Thanks, Holly! It's on sale for $18.99 at Amazon (down from $34.50), so I replaced your link with one to the Amazon page.

[Ann in Arlington]

I love that case. I like the idea of being to keep the charger with it in the extra pocket. Nice design!

I'd use the pocket to tuck my cell phone and a small wallet with some ID and purchasing power for when I wanted to not have to carry a whole purse. . . . . .

[traveldiva]

Hi everyone!

It was so great to meet Harvey yesterday.  There he was, showing off the Kindle to everyone who stopped by our table at Starbucks.  We really had a great time talking about his blog and his impressions of CES.  He is smart, funny, and generous with his knowledge.

Good spotting on the case.  It is a case crown.  It is very well padded and has the pocket.  Now I only forget where the cord is half of the time!  I wanted to dress my Kindle to represent my interests (we own a travel agency) and the ancient map theme of the case along with the Decalgirl skin fits the bill.

I can't wait to meet more of my fellow Kindleers.  Is that the default noun now?   Thank you Harvey for sharing some time with us!!

[Cobbie]

Hi, Debbie, lucky you to get to spend time with, as B-Kay said, "...da Man." Love your case and I can see how the theme fits right in with your travel agency.

Harvey, thank you so much for taking the time to give us all your wonderful information. For some of us, this is as close as we'll ever get.

[Vegas_Asian]

I just got back from CES. Just checked out the photos from yesterday and noticed that today was nowhere as busy as that.

[vrc84]

I like the look of that Speck cover! I'm still using my basic Amazon cover and am shopping around for a new one... but have yet to find one in a color / price that I like.  Any mention on expanding colors beyond red and black?

[LenEdgerly]

Great photos and info, Harvey! Darlene and I really enjoyed meeting you, and I realized after our interview that it will be a perfect post-CES wrapup interview for the regular podcast episode coming out on Friday, #78. We're impressed at your stamina, staying on at CES for more and more good stuff. By the time we flopped onto the plane last night we were beyond saturated with eBook info and excitement.  What a cool experience. Best, Len. 

[Vegas_Asian]

well just in case you forget any of that emense amount of info that was received from CES...there's always those pamphlets they also gave out. lol....i'm staring at all of mine right now

[Hoosiermama]

After seeing that Speck Kindle jacket, and seeing that it's on sale at Amazon, that's the one I ordered. I like that it can be a book style cover, or a flip. I can see myself reading at work and liking the flip cover. I can stop agonizing over covers now (yea, right).

[Harvey]

Great photos and info, Harvey! Darlene and I really enjoyed meeting you, and I realized after our interview that it will be a perfect post-CES wrapup interview for the regular podcast episode coming out on Friday, #78. We're impressed at your stamina, staying on at CES for more and more good stuff. By the time we flopped onto the plane last night we were beyond saturated with eBook info and excitement.  What a cool experience. Best, Len. 

I'm honored - I know you did a lot of podcast interviews at CES, so that's fun that ours will be one of the next ones out. Thanks, Len!

> http://www.thekindlechronicles.com

[Harvey]

Someone sent me the link to this report - - I was stopped by a CNN iReporter while at CES, and ended up in the first few seconds of this footage. Kind of interesting to see the impressions of various random people at CES.

http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-380350