Consumer Electronics – impact in 2006
The big news this week comes from the Consumer Electronics Show (“CES”) in Las Vegas.
All the big names – Microsoft, Google, Yahoo and others are touting new solutions for video on demand and the ability to download music to your cellphone. Google even announced their (yet another) digital rights management system, sure to provide users with more frustration as they try to legally deploy their purchased music on multiple systems. But, most of this doesn’t impact anyone until 2007-2008.
The one announcement so far that I think will have a 2006 impact is the launch of new devices for XM radio. Satellite radio is in the spotlight this month with Howard Stern’s imminent launch of his Sirius program. Meanwhile, at CES, XM partners Samsung and Pioneer have each launched new devices, the Helix and the Inno, respectively, which begin to change the value proposition for satellite radio. Each device can receive XM satellite radio programming and also storing MP3s. The pocket-sized devices also include time-shifting capabilities, enabling users to “Tivo” their XM content. From a user perspective, the ability to record programming and listen to satellite radio, while also providing basic MP3 player capabilities is highly attractive.
While video remains the hot topic for discussion and should have bigger impact in the long-term, I think that satellite radio is going to reap the rewards in 2006.
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