CES 2011 First Impressions - iPads, Tablets, Digital Natives

Greetings from CES 2011 and after this blogger had a late night out with a college friend after a surprise meeting at The Cosmopolitan Hotel, then a walk to Bellagio, where we visited The Bank Nightclub. After getting in at 4 AM, some breakfast, and some rest, I'm ready to tell you about my first impressions of CES Las Vegas 2011 in brief.

First, this is just overwhelming.  You need two weeks to see all that's here.  Plus, as you can see from the video below, the place is teaming with people from all countries.  You commonly hear three or four languages spoken around you.



Second, even though Apple's not here, Apple is here. There are iPads all over the place, and consumer electronics makers like BlackBerry, Samsung, and Motorola are rolling out their versions here at CES. I'm not sure all of these tablet, some with operating systems that are a cross between the maker's smartphones, and computer operating systems, will succeed. They may do just enough to blunt the iPad's sales, but I can't see them overtaking the iPad.



It's the size thing. The tablets are smaller than the movie-viewing-ready iPad. I can't see kids wanting a tablet smaller than the iPad. Time will tell, but I'm willing to bet the iPad remains the leader here by a wide margin.

Tablets aside, there's 3D all over the place, in televisions, movies, tv shows, and even for your smartphone:



But is the public really ready for all of this 3D, or is it being pushed on us. There are three views: one is that the tech push gets the next generation ready for 3D. The other is there's too much and some companies involved are going to take a bath. The last is that this is the next wave, and the data shows there're money to be made. My view is a mix of the three.

Finally Walking Dead and Terminator producer Gale Anne Hurd says CES 2011 is a split between "digital natives" and "digital immigrants," which folks like her as the immigrants, and people like, say, Robert Scoble or Caly Lewis, as digital natives.  The natives know this digital stuff; the immigrants feel like they have to know this digital stuff.

Well, I've got to jam.  I've uploaded a ton of videos at YouTube.com/zennie62.  I'm headed down to the floor, and then, eventually, to something called the CES Tweetup, where I'm going to drink nothing but cranberry juice.  

Also, live feeds are at Qik.com/zennie62.

CES 2011: Sony 3D Bloggie Preview

CES 2011 has a surprise that was briefly mentioned yesterday: the Sony 3D Bloggie. That's right, 3D. That means you can make a true 3D video. The product is so new, it's not out yet. But the Sony representative says it will be available for purchase in April.

I've been a critic of the old Sony Bloggie design, the one with the swivel head. The reason for my dislike of that feature was it prevents what I call "eye-level vlogging" where you hold the camcorder at eye level, thus causing the production of a steadier video image.

With the old Sony Bloggie design, a one millimeter offset of the head throws off the ability to directly aim at an image and keep the video steady. I know this because I purchased a Sony Bloggie from Sears in Oakland, then took it back the next day. The new Sony Bloggie, and the 3D version, has a fixed lens. No swivel.

Also, the 3D Sony Bloggie is both PC and Mac compatible. Can you adjust the interocular levels of the 3D Bloggie? No. In other words, you can't adjust the, to put it simply, "intensity" of the 3D experience. Moreover, it's not a good idea to try if you don't know what you're doing and most consumers don't.

But I digress.

I fell in love with the Sony 3D Bloggie. It's the perfect camcorder for YouTubers who want to get into making 3D video blogs.

Stay tuned.

Teen Mom Sex Addict

InTouch Weekly's cover story about Teen Mom Amber being a sex addict had no interview with Amber - the only celebrity interview included was one with Angelina Jolie. The interviews of this magazine include "inside sources" and "close friends." Lack of credibility. The big deal cover story should definitely include an interview with the person, and feel sympathy for any guy who ever dates her from here on out: they are going to be in the public eye.

Jersey Shore Season 3 Premiere

Last night, Thursday, January 6, 2010 at 10 p.m. EST the season three of Jersey Shore kicked off in a crazy way. Watching this guilty pleasure show pays off in the end, but there are times during the show where it feels as though brain cells have just died - and moments of life have been wasted.

Snooki comes on the screen looking orange as ever. She brings a surprise new member to the house, her friend Deena. Deena is a skinnier version of Snooki, and is three times as annoying. Most would expect Snooki to bring her best friend Ryder, but as Snooki explains later Ryder and Vinny had sex two weeks ago and she walked in on it.

Sammi and Ronnie are the first to get there, and they decide to take the upstairs bedroom with three beds. JWOWW arrives next and makes sure to take the other three bedroom to share with Deena and Snooki. Vinny and Pauly room together - which leaves The Situation to room with Sammi and Ronnie. Vinny brings a shower caddy - which brings lots of laughs.

Deena tries to get to know Sammi, but for some reason Sammi is rude for no reason and doesn't even want to tell her what part of Jersey she is from.

The housemates enjoy their first night getting drunk, playing flip cup and chilling in the hot tub - all except for Ronnie and Sammi who decide to just stay in their bedroom. Ronnie tells Sammi that he's madly in love with her.

Image courtesy of MTV.com

Snooki and Deena are in the hot tub with Vinny, and Deena decides to be all over Vinny. Snooki gets extremely jealous and says, "I swear to God if Vinny hooks up with [Deena] I am done ties with Vinny." She then continues to say, "Vinny f***ed [Ryder] right in front of me."

Vinny and Snooki have a lover's quarrel in the hot tub, and then in my notes I wrote the following:

"Aww Vinny cares about Snooki too much to hook up with her. aww, that's so sweet. Snooki is all heartbroken and everything. Snooki wants to be with Vinny - he won't hook up with her because he cares about her too much and knows that if he hooks up with her and then hooks up with another girl the next day she'll be sad. hooking up with her is more than just hooking up. but snooki says she's over it and it's over."

Deena is flirting with The Situation and has him follow her into her bedroom so she can find her hat. As she looks for her hat she gets butt naked and The Situation turns her down, because that is not something to do the first night. The Situation tells this story to JWOWW who says, "If I see your penis rise I'm going to sleep."

Image courtesy of MTV.com

Later, Situation tells the story to Sammi and Ronnie, and then Deena comes upstairs trying to cuddle. Sammi laughs at Deena so Deena calls her the c-word.

All of a sudden all hell breaks loose and Snooki is telling Sammi how much of a bitch she is and saying that she's a slut and just all sorts of crazy stuff. All because Deena was laughed at by Sammi. Ronnie gets involved and it's just a mess. Sammi confesses that she is staying in the house and that Snooki is a fake bitch.

There is a preview of Sammi and JWOWW getting into a fist fight. All of this is happening the first night at the Jersey Shore. The end of the episode there are previews for the rest of the season which include an image that suggests that Sammi will be going home and Ronnie will become friends with JWOWW. Deena is definitely crazy and extremely annoying.

Tune in next week for episode two re-cap of season three - which will pick up from the first night and show the fight of fists between Sammi and JWOWW.