蘋果(Apple)在國際消費性電子展(CES)的年年缺席，以及微軟(Microsoft) 決定在 2012年后不再參加CES (這是怎么一回事？)，讓很多評論家很快做出一個結論：CES聲勢下滑；而該展的參觀人次確實也出現(xiàn)逐年減少趨勢。甚至在展會期間，有些記者與分析師也抱 怨，今年的CES都沒有什么“大新聞”，每個所謂的創(chuàng)新產(chǎn)品都僅只是“加量(incremental)”的變化。 但我的看法卻不太一樣；我認為，今年的CES透露了一些清晰的訊息，包括今日的移動裝置將如何支配明日之電視、 車用資通訊系統(tǒng)、個人健康照護系統(tǒng)…等設備的設計，以及將會有更多樣化的應用程序，會執(zhí)行在跨平臺的所有設備上。而且我在CES看到與聽到的訊息，正在我 所知的產(chǎn)業(yè)界居于重要的位置；我想對很多其它人來說也是一樣──無論是工程師、行銷人員或是分析師，他們的業(yè)務顯然都是有相互關聯(lián)的。 從 2012年的CES也可以看出，移動裝置、電視機、家庭劇院、個人計算機、機上盒、汽車與其它嵌入式系統(tǒng)，需要更好的連結與互動方案。對于將電子產(chǎn)業(yè)界的不同領域廠商集合到同一個地方，“CES正在發(fā)揮優(yōu)勢；”CSR行銷長Kanwar Chadha對我說：“全球移動通訊大會(Mobile World Congress，每年2月在西班牙巴塞隆納舉行)也不錯，但范圍就窄了一些，僅限定在移動技術領域?！? 如果不知道下一代平板裝置與智能手機發(fā)展趨勢，很難掌握你將開發(fā)的新型嵌入式系統(tǒng)需要配備那些功能；來自不同功能領域的芯片設計業(yè)者，也需要確認那些功能是得在今年與明年整合到SoC產(chǎn)品中 的。隨著有越來越多平板裝置與智能型手機在CES現(xiàn)身，我們也可以確定，移動裝置已經(jīng)繼電視與PC之后，成為該展會的第三大主軸。 藉由新崛起的 Ultrabook ，PC領域正在積極重整旗鼓；我們疑惑于這款具顛覆性的產(chǎn)品將如何撼動客廳戰(zhàn)場──至少其沖擊足以迫使電視制造商針對 Ultrabook / 平板裝置訂定策略，而相關計畫暗示了將出現(xiàn)支持”多屏(multi-screen)”的家用娛樂方案，較小尺寸的屏幕將可與客廳墻上較大尺寸的屏幕互補 (而非取代)。無論那些策略內容是什么，關鍵在于以讓消費者驚艷──而且合理──的方式簡化連結與增加可用性。 對我來說，參加現(xiàn)場展會總是很有樂趣，因為可以看到實際展示(不只是Power Point演示文稿)；與各攤位的參展商會面，往往能獲得珍貴的信息；而在展場上的不期而遇(在攤位間發(fā)現(xiàn)熟悉的臉孔，或是與幾個月不見的友人撞個正著)也是 很難得的社交經(jīng)驗。以下是我從CES挖掘到的幾個問題，未來都是很好的報導題材： 1. HDMI 2.0的未來將如何發(fā)展？ DiiVA向來被稱為“中國的HDMI解決方案”，但卻距離席卷中國市場還有好一段距離；不過在DiiVA的攤位上，還是看到了LG與TCL的電視機原型。DiiVA的下一步是什么？他們有意將接口規(guī)格提供給新成立的HDMI Forum，為HDMI 2.0搜尋新功能。 DiiVA 主席Steve Yum表示，DiiVA規(guī)格的設計宗旨，是希望能以較低成本的纜線將裝置連結成網(wǎng)絡，傳遞資料與未經(jīng)壓縮的影音訊號，因此希望能為HDMI 2.0提供一些幫助。在我訪問Yum的時候，有一位配戴CableLabs名牌的男士走進DiiVA攤位希望能取得更多信息；我不知道接下來將如何發(fā)展， 但至少我知道現(xiàn)在不只是中國，美國市場也知道DiiVA了。 本文下一頁：更多理由 本文授權編譯自EE Times，版權所有，謝絕轉載

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{pagination} 2. iCloud所帶來的意想不到商機 因 為內建閃存的智能型手機越來越多，SanDisk也賺了不少，但該公司的好財運不只于此；SanDisk執(zhí)行長Sanjay Mehrotra表示，隨著越來越多資料與服務躍上“云端”，在移動裝置對更快速、更頻繁存取信息的需求下，一些熱門資料現(xiàn)在是存在閃存而非硬盤。 所以我們會看到以閃存磁盤陣列組成的資料中心？我以前還真的沒想過！ 3. 你真的想在大尺寸電視屏幕上玩臉書？ 我 在CES期間與經(jīng)常貢獻EETimes 美國版的忠實網(wǎng)友Frank Eory不期而遇，當我們聊到看展心得，他的某個觀點讓我特別印象深刻?！盀楹嗡械拇蟪叽珉娨晱S商都在屏幕上放Facebook的logo？“他說： ”我最不想在客廳與家人分享的信息之一，就是臉書上的信息?！癌ぉつ汶y道不認為那些積極推廣智能電視、連網(wǎng)電視的廠商可得好好想想了… 4. 手機的下一個’甜蜜點’何在？ 智能型手機總有一天將在市場上找不到界線，因為所有的手機都會變成智能型手機；你可能已經(jīng)聽過這個，如果該趨勢是必然的，那對于試圖贏得下一代手機設計案的芯片廠商來說，最好的時機點在哪里？ 對此博通(Broadcom)手機平臺解決方案副總裁Rafael Sotomayor直接了當?shù)谋硎荆骸皩ζ絻r智能型手機的大量需求，正在推動今日的手機市場?！顾麖娬{，不是“低階(low-end)智能手機”，而是 在功能上沒有妥協(xié)的“平價(affordable)智能手機“。因此對博通來說，整合LTE功能并不是優(yōu)先選項，該公司目標市場是將在2012年底出現(xiàn)，功能完整、低于100美元的智能型手機(不綁約)。 我知道博通的重點在于“不妥協(xié)”，因為其競爭對手如聯(lián)發(fā)科 (MediaTek)的腳步也很快；Sotomayor表示：“其它人可能告訴你，他們的芯片也有支持GPS功能，但他們能支持GLONASS嗎？” GLONASS是俄羅斯的GPS系統(tǒng)，據(jù)Sotomayor表示，整合GPS與GLONASS將為消費者帶來大幅改善的定位功能體驗。 5. 在遙控器里面加入藍牙功能？ 我 一直認為用藍牙取代電視遙控器里的紅外線，是有一點困難的；畢竟，消費性電子產(chǎn)業(yè)，特別是電視產(chǎn)業(yè)，通常利潤都很低。但是若有一支配備低功耗藍牙的遙控 器，其電池續(xù)航力將會超級長，而且不用指向電視機(或機頂盒)就可以切換頻道。這個理由足以說服你換一支智能型遙控器嗎？也許不然。 但 我已經(jīng)看到有不少公司，包括Monster 與 Cambridge Audio，開始去取得 CSR aptX 技術的授權，也就是一種執(zhí)行在藍牙上層的高品質音訊譯碼技術專利。aptX號稱可以提供消費者勝于藍牙標準譯碼技術的無線音質體驗；利用該技術，系統(tǒng)廠商 可以開發(fā)各種以藍牙為基礎的解決方案，不只是iPod基座或是無線耳機，還有不用牽線的多聲道音響系統(tǒng)。 而藍牙遙控器最終也可以與這些裝置互通，所以CSR放棄Zoran的電視芯片業(yè)務實在是不智之舉，后者的電視平臺可以把一些東西綁在一起，例如讓藍牙在家用娛樂環(huán)境扮演要角。 編譯：Judith Cheng 本文授權編譯自EE Times，版權所有，謝絕轉載 參考英文原文： Reporter's notebook: Why we go to CES，by Junko Yoshida

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{pagination} Reporter's notebook: Why we go to CES Junko Yoshida LAS VEGAS – The absence of Apple from the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) year after year (it bugs everyone) and Microsoft Corp.’s decision to pull out of the CES after 2012 (what’s going on here?) has led many armchair pundits to jump (prematurely) to the facile conclusion that CES has slipped –despite colossal attendance numbers into an inevitable and irreversible decline. Even during the show, some reporters and analysts complained that there wasn’t any “big” news at this year’s CES; every innovation was just “incremental” change. Yeah, well (insert razzberry), I beg to differ. In my opinion, this year’s CES gave a crystal-clear signal on how mobile devices today will dictate the design of tomorrow’s TVs, automotive infotainment systems, personal health systems, and more important, abundant apps that should run on every device cross platform. What I heard and saw at CES now holds a prominent place in my analysis of the industry. I suspect the same for many others – whether design engineers, marketers or analysts – whose business is connecting the dots before the dots are evident. Clearly – as indicated at CES 2012 – mobile devices, TVs, home theaters, PCs, set-tops, automotive and other embedded systems need better connectivity and interplay. “CES is now playing to its strength,” Kanwar Chadha, CSR’s chief marketing officer, told me, in gathering all these different sectors of the electronics industry in one place. “Mobile World Congress [scheduled for late February in Barcelona, Spain] is good, but its scope is narrow. It’s limited to mobility,” said Chadha. Not knowing new features and generations of the next-generation tablets and smartphones, it’s hard to figure out what your next embedded systems need to enable. Chip designers developing individual function blocks need to identify which features will get sucked into which system’s SoCs this year and next. As more tablets and smartphones find their ways to the CES, mobility has officially become the show’s third leg -- after TVs and PCs. The PC segment is also making a strong comeback with the emergence of Ultrabook. We wonder what damage Ultrabook can wreak in the living room – at least enough to force TV manufacturers to develop a strategy for Ultrabooks /media tablets. Any such plan suggests a multi-screen living room, with little screens complementing (not supplanting) the biggie on the wall. Whatever the strategy, the key is to simplify connectivity and increase usability in a way that delights – and makes sense to – consumers. Attending live shows is always fun because you see actual demos (beyond the tedium of Power Point). Meetings with booth people always convey valuable lessons. Chance meetings (spotting a familiar face at a booth or bumping into someone you haven’t seen for months) are social treats that often turn educational. Here are a few sound bites – some of which might turn into stories later, as I go about connecting dots. 1) What’s in store for HDMI 2.0? DiiVA, often described as “China’s answer to HDMI,” is far from taking the Chinese market by storm yet, although TV prototypes by LG and TCL were spotted at DiiVA’s booth. What’s DiiVA’s next move? Advance its own interface into what appears to be a newly opened up HDMI Forum, seeking new features for HDMI 2.0. DiiVA, whose spec is designed to connect devices in a network, carrying both data and uncompressed audio/video signals over a low-cost cable, wants to help, explained Steve Yum, president of DiiVA. As I was interviewing Yum at DiiVA’s booth, a gentleman with a CableLabs nametag drops in. He wants to know more about DiiVA. I am not sure where this is going, but at least I know now that it’s not just China, but America already knows about DiiVA. 2) Unintended consequences of iCloud SanDisk has profited hugely from the growing number of smartphones with flash devices. But SanDisk’s good fortune doesn’t end there. As more data and services go into the cloud, hot data, to which mobile devices demand a quick and frequent access, is now being stored in flash devices instead of hard disk drives, according to SanDisk CEO Sanjay Mehrotra. Flash raids on data centers? I hadn’t thought of it before. 3) So, why do you need to have a Facebook icon on a large-screen TV? I bumped into Frank Eory, a frequent commentator at www.eetimes.com, at CES in Las Vegas. As we compared notes, one of Frank’s remarks stuck in my mind. “Why are all the big TV companies slapping a Facebook logo on their screens?” He said, “The last thing I want to share with the rest of my family in a living room is my Facebook messages.” As vendors pitch “Smart TVs” and “Connected PCs,” here’s one thing to re-think. Don’t you agree? 4) Where’s the next sweet spot for mobile phones? Smartphones will lose their distinction because every mobile phone will become a smartphone. You’ve probably heard this. If true, where’s the sweet spot for chip vendors looking for design wins in next-generation mobile handsets? Rafael Sotomayor, vice president of Broadcom’s mobile platform solutions group, flatly says, “Huge demand for affordable smartphones is driving today’s mobile market.” Forget low-end smartphones. He said, “I’m talking about ‘a(chǎn)ffordable smartphones’ with no compromise” in features. LTE integration isn’t high on Broadcom’s agenda -- yet. Its goal is a sub-$100 smartphone (without operator subsidies) packed with features before the end of 2012. I know Broadcom’s emphasis is “no compromise.” The company knows competitors like MediaTek are catching on fast. Sotomayor said, “Others may tell you that they, too, have a GPS feature in their SoC. But do they also support GLONASS?” GLONASS is a Russian GPS system. The combination of GPS and GLONASS, Sotmomayor stressed, leads to a vastly improved location experience for consumers. 5) Bluetooth in a remote control? I always thought replacing IR with Bluetooth in a TV remote a bit of a stretch. After all, the consumer electronics business, especially TV, has always been about low margins. But with a Bluetooth low-energy remote, your remote will live “for life,” and you need not aim and point at a TV (or set-top) to change channels. Is this enough to convert you to smart remotes? Probably not. But wait. I saw a number of companies, like Monster and Cambridge Audio, beginning to license CSR’s aptX technology – a proprietary high-quality audio codec that runs on top of Bluetooth. AptX is said to offer consumers substantially better audio quality over a wireless connection than the standard Bluetooth codec. With AptX, system companies can develop Bluetooth-based solutions not only for iPod docks and wireless headphones, but also multi-speaker systems that eliminate the hassle of stringing cables all over the room. Bluetooth remotes can definitely talk to these devices, too. It’s too bad CSR had to dump Zoran’s TV business. Zoran’s TV platform could have tied some of the things together, like Bluetooth in the home entertainment world.