January 13, 2012

Business Insider's Steve Kovach is reporting live from the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

After a week of keynotes, booth tours and almost no sleep, it's tough to digest everything we saw at the Consumer Electronics Show this year.

However, we'll try.

The biggest trends, as many predicted, focused on Ultrabooks, Windows Phone and Windows 8 and Smart TVs. For the most part, those gadgets were impressive.

But there were some real duds, too.

Here are the biggest winners and losers at CES.

The Winners

1. Windows Phones

On Day 1 of CES we saw Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer not once, not twice, but three times at three different keynotes. He was simply everywhere. Although it's Microsoft's final year at CES, the company stole the show with its Windows Phone, Kinect, and Windows 8 demos.

2. Nokia's Lumia 900

Nokia's new Lumia 900, which is reportedly due to launch in March, was the darling gadget of CES. The company's booth was relatively small, but was constantly packed with people dying to give the Lumia a try. It also won several "Best In Show" awards from publications like CNET.

3. Samsung's Galaxy Note

We were highly skeptical of Samsung's Galaxy Note when the device was first unveiled overseas. Now that it's coming to the U.S. and we had some hands on time with the device, we've changed our tune. A 5-inch phone/tablet may sound odd, but when you think about how little time you actually spend talking on the phone nowadays, it really makes sense. The stylus is also pretty useful. Handwriting recognition is spot on and there's almost no lag when you write.

4. The PlayStation Vita

We admittedly haven't been keeping up with Sony's gaming plans very much, so we were pleasantly surprised when we got to try out the new PlayStation Vita. The gaming system launches next month and has a brilliant touchscreen display. There's also a touch-sensitive backing that adds a great new dynamic to gameplay.

5. Windows 8

We were blown away by Microsoft's Windows 8, the new OS launching later this year. This isn't the same old boring Windows design you've been using for over a decade. It's fresh, functional, and runs well on both tablets and PCs.

We can't wait to try it when the preview version launches next month.

6. Vizio's new laptops and PCs

When you think of Vizio, you probably just think of TVs. That's over. Vizio wowed us with its new super thin Ultrabooks and all-in-one PCs.

The Losers

1. Samsung's Smart TV

When Samsung introduced its new voice and motion controlled Smart TV, our snap judgment was that the company finally found a way to beat Apple to something amazing instead of dishing out another reactionary device. Unfortunately, the Smart TV didn't impress us. The voice controls are clunky and don't feel natural at all. What's the point of saying "channel up" or "TV off" etc. when you can just use a remote. If TVs are going to have voice control, we want it to add some value to the experience. Instead, Samsung's voice-controlled TV feels like a cheap gimmick.

2. Many, but not all, of Intel's Ultrabooks

PC manufacturers are rushing to catch up with Apple's MacBook Air by offering a slew of new thin and light laptops. We stopped by Intel's booth to check them out. While some like Samsung's Series 5 and Toshiba's Portege are impressive, most of the others are pretty crappy.

3. Verizon and Sprint

Verizon is continuing its big LTE push. So is Sprint. But as the two carriers churn out Android phone after Android phone, they're missing out on the next big thing: Windows Phone. Yes, Verizon has one Windows Phone model, but it's missing out on the sexy new LTE devices like Nokia's Lumia 900.

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Steve Kovach, Article, Consumer Electronics Show, gadgets, Lumia 900, Playstation, Windows 8, Windows Phone, Galaxy Note, Microsoft, Nokia, Samsung, Sony, Intel, Vizio, PlayStation Vita

Join the conversation ( 5 )

• Miguel Silva Constenla 4 months ago

  

  I honestly believe I was in a different show... I believe is just the opposite!... Anyways, never a common ground in Tech trends, that is what makes a beauty of it.

• JACK MARTIN 4 months ago

  

  I was at CES, and without question the biggest loser of the entire show, by a huge margin ... was the Microsoft phone. No one and I mean NO one, cares about it. Apple wasn't even at the show and that's all anyone could talk about. Some of the employees at the Microsoft booth even had iPhones instead of the Windows phones ... That says a lot about the direction of that phone. Microsoft not at next year's CES? Will anyone even notice? Most people didn't even give the Microsoft booth a second look.

• Brian Cassell 4 months ago

  

  Labeling Verizon & Sprint as "Losers" is a bit of a rush to judgement. They both currently offer phones for Microsoft's current mobile offering, and continues to have negative growth. In addition to having a smaller market share than Android, iOS, and RIM.Advertising what they control (coverage, 4G LTE, etc) the most is in their best interest. Plenty of platform/OS marketing is done by the software developers (e.g. Apple, Google, Microsoft).

• Michael Ungerman 4 months ago

  

  I have an Acer Ultrabook and like it very much. Although it doesn't have all the bells and whistles of some of the other manufacturers, it nice and light, thin, and a 5-6 hour battery life under continuous usage (enough to watch a movie and get some work done on a flight.)

• Drewry News Network 4 months ago

  

  as they always say… What's done in Vegas stays in Vegas!http://www.DrewryNewsNetwork.com