CES 2016: A Preview and a Prediction for the Future

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

2016 reality: Right on, netbooks are dead, Chrome books are almost dead, and very powerful PCs, both snap apart tablet and laptops such as those offered by Lenovo, Dell and the amazing Microsoft Surface Book, with its best-in-class super high-res screen and 12-hour battery life are becoming the rage. Both light and thin devices that are very powerful, and some new super computer desktops are selling well with many new devices and new amazing screens all powered by new standards such as USB3 C, Solid State PCIE M.3 drives and the so far, so great Windows 10, are causing a resurgence in the PC market. Of course, those that just use e-mail and peruse Facebook have no need and will and should keep their older devices until they do have a real need. But for the rest of us, it is time to upgrade that 2010 Dell or HP. I predict that standard tablets such as the various droid-type tablets and the iPad will continue to sell but will become a smaller and smaller segment as no one really needs to replace a rather simple display device every few years. The new, true computer tablets will gain share.

2015 prediction for Windows 10: The elephant in the room will be Windows 10. It will not be shown at CES as Microsoft has taken a page out of Apple’s book and has chosen to unveil the first real beta later in the month at a special event; however, you better believe that Windows 10, which has gotten excellent reviews from the pre-beta testing group, which includes me, will be a major topic of conversation.

2016 reality: Windows 10 has been a huge success, and I have seen estimates of almost 150 million installations; Windows XP is diminishing quickly and with the expiration of the free upgrade to Windows 10 coming up at the end of the first half of 2016, this will only accelerate. Windows 10 has seen a number of improvements already and almost all reported bugs have been recognized and the vast majority of them fixed. If you want to see how well it is doing just look at Microsoft stock for the last six months. I predict that Windows 10 will become the dominant OS over the next two years.

2015 prediction for automotive electronics: This is a topic that has first quietly and in the last few years not so quietly gained prominence. I expect to see amazing advances in automotive electronics this year and not just new cutesy Bluetooth devices, but true 21^st century science fiction technology. I expect to cover this topic extensively.

2016 reality: All of what I wrote and more has come to pass. The advances in automotive electronics and the sci-fi-like capabilities of cars that are just around the corner are truly amazing. Here at I-Connect007, we covered automotive electronics in great depth in September, and we hear that there will be some amazing new announcements made, including new devices and capabilities that will be shown at CES this year. I predict that the first truly autonomous vehicles will be available within the next two years, but their use will be limited to specific areas or situations—but only for now.

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