Christmas is over and as much as I enjoy the giving and receiving of the holiday, it’s early January and October that are the two seasons that really get me amped up.
Don’t get me wrong, Christmas is so much more than gifts, so it’s absolutely the best time of the year, but the first week in January is the top of the heap in terms of what I look forward to the most as a tech writer.
If you happen to live under a rock somewhere, the first part of January is when CES (Consumer Electronics Show) happens in Vegas. It’s the electronics show in North America and although I’ve never been there, I look forward to all the announcements a great deal.
CES is famous for all types of technology from cars to drones and everything in between, while my favourite Apple-centric show, MacWorld occurs in March and it about all things that relate to Macs.
Attendees look at a display of curved Ultra HDTV televisions at the LG booth at the 2014 International CES at the Las Vegas Convention Center on January 7, 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The old iPhone has been humming with E-mails of product announcements and press releases since Sunday afternoon, and as I write this on Wednesday, it’s not showing any inclination of slowing down at all – if anything they’re coming faster.
Samsung, Nikon, Sony and other big companies are flooding the E-mail with new product announcements. You don’t just get the specifics of which doo-dad is being updated or which new gizmo is being announced; most importantly it gives us insight into what trends the industry s heading towards for the upcoming year. The CES Innovation Awards for a number of different categories are not only important to the companies vying for the awards, they’re a great place to look at what the professionals think are products that will be important in the coming year.
This year it looks like super high definition displays, automotive tech and wearables are three of the big hot spots. Lots of companies are 4k and even 5k displays and associated accessories. Devices you wear on your wrist that keep track of a myriad of different things like heart rate, steps, let you know when you get an E-mail or message and work as speakers for your phone are everywhere. Of course they do this well still being a watch, so the world of Dick Tracey is getting closer to reality than ever. And the technology being put into vehicles is expanding exponentially.
For tech writers, this is when we make our plans about what we want to review. For someone like me this is crucial because I write about personal technology and my reviews are all based on personal, hands-on experience.
Kazuo Hirai, president and CEO of Sony Corporation, talks to members of the media during the Sony news conference at the International Consumer Electronics Show Monday, Jan. 6, 2014, in Las Vegas.
I have contact with all the major rep firms who manage the marketing for the various products presented at CES, so these E-mails and press releases give me the opportunity to pick what I’m most interested in writing about and ask the rep firm for review copies of whatever widget I’m interested in. That’s how I get the gear I write about for the most part – by asking for it; so if you’ve ever wondered why I don’t slam a particular product it’s mostly because I’ve read about it and done some research before I ask for it. I already have an idea I might be able to write something positive about a particular gadget.
Having said that, I don’t always like the product so there usually are negatives in the reviews.
But without CES, I’d have to do a lot more research on what new gear is out there, so the show makes my job a lot easier.
I read all the tech magazines and blog sites every day to stay on top of the latest developments, so that keeps me current during the year. That’s great, but it’s CES, MacWorld and the big press events that the big companies have that I really use to give me direction.
Usually products aren’t available immediately after CES, but some are, so I can get some stuff to play with right away, but the rest often isn’t available until the spring. It gives me time to plan what I want to do and when and, I can’t put a price on that.
October is another fun time for me because that’s when Apple historically makes a bunch of product announcements. There are other times of the year when new products are announced, but basically the two biggies for me are the fall and January.
Murray Hill is lead tech writer at communicatto.com, a social media marketing agency where this article originated. You can reach Murray by email at murray@communicatto.com or on Twitter at @MurrayDHill