Drewbot

The Republican primary’s constant lead trading and buzzword driven development around an in name only common platform is remarkably similar to the current state of the Android OEMs.

Fujifilm just announced 26 new cameras.

Apple will dominate the tablet space for awhile, for two reasons. First, they’ve locked down volume pricing on 10-inch LCDs and flash memory. No other company can match their order volume or broker Apple-level deals. Second, the giant margins that come with such volume discounts allow Apple to fund their proprietary low-power CPUs, high-capacity batteries, and unmatched usability and industrial design.

This one-two of high-margins funding investment in prioritized areas of R&D that matter most is Apple’s strategy in a nutshell.

To the hordes at CES, however, anything that can be a bullet on a Best Buy feature list is of equal merit! These companies ignore the entire experience to embrace a novelty which can be fill another line on a description tag. After all, “easy-to-use” is only one bullet.

Thanks to this mutated worldview, here are the following types of tablets that have been announced in just the first day of CES:

• Detachable Tablet
• Sliding Tablet
• Stylus Tablet
• Also-Detachable Tablet
• Over-Powered Tablet 

The last tablet is notable for noting its ability to play 1080p video without stuttering, right before it lists it sub-1080p screen resolution. Sad trombone.

I can’t wait for day two.

The first week back from winter break is always hard. Not only do I need to catch up with accrued email, but the tech world is in overdrive due to CES. It’s a perfect storm of sorts.

Now that the big announcements are out we’re starting to see some themes solidify. Ebooks. Application platforms. 3D. Mobile. But what companies are winning? Right now it looks to be the people behind the scenes, the quieter players who assist and enhance the loud ones. Companies that are great partners are building their positions behind the scenes. They embrace many opportunities to work with others and strive to make their products play nicely with all.

Here’s my list of winners so far:

• HTC: HTC is one of the best partners in the industry. They stuck with Windows Mobile longer than anyone else, even taking it upon themselves to design a better interface for it. With Google, they’ve become nearly synonymous with Android. But even with that direct line to the smart superphone market, they’re building fantastic devices for BREW, bringing their magic to budget phones. Did I mention they play nice with carriers too? It looks like they’ve got featured phones on each of the big 4 this year, a feat which is only matched by RIM. 2010 is HTC’s year. Just watch: they’re going to be the Dell or HP of the mobile generation.
• Amazon: HP and Microsoft’s tablet announcement was met with crickets, but buried in the details was a key fact: the integrated reader in the Windows 7 device was Amazon’s own. So if Apple tablet rumors have lit fires under all PC makers that run Windows 7, Amazon stands to expand it’s Kindle Platform market share to a big chunk of the market. The ereader space tilts even more in Amazon’s favor if they lock down the tablet marketplace. Who cares if Amazon’s tablet/ereader is black and white only? Let the OEM’s incorporate their software on their own.
• Netflix: Netflix Streaming continues its march across your future entertainment center. This CES they announced streaming deals on bluray players and TVs made by Sanyo, Sharp, Toshiba, and Funai. Last year they announced a partnership with Vizio, and I’m pretty sure they have one in place with Sony. Last time I was at Costco, 4 out of the 5 bluray players had Netflix inside.
• XBox: While not really a company, this product seems to be hitting all the right notes in a very un-Microsoft way. Full media box, check. Netflix on board, check. Set-top box replacement, on the way. Kick-ass community that’s owning the competition, check. Social network integration, check. Hell, a full third of time spend using the XBox is spend doing non-gaming things.