Vision - May/June 2008 - (Page 4)

IN THIS ISSUE ON THE CONSUMER ELECTRONICS HORIZON Turbulent Times Breed Opportunity PRESIDENT AND CEO Gary Shapiro “I SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT Jason Oxman EDITOR-IN-CHIEF t was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness.” Does this passage sound familiar? It’s the beginning of Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities. I recently re-read this novel and was struck by how this description, that takes place just before the French Revolution, easily could apply today. After all, we are living in tumultuous times. The economy, a declining dollar, the weak housing market and rising energy prices have made consumers worldwide jittery. As we go to press, the G-7 (the Group of Seven nations)—the United States, Japan, Germany, Britain, France, Italy and Canada—just endorsed a plan to bolster regulation of big banks, investment houses and other ﬁnancial ﬁrms. To anticipate the impact of the $168 billion Economic Stimulus Act of 2008, CEA Economist Shawn Dubravac looks at how these checks will be spent. According to CEA forecasts, households will spend just under $5 billion of their total 2008 tax rebate on CE products, marking a bright spot for the industry. To help offset rising fuel costs in the distribution chain, Allan Richter examines some offerings that shipping companies now provide to CE customers like expanded routes, services and efﬁciencies including 24/7 access to itineraries. In our international feature, Gary Arlen looks at the enticing opportunities in the emerging BRIC nations—Brazil, Russia, India and China—but also the daunting challenges of protecting intellectual property in those countries. Rob Calem writes about the 27.3 million smart phones that CEA projects will be sold in 2008. According to Texas Instruments, its new Cortex-A-8 chips are three to four times more powerful than applications processors available today and will allow mobile phones to perform like desktop computers. Plus, did you know that surround sound is now available in smart phones due to a new generation of chips from Dolby Mobile? What’s more, Murray Slovick checks out the new digital cameras that use face detection to ﬁnd and focus on a person’s face wherever they may be located. Make sure you check out the 2008 Digital America, a supplement to CE Vision if you haven’t already. Digital America is a comprehensive source for the facts, stats and trends on nine product categories from accessories to wireless, and includes a history section, signiﬁcant CE milestones and industry contacts. And while you are at it, check out our new blog, CEA Digital Dialogue (http://blog.CE.org) to get, and comment on, the latest CE industry news and views from inside CEA. As always, please send any comments to cstevens@CE.org. I look forward to hearing from you. Cindy Lofﬂer Stevens Editor-in-Chief Cindy Lofﬂer Stevens MANAGING EDITOR Carolyn Slater PUBLICATIONS COORDINATOR Mark Chisholm John Lindsey SENIOR CREATIVE MANAGER PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Kathryn Covert Octavio Kano Ian Shields SENIOR MANAGER, CREATIVE DIRECTION GRAPHIC DESIGNER, CREATIVE SERVICES SENIOR MARKETING MANAGER Jenni Moyer ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT Dan Cole, dcole@CE.org ART DIRECTORS Glenn Pierce and Nancy Roy DESIGN, PRODUCTION AND PUBLISHING MANAGEMENT The Magazine Group CIRCULATION MANAGER Gretchen Mitchler EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTORS Gary Arlen, Alan Breznick, Robert Calem, Shawn DuBravac, Steve Koenig, Michael Grebb, Allan Richter, Ron Schneiderman, Susan Schreiner, Murray Slovick, Phillip Swann Consumer Electronics Vision is published as a service to the members of the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) and to key players in the consumer electronics industry. CEA represents more than 2,100 U.S. manufacturers of audio, video, digital imaging, accessories, mobile electronics, home networking, wireless communication, information technology and multimedia products that are sold through consumer channels. The opinions expressed in articles are those of the authors and not necessarily those of CEA. Comments, questions and letters to the editor are welcome. Address responses to: Consumer Electronics Vision, Consumer Electronics Association, 1919 South Eads St., Arlington, VA 22202, tel: 703 907 7600. © 2008 Consumer Electronics Association Articles from this issue may be reproduced in whole or in part, provided full credit is given to CEA. CES® and International Consumer Electronics Show® are trademarks owned by CEA. Consumer Electronics Vision (USPS 022897 Vol. 12, No. 2) is published bi-monthly by the Consumer Electronics Association, 1919 South Eads St., Arlington, VA 22202. Periodicals Postage Paid at Arlington, VA and at additional mailing ofﬁces. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to CE Vision, CEA,1919 South Eads St., Arlington, VA 22202. Canadian Publications Agreement No. 41502062. Canada Post returns: Pitney Bowes IMEX, Station A, PO Box 54, Windsor ON N9A 6J5. Email: returnsIL@imex.pb.com. Visit www.CE.org for the digital edition of CE Vision and 2008 Digital America. 4 May/June 2008 www.CE.org www.CE.org http://blog.CE.org http://www.CE.org http://www.CE.org http://www.CE.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Vision - May/June 2008

Vision - May/June 2008 Contents Shapiro's Spectrum In This Issue The Economist C4 Trends Visionary Making the Smartphone Truly Intelligent Shipping Strategies for CE Companies IP in BRIC Countries CEA Newsline Tech Speak Eye on Business Tech Policy Market Insider Just the Stats

Vision - May/June 2008

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