Ask yourself: what would Mick Jagger do?

FyreTV.com set top box. All the standard gozintas and gozoutas, plus USB for expandability. But not for content storage.

• New adult IPTV platform Fyretv.com sez 5K subs at launch a month ago, 27K more signed up & waiting for equipment. STB, basic lineup: $10/mo. Some biz models are recession proof.
• HD downloads caching on 1GB USB stick on Fyretv roadmap. Subs buy content but store it on Fyretv servers.
• Fyretv OEMs STBs in China: Broadcom 7401 chip, mostly text & menu-based inhouse user interface on Linux kernel. No content storage, streaming only. Miami HQ, headend in Dallas colo.
• Tiki Tag puts RFID chips on cheap stickers, lets you attach metadata to your stuff, makes smart biz cards.
• PlasticLogic.com large format ebook reader, made out of plastic. Very cool. Unfortunately, not on market until 2010.


Coolest e-book reader to date. Too bad I can't buy it for a year. At least.

• AT&T CruiseCast is Sat TV to cars. 22 channels now, via 20 cm x 10 cm mechanically tracking antenna on car roof.
• CruiseCast runs off Intelsat Ku bird, managed by RaySat. In aftermarket now, targeting auto OEM eventually.
• CruiseCast competition: digital broadcast TV, mobile phone carriers, recorded content. How much backseat video is enough?
• Via Technologies is another player in the netbook game. Product looks good, not game changing.
• MeeBox. Home media center, 1TB storage with 1TB backup, does the usual movies, music, etc. thing.
• Autonet aggregates many cellular data carriers into single service, provides more robust Internet access in car. Biz play.
• HP showing netbooks. Product is pretty ordinary, but brand will carry it just fine.

• Tethering is deciding battle between mobile carriers & CE industry. CE guys don’t get it, think it’s a tech problem. It’s the money!
• Novatel Wireless hasn’t signed any carriers yet. Expects to Real Soon Now. If they do, it’s a significant market signal re tethering.
• Novatel Wireless also into tethering. Selling gizmo combining mobile data card, embedded Linux, WiFi tethering. Serves 5 users at once.
• Blaupunkt has Internet car radio. Needs tethering-capable mobile phone. Don’t count on mobile carriers cooperating with the biz model.
• Buzzword Alert! iGo makes travel adaptors. Nice, same sh** different year. But now (pause for effect & wink knowingly) “we’re green”.
• Boxee talking to Sigma & Intel. Broadcom reportedly doesn’t care yet: he who is last is lunch.
• Boxee vs AppleTV. Good interfaces. AppleTV tied to iTunes. But
• Boxee runs on an AppleTV & pisses off Steve Jobs. Great business model!
• Boxee runs on 1 GHz processor or better now, working towards reducing code to run as embedded app with less horsepower.
• Boxee managed $4 mil in VC financing last month. In this market that’s like winning the Nobel prize. Nobody gets funded these days.
• Boxee runs on Mac, Windoze, Linux. Takes content from all sources, including your computer. Puts it on TV. TV, photos, music, whatever.
• Boxee only potential disruptor at this press event. Open source media center software. Takes content from everywhere, puts it anywhere.
• HD Radio has neat idea. Listen to song on radio, push button, tag song, sync with iPod, buy song from iTunes. GPS integration too.
• Lenovo on same track as MSI, good not revolutionary. When you have a hot category, take market share, not press clips I guess.
• MSI Wind product looks good, not game-changing. WiFi, but no WiMAX. When I asked, PR person thought WiMAX was a kind of hard drive.
• ASUS has best new stuff. Love the netbook with the swivel screen. Turns into a tablet PC or e-reader. Under 1kg. WiMAX on roadmap.
• Three netbook makers pushing hard at CES: MSI, ASUS, Lenovo.
• CES Unveiled, big turnout nice buffet. Open bar, but Powermat display has bigger line. This crowd is fueled by electrons, not booze.
• Make that ASUS chairman Jonney Shih.
• @jodrell Truphone Anywhere uses GSM to make a plain old mobile voice call to a voip portal. Nice but not mobile voip.
• Microsoft guy unveils a rad new concept: voip. Next hot idea from Redmond: padded laptop cases!
• ASUS hot on WiMAX, introing a 512GB solid state drive
• ASUS press conf packed, already learned something: it’s pronounced “ah-zeus”.
• In car TV top product pick for young parents, other mobile TV products getting lots of attention. More dough for services and content for sure.
• Early leader for WTF award: HD diving mask.
• Services seen as integral part of media product sales, “wouldn’t make sense without”.
• Mobile, cloud computing, green tech all getting serious attention. Squares with VC predictions for 2009.
• E-readers a top growth product in 2008, albeit from a small base
• Green products, mobile stuff, embedded Internet, input & display tech tagged as top trends for 2009.
• Early leader for Alice in Wonderland award: “CE is a necessity not a luxury”. So are cars, and auto sales are zip.
• Early leader for understatement of the show: “consumer spending is in transition”.
• CES state of the industry press conf: DTV, mobile phones, video games & PCs account for 70% of CE sales in 2008.