As always, CES is one enormous hype factory. Its primary purpose these days seems to be getting consumers all hot and bothered about some whizzy new technology. This year CES is agog with talk of and Android-based phones like . (I also hear TechCrunch will be introducing , but I'm not sure I believe that.)
[ Also on InfoWorld: Cringely -- and offers a peek at the tech landscape a decade from now | Stay up to date on Robert X. Cringely's musings and observations with InfoWorld's . ]
Of course, easily a third of the stuff that gets the most attention never materializes, or if it does show up, it isn't nearly as impressive in the wild. So I thought I'd step back and take a look at what CES was supposed to bring us last year and how well it fared. (The Retrevo shopping engine, surprisingly enough, also has .)
Here are some of the things people were gushing about after last year's CES, and what happened to them:
: Arguably the biggest story to come out of last year's confab, the Pre arrived to , followed by her cute little sister, , in December. But like a Hollywood child star, she's already looking ridden hard and put away wet, surpassed by sexier Droid and Nexus handsets. The don't do much to change that. With everyone and their dog now coming out with smartphones and app stores, the prospects for Palm's resurrection look even dimmer than they did a year ago.
: Last year Ballmer's keynote was all about Windows 7, and this year his keynote was, well, . But heck -- for the first time in recent memory, a new Windows release a) actually arrived when it was supposed to, and b) got from reviewers and users alike. So put this one in the winners circle for CES.
: Superthin flat panels using LEDs instead of fluorescent lights for backlighting were all over the place in 2009 -- Samsung, LG, Sony, heck even Vizio came out with one. They consume roughly 40 percent less electricity too, making them one of the few "green technologies" to actually have an impact.
: Speaking of which, 2009 was going to be the year consumer electronics went all Al Gore on us. Aside from a handful of eco-conscious products like (made from corn and recycled materials) and those LED TVs, it really didn't happen. Am I wrong?
: The next generation of ooh-I-want-that displays were slated to start hitting retail shelves some time last year. Didn't really happen, though they have started popping up on smaller screens, like the Zune HD and the Google Nexus One. Maybe in 2011. Would you believe 2012?
: Smart set-top boxes like were supposed to give TiVo a run for its money (though mostly pocket change these days), combining a Dish Networks HD video recorder with Sling's place-shifting tech. Well, guess what Dish Network is showing off at this year's CES? Yes, , which is now slated to appear in Q2 2010. Call me when you see one actually for sale.
. These mini-projectors connect to your cell and put an entire PowerPoint presentation in your pocket. Quick show of hands: Anybody ever see one of these presentations? Anyone at all?
: Uh, yeah. According to , the Zune phone was "the real deal" and going to be announced by The Mad Ballmer at his CES 09 keynote. I think we all know how that's turned out. But maybe next year...
.
This story, "," was originally published at .