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What Is Vegas Trying To Tell Me? Part I

  • Paul Mason
  • 7 Jan 07, 06:10 PM

"There's a lot of women in there," the taxi driver told me after I emerged from CES clutching my orange backpack and press pass. "Really? I didn't notice many," I replied. It was early morning and the conventioneers are setting up. There is a kind of waddle people do who produce and erect technology shows, and it involves holding a Starbucks in one hand, your mobile to your ear in the other and a large bag carrying your laptop hangs from your shoulder to your waist. And, let's put it this way, when Johnny Vegas chose his stage name, he was probably inspired by the bodymass index of some of these guys. So what did the driver mean?

"The booth hoochies," he expanded. "They wear a lot o' negligees and they hit on ya when you approach the stall. I never been in there but I seen 'em leaving." But this must wait until tomorrow. For now we are gearing up to present Newsnight from the Consumer Electronics Show, as part of Geek Week 2.0 - our celebrated and notorious annual take on technology. As it's all hi-tech we are planning to go live over broadband, though the techhie people on the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ team have told me I must not move around as it breaks up the picture....

Over the next four days you're going to get: me on the road from Mombasa to the Great Rift Valley finding out how mobile phones are changing Kenya; Roger Harrabin on the trail of the inventions that could stop climate change and save the planet; me again on the issue of whether the internet is changing some of the fundamentals of the human psyche, a report which involves using the phrase Cartesian Dualism, and then, inevitably and bathetically, a piece about gadgets that is set to run Thursday night as long as my brain overcomes jetlag and produces something original to say before then. Oh, and we are putting each report out on the internet before it goes on Newsnight and apparently that is a TV News first.

So what is Las Vegas trying to say to me? I've decided to ask this question because when you are in a city purportedly dedicated to your individual pleasure, and at a show dedicated to selling you gadgets and software that fulfil your individual needs (this is a consumer show, not a business tech show) you ought to come away with at least the basic message clear in your mind.

My provisional answer is this: basically as long as you keep ladling money in the direction of various businesses (whether they be casinos, computer giants or mobile phone networks) they will go on giving you not just stuff you paid for but which you did not want, hopefully delighting you in the process. That "free" or "complimentary" stuff, in the casino setting (I am staying in a 5000 room casino-hotel) is of course already paid for by you and factored in as part of the product. I can understand why casinos do it, but why do tech companies do it?

The answer is, consumer technology is currently at a stage where most innovations are being what they call in business speak "commoditised": think about mobile phones - in Kenya you can get one for about 20-30 USD. So in theory why would anybody who just wants voice and text pay anymore, anywhere in the world? Commoditisation occurs when technologies become stable - so not just mobiles but many technologies, from DVD players to laptops, shoudl by right just be getting cheaper and more standardised.

So - and this is what CES is all about - the tech companies have to give you something you did not expect, surprise and delight you, and get it so centrally into your nervous system that it becomes a standard want in society.

One example of this that will be heavily hyped is the Samsung "Helio" phone - which is GPS and has Google Maps and also has "friendar" - so that if you switch on Bluetooth it passively broadcasts your location to other people who have the service.

Now I happen to know that an informal version of this has been going on on the top deck of a certain bus in North London among gay men. You switch your bluetooth on and send a message to other people on the said bus, and as this is a family show I will let you imagine the rest. Anyway that idea has now been commercialised by Samsung and is a perfect example of how and why bells and whistles get added to a basic product.

So what I am saying is don't see the dystopian hype and "booth hoochies" of an event like this as somehow the froth on the Schneiderweisse - it's the full body of the product, otherwise all mobiles would cost fifteen quid and most other technology would be as stable and universal and uncomplicated as your FM radio. That's what Vegas has said to me so far...

Comments   Post your comment

  • 1.
  • At 09:22 PM on 07 Jan 2007,
  • Mills wrote:

For quite a while now I have come to the conclusion that my mobile does - and should do - no more and no less than make calls and send texts. I have not had one that makes listening to music easier and more enjoyable than my ipod does and I don't want one and bulkier than I already have to watch video or live tv on etc.

Basically - I own two killer items - a phone that is small and works and an ipod that lets me listen to music and watch videos (although on the whole I don't).

So what I really want to know, is what is the next thing I simply must have. The thing that will either displace my phone or mp3 player or complement them. I can't think of it - but let me know if you come across it Paul.

  • 2.
  • At 10:04 PM on 07 Jan 2007,
  • macca wrote:

I think the driver might be refering to the adult entertainment show which if I am correct happens across the road from CES. Actually it gets more visitors and probably does more business than CES, hey but I could be wrong on that.

  • 3.
  • At 11:47 PM on 07 Jan 2007,
  • Hafiz Al Asad Talha wrote:

I wonder if the same trouble of Samsung Helio's passive bluetooth broadcasting happens with the new Nokia N95 with GPS. Nokia dissapoints with little expandable memory compared to Samsung, I reckon.

  • 4.
  • At 11:57 PM on 07 Jan 2007,
  • Ruth wrote:

Can I send my old laptop anywhere useful when I get a new one? It's 8 years old, one careful owner who would keep it if it would only support iTunes. Which I think tells us a lot... Make sure you check out the pirate show at Treasure Island, it's just as necessary as gadgets.

  • 5.
  • At 12:30 AM on 08 Jan 2007,
  • Geoff G wrote:

The reason the adult entertainment show is on at this time is because of the CES show, they especially want to attract all those lonely 'techies'

  • 6.
  • At 12:51 AM on 08 Jan 2007,
  • John Cunliffe wrote:

With regards to your old laptop computer, I would like it, but there are more deserving than I. There are womens groups (I run a small men's group) around that would snap your hand off. Failing that other charity groups would like a chance at it.

Best of luck.

John Cunliffe

  • 7.
  • At 01:21 AM on 08 Jan 2007,
  • Dave wrote:

Hey Geoff G. Any chance you would stop using my email address to post in public forums? You've been doing it for years and the SPAM I get is beyond annoying. Really, it's harassment. At least I now have your name and IP address. I'd already known you were in the UK.

  • 8.
  • At 05:40 AM on 08 Jan 2007,
  • Richard wrote:

Hey Paul - I'm in one of those 5000 room hotels myself as we speak. I think what Vegas is trying to tell you is there are millions of ways for you to part with your money!!
And I work for one of those manufacturers who is trying to get everyone else to buy something that they don't really need but what you think you want...
But then if we didn't do that I would have to do something useful with my life like work for a charity or solve the energy crisis or feed the world...

I travel the Mombasa-Nairobi highway regularly. The film featuring that road is well out of date, and I find it a little incongruous of Paul Mason to assert that they haven't got around to finishing it yet. This may have been true when the film was made, but that is only because he went there whilst they were in the process of re-building the road. Once they started, it was a remarkable feat of civil enginieering, that proceeded very efficiently. By all means highlight the problems that Kenya faces, but don't pick on those problems that have been sucessfully resolved.

  • 10.
  • At 08:26 AM on 08 Jan 2007,
  • Chris wrote:

I bought my Siemens mobile in 2001 - compact, voice and text, fits my hands free in-car kit. Can't think of any good reason why I should change.

  • 11.
  • At 08:34 AM on 08 Jan 2007,
  • wrote:

P.S One issue you didn't raise, but which is very important, is that of safety. The Mombasa-Nairobi highway was the first road to have coverage all the way along. The benefits to travelers cannot be understated. Colleagues of ours have been involved in crashes on that road, and would have received no medical aid without having access to a phone network. Lorries and matatus regularly break down in the middle of nowhere, and passengers are susceptible to bandits if help does not arrive quickly.

  • 12.
  • At 08:46 AM on 08 Jan 2007,
  • Taiwo wrote:

I would like to paticipate in tomorrow's world testing of new technolgy system, but can't find the suggetsed information on Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ's web site.

  • 13.
  • At 09:48 AM on 08 Jan 2007,
  • Stuart Russell wrote:

The Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ 10 o'clock news last night (7th Jan) ran a small piece on the CES show.
It's a shame that the only product mentioned was a DVD player that can handle both HD-DVD and Blu Ray formats. The journalist mentioned that this could help end the format war currently gripping the industry. Eh, sorry? Gripping the industry?? Despite the media building this up, it's a non-issue - I've seen nothing so far to indicate that consumers have any appetite for this debate and they are the people who count. Anyone with any sense will do nothing and hang on to their money until it all goes away.

  • 14.
  • At 10:18 AM on 08 Jan 2007,
  • Roy Bennett wrote:

Couldn't agree more, especially with Stuart Russell. My mobile is 3 years old now and is perfect. Its large enough to use, does the job and the battery lasts forever. Went into panic mode last week because I thought I had lost it. Not because of anything irreplaceable saved on it, but because of what was on offer in the mobile phone shops. As I was told in two different stores - 'if we could get phones like that still, we'd be sold out in a day'. Says it all really, doesn't it?

  • 15.
  • At 10:55 AM on 08 Jan 2007,
  • John White wrote:

What suprises me is that the companies are so slow to amalgamate technology. I remember wasting hours trying to find a Cassette Recorder with a timer that I could set like my VCR - so that I could record Radio programmes when I was not able to listen to them live.

I have a lap top, I toyed with an MP3 player, I have a phone that takes pictures - simply because I inherited it from my son who always has the latest gizmo. And that is it really. At home I have TV, VCR, DVD Player, Hi Fi, Desktop PC, Freeview-box etc.

What I am waiting for is a universal mobile broadband device that will include all these options. It will have only limited memory, it will contain a small screen (say two inches square)a camera, a micrphone and a speaker & GPS. It will be capable of connecting wirelessly with any other device including keyboard, mouse, large display, surround sound speakers, but its main function will be to connect me seamlessly (and by voice command) with a server that acts as my main computer.

In other words a device the size of a Sat-nav - that can and will perform any electronic task I require - including Work & entertainment phone calls, emails, watching TV, listening to music etc. etc.

If you add up the cost of all the seperate items listed at the top - it could run to several thousands of pounds. a single reliable pocket device that could do these things. would surely be worth a good slice of that to anyone!

  • 16.
  • At 01:24 PM on 08 Jan 2007,
  • Jenny wrote:

Regarding Ruth's old laptop, suggest you check out freecycle.org for a local group in your area.

  • 17.
  • At 02:20 PM on 08 Jan 2007,
  • Marcos Scriven wrote:

Which bus in North London? And how exactly do you know? :)

  • 18.
  • At 02:28 PM on 08 Jan 2007,
  • Kate wrote:

All that technology and you forgot to run the spell-check :D

  • 19.
  • At 04:41 PM on 08 Jan 2007,
  • Simon wrote:

It is beyond belief that a whole new justification of "safety" is being generated for the latest gee-whizz gimmicks on mobile phones in cars. It is well-known that it is NOT safe, hands-free or otherwise, but there is so much money to be made from it that safety concessions and enforcement has to dragged out in increment by increment - I look forward when victims start to sue the hell out of these amoral people. It reminds you of those that promoted and still promote smoking. (I am someone who had their leg broken by one of these "safe" drivers - an operation, six weeks in plaster, months of convalescence and I can still feel it years later).

  • 20.
  • At 05:29 PM on 08 Jan 2007,
  • David Evans wrote:

Isn't the hype-not-substance argument more about our attitudes as consumers rather than anything unique to technology? All consumer products are focused on selling a lifestyle and must-haveness rather than cold hard benefit. Otherwise wouldn't all trainers cost two pounds, and Nike's brand valuation be fifty pence? The difference is that making a substantially better or different trainer is really really difficult. Putting together a new gadget is much easier!

I'm not arguing against the idea that a lot of what is offered is useless froth, but that this is not the point. There is real meat hidden in there, and the hype says as much about the consumer as the industry. You can't always tell what is going to be the important, useful and life-changing innovation - thankfully they don't come along too often. In the meantime, people in the consumer electronics industry are just trying to get you to part with your money, just like everybody else. Using sex to sell by employing 'booth hoochies' is not exactly an innovation, or uncommon for that matter. It's just a question of appealing to who you think your target audience is.

In other words, rather than exposing something new, isn't this just fulfilling the stereotype of the cynical commentator on a geek event? Playing to the non-geek crowd, perhaps? Isn't this blog entry in fact doing what it (by implication) criticises CES for doing? Or am I being a bit harsh?

  • 21.
  • At 11:14 PM on 08 Jan 2007,
  • wrote:

Hi,

Just a comment on the GPS phones - I'm wondering how original the Helios is. The company I work for sells a phone called the Twig which is a mobile phone with GPS and Bluetooth. We've been selling in for a few months now, and it is very nice. It has SatNav built in which I've found as good as my TomTom. It has a panic button and also has a friend finder like the Helios, but can find anyone anywhere in the world with a Twig, not just in the immediate vicinity like Bluetooth.

We sell all sosrts of tracking systems, but it never ceases to amaze me the way technology has continued to be minituarised and stuffed into mobile phones, something which already has such great market penetration. Putting GPS into mobile phones has allowed it to be useful in a way it has never been before. It has made it possible for example to protect an alzheimers patient who gets lost. Not only does the Twig provide a means of speaking to them, but their carer can find their exact position at any time and locate them using the SatNav (on foot or by road) without the need of a computer.

The impact it will have in countries such as Kenya is also phenomenal with the ability to locate and get to family members or businesses, even if they are moving. For exmaple, you could find out when a doctor is on their way to your village.

Sometimes technology really can bring about positive change!

  • 22.
  • At 11:49 PM on 08 Jan 2007,
  • Stewart Hynes wrote:

All this wonderful new technology, new gadgets and the latest all singing and all dancing mobile phones that keep getting better and better, allowing us to surf the web, take photographs, listen to music etc. etc. its great. But what do we do with all the old gadgets and old phones that we had, nearly every home probably have at least one or two old phones and chargers lying about as the most popular Xmas/birthday present to get is a 'new' phone. All we are doing is creating a new environmental hazard for future generations of non degradable electronic waste that will end up in land fill sites world wide! Manufacturers and Governments are going to have to take the responsibility of recycling of old electronic products to keep control of this problem. How many manufacturers, retailers address this by allowing you to trade in your old product/phone when purchasing the latest new technology gadget? We must address this problem now as typical in my household of four we must have at least half a dozen old phones lying about, we cant just throw them in the bin and passing them on to third world countries is just passing the problem on to them. Love the new technology but lets sort out the old technology.

  • 23.
  • At 11:53 PM on 08 Jan 2007,
  • Randolph Meech wrote:

Are we not relying to much on electronics these days. In the past electricity has not always been reliable, could become so again. We are relying more on over seas fuel and it seems this will continue. In the past workers have turned off the supply, could this come back again.What is the back up if we loose power.

  • 24.
  • At 02:40 PM on 09 Jan 2007,
  • Daniel K wrote:

Paul, the 'on the road' piece was superb last night. This really was the best technology piece I have seen on television in recent years.

The idea was to tell us how technology is and will impact people's lives. In contrast, the reports I am seeing from Las Vegas this week have been very empty on this sort of analysis.

  • 25.
  • At 08:03 PM on 09 Jan 2007,
  • Ryan wrote:

I agree with Daniel K.

  • 26.
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  • wrote:

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