The CES is the biggest event in tech every year, but that doesn�t
mean it�s all true.
I�m B.C. with the Top 5 CES 2011 Vaporware -
- things that got big fanfare back in January of 2011...and then
did a big faceplant on the way to market.
Let�s see what we
missed ranked by how much cred was burned by each company
in the process.
#5 The Razer Switchblade.
Niche maker Razer sold us on this
as a mini-netbook with serious gaming power driven by a touch
screen and dynamic keyboard that adjusts its functions through
miniature video keycaps depending on the game being played.
Cool.
But as of today the only game being played on it is guess if
it will ever become real.
#4 Real Networks Unifi.
Real is something of the crazy uncle in
the online media family but we loved the idea of this service:
Unifi would aggregate all your music, video and photos from all
your file locations - and all the other services you use.
We even
gave it a BOCA.
Well, it never launched and Real doesn�t even
say it will now, because of the �changing landscape of cloud
services� -- and maybe a bit because other services don�t really
like another company harvesting their users content so they
don�t have to go to those services any more.
#3 Samsung Sliding PC 7 Normally solid Samsung extolled
The Sliding 7 as a blend of netbook and tablet with a sliding
keyboard and full install of Windows.
But as many makers found
out in 2011 a hash of too many mobile attributes is just a hash.
We never to to find out how much because in spite of Samsung
swearing up and down this guy was arriving in Q1 2011, it never
did.
#2 Vizio XVT3D6SP.
Rock star TV maker Vizio Promised it all
here, but delivered nothing.
In hindsight this TV�s spec list read
like they think we�re stupid: It�s promised Apps, online
connectivity, Android Honeycomb.
480 Hz refresh, LED LCD,
Passive 3D, 3D gaming for two players at once, a QWERTY BT
keyboard remote -- and it comes with not one but two Sham
Wow�s!!!
Or, just, none of that.
#1 is at the top because it was promised to us in *2* CES
shows in a row: 2010 and 2011: The Lenovo U1.
Really cool
device that is a svelte Windows laptop...until you pop out the
display like an ill-fitting glass eye, at which it becomes a free-
standing Android tablet!
And of this is hot swapped and syncs
what you�re doing across both OS�s!
Almost sounds impossible!
Well, apparently it is.
Now, to watch the next round of CES vaporware as it happens
live, as well as the real products that are totally cool, keep an
eye on our CES coverage at ces.cnet.com, Mid-January.
I am
Brian Cooley, thanks for watching.
