Wrap-up: Engadget editors sound off on CES 2012

Updated Fri, Jan 13, 2012, 9:00 PM·13 min read

If you've spent any time on this site since Monday, then you know that we've just reached the end of another very successful Consumer Electronics Show, and are packing up to head home (and rest up) until we get ready to return in 2013. As always, there were plenty on gadgets on hand -- far more than even our enormous Engadget team could capture during four long days on the show floor -- so we've opened up the floor to the entire CES crew. Tim Stevens and Darren Murph chime in just below, but jump past the break to hear from the rest of us.

	Tim Stevens, Editor-in-chief If this paragraph makes any sense it will be a remarkable thing. It was another insane week in Vegas yet this one felt a little smoother than years previous. I hope you enjoyed our coverage as much as I'll enjoy my next nap. Oh, and I'll never forget those 55-inch OLEDs. Never.
	Darren Murph, Managing Editor My fifth CES. That's ~~kind of~~ nutty. I'll just say that this CES has proven that the industry is surging, and the hidden gamechangers will surface again in the coming months. Compared to CeBIT 2009 -- which felt hopelessly throttled by the economy -- CES 2012 just felt alive.

	Joshua Fruhlinger, Editorial Director This was my 913th CES (really it was my 6th). As Engadget's Editorial Director, I didn't get to write a single story -- I left that to the experts. That said, I spent enough time on the show floor to know that Audi's tanning booth of car tech was the greatest thing in North Hall, Central Hall, and South Hall. Engadget's live studio gets the honors in the Grand Lobby, of course. Anyway, give me an A5 with Audi Connect now. NOW. WANT.
	Dana Wollman, Reviews Editor Who knew 2012 would be the year of the odd form factor? Between the ThinkPad Yoga, a vertical iPad dock and Toshiba's 13- and 5.5-inch tablet prototypes, we saw a handful of experiments that ran the gamut from brilliant to feckless. Equally shocking: other than some striking laptops from Samsung, HP, Acer, Lenovo and Dell, most of the 75-plus Ultrabooks said to be arriving this year didn't make an appearance. Until they do, funky gadgets it is.
	Brian Heater, Senior Associate Editor This was CES-S -- a few minor tweaks. It's hard to pick out one hugely groundbreaking release that we've seen over the past week seems that most of the major players were content to fill in some perceived holes -- phones got bigger, tablets got smaller.
	Zach Honig, Senior Associate Editor CES #3, and the vast majority of products I saw seemed far more evolutionary than revolutionary. Services are what really stood out, with ViaSat Exede bringing broadband to the rural masses (JetBlue will soon follow), and PowerMat announcing plans to install cordless charging in public areas across the country, beginning with Madison Square Garden later this year. I'm also fairly ecstatic about the Galaxy Note coming to AT&T LTE.
	Chris Trout, Senior Associate Editor I've spent plenty of sleepless nights in a doublewide in the Nevada desert, but until now, I'd never been paid for it. Truth be told, I hardly ever left the Engadget trailer. Our team of designers and I churned out two issues of Distro and saw just about everything second hand. If I had to choose a standout, I'd say it was the lasagna on day four -- oh, and those 55-inch OLEDs were pretty slick too.
	Richard Lai, Senior Associate Editor It's my fourth CES and this year manufacturers are still keen to show off tablets -- even OLPC has finally released its very own slate based on its Sugar environment, so it'll be interesting to see what benefits the new form factor will bring to children. As for TVs, our tour with Red's Ted Schilowitz shows how 4K is already the turning point in the industry for both professionals and consumers.
	Michael Gorman, Senior Associate Editor CES 2012 was an epic and mind-altering experience -- mostly due to lack of sleep, but also because of some fantastic gear. The show floor highlights for me were Samsung's Smart Interaction HDTVs and delectable 55-inch OLED, oh and that 8K jaw-dropper was pretty damn good too. But my favorite gadget from the show? Three words: Board of Awesomeness.
	Amar Toor, Senior Associate Editor This was the first time I've ever been to CES, and I feel like a better person because of it -- not really because of anything I saw, but because I survived. Sure, there were plenty of cool things to gawk at and fondle, but the real winner here was the Human Body. Seriously. We're a tough lot.
	Myriam Joire, Senior Mobile Editor AT&T and its partners truly stole the show this year with a mesmerizing array of LTE-enabled phones including the Samsung Galaxy Note LTE, the HTC Titan II (16 glorious megapixels), the Nokia Lumia 900 and my favorite handset of CES, the Sony Xperia Ion. Beyond Mobile I was impressed with Sharp's stunning 8K display, Samsung and LG's 55-inch OLED TVs, plus Samsung's Series 9 and Acer's S5 ultrabooks.
	Richard Lawler, Senior HD Editor It's not often we see new HDTV display types that are production ready at CES, and this year we got two. Samsung and LG's OLED warfare will be a major story, while 4K resolution is finally a thing (just in time for 8K). For more modest budgets, DLNA-based media sharing technology is everywhere and finally moving content easily from where it resides to your TV.
	Joe Pollicino, Associate Editor I've survived my first CES! As an audio/gadget junkie, I'm stoked for Parrot's Zik Bluetooth headphones and its plethora of sensors, from NFC to touch controls -- here's to hoping they sound good. On the mobile front, Nokia's Lumia 900 has put a sparkle in my eye -- I can't wait for its cyan colored LTE-goodness to hit shelves, and my pocket. In closing, I'd like to officially confirm that I wear the tightest skinny jeans in tech, and that apple juice in Las Vegas tastes like bananas.
	Sean Buckley, Associate Editor Between Asus kicking Transformer Prime buyers (like me) in the shins with the TF700T and Razer's bold bid to break new ground in gaming slabs with Project Fiona, CES 2012 left me with tablets on the mind. Slates aside? I'm tickled to see Gaikai lending its video game streaming chops to a consumer facing service. OnLive could use the competition.
	Joseph Volpe, Associate Editor Did CES 2012's handsets impress? Not so much. With the big guns behind glass (see: Fujitsu's Tegra 3 Arrows), we were left to savor a scattering of firsts, like LTE on Windows Phones and the all Sony, all sexy Xperia S. We've also got our eyes trained on Huwaei, with its use of stock ICS on the Ascend line -- a trend we hope catches on.
	Terrence O'Brien, Associate Editor There wasn't a ton of stuff on the floor that revolutionary -- in fact, most of it was just a rehash of the same tech we've been seeing at CES for the last two years. Thankfully, ioSafe managed to make its slightly modified rugged hard drive a bit more exciting with a (literally) shocking demo. Sure, rolling out a giant Tesla coil and a dude in a wearable Faraday cage is a bit of cheap shot, but they certainly provided the best show of the year.
	Sean Cooper, Associate Mobile Editor CES has always wore us all out, but in a joyous way. We played with Aurasma's Virtual Browser and were wowed about what we could see eventually replacing QR codes. Also notable was the Lumus see-through wearable display which, while far from market, also gave us a glimpse of what could trickle into all kinds of tech. CES is all about current consumer technology, but the little flashes of what's next are what make it such an amazing experience.
	Zachary Lutz, Associate Mobile Editor This was my first time attending CES and it's been an absolute mind trip. We've experienced packed conference halls, late nights and plenty of laughs along the way. It was previously a life goal of mine to attend this oasis for geeks in the desert, and while 'hell week' isn't quite yet over, I'm already looking forward to next year. What am I most excited about? In one word: MirrorLink.
	Brad Molen, Associate Mobile Editor There weren't a lot of surprises in the mobile world at this year's CES, but I did see a lot of great stuff: AT&T building out its LTE lineup, Sony bringing some beautiful top-notch Xperia devices, Windows Phones with LTE, plenty of 720p displays and tons of new innovations in NFC that go beyond mobile payments. Aside from mobile, three words -- Sharp 8K TV.
	Ben Drawbaugh, Associate HD Editor As always my 7th CES was a blast, but the year typically follows with the disappointed as all the amazing things never find a way to market. The amazing thing that won't make it this year is the new Sony CrystalLED TV. My favorite things that should make it to market were, a dream DVR that provides a seemingly limitless DVR experience while at the same time great streaming by Ceton. And finally about every cable TV/sat provider in the US finally has plans for a multi-room DVR.
	Kevin Wong, Contributing Editor This is my fourth CES, and even though I arrived to this one a bit late, the whole production never ceases to amaze me. What still mesmerizes me is all of the movement going on: the movement of people, the media, the companies, and most of all, the products. Products always come and go, but the lights of Vegas make things seem newer and brighter every year.
	Dante Cesa, Contributing Editor Despite being the place where radio connectivity goes to die, this year's show had a heavy mobile focus, despite MWC looming. Of the three blockbusters, I'm most excited for the Lumia 900, despite it fundamentally bringing nothing new to the table. Other highlights were a LAN-making WiFi SD card from Toshiba and a gesture banking card NFC concept from NXP.
	Billy Steele, Contributing Editor Despite all the info my colleagues passed along to prep me for the madness, I still had no idea what I as getting myself into at CES. The standout for me was the Intel Nikiski Prototype. Being able to interact with a closed laptop... er, ultrabook via a palm rest touchscreen is impressive. Speaking of ultrabooks, I'm not ready to jump on the bandwagon, but the Acer Aspire S5 is one sexy kit. Razor thin and all black everything? Yeah, that's a winner.
	Mat Smith, Contributing Editor It's pretty hard for me to pluck anything stand-out from this year's CES. Bigger, jazzier TVs appear annually, and while last year's show heralded the arrival of the tablet -- and there were plenty of new permutations here -- there's nothing that's similarly pervaded the whole show floor this year. Perhaps the Vita is new tech for a lot of other people, but to me, that's a 2011 release. CES 2013, bring it.
	Daniel Cooper, Contributing Editor Every company's launching a cloud: even if there's no merit in that idea whatsoever. Oh, and regarding "booth babes:" scantily clad women trying to tease the über-geeks at CES: if your product needs a semi-nude woman to sell it to nerds, you don't have faith in your product.
	Edgar Alvarez, Contributing Editor This is my first year experiencing the CES madness. I'm walking away with the burned memory of a plethora of Ice Cream Sandwich-coated tablets and the trend of a new generation of skinny TVs. There was also a grand amount of crapgadgets, some of which we shared with you, and the others just sort of banished amidst all the chaos. Aside from the shortness of sleep and long workdays -- it was a blast. Would I do it again? Without hesitation.
	Andy Bowen, Contributing Editor This was my first CES experience, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. My first prize goes to the Xperia Ion; the phone of phones. Between Microsoft's last keynote and the Bieber action, CES 2012 proved to be an exhilarating one!
	Andy Yang, Senior Chinese Editor We saw Ultrabooks expanding toward 14- and 15-inch screen sizes, but new models aren't really in abundance. Even the ones announced mostly have a Q2 availability, awaiting an unspecified "Next Generation" Intel CPU -- apparently Ivy Bridge ULV parts. We will likely have to wait until Computex to see the full extent of Ultrabook product lines and their capabilities, but there's no doubt that 2012 is well on its way to be remembered as the year of the Ultrabooks.
	Jose Andrade, Lead Editor, Spanish This is my fifth CES leading the Spanish team, and as always, I'm still amazed by the rivers of people, the impressive amounts of gadgets and the wonderful city of Las Vegas. I had the opportunity to write my customary one CES post for Engadget Classic at the Show (I'm a networking geek).
	Alberto Ballestin, Lead Editor, Spanish Are we closing the blinds already? If not because of the pain I feel on my fingers, I wouldn't even believe it. 2012's CES has been bland and sad, a Show from which we were hoping for everything and at the end we were left with a handful of products to remember. It's not a lost CES, but not one were companies took advantage of the situation.
	Carlos Martinez, Senior Editor, Spanish This is my third CES and sadly I must admit I'm heading back home with certain bad taste in my mouth. The manufacturers simply didn't risk enough, and in broad terms, they all share the stage with similar products. However, I'm lucky to work with such an incredible group of people who help transform this week on the best way to start the New Year. See you next year Las Vegas!
	Alexandra Guerrero ("Drita"), Special Content Editor, Spanish This is my third year at CES and I must say this has been the most "decaffeinated" one of all. I usually pick a favorite gadget by mid-week, but today is the last day of this ~~ultrabookCES~~ CES 2012, and I can't yet choose a favorite device. So ... I will select the plasticky SpareOne as the most interesting product I've played with at the Show and hope for a more exciting CES 2013.