CONSUMER ELECTRONICS SHOW 2009:ALTHOUGH IRELAND doesn't have a reputation as a hotbed of indigenous consumer electronics firms – the tech industry has tended to favour selling to big business rather than the mass market – the Irish were well represented in Las Vegas last week.
Firms such as Amulet Devices, RedMere Technology and APT had their own stands, while others such as Firecomms, S3 and PCH International took the opportunity to arrange meetings on the periphery of the show.
RedMere, a designer of chips that enable the production of light-weight flexible cables for high-definition connections between electronic devices, for one, was not overly concerned at the fall-off in attendance at the show. Chief executive Peter Smyth said the reduction in numbers at its stand meant it was able to do more productive business at private meetings.
“All the tyre-kickers have stayed at home,” he said.
Nearby, Belfast audio software maker APT was drumming up potential licencees for its apt-X software. A so-called codec, which compresses and decompresses audio signals for use in electronics, apt-X is being used by companies such as iSkin and JayBird to create wireless audio products based around Bluetooth.
JayBird founder Judd Armstrong, whose Freedom Audio headphones for sports people will be available in April, said standard Bluetooth audio had background static, “but with apt-X, it’s crystal clear”. APT chairman Jonny McClintock said this was the fourth year the company was in attendance, but in prior years they had been “walking the floor”.
“This is the first year that the time was right for a physical presence,” said McClintock. He estimated that between meetings and its booth, APT would have engaged with up to 300 companies by the end of the four-day event.
After 18 months of development, Amulet Devices used the event to launch its voice-controlled remote control for Windows PCs running Media Centre. Rather than having to navigate menus, you can speak to the Amulet remote with commands such as “watch programme Law Order” or “play artist Coldplay”.
Amulet had two stands at the show as it was nominated for the i-stage awards, which recognise the most innovative new products released at the show.
A chance meeting for co-founder Eddy Carroll underlined the importance of having a booth at CES. An attendee with his name badge turned inward asked for a demonstration of the system. At the end of the demo, he turned the badge around. It revealed he was a senior manager in a major equipment manufacturer who saw potential for integrating Amulet’s remote into one of its products.
