Why CES 2012 will be the Cloud Experience Show

Last year I attended CES and leading up to the show, I posted what the buzz was all about and what we could expect to see at CES 2011. Here was the rundown:

• Smartphones and tablets enabled by 4G technology
• 3D television will gain significant momentum next year as Blu-ray and television content becomes more readily available.
• Internet TV will make great strides as browsers, Internet TV boxes and network digital storage devices compete for this “ready to go” market.
• The Cloud being driven by tablet devices in favor of traditional notebooks

This year, based on what I have been reading and seeing, the eye candy will still be the hardware, but the ear candy will be the functionality the hardware provides and how said functionality relates to the cloud.  Engadget provides a great preview to CES 2012 here. Nearly everything from smartphones to household appliances will provide some entirely new and exciting cloud experiences.

At the same time, we don’t want to ignore the hardware. TechRepublic predicts the big show stoppers this year will be Ultrabooks and quad core mobile devices. Given the obvious impact such hardware has on enabling consumer and mobile professional’s adoption of the cloud, I’ll be sure to seek out the likes of Intel, Asus, Arm, and others for the latest scoop.

Don’t get me wrong. The cloud was a big story last year, but it was tied mostly to the tablet and smartphone phenomenon. This year, whether you are talking about faster tablets and smartphones, ultrabooks, televisions, gaming, appliances, or healthcare, the “cloud experience” will be a bigger part of the conversation. How is the cloud driving innovation and vice versa.

At least that is what I am looking forward to most…

How is the cloud driving innovation and vice versa? Any ideas?