CES 2011: functionality will “drive” capacity

Like any year at CES, devices seen at this year’s show have been all about increased functionality. Face it, the more functional devices become, the more  consumers rely on them for creation and consumption of more and more digital content – no matter where it resides:  in the cloud, or at home.

Look at the Internet TV, or Smart TV and all of the functionality those devices bring to the consumer. Everything from social media and communications, to entertainment and news content, to controlling your entire home…all at your fingertips.  This functionality that is built into smart televisions mean we as consumers will begin to interface with our TVs in an entirely new way.  We will begin to stretch the usage models beyond internet based content, and look to incorporate local content as well.  Now consuming local content (content stored on your home PC or network) is nothing new.  Apple TV, Seagate GoFlex TV, etc. have been around for the past couple years, but as smart TVs become more prevelent, more and more consumers will want to enjoy ALL of their content, and this becomes a boon for storage.

The same can be said for tablets.  Literally dozens of tablets were introduced at CES this year by some major players in tech and telecom. Such devices allow us to be connected no matter where we are and enjoy content streamed from the cloud.  Verizon talked about their 4G LTE network and how it is expanding to meet this new and emerging usage model. But it won’t start and stop with cloud based content.  Consumers will always create, save, and store their own digital content at home.  Devices like Seagate GoFlex Home, and GoFlex Net allow consumers access to content at home on their tablets from anywhere they want.  Home movies recorded in 1080p, high res photos, digital music… There is no limit to our accessibility.

3D Televisions – the same story applies.  Content only gets richer, and consumers will begin to create their own 3D content with products like JVC’s GS-TD1 3D video camera. Soon, we’re talking about enjoying 3D content without the use of glasses. How soon will we see 3D content displayed on a tablet or smart phone screen?  Rich content always seems to start in the commercial space and find it’s way to the consumer, and when it does, hold on to your hats in terms of the storage capacity needed whether it’s in the cloud or in your home.

Functionality speaking, it’s a bright future for storage.

More from CES:

Match made in heaven: JVC’s 3D 1080p camera + HDDs
Pandora coming to Seagate GoFlex TV
Install a GoFlex in a PC, TV, DVR…you name it
First smartphones, now smart TVs
Verizon: it’s all about video anytime, anywhere
Pepcom exhibitors show some storage love
The beauty of a Mac with a GoFlex to match
Seagate GoFlex removable media? It’s coming…
Follow Seagate @ CES 2011