| News covering the consumer electronics industry | December 9, 2008 |
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Looking back at 2008
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Susan Rush
Lead Editor
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With 2008 coming to a close, it is a perfect time to reflect on what has happened in the CE industry over the past 12 months. I have put together a two-part CEA SmartBrief year-end special report to do just that, with Part I highlighting the most important trends, stories and events of the past year. Part II, which will hit your inbox Thursday, will look ahead to provide a glimpse into what's in store for 2009.
This year marked Toshiba's HD-DVD exit, which cleared a path for Blu-ray, but the technology is not resting on its laurels, given a push by several companies to entice consumers with video-download options. The gaming-console market remains a fierce battle, with Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft all working to stay in the hunt as the top provider. The Nintendo Wii continued to be a strong player in the market, but Microsoft made the decision to lower its Xbox 360 price to better compete for consumer dollars.
CE products are still turning consumers' heads, but the economy is at the forefront of retailers' minds, as is the recent bankruptcy filing of Circuit City. Analysts are still pondering what type of effect, if any, this filing will have on other industry retailers and gadget makers. This year continued to be a growth year for GPS as more shoppers embraced the technology, both as an in-car device and on a cell phone. Speaking of the cell phone, mobile Internet devices pushed the technology envelope, including Google's entry into the market with its Android phone and Apple's iPhone 3G.
A roundup of 2008 would not be complete without mentioning all the work the industry has done and is still doing to prepare for the digital-TV transition in February 2009 and the strides the CE sector has made in the area of green electronics, including energy efficiency.
This year's conferences once again took CEA members to Las Vegas for the International CES and Industry Forum as well as to Long Beach, Calif., for EHX Fall. The conferences offered attendees the chance to sample and preview what the industry has on tap.
Please scroll down to see what else was most important to YOU in 2008.
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| Best of 2008 |  | |
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| Your Favorite SmartQuotes | | |
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 | It is our responsibilities, not ourselves, that we should take seriously."
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| Pick battles big enough to matter, small enough to win."
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| The most successful people are those who are good at Plan B."
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| Service is the rent we pay for being. It is the very purpose of life, and not something you do in your spare time."
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| In any moment of decision the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing."
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| You must be the change you wish to see in the world."
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| When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened."
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| Most companies don't exercise patience during the hiring process. There is no development system that is going to compensate for making a bad hire."
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| The first half of our lives is ruined by our parents, and the second half by our children."
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Product announcements appearing in SmartBrief are paid advertisements and do not
reflect actual CEA endorsements. The news reported in SmartBrief does not necessarily
reflect the official position of CEA.
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Read more at SmartBrief.com |
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A powerful Web site for SmartBrief readers including:
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| | Recent CEA SmartBrief Issues:
- Monday, December 08, 2008
- Friday, December 05, 2008
- Thursday, December 04, 2008
- Wednesday, December 03, 2008
- Tuesday, December 02, 2008
| | | Lead Editor: Susan Rush
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