CES 2012: A preview

What can enterprises expect from this year's Consumer Electronics Show?

The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) kicks off in Nevada's Las Vegas Convention Center on 10 January.

There will be about 200 sessions and 500 expert speakers discussing industry trends at this year's CES.

Ultrabooks are likely to be a hot topic, according to several pundits. Although the technology tends to be of significant interest to the consumer market, it is also likely to be of interest to enterprise buyers.

HP, Samsung, LG and Lenovo are all expected to unveil their own version of the Ultrabook to rival Apple's MacAir.

Late last year, HP revealed its Folio Ultrabook, which was targeted at enterprises.

The Folio has a nine-hour battery life and can use an optional TPM Embedded Security Chip to protect sensitive data on the device.

Ovum analyst Adrian Drury explained that although a number of the Ultrabooks are likely to have features aimed at enterprises, it is not yet clear how significant the market is.

"Ultrabooks are likely to clean up in the notebook market space, which has in effect collapsed. However, a big concern is the high price of the products," he said.

Drury predicts the following will also feature at this year's show:

• Vendors will want to discuss their mobile device management capabilities and their partnerships in this space.
• Windows 8 and Windows 8 tablets will be discussed by consumers and enterprises.
• RIM will unveil more plans for its PlayBook.
• Dell will announce a product for the home, which may have implications for consumerisation.
• Microsoft may announce some additional enterprise targeted features for Kinect – its motion-sensing input device.
• The first public announcement of Broadcom's 802.11ac 5GB Wifi chipset, which will be significant for enterprises as the chipset is built to transfer large amounts of data from a large range of devices.