IphonME: CES 2010: Where was Apple and Google? [Nexus One & 'iSlate' REPORT]

This year's Consumer Electronics Show came to an close this past Sunday with more than 100,000 tech addicts descending upon the showrooms in Las Vegas to check out the latest gadgets to hit showrooms in 2010. Even though CES has been known as the perfect platform for developers and tech companies alike to showcase and launch their newest products to the market, two notable tech giants decided not to be present at this event to launch two of the most anticipated gadgets for the new year.

The focus this year at CES was heavy on the latest in computer technology and 3D-TVs and cameras, which after the huge success of Avatar, 3D is here to stay and promises to be a BIG player in the market this year. But where were the big players like Apple and Google and their new gadgets that everyone can't wait to get their hands on?

BIG ABSENTEES

Google's newest buzzing phone, the Nexus One smartphone, launched this past Tuesday in a press conference from Mountain View, California, to which many tech lovers tuned-in on their computers to watch despite the fact that a lot them were headed to CES. Even though Google had a booth at CES with the Nexus One showing, it's a bit odd that the online leader didn't choose it as its launching platform on Tuesday.
So, to many CES attendees this may have been a let down considering the impressive buzz the Nexus One had leading into the Consumer Electronic Show. Google's decision had to have been strategic, as everything they do is almost perfectly executed.

The other big absent player was Apple; they have the much anticipated tablet, which its long-rumored to launch in early 2010. Indeed, its probable name ''iSlate'', is set to finally be unveiled in San Francisco at the end of this month, January 27th to be exact. The same way Apple has revolutionized the smartphone mobile market with the Iphone, as well as digital music with MP3 players with their Ipods, their tablet is expected to have a similar effect in the market. Granted, Amazon and Sony were in the space before Apple, but there is so much room for improvement and innovation, territory that Steve Jobs and his team I am sure seeks to occupy.

But, again; why not be present at CES and use this platform as the launching place? Apple the same way as Google, must have his reasons.

GOOGLE
What's interesting to note here is that Google now has become a major player in the mobile market, as well as in pretty much everything else, and they want to take things to the next level with their Nexus One. This is just a few months after the launch of their ''Droid'' smartphone, that has sought to directly compete with the Iphone and challenge to dethrone it as a major player in the space.
Furthermore, the ''Droid Does'' marketing campaign powered by Google and its latest mobile partner Verizon loudly demanding Apple's attention was clearly the defining moment for Google. The ''Droid'' and the "Android" platform speaks for itself, it provides simple usability to the user and it's very accessible to everyone, making it a one place sort of shop--Google search, mobile, maps, mail, etc. And this is something that Apple should perhaps learn from, this means no lucking of phone features or rejection of submitted useful applications like 'Google Voice'.

Google Nexus One
Google's Nexus One phone is thinner than the iPhone, it's an Android-powered phone and it's part of the ecosystem that it's growing very rapidly, with more than 20,000 applications and counting. Many of which are a lot more useful than all those Iphone apps found on the Apple App Store. This certainly puts Google in a special place, as the most innovative and accessible player in the mobile OS market.

APPLE

On the Apple front, their tablet promises to be sleek and elegant, lightweight and minimalist. The new device will boast a 10-11 inch screen, surf the web, play video games, watch multimedia, read e-books and possibly run on the Iphone Apps platform, which will be a BIG deal for Apple, as it counts with over 100,000 apps so far. Steve Jobs and his team I am sure have much bigger prospects, which would entail opening their Itunes store to their big music market and expand their reach by including E-books, newspapers and magazines to be available via the same ecosystem and have make these fit to their table screens. This will not only make it a major player in the market and compete directly with Amazon for the customer base in the space, but also would guarantee an important place among publishers, as they will go with whomever captures the biggest critical mass appeal and largest customer base. So, the battle between Google and Apple overall, will not only be limited to technology, but will extend to their content and its partners and the role those will play in shaping each of their product's place in the marketplace. Stay tuned for the BIG launch coming at the end of the month...it promises to be worth it!

It's remarkable how Google and Apple, the two most promising brands out there coming up with innovative products, technology and services to the world, are now going head to head in the marketplace. And the power of Google seems to be unstoppable, as demonstrated with Dell's Android operated tablet launching at CES this year, which validates the big strides Google is making in every market and gadget territory.

Best of CES 2010
Despite these two major gadgets absentees, other big players decided to be present at CES this year and capitalized on the buzz surrounding smartphones and tablet prototypes, as it was the case of a Windows 7 device from HP and an Android tablet from Dell. So, from 3D TVs to next-generation e-readers, these were the products that we can’t wait to see on store shelves in 2010. Check out the top tech products at this year's show courtesy of Digital Trends: