"Car Tech Tuesday: Four Trends We Expect to See at CES 2009" Edmunds Daily

Car Tech Tuesday: Four Trends We Expect to See at CES 2009

Tech geeks and gadget freaks as well as much of the mainstream media will be tuned in to what happens in Las Vegas this week. The 2009 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) officially opens on Thursday, although it traditionally kicks off the day before, with major CE brands like Sony, Panasonic and Samsung holding press conferences from almost dawn to dusk.

Yours truly will be traveling to Sin City today to check out all the latest car tech. And while I'm reluctant to reveal just how long I've been making the annual trek to Vegas right on the heels of the holidays (so much for those New Year's resolutions), let's just say if my first CES was a newborn I'd be well into paying college tuition by now.

Besides knowing how to beat hour-long cab lines, slip into SRO sessions and the quickest route between the North and South Halls of the sprawling Las Vegas Convention Center, attending CES for as many years as I have gives you a certain perspective -- and the incentive to develop a strategy on what to see and what to skip before the madness begins.

With that in mind, here are four of the car tech trends I'm anticipating we'll see at CES 2009. Check this space throughout the week for blog posts and the main Edmunds site for our wrap-up coverage to find out if I've nailed it or not.

iPod, You 'Pod, We all 'Pod: No single product has changed the way we access music in the car the way the iPod has. Although automakers now offer a variety of iPod-integration options, the aftermarket responds much faster and typically offers the most innovative products. Every year for the past half decade or so, cutting-edge companies like Alpine have used CES to introduce innovative ways to access iTunes more easily, and this year the focus will likely be on getting the iPhone 3G to play nice with the car.

The Second Coming of Sync: Two years ago, Bill Gates introduced the Microsoft-developed Ford Sync system in his annual (and swansong) CES keynote address, and he shared the stage with Ford executive VP Mark Fields. Once Sync started to filter into Ford vehicles later that year, it not only lived up to the hype, but also set a new standard in iPod/MP3 player integration. That the aftermarket had nothing to offer in response -- and still doesn't to this day -- marked a significant paradigm shift. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer will take over from his former boss this year on the pre-CES keynote, and Ford president and CEO Alan Mulally will deliver a keynote on Thursday. Both are expected to reveal the next generation of Sync. Ford has already introduced two new, valuable and free features: 911 Assist and Vehicle Diagnostics. If the success of Sync since its introduction is any indication, one of the most anticipated unveilings will be what Microsoft and Ford have up their sleeves.

Portable Navigation Finds More Than Just the Way: GPS navigation is no longer the esoteric early-adopter product it once was, as portables have proliferated faster than a pair of frisky bunnies and prices have dropped. The next step will be to make the devices more intelligent and not only tell you how to get where you're going but also show what kind of traffic you can expect along the way. While some nav systems already offer "real-time" traffic, the next generation of two-way connected devices promises to give a more accurate picture of what the freeways look like during your daily commute. Connected navigation will also point the way to more location-based services. While most nav systems inform you of Points of Interests (POIs) like gas stations, movie theaters and such along the way, those with a two-way cellular and/or satellite connection can give you more dynamic info, a la Sirius Travel Link: gas prices, movie times, sports scores, weather and more. And word is that social networking will also be incorporated into nav apps so that you'll know where your friends are and they know where you are when you're on the road.

Bluetooth, Not Just for Your Phone Anymore: A trend we observed at the 2008 SEMA Show was Bluetooth hands-free car kits that also serve as a way to pipe music from your iPod or other MP3 player into your car's stereo system, and we expect to see even more of this at CES 2009. Bluetooth wireless music streaming has been around for a few years now, although it hasn't quite caught on in the car. While Bluetooth dongles are available that allow you to stream music from an iPod to a car stereo -- and the tech cognoscenti keeps wondering when Apple will finally include the feature on its popular music players -- being able to buy one device that can connect your phone and MP3 player to your car stereo should get people's attention and possibly to part with their money.

Speaking of which, another easy prediction is that this year's CES will be more sparesly attended and exhibitors will be less extravagant than at past bashes due to the downturn in the economy. I've been to CES in both boom times and during busts, and fewer conventioneers and less parties and press conferences is not the worst thing.

Regardless, one prediction I'm totally confident in making is that CES will still reign as the premier place to check out all the latest and greatest car tech.

And what happens in Vegas you'll read about right here.