The future for consumer electronics is a blank canvas.  At the Consumer Electronics Conference run in London by Intellect yesterday, industry executives tried to paint a picture of what consumers will want.  A few tried to be visionary.  Most went for the safe bet and predicted that the future will be just like the past.  If anything, the pace of change will accelerate.  As an industry, we must be work harder to make consumer gadgets and services easier to buy and simpler to use.  New and exciting innovations are coming but the industry must collaborate so devices and services work together.

Today consumers face a difficult and complex choice in choosing electronics and the pace of change is accelerating.  The last twenty years have already provided dramatic change.  Audio formats evolved from vinyl  records to CDs and now MP3s and iPods, film changed from VCR tapes to now broadband IPTV and satellite delivery in HD.  Consumers are challenged in choosing.  What technology or service is best for their money?  Will it work with other devices?  Is it easy to use?  Should they buy now or wait for the price to drop?  Continued complexity and competing formats will only alienate consumers.

Probably the most interesting proposal at the conference was made by the BBC.  The project called Canvas seeks to create a single standard for IPTV delivery of services including real time  entertainment, on demand or “catch-up” content, and interactive applications that can be accessed via the television.  Like the tremendous success of the iPhone application marketplace, BBC envisions that project Canvas will provide a platform and standards that all companies can write their content to and innovate with new services.   The net effect will be that new innovations in media formats will be developed and served from the Internet “cloud” rather than requiring consumers to make expensive upgrades to to TVs or devices.  If the BBC Trust approves the proposal, then it will take the market for on demand services forward though there are many regulatory hurdles and anti-competitive issues to overcome.

One thing for sure is that innovation will continue with new content, services, and devices as consumers desire more control over their entertainment and communications.   The industry needs to work together to avoid just creating more complexity and competing formats.  Painting a picture of the future where content, services, and devices converge will delight consumers about the future so they can make choices today.