Week in Geek: Still not buying 3D but the WiFi revolution is real

By Jonathan Blum and Seth Elkin

We’ve heard all the buzz about 3D HD at the NBA All-Star game and while our SVG counterparts say the technology really works and is really compelling we’re going to play the always-needed cynic (or as we would like to say, reality check) and say that all the great technology in the world will have a hard time overcoming decades of market data and real-world 3D deployments that have failed to light a spark with viewers. Now if they can only get Steve Jobs involved to turn the goggles into iGoggles then you can count us in. Maybe.

One thing that will catch on, however, is wireless. Or more accurately, it already has caught on. Houston is the latest city to put in a Wi-Fi network, and this week we saw a story about a new system that will stream news and sports broadcasts into taxi cabs in New York. Broadcasting isn’t just about beaming an image to someone’s living room TV anymore. We’re going to start seeing content moved around new ways. Of course, none of this should be a surprise to anyone. It’s been talked about for years. Now we’re starting to see it for real. We’ve moved beyond the simple idea of people sitting at their desks watching TV on their office computers. We’re talking TV on portable devices, or in places like taxi cabs. We’re talking intelligent street signs. It’ll be delivering content to people in ways that don’t obey the traditional rules. A starving telecommunications industry is eager to tap into this market.

We had Cartoon Network announce a mobile content deal this week. And now you can play Scene It on your cell phone, too. If you’ve got content you want people to be consuming, you need to have a play in the mobile arena.

And finally, people are still making low-tech sports toys. Check out one we saw at the Toy Fair in New York.

Jonathan and Seth offer up new insights everyday on the consumer electronics industry and trends at the BlumsDay
website.