TV. I’ve long said that 3D and connectivity were in some ways sideshows that TV manufacturers were trotting out until they could get to that terra firma of marketing better picture quality, and CES 2012 marked the beginning of the journey home with LG and Samsung showing off 55” OLED TVs and Sony unveiling plans to use a competitive technology dubbed Crystal LED. Of course, these new display technologies aren’t mutually exclusive to either 3D (which the offerings from LG and Samsung support) or connectivity. Indeed, one of the big TV focal points for Samsung was the idea of Smart TV Evolution, in which the “computing” part of the set, including components such as the processor, can be swapped out every year to keep up with the latest advances. This essentially borrows from the old idea of desktop CPU and RAM upgrades, but in the connected AV space.

Ultrabooks. The TV was not the only high-grossing holiday favorite to receive a push forward. Intel drove ultrabooks hard at the show amid several promising debuts from Acer (the S5), HP (the Spectre), Dell (XPS 13), Samsung (the revamped Series 9) and the 360-degree rotating Lenovo Yoga, which was a finalist at the Last Gadget Standing competition for which I served as a judge. Intel vowed to justify its heavy investment in the ultrabook name – which it says will account for it largest marketing push since Centrino – by making ultrabooks stronger competitors to tablets using movement sensors, touch screens, speech, and Kinect-like gesture input. In what stands to be its last CES appearance for the foreseeable future, Microsoft was also showing off Windows 8. And while it didn’t have much news on that front, Intel’s push for touch on ultrabooks certainly provides stronger alignment between the two PC giants.

The Crossovers. One of the greater bits of evidence that the attention was on incumbent categories at this CES was the big crossover moves by Lenovo and Vizio. The former announced its first television (for China only, to start), an Android 4.0-infused dual core 55” IPS display with a motion controller, and an integrated Lenovo app store. Vizio, coming over from the TV side, showed off several ultra-thin notebooks and desktops. The desktops will include a wireless keyboard, trackpad, and even a remote control in the box. Curiously, the notebooks, while qualifying as ultrabooks under Intel’s definition won’t be marketed as such, as Vizio stakes its claims.

Imaging Products. This year looks like it will finally be the year of the connected camera (and camcorder!). Of course, over the years, we’ve seen Sony and Kodak experiment with Wi-Fi in their cameras but, following Samsung’s expansion of its Wi-Fi camera line, both venerable brands were back with Kodak bowing the EasyShare M750 and Sony realizing what was to be the next step for the Flip camcorder line with the Bloggie live Wi-Fi-enabled camcorder. The hot segment of POV action cameras also got in on the Wi-Fi excitement with GoPro showing off a new Wi-Fi add-on for its Hero 2 and GoBandit showing off a Wi-Fi action camcorder.

Home Networking. With so much emphasis on higher-speed networking devices, particularly TVs, in the home, it’s no surprise that home networking standards are being elevated as well. The next version of Wi-Fi, 802.11ac, should double throughput in the 5 GHz band while a new standard, 802.11ad, which brings forward the work of the WiGig Alliance, will allow for multi-gigabyte transfer of data over same-room distances as well as displaying uncompressed HD video from a tablet or smartphone up to an HDTV. Meanwhile, the standards battle for new “no new wires” technology continues, with HomePlug AV 2 citing the benefits of its field experience against the HomeGrid/G.hn camp.

Health and Fitness. Not everything was a step up for the familiar. CES continued to show that we are moving toward a future that can include self-monitoring of nearly every vital sign. No fewer than three connected scales were on display with pioneer Withings showing off a connected baby scale. Two of the more intriguing products were from Basis, which can measure a wide array of inputs such as perspiration levels and pulse to determine the kind of exercise one is engaging in, and Striiv, which combines several motivation techniques and challenges to keep its owners on the move. Striiv includes its own miniature touchscreen, further bucking the trend of using the smartphone as the input and output for a range of “appcessories.”

Cellular Enablement. While nearly all of the major “screens” at CES included Wi-Fi, there were also signs of cellular access seeping into older and newer categories. These included the PlayStation Vita, for which AT&T will be the carrier in its HSPA+ configuration due to ship next month. Seagate also showed off an LTE-enabled version of its GoFlex Satellite, which could help its cause as a Wi-Fi mobile hotspot and server for the vehicle. And Voxx International, steward of the Audiovox and a stable of other accessory brands, maintained the time is right to launch products that include monthly fees for cellular access. These include monitoring products for people (Care Connection) and vehicles (Car Connection) as well as the Tagg pet tracker, with which it is working with Qualcomm. Sprint is the Voxx’ carrier partner for its new connected products.

Of course, even with all this activity among established and emerging device categories, this should still be a year that sees many impressive smartphone introductions. Here, though, CES must compete with two other debut stages, including CTIA, which has been pushed back to allow a bit more breathing room for handset companies, and Mobile World Congress, coming up next month in Barcelona. These two shows’ focus should provide help complete the picture of what the major consumer device lineup looks like for the year.

Verizon Wireless is using the phrase “Global Ready” to emphasize the global aspect of these devices. Verizon Wireless is clearly focusing on the most lucrative part of the subscriber base; but the move also helps Verizon to counter the ongoing perspective that a GSM heritage equates to global, while a CDMA heritage (such as Verizon’s) is primarily a U.S. affair. This latter perception, while still valid for CDMA-only devices, will become less of a concern as the carrier continues to launch LTE devices.

The launch of these two Mi-Fi products also puts more pressure and doubt on the longevity of the USB modem category. Currently, USB Modem connections are the dominant form of connection for non-phone devices, such as notebooks and laptops. However, we expect to see the category share decline (in terms of connections) starting this year, as Mi-Fi devices provide comparable connectivity (and come to market more rapidly than in the past) and customers look to provide connectivity to more than one device at a time.

Further, the focus on Mi-Fi helps alleviate some pressure on the carriers to add “family” data plans. While still crucial within the smartphone space as a component of family plans, the need for a shared data plan across a mixture of device platforms becomes less pressing.

So far, that’s the easy news, and a combination of Microsoft and Nokia should ensure that the marketing push is truly pervasive. A more interesting issue is the value-added services that Nokia has come to be known for (at least outside the U.S). Mapping is a certainty and the Navteq-based Nokia map is already available for the U.S. market. Nokia’s music aspirations may be trickier. Nokia plans to leverage its current Nokia Music store services to provide a free streaming solution (with an offline option) for Nokia Windows Phone devices. The new music service – Nokia Music Mix – provides compilation channels of tracks sourced from the Music Store, and in particular leveraging locally-relevant music based on the existing Nokia Music strategy in various parts of the world. But Nokia never managed to bring the music service to the U.S. market due to a number of factors, such as licensing agreements. Will this impact the company’s ability to deliver a full level of service to the U.S. market? Perhaps, but the phone alone, which is the slickest implementation of Windwos Phone to date, and with hardware that is elegantly distinctive from the mass of standard smartphones, should be enough to drive Nokia sales…even in the U.S.

Sprint’s time-to-market advantage, however, varied by municipality. In New York City, for example, its lead was particularly short. The Big Apple was one of the last cities in which Sprint rolled out WiMAX, but it was one of the first cities in which Verizon rolled out LTE, resulting in a head start of only a few months.

As noted in today’s press release, based on NPD Mobile Phone Track data, Sprint’s WiMAX efforts were not in vain. The carrier’s early adoption of 4G resulted in relatively high adoption of smartphones that delivered what had been the fastest wireless broadband speeds available. Indeed, Sprint was the only carrier for which 4G handset purchases accounted for the majority of unit sales. That’s particularly impressive given the relatively easier evolutionary path to 4G afforded by T-Mobile’s and AT&T’s HSPA+ networks.

Sprint notes that it will continue to offer WiMAX handsets throughout next year, which likely ensures that its WiMAX network will remain in operation for some time to come. Eventually, though, the company will be able to tap into the greater global scale afforded by LTE, scale that have proven compelling to its two larger domestic competitors.

That’s a job for Wi-Fi, an electronic ingredient that’s like the soy supplement to a smoothie. 3G—or 4G if you get it— is the fruit-and-nutrition smoothie foundation; soy bulks it up.

The cable industry may better understand this recipe than many, including myself, originally believed. For the most part cable operators have eschewed the notion of building their own 3G networks in favor of MVNO relationships, or more likely no relationships at all. Some operators have toyed with the idea of Clearwire as a WiMAX/4G broadband pipe, but that relationship is fragile to the point of breaking.

But cable loves Wi-Fi. Every operator has embraced the ubiquity of a system that’s installed in smartphones and tablets and gaming consoles and modems and cars . . . and anything else a consumer can consider. Now the trick is to roll it out wherever consumers would like it to be –or in the case of those pesky applications that demand it–to use Wi-Fi instead of GSM or CDMA or even WiMAX.

It’s happening. Cable operators have more secrets than the former Soviet Union and are less willing to discuss their business than a losing NFL coach, thus, I was surprised—and I shouldn’t have been—recently when my bored fingers did some walking and I was told by my smartphone that I had access to the Comcast Xfinity network in a place that literally sat on the fringes of the middle of nowhere.

It was perhaps a bellwether that the convergence of cable Wi-Fi and mobile are closer than anyone has been led to believe. No longer did I need to find a Starbucks or a Barnes & Noble for a Wi-Fi connection—good thing, there wasn’t one of those within 50 miles; it was there in the air along the Delaware Bay in Town Bank, N.J.

Perhaps this was a freak of nature—or a top-secret cable experiment onto which I’d tripped. Certainly I can’t walk out my front door and get Wi-Fi (unless it’s leaking from an unsecured neighbor’s connection). And for the most part I wouldn’t want to depend on a Wi-Fi connection like that for voice service. But it was there and available and I could finally download an application that I later uninstalled.

Without a doubt it’s still better to be a mobile service provider with Wi-Fi, than it is to be a cable provider with Wi-Fi and no mobile. Still, for an industry that collectively cringes and stutters at the mention of wireless, cable may have stumbled onto something here.

Indeed: why not Wi-Fi for mobile phones?

Bluetooth has provided a salve of sorts for those using the phone while driving — enabling hands-free phone calls, as well as piping music from the phone to the car stereo. But what Bluetooth cannot easily provide is a way to avoid scouring your phone for the next song, or who to call, while you’re hurtling down the road. Voice commands help, but they do not fulfill the entire role.

Navigation, on the other hand, is a bigger issue. Aside from setting the destination, most cars lack even a basic place to rest the phone for greatest visibility (both for the driver and the GPS satellite). Using a smartphone’s navigation app can result in a combination of good balance (balancing the phone on one’s leg for example), smooth driving (so it stays there), and quick glances away from the road. It clearly shouldn’t be this way: many cars now come with a screen designed for navigation (if you have a spare couple-of-thousand dollars when purchasing a car, that is).

The MirrorLink consortium, including Nokia, LG, Motorola, HTC, and other handset vendors, and many car manufacturers, are looking to solve this problem by connecting the smartphone more comprehensively to the car. The car stereo/navigation controls will control the smartphone — and what you see on the phone will be displayed on the car’s screen. The result is that your phone navigation solution (Google Maps, Ovi Maps, Bing Maps, etc.) can become your default car GPS system, not to mention being able to select your phone-based music via the car interface.

The consortium is still in its infancy: so far there is one after-market car system (from Alpine), and Nokia is the first to launch phone-based support (for a limited number of handsets). The next 12 months will be key in seeing just how serious the car manufacturers are about this opportunity. For the handset OEMs, the relationship is both obvious and beneficial, as it further strengthens the importance of the smartphone as the must-have product above all others; but for car manufacturers, the decision means losing some control, differentiation, and additional revenue — since car navigation systems are relatively lucrative.

Ford’s take on the situation will be particularly interesting to watch. Currently Ford is not a member of the MirrorLink consortium; however, Ford’s Sync system is powered by Microsoft. Microsoft now has a special relationship with Nokia, and Nokia is leading the MirrorLink charge. If (and it is a big “if”) Nokia provides a tighter synergy between its phones and Ford cars, the company could possibly enjoy a significant (and much needed) leg-up in the U.S market.

While most consumers do not yet understand the benefits of NFC-based payments, the U.S. market has been somewhat primed for phone-based payment schemes, thanks in part to the Starbucks app, which allows you to pay for your coffee with a glance at your phone. According to NPD Connected Intelligence’s July 2011 “Connected Operating System Survey,” however, only 9 percent of smartphone users had made a payment using their smartphones within the past three months, which is no doubt far less than the number of smartphone users who frequent Starbucks. But the interest is certainly there – significantly, of those who have not made a payment using their smartphones, 43 percent are interested in doing so.

With all that seemingly untapped demand, the challenges for Google Wallet centers on extending its service capabilities more ubiquitously, including more wireless carriers, NFC-equipped Android smartphones, and credit card companies (with associated hardware/infrastructure at point of sale).

But Google is not the only mobile payments game in town, and the mobile payments market — not unlike other mobile market initiatives — is extremely fragmented, both in terms of varied technology approaches (NFC, apps, hardware/software, etc.) and the players (wireless carriers, financial institutions/credit card companies, PayPal, Verifone, and Square, among others), some of which are pursuing multiple approaches simultaneously.

The result is likely to be a mish-mash of NFC-based solutions that may, or may not, work at any given location and will limit device choices for consumers. The small step for mankind may be tripped up by the realities of the fragmented market, if the parties don’t work closely together.

Can Android smartphone momentum be sustained? According to “Android: Variation and Value-Add,” a new report from NPD Connected Intelligence, Android looks set to remain in a dominant position. It is far and away the preferred OS for smartphone owners and intenders who plan to replace their current devices or buy their first smartphones in the next six months. And while Apple is right behind Android, the big surprise is positive momentum for Microsoft Windows Phone 7 (WP7). In fact nearly half of consumers surveyed were considering the WP7 platform, which is a far cry from the 2 percent of smartphone purchases that the platform has been tracking at to date.

Of course it is one thing for consumers to express interest in a platform, but it’s quite another to successfully convert this interest into purchases. For Microsoft and WP7 there are fundamental market awareness and OS ecosystem lock-in challenges that need to be addressed, before the platform has a fighting chance. And there needs to be a greater range of OEMs and subsequent devices supporting the platform to help boost consumer awareness and interest further.

Google’s plan to acquire Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion could help in this; driving current Android-focused OEMs to at least consider a device

The original Galaxy S made a splash by being introduced (although not simultaneously shipped) by all four major U.S. carriers. The Galaxy S II lineup, though, does not yet include an offering for Verizon, like the Galaxy S line did with the Samsung Fascinate. That the Verizon Galaxy S II would surface as an LTE device on that network would be in step with the line’s high-end focus.

Still, this has allowed Motorola to steal some of the spotlight with its long-promised Droid Bionic (the $299 price of which falls far below that of other bionic entities, even in 1976 dollars) as Verizon’s first dual-core LTE smartphone. But it also hints that Samsung likely has dual-core LTE smartphones in its sights, returning the challenge of Motorola’s lasting differentiation.

And speaking of the Fascinate, which was one of four brands assigned to the Galaxy S major-carrier quadruplets, it seems that this time Samsung is sticking firm to the Galaxy S name across carriers to shore up the sub-brand. To maximize the Galaxy brand impact, Samsung will have to get its Galaxy Tab 7.7 tablet, which was launched but then quickly withdrawn at IFA, back in the public eye as soon as it can.

Riding in a car, eating breakfast before school, and even while supposedly doing homework, mobile gaming is establishing a larger presence in my sons’ lives. And they’re not the only ones. The quantity and quality of mobile apps (“Angry Birds,” or “Infinity Blade,” anyone?) pose an additional competitive dimension to the gaming landscape. NPD’s report, Online Gaming 2011, provides an in-depth look at online gaming activity across all gaming devices, examining the type and extent of digital downloading and gaming behavior that is occurring across a wide array of consumer demographics.

According to the report, digital game downloads for mobile devices represent close to half of all video full game downloads. Even among those using a console for online gaming, the biggest share of full game digital downloads purchased was for mobile devices. It is important to keep in perspective that the full-game price points on mobile devices are generally lower (and many are free) than those for console and portables systems, so mobile devices’ full game download unit share does not translate to a comparable level of consumer spending. But what is really interesting is that among i-Device online gamers, the average spend on physical games (for any device) was significantly less than the average spent by PS3 or Xbox 360 online gamers.

While mobile gaming is still in its relative infancy as compared to traditional forms of gaming, it’s the fastest growing in terms of consumer spending on games content, according to NPD’s Games Industry: Total Consumer Spend service. Right now the growth in newer ways that consumers can acquire content is making up for the decline in new physical