Will CES Bring the Next iPhone?

Jan. 7, 2007 — -- Armed with celebrities, rock stars and larger-than-life gadgets, Goliaths of the electronics world and their David-like competitors will try to make a splash in Las Vegas this weekend at the Consumer Electronics Show.

Hoping to capture consumers' minds and wallets in 2008, manufacturers are showcasing their best and brightest wares at one of the world's biggest tech shows. You'll see, among other things, a refrigerator that charges your iPod and cell phone; a do-it-yourself build-your-own gadget; and a 150-inch plasma TV.

As companies pay thousands of dollars to participate, celebrities get a piece of the action: Jerry Seinfeld, David Ortiz, Michael Douglas and Mary J. Blige are just a few adding their star power to the festivities.

In kind, fan boys and reporters alike look to the show for emerging trends as indicators of what could be appearing under your Christmas tree next season. But show goers — and later consumers — will likely find less new technology in years past and more upgrades and improvements of 2007's hottest items, according to analysts.

"Right now we're kind of in a little bit of a dip in the technology cycle," Chris Null, a columnist for YahooTech, told ABCNEWS.com. "A lot of things have been percolating for a couple of years — HDTV, Windows Vista. A lot of people are still getting their computers up to speed. People aren't really pushing the envelope in 2008. People are playing catch-up."

While last year, the "iPhone upstaged everything," according to Null, this year show goers can expect to see great things when it comes to entertainment.

"TVs [in 2008] will have bigger and brighter sets than ever before. We're going to see some really impressive displays," Null said. "LCDs will be thinner than ever."

Mitsubishi plans to introduce a laser-based TV, which will show more color than possible in LCD and plasma displays.

"That might be making some appearance at the show to show that there's something beyond LCD and plasma even if they're not ready for commercial release yet," Null said.