• by Aaron Baar , January 11, 2010

While there were no flying cars or outdoor dog-walking treadmills on display (or at least prominent display) at the recently ended CES, the convergence of devices -- cell phones that doubled as TVs, televisions that made video phone calls, computers that did both -- made it seem like the age of the Jetsons may finally be upon us. The only screen that didn't feature some sort of video enabled technology were watches. But then, Dick Tracy wasn't ever the epitome of the future.

Still, as consumer electronics companies attempt to maintain the buzz of the past week, some doubts linger. Among them:

Will 3-D television catch on? Nobody was anybody unless they displayed their latest and greatest 3-D technology. Sharp, Sony, Panasonic, Toshiba, LG, all of them had 3-D wares to offer, even if -- as was the case with Sharp -- it wasn't the overall focus of the technology they were trying to showcase. (For the record, Sharp was making a bigger deal out of adding a yellow pixel to the typical red, blue and green for more vibrant colors.)

And, while the technology was impressive, several attendees were unsure that consumers were ready or willing to put 3-D in their homes. Some said vision problems hamper their ability to view 3-D images, while others complained about getting headaches after watching 3-D for too long. But perhaps the most cogent argument revolved around price. Considering -- as the Consumer Electronics Association has pointed out in its sales figures -- that many consumers have already upgraded their televisions from cathode tubes to flat screens at a premium, it may simply be too soon to expect them to shell out thousands of dollars more for another television set.

Greenwashing: If any one theme was more prevalent than 3-D television, it was the environment. Nearly every company -- from the biggest television makers to the suppliers of cables and surge protectors to plug into them -- had some display of its environmental practices.

While it's nice to see all of these efforts, the veracity of some of these claims seemed questionable, particularly after Greenpeace put out its "Guide to Greener Electronics." While Apple, Sony Ericsson and Nokia got high marks for releasing products free of environment-damaging chemicals, the group knocked companies such as Samsung, Dell, Lenovo and LGE for failing to follow through on promised phase-outs of these chemicals.

"It's time for a little less conversation and a lot more action on removing toxic chemicals," said Casey Harrell, Greenpeace International Electronics campaigner, in a statement announcing the guide. "Apple is leading and HP is playing catch-up, but the lack of action from other companies is ensuring that customers and the environment are still losing out."

Is Lady Gaga All That? One of the biggest crowds of the week gathered in between the Polaroid and Monster Cable booths, which were situated next to each other on the main floor, as Lady Gaga navigated from one to the other for back-to-back personal appearances. Both companies have enlisted the pop star to help them market their wares.

For Monster, the company will begin marketing a line of Gaga-designed ear buds, a new entry in the company's successful Beats line of headphones. Polaroid, however, went a step further, naming her as the creative director for a specialty line of Polaroid products to hit retail store shelves next spring.

"The Haus of Gaga has been developing prototypes in the vein of fashion/ technology/ photography innovation -- blending the iconic history of Polaroid and instant film with the digital era -- and we are excited to collaborate on these ventures with the Polaroid brand," Lady Gaga said in a release. "Lifestyle, music, art, fashion: I am so excited to extend myself behind the scenes as a designer, and to -- as my father puts it -- finally, have a real job." Now one can only wonder how long it will be before Lady Gaga signs on as the latest entertainer to endorse LG's Chocolate line of phones. The symmetry of the initials alone should make it a no-brainer.