Sony’s “We’ll tell you later” fitness tracker sums up the problem with CES

One of the issues that is building up around CES is the need for companies to present ‘something big and world changing’ every twelve months. Sony’s announcement of their new fitness and emotions tracker (Gizmodo) feels like a company that has had to find something to present to get the headlines – presumably because another waterproof smartphone and a return to the American smartphone market isn’t enough for the ravenous hordes prowling the show floor for something shiny and ‘new’.

The device and associated smartphone app (to be released when? We’ll tell you later) will have other partners involved (we’ll tell you who later), will be available at some point (we’ll tell you when, later), and has some magical function that can read your emotional state (we’ll tell you how, later). Given the non-announcement announcement, why did Sony bother?

CES has such a hold over the major players in the industry that this isn’t going to change in the near future – everyone is going to stick to CES’ schedule, and not their own schedule. it’s why I respect Apple (who simply don’t attend any more) and Microsoft (who have not had a major keynote at CES since January 2102). Trade Shows like CES and to a lesser extent Mobile World Congress  have their strengths, but forcing companies into a twelve month cycle of show and tell is not one of them.