Live from the Cisco press conference at CES 2009

By Tim Conneally | Published January 7, 2009, 4:00 PM

Banner: Live Commentary Known worldwide as an infrastructure company, Cisco now plays a bigger role in the CE field for being the parent of major consumer router manufacturer Linksys, and for finding its way into the IPTV infrastructure.

1:54pm PT: Closing statements

1:54pm PT: A: We're not in the content business, we're in the portal business. We're not in the service provider business, we want to help those businesses monetize and grow.

1:53pm PT: Q: Have you made any backend network components with these new products?

1:52pm PT: A: Yes, we've made a transition to move a lot of engineering in-house.

1:52pm PT: Q: were the audio products designed in-house?

1:51pm PT: A: absolutely, i've got my backups all on mine as well, content appears as ordinary files.

1:50pm PT: Q: do you see the media hub as a product for non-entertainment purposes?

1:49pm PT: A: no, it's a platform

1:48pm PT: Q: Is eos going to be a media content company?

1:48pm PT: A: We will be moving into devices that we build on our own as well as ones we've acquired

1:48pm PT: Q: do you envision a future where consumers will pull out a Cisco product as their unified devices of choice, with an emotional connection to it?

1:47pm PT: A: We're absolutely about being open, the current solutions are not as effective as they need to be

1:46pm PT: Q: Device connections program, how do you discuss that with the DLNA?

1:46pm PT: A: Yes, has Bonjour and works as an iTunes server

1:45pm PT: Q: Does the Hub work with mac and other products?

1:45pm PT: A: Wi-Fi with N compatibility

1:45pm PT: Q: The wireless music system, using Mesh or Wi-Fi?

1:44pm PT: We clearly see Femtocell as big a part of the connected home as Wi-Fi

1:44pm PT: More phones have standard browsers, support wi-fi, and are Upnp-enabled, it's just another device that's either carrying content or can access it.

1:43pm PT: A: Talking about T-Mobile@Home UMA

1:43pm PT: Q: What about femtocels and smart phone network integration?

1:43pm PT: A: non-device centricity!

1:41pm PT: Q: which Service Provider businesses will impact consumers?

1:41pm PT: A: Openness, synchronization, seamless interaction, It's not just about scale, it's about multiple devices and formats interacting, transcoding, etc.

1:39pm PT: Q: How will you differentiate your product in a highly competitive market?

1:39pm PT: A: We will move to a Cisco-primary brand. We have valuable existing brands, but we are moving through Cisco-Linksys, Cisco-eos to strictly Cisco. Scientific Atlanta is already called Cisco

1:37pm PT: Q: what is your branding strategy?

1:34pm PT: Q&A session starting with all speakers

1:33pm PT: Everything announced today by Cisco is currently available at retail

1:32pm PT: it's the network that's driven the disruption thus far. Music consumption has been device driven

1:31pm PT: home Wireless LAN audio system with Rhapsody/audiolounge, and Radio Time

1:30pm PT: ahem...Linksys by Cisco

1:30pm PT: Cisco by Linksys wireless home audio product video

1:29pm PT: protected content, stored content, open content on network, all accessible

1:28pm PT: Automatically centralizes and syncs music, photos, videos, and makes it accessible wirelessly anywhere in the home and anywhere in the world through rich gui

1:27pm PT: Available right now $299

1:27pm PT: Home media server product

1:26pm PT: Launch of the Linksys by Cisco media hub

1:25pm PT: Opening HNAP (home network administration protocol) licensing program

1:24pm PT: talking about Cisco Device Connections Program

1:23pm PT: Ned Hooper takes stage again

1:23pm PT: Goal is to reduce cost and complexity, while increasing audience understanding.

1:23pm PT: Why this space is important for Cisco: at the core, you need the network, we are driving the innovation in that space. In the device market, we already have a lot of DNA and footprint, at the end of the day, only we can create tailored services such as these.

1:21pm PT: A store, ringtones, and user community for Atlantic artist Laura Izbor is all available on one central site.

1:20pm PT: run by atlantic records (WMG)

1:20pm PT: lauraizbor.com and allseanpaul.com are live sites running on eos.

1:18pm PT: We've bundled together four things for media companies: community, analytics, content management, and administration

1:17pm PT: intended for media companies with a lot of content and sites

1:17pm PT: social networking, content management, administration...eos

1:17pm PT: "upload once, publish many"

1:16pm PT: eos video shows off modular design of content-specific sites

1:14pm PT: showing video of Cisco EOS

1:14pm PT: Fragmented audience, disrupted monetization, and cost/complexity

1:13pm PT: We've found 3 major challenges to content owners

1:13pm PT: Introducing hosted software platform, EOS

1:13pm PT: correction...Dan Scheinman

1:12pm PT: Dan Shyman is taking the stage to talk about Cisco EOS

1:12pm PT: We've built products, as well as platforms. What we're rolling out today is a new platform, and new products

1:10pm PT: Three major challenges: simplifying setup, content management, and content discovery

1:09pm PT: Consumers want their homes to be media enabled

1:09pm PT: we've shipped over 160 million consumer devices

1:08pm PT: if there are 2 core tenets to our culture, it's focusing on market transitions, and being customer driven in everything we do

1:08pm PT: Ned Hooper, SVP of corporate development is taking stage

1:07pm PT: "We're not going to be quiet any more" (referring to cisco-branded consumer devices)

1:06pm PT: Discussing Cisco's unified consumer strategy

1:05pm PT: "Network is the Platform for Life's Experiences"

1:05pm PT: You'll see a steady stream, every two months of news from Cisco

1:04pm PT: Connected Home, Media Enabled Home, and Visual Networking

1:04pm PT: At the base of all this is the Network as the platform

Cisco's announcements this year are going to be looking at a market transition, considering the future, 5 years down the road

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