Thin Tech Takes off In 2012

If there was any doubt, international CES 2012 confirmed that 2012 will be the year of thin technology. The focus of the industry has been shifting for some time. Now it appears that we have hit the critical mass point, where consumer demand is being matched by manufacturers supplying a steady stream of slim and sexy devices.

This year’s CES has featured a plethora of new devices that push the thinness envelope. The usual suspects — tablets and smartphones — were there. There was the Toshiba Excite tablet that was a mere 7.7 millimeters thick and claimed the title of the thinnest tablet of them all. There was also the Huawei Ascend P1 S which is a meager 6.8 millimeters and claims to be the slimmest of any smartphone on the market. It beats out the already insanely thin Motorola Droid 4 which is just 7.1 millimeters thin. What was more interesting is the way the thin theme has extended into almost every segment of the industry. Devices you would not initially think about are jumping on the thin bandwagon. Other devices like flat-screen TVs have become so thin they make even the thinnest tablet and smartphone want to run to fat camp.

Do you need a super-thin mouse? You are in luck, the MoGo Mouse TM100 is just 5 millimeters thick and is available right now on Amazon for the equally thin price of $19.95. The TM100 is a two button wireless mouse that is thin enough to fit into the PC Card slot of your laptop. You can use that slot to charge the mouse as well as to store it when its not in use. The mouse charges in about 30 minutes and a charge lasts for over 8 hours. The device is Bluetooth-enabled and has a range of 30 feet. If the profile of the mouse is too small you can flip out a small kickstand that elevates the device, making using it more akin to what you are used to with a standard mouse.

Some Unexpected Items Get a Thin Makeover

If you thought that a mouse was the most unlikely device to get a thin makeover then prepare to be surprised. Samsung has proudly announced that it now makes the world’s thinnest 3D Blu Ray player. The as yet unnamed device comes in at a very svelte 23 millimeters. And it has the ability to convert standard discs to 3D in real time. That’s not all, the device is also Internet-enabled and can access popular services such as Facebook and Youtube. For comparison, the ‘Slim’ version of the PS3 is well over 60 millimeters thick. Thin as it might be, what use is a thin 3D Blu Ray player without a big screen TV to match? LG will make that question moot with its new 55 inch OLED TV that is an astounding 4 millimeters thin.

Let’s put that into the proper perspective. The slimmest tablet on the planet is 7.7 millimeters thick. That tablet has a screen that measures roughly 10 inches. This new TV by LG has a screen that is five times larger yet the device is barely more than half the thickness of that tablet. What’s more, this isn’t a proof of concept build. Its a finished product that LG says it wants to deliver to a mass market audience. It also claims that it intends to price it so that it will be within the reach of wide cross-section of consumers.

How long our present obsession with thin technology lasts remains to be seen. . Right now though, and for the foreseeable future, it appears that you can never be too thin.