Samsung Electronics CEO Boo-Keun Yoon speaking at the 2015 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. (Photo: Taylor Soppe/Forbes)
By: Ryan Mac and Aaron Tilley
Forbes is live from Las Vegas where Samsung is about to take the stage at the 2015 Consumer Electronics Show for the companys keynote address. The focus of todays talk from Samsung Electronics Samsung Electronics CEO Boo-Keun Yoon will be the current buzzphrase Internet of Things and the company already announced a slew of new connected devices and appliances earlier on Monday.
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6:34 p.m. -Samsung CEO Boo-Keun Yoon is introduced by the CEA President Gary Shapiro. No Michael Bay sighting yet.
6:35 p.m.- Yoon takes the stage. It takes him 20 seconds to mention the Internet of Things. Its 2015 and were going back to the future, he says, referencing the Michael J. Fox movie. Its not science fiction anymore. Its science fact, he adds pointing to creations like flat screen televisions.
6:43 p.m.-Yoon has mentioned Internet of Things or acronym IoT at least 20 times in the first five minutes. This may be a long night. These objects will actively support and protect us, the Samsung CEO says as hes backed up by pictures of smiling folks with their microwaves, blenders and home appliances.
6:46 p.m.-Jeremy Rifkin, president of The Foundation of Economic Trends, is the first guest on stage tonight. He believes that the focus on IoT will bring about a paradigm shift in technology history. In the Internet of Things society, everyone is a prosumer, actively consuming, producing and sharing with their connected devices, he says. Journalists and observers everywhere quickly Google Google the word prosumer.
6:51 p.m.-Rifkin: We are on the cusp of a great economic transformation. The Internet of Things will improve the lives of billions of people and create a more sustainable, democratic future. (If IoT can improve the lines here at CES that would be an awesome start.)
6:58 p.m.-Samsungs CEO is back on stage. Hes yet to unveil a new product but says that by 2017, 90% of Samsung devices will be IoT devices. Yoon also says he hopes to make that 100% within the next five years, before unloading some numbers on the audience. He said that the company put 665 million products in the hands of consumers last year. Thats 20 devices a second, he says, before pausing for a second. We just made 20. First joke of the night!
7:00 p.m.-Big announcement: Samsung says that all its future devices will be open to developers.
7:04 p.m.-Yoon brings on SmartThings CEOAlex Hawkinson, whose company was acquired by Samsung in August for a reported $200 million. Hawkinson says that all SmartThings gadgets work with all of Samsungs connected devices and names off some of his companys new partners including Netgear, Philips Hue and Honeywell.
7:05 p.m.-Not going to sugarcoat it, this keynote from Samsung has been fairly disappointing. Folks in the crowd are just not that excited. We want Michael Bay!
7:06 p.m.-Jawbone CEO Hosain Rahman takes the stage as Hawkinson and Yoon depart briefly. He continues to hammer home the same IoT message. This feels like the beginning of a path centered around the user, he says, before outlining how a home entertainment system can tell you what music to listen to after monitoring and learning your habits.
7:11 p.m.-Yoon returns to the stage and says that Samsung will be committing $100 million toward bolstering and strengthening its programs from developers and startups.
7:20 p.m.-BMW senior vice presidentElmar Frickenstein, a spritely German with an awesome name, takes over for Yoon to discuss his companys new tablet integration with Samsung. Samsung gear can now help open and close doors, send directions or check the range of Beemers. Says Frickenstein: In the future connectivity will be the key technlogy for highly automated driving. a pre-recorded video of Frickenstein then flashes across the screen showing him driving away in a sleek car. HOW DID HE GET AWAY SO FAST?
7:25 p.m.-Yoon is back on stage and unleashing a monologue. Seriously, this cant be it, can it? Says Yoon, on the verge of tears: We areare holding in our hands are infinite possibilities. Now its up to us to enact them.
7:31 p.m.-The event is over. Bizarre. There wasnt really much said beside the pontificating over the Internet of Things catchphrase. People rush out of the auditorium, likely for the buffets.
Follow me onTwitterat@RMac18or email me at rmac@forbes.com.
Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/ryanmac/2015/01/05/samsung-ces-2015-keynote-live-from-las-vegas/
