On CE - For Dealers, Distributors and OEMs of Consumer Electronics throughout EMEA

C-Neo acts as a door into the jungle, the Amazon jungle.  C-Neo handles CE sourcing for the online retailing giant's German wing: think of C-NEO as your Amazon-exclusive external sales department.

Company MD Mick Grom says C-Neo started as a consultancy agency for vendors entering the German market. The company later signed a contract to handle Amazon's growing German sales portfolio.

With Amazon expanding through Europe, this means an increased demand for vendors and their products. C-Neo mainly concentrates on Amazon Germany, but they can also help localise a non-region specific device for Amazon UK and France.

Watch C-Neo, Amazon Channel interview

Gartner predicts WW tablet sales will reach 19.5 million in 2010, and surpass 208 million by 2014.

The growing tablet market will cannibalize other CE devices such as mini notebooks e-readers, gaming devices and media players. Gartner says the biggest impact will be on high-end smartphones as users find it hard to justify owning both:  tablet owners might opt for a lower priced smartphone with smaller form factor.

Cellular/wifi tablet sales account for 55% of sales. The report predicts this will account for 80% of sales by 2014.

Tablets will move to the mainstream as family purchases, becoming one of the home devices shared by the family.

Meanwhile Telcos and ISPs will subsidize tablets to drive mobile broadband uptake, much like they do with mini-notebooks.

Go Gartner Says Tablet Sales on Pace to Reach 19.5 Million

Antec enters the audio arena with a new brand name - SoundScience.

The first offering is a 2.1 speaker system designed for PC use. The speaker cans are made of brushed aluminium, which Antec says gives a solid sound quality.

The remote allows consumers to switch between music and simulated 3D modes.

It's a new product category for Antec, but the company knows the channel well. They set up a separate sound booth at IFA recognizing the importance that audio buyers place on hearing the product.

Watch Antec SoundScience interview

In a Channel Media interview GFK IT Director Dr. Rudi Aunkofer says currently the tablet market sees the basic approach in filling the gap between notebooks and smartphones

According to Dr. Aunkofer tablets will start cannibalising from the notebook market only if they become full computers.

The real shift in paradigm takes place through IPTV, 3DTV or tablets. After all, TV is known, well used and regularly at the center of the house. Through larger screens and consumer-friendly remote interfaces, IPTV can greatly affect the IT industry, especially the PC hardware field.

Touchscreens will be the future's main feature - on notebooks, tablets and TVs - with OEMs having to follow suit.

Finally Dr. Ankaufer says 3D will be more significant in gaming than TV.

Watch Dr. Rudi Aunkofer Interview