CES Buzz Wrap Report: Samsung, Lady Gaga, Android and Tablets Win in 2011

January 10th, 2011

Topics: Buzz, Events, Mobile, Mobile Measurement, Perspectives, Social

This post is part of a series covering CES 2011. Read other posts here.

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CES 2011 wrapped up on Saturday, leaving 140,000 industry insiders to scatter back across the globe with visions of tablets, smart phones and connected TVs dancing in their heads.

So who were the clear winners of CES 2011? At Webtrends,we pride ourselves in being the leader in mobile and social analytics, and we culled the cumulative buzz from across websites, social networks, blogs and boards from the duration of the show to find out.

CES Buzz Master: This buzz-leader spot was held by both Microsoft and Google at different times last week, but the hands down most buzzed about company at CES 2011 was Samsung, with 31,119. Amidst its biggest buzz drivers were Galaxy Tab tablets, a 4G smart phone for Verizon, LED and 3D HDTVs, and a flexible AMOLED display. Well played, Samsung.

Android v. Apple: Without an official presence at CES, Apple still manages to own a lot of the mindshare. But in 2011, we discovered that is was the Android platform that stole the majority of the show buzz, with a 3-point lead on Apple, attributable to the vast number of Android tablets and smart phones revealed last week. Telling of the year to come?

  • Android 51.4%
  • Apple 48.6%

The Smartest Phones: iPhone continues to be the benchmark smart phone, and it kept itself alive and relevant at CES with rampant rumors about Verizon’s impending carrier announcement. Android phones took a strong share of buzz at CES this year though, as well as Windows Phone 7, with a 10 percent share.

The year of the Tablet: Tablets were the most buzzed about product at CES, with more than 80 to be announced according to CES via PC Word. Who were the most buzzed about tablet manufacturers? While Apple’s iPad is still in the lead, it is facing tight buzz competition from the likes of Motorola, Microsoft, Google and Samsung.

Tablets Sentiment: Along with the buzz comes the sentiment of that buzz, and in tablets, the most buzz doesn’t necessarily correlate to the most positively buzzed. Vizio, with only 3.8% of buzz, led in positive sentiment with 66.6%, compared to buzz leaders Apple (60%), Motorola (59%) and Microsoft (54%).

The Year of Mobile: TVs for the last decade have dominated the presence at, and coverage coming out of, CES. This year, we have seen a shift in the landscape, with mobile taking the lead over TVs by almost 10 points. While connected and 3DTVs still had a majority show floor presence, the real darlings of CES 2011 were the plethora of smart phones and tablets that we’ll see come to market this year.

  • Mobile: 54.8%
  • TV: 45.23%

Celebrity Buzz: And now the fun part…Lady Gaga was the clear queen of CES, with 4.5X the buzz of any other celebrity attendee. In the final numbers, 50 Cent edged out Darth Vader for a second place win. Tron actress Olivia Wilde and Ludacris rounded out the top 5.

  • http://www.mi-2.com Michael Fung

    Nice wrap-up of CES 2011. Your analytics reflects my experience this year. Personally, I am overloaded on tablets and 3DTV talk.
    CES is always fun but more importantly, it is a great way to observe the reactions of potential buyers of new technologies. Obviously, CES is an industry trade show (for the most part) so we are not talking about me running out and buying an HTC EVO but business buyers buying millions in inventory then selling it to their customers. In the process, they commit resources, marketing dollars and manpower to support the chosen platforms and devices. The impact can be very significant on how we live and work in our daily lives. The value of measuring buzz, sentiment and activity can not be overstated. I wonder how well the Apple Newton would have done if we had the ability to measure buzz, sentiment and activity back when it was launched. If you don’t know what the Newton is, you are probably under 40 and/or not a tech geek. The point being: measurement of what people are saying and doing before/during/after the launch of a product is key to its success.

    On a different note, I have to defend 50 Cent. Polaroid is much bigger than Sleek. Lady Gaga was in the larger Central Hall while 50 was in South Hall. A significant portion of the attendees where International (Asian). Lady Gaga had a clear advantage at CES.

    -Michael
    http://about.me/michaelfung