Lake Zurich experts take a look at latest consumer trends

More mobility, more apps and more multimedia devices are likely to be in consumers' hands soon, judging by products unveiled this week, said two Lake Zurich-based experts.

Senior designer Gil Cavada and User Experience Director George Guffey, both of Product Development Technologies, a global product development and research firm, said they've been eyeing all the latest 4G consumer gadgets and Internet-based products at CES in Las Vegas this week.

The Consumers Electronics Association's annual show attracts companies worldwide and demonstrates various products, including multi-screen and mobile video, high-definition and 3-D content, 4G smartphones and converged devices, and the evolution of the Android platform,

Cavada and Guffey said anything Internet-based took center stage, including Internet TV, including those products with 3-D, said Cavada.

“It's less about getting out of your house and having more access to the world inside your home,” said Cavada.

Besides the various 3-D and Internet-based products, Guffey noticed how the newest headphones are now much larger, almost a throwback to the 1980s.

“Before, everyone pushed for smaller and smaller, and now they're looking for comfort,” Guffey said.

Also, personalization continues to be a focus, where most products offer color options.

“There's more opportunities to push accessories with color now,” Guffey said.

The buzz also was around several competitors to the Apple iPad tablet, the handheld touch computer. Among them included Motorola Mobility Inc.'s Xoom, a 10-inch computer tablet with a specially designed Android operating system. The much-awaited, HD tablet was developed by Motorola with Google and will be available through Verizon Wireless sometime by March. It's the first of a series of Xoom portfolio products expected to be released this year, a Motorola Mobility spokeswoman said.

Motorola Mobility, which is currently based in Libertyville, also unveiled several other products this week, including the 4G Atrix smartphone with AT&T; the Droid Bionic with Verizon Wireless; and the Cliq2 with T-Mobile.

•Follow Anna Marie Kukec on LinkedIn and Facebook and as AMKukec on Twitter.