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Local Hardware Companies Out In Force At CES

Who says that Southern California's high tech industry is all about Hollywood and e-commerce? The region's large stable of high tech hardware companies are out in force this week at CES, with San Diego-based Qualcomm leading the charge and the keynote; Irvine-based Broadcom announced a new chip aimed at UltraHD TV Home gateways, MoCA 2.0 and Gigabit DOCSIS products, and more; Irvine-based Vizio announced new HDTVs, smartphones, tablets, and Windows 8 PCs; and Viewsonic, based in Walnut, showed off its new high resolution touch displays. The companies are just some of the many high tech manufacturers announcing or showing off their products in Las Vegas this week.

Among the most visible companies was Qualcomm, which announced a new line of Snapdragon processors, the Snapdragon 600 and 800, aimed at smartphones, tablets, and smart televisions today in the show's keynote from CEO Paul Jacobs. Jacobs shared the stage with Microsoft's Steve Ballmer, band Maroon 5, and even a video connection with Bishop Desmond Tutu.

Broadcom announced digital and web television, home gateway technology, 5G WiFi ecosystem expansion, and automotive Ethernet products, with what it calls a game changer of a chip aimed at HDTV market.

ViewSonic has debuted a new, Android-powered "smart display" which is aimed at both consumers and the enterprise, along with new touch-screen digital displays.