CES is this week and lots of stuff will be being announced and launched. What strikes me is more and more we are dealing with platforms of technology. By this I mean there are a variety of devices coming into existence that are capable of supporting communications, content playback, gaming, content creation, personal information manager, application host and much much more.

These platforms come in handheld, tablet, desktop and wall mount.

As we enter a new decade we are seeing a shift from devices that are specific things to devices that are platforms limited more by their size then any other factor. With wall mounted plasma and LCD based systems that might be called TV's or even entertainment platforms but with the addition of technology like Skype embedded a broadband enabled 26" LCD clearly the term television might be to limited a description.

Somewhere between handheld and laptop is an awkward space for technology. Now many have tried to create items for this space. There have been pen computers, netbooks and most recently e-books, however the technorati are calling for and demanding a tablet and some have claimed this will be the year of the tablet. Now before you yawn and say so what take a peek at what The Wonderfactory and Time, Inc. put together as a concept of what a tablet could be. With phones that can do practically anything (remote control for a flying virtual reality vehicle, or controller for your car) the only real question in my mind is where the tablet size platform will fit in to ones day to day life.

So as the lines between the smallest platforms and the large platforms blur the question is what do we really expect out of the various bits of hardware in our lives.

Demand and accepted innovation will ultimately drive manufacturers but never before have we seen such a shifting of the technological lines.

Should a phone be just a phone and if not just how much will be demanded of the the handheld platform. Gone are the three or four screens now we have the four platforms to bring all things together.

Will the day come when a 65" LCD in every room will be the heart of all things digital (communication, content, information) and your tablet device will be your remote control/input device and ancillary close up display. Handhelds will mimic some of tablets function but will be an all things personal widget which will enable the other two devices and so much more.

As more movies and content are made available via broadband and as our day to day lives interface with technology more deeply it seems a good time to look at where the hard side of these content and interface platforms are heading.

So join us as we explore the not so science fiction side of technology.

As always, there is no better way to meet and connect with other executives then over dinner and conversation. $21 in advance via PayPal or $25 at the event gets you a full dinner, drink and the best networking around.