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Cisco wireless goes consumer for CES

Using wireless as the hub of consumer electronics, Cisco is planning to astonish the Consumer Electronics Show next month with a range of household goods.

The prediction is based on an interview between Ned Hooper, a Cisco senior vice president,and a New York Times reporter. Saul Hansell writes that Mr. Hooper was put in charge of the consumer electronics push a year ago, and focuses on the growth of HD television in his analysis:

Many music players, digital cameras, game consoles, Blu-ray players and a variety of set-top boxes connect to the Internet directly or by way of a computer. Although they are digital, most of the high-definition televisions sold so far do not have Internet connections. But Mr. Hooper argues that televisions soon will also be connected to home networks and the Internet,

says the report. "We are all making this investment in high-definition television, but all we are doing with them is watching TV the same way," Mr. Hooper is quoted as saying. "They can actually provide all sorts of experiences, whether it is viewing family photos or connecting to the Internet to watch video."

Hansell predicts that at the Consumer Electronics Show in January in Las Vegas, Cisco "plans to introduce a new line of products, including a digital stereo system that is meant to move music wirelessly around a house. That is the first small move in a long-term strategy to take on Apple, Sony and the other giants of consumer electronics."