There’s much more to the annual Consumer Electronics Show than the cool gadgets that land space on morning talk shows, USA Today and other mainstream media – though the world’s largest HD TV seems to draw the biggest gawking crowd at the annual consumer electronics (CE) confab.

Some industry folk still claim consumer electronics and telecom, among other pairings, are “adjacent spaces.” But since operators began providing residential broadband and content services, it’s really more like intersecting industries.

With TV makers building more interactivity and home networking capabilities into their sets, as opposed to requiring separate devices, the intersection has already been passed ― and then some.

With networking organizations such as the Digital Living Network Alliance adding support for MoCA and more, portable media devices in the home are likely to be able to connect and share content inside a dwelling.

Service providers, be they telcos, cablecos and beyond, have used past CES to commit to new service introductions and deployments. Their infrastructure providers have used the massive venue to detail enabling technologies that can support and extend them.

Bringing CE communications devices to moving vehicles – cars – will be a strong focus for companies driving to make your ride more enjoyable and productive during commutes by adding compelling capabilities.

Handheld devices that support previously separate functionality will debut, and be able to link to other CE products and access content services.

Top IT hardware and software vendors will be on hand to showcase and demonstrate how their wares can support network-based services and more efficiently and effectively deliver bandwidth-demanding content services to the home and the handsets.

Advanced features for Internet access and TV services from operators will be previewed and demonstrated to give attendees an idea of what the bang in bundles will be throughout 2009.

Breakthroughs in what had been called TV middleware will be outlined so that service providers can contemplate just what home services and media sharing can be added to the offerings they already deliver – and how to monetize new additions.

Set-top box vendors, with much of their device’s capabilities being added to CE devices, will emphasize the evolution of their long home icon devices to include media movement, sharing and intelligent viewer information data.

Web video sites and services that require dedicated boxes beyond the TV in the home will be pushing their wares as both alternatives and augmentations to traditional big-screen TV service.

Program guides replete with new and better search and discovery capabilities will be on display for video providers seeking to offer consumers easier access to a broader array of content, regardless of its location.

And with a new president set to take office in a matter of weeks, you can expect big talk about what the near and long-term future will likely hold for the communications industry and all those that already intersect with it. Think public policy, regulation, and new industry initiatives.

CE and IT vendors, among others, will jockey to harness new devices, content delivery and underlying infrastructure to provide rich new media services.

Their top strategists will share their views of, and visions for, a more tightly connected communications and content experience for the masses.

Conference keynoters will set milestones for their companies for the year ahead and well beyond, and tease some of the deliverables expected along the way.

Where content is concerned (seemingly everywhere), expect copyright, security, multi-platform distribution and digital rights management to be a huge focus of discussion and debate, with new opportunities balanced against the challenges of cashing in.

There will also be discussion of business models evolving CE device makers, Web video sites and those partnering with service providers for residential services might/will use to ensure that their efforts sustain and evolve their businesses in a challenged economy.

And those who had previously believed consumer electronics covers only TVs set-top boxes, DVR and DVD players, will find advances and planned innovation for wireless devices that are continually getting smarter, easier to use, and more convenient in their capabilities.

Don’t forget to meet with game console vendors to explore opportunities in communications, content and entertainment from the gaming perspective.

Finally, for the gadgetry geeks, their will be plenty of CE devices to catch your eye but likely never see the light of day, beyond morning talk shows and USA Today. Think of them as the concept cars of the auto industry.

Be very careful crossing the intersection of CE devices and carrier entertainment services, as you rush to join the quiet crowd staring into the shows’ largest HD TV.

Enjoy the show!

Beyond squeezing more life and dollars out of aging network facilities, it seems to me the that pushing Internet access at speeds of below 1 mbps is a pretty big waste of marketing time, rain forests, TV ads and operator energy.

Sure, it’s wayyyyy faster than dial-up Internet, which I haven’t heard about in ages, but what can you really do with less than a megabit of speed that won’t frustrate/annoy the hell out of you? Or maybe it’s part of a plan to get you to move up to something faster and pricier?

Nobody likes slow, especially young demographics whom are the among the biggest power users on capacity, and, for many applications, the least tolerant of delay(s).

In a content-crazy and media-sharing mighty environment, what can you accomplish in a meaningful way at up to 768 kbps? And that’s downstream, so the oft-overlooked return channel (upstream) is most certainly much slower.

I could most certainly understand if low-speed, non-dial-up Internet was the only show in town. However, based on the all our efforts of my market’s top telco and cableco, it’s definitely not.

The slow-speed promos are in stark contrast to TV ads, direct-mail pieces and newspaper inserts pushing superfast Internet, be it powered or enhanced by DOCSIS 3.0 or through a fiber-to-the-home-based FiOS package.

And with the proliferation of consumer electronic devices and viewing enhancers like Sling-anythings, Web video sites, social networking destinations, gaming systems, portable media devices and more, what can you expect to connect to a non-broadband connection and still enjoy?

So, it seems there’s something of a disconnect between operator market might (and their machines) and the real brains of broadband.

Consider a recent comment by Cablevisions Systems Corp. (CVC) COO Tom Rutledge when asked about the viability of services in tough economic times. He said sophisticated users would likely disconnect TV before broadband.

That seems to indicate that consumers see serious value in high-speed Internet.

So why don’t operators of all types focus on the speed and pushing the value of fat pipes and spare themselves a damaging price war on the low-speed edge of the market that appears to be burning valuable resources that can be better spent elsewhere?

Perhaps on getting broadband to people that don’t yet have access to it?

There it was, in all its splendor nearly blocking the entrance to BJ’s Wholesale Club in Framingham, Mass.: the 42-inch 1080 DPI HDTV LCD for a mere $629, teasing those who entered the off-price shopping venue.

The picture was killer, especially compared to the 42-inch with lesser resolution I bought for significantly more several years ago. Was it time for a mega-upgrade? I could almost literally feel my wallet burning a hole in my pocket.

I read the vital stats on the side of the box and quickly realized it blew doors off my “old” wall-mounted TV, and then some, in the area of features and capabilities. Wow. Only $629.

It mattered not what I decided, as I already have a TV with HD. What mattered more, with the holidays, and digital TV transition in mid-Feburary looming, was what folks who didn’t want one decided to do. So I stood around and watched and listened to others.

As people approached and saw the system, out came the cell phones and PDAs and word spread. Some stopped dead ion their tracks to discuss whether they should perhaps finally take the plunge at $629. Others left to return with special store flatbeds with wheels to whisk them away to the checkout line.

Still others moved to the side of the incoming flow of shoppers, directly into the TV department so see what else the store had and compare the $629 offer to other models and prices. And some others moved on into the cavernous club store to check out other items and or/shop for things they had planned on leaving the store with.

And then I remembered three things that stood out in these times of a badly battered economy and barely enough good news to generate a newspaper headline:

The price of consumer electronics always comes down in a competitive market. And then the cheaper printer models where the all-in-one printer costs nothing, but you end up spending a ton on cartridges over time.

Finally, one sentence from the AT&T Inc. (T) press materials on the recent 12,000 employee layoff that said the telco was still hiring in three areas: video, broadband and wireless.

Together those items made me think that even if the sun didn’t rise (it doesn’t seem to much in the cold and dark-at-4 p.m. daylight savings months in New England), sales of certain consumer electronics will go on, and well beyond the holidays.

They are the printers, or the handheld razors of the modern day of video and broadband. They open the gate to viewing for their owners, and revenue generating opportunities to service providers, Internet web sites and those selling home networking wares too.

It’s largely about T-commerce. Commerce via TV. TiVo Inc. (TIVO) will let you order Domino’s pizza for delivery from your remote. Much more to come.

Those are all examples of where the real money is in any economy, any time of the year. You better believe it.

If folks stop going out to dinner, the movies, visiting friends, do staycations etc., etc. – marketers – read service providers, can reach consumers through the TV, their sales portal in the home.

And remember, the $629 was for a 42-inch LCD unit. If you could do with less, there are plenty of smaller models for even lower prices. Heck, Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) was giving them away (27-inch HDTVs) to new FiOS customers a year ago.

I’m not saying the masses are all going to buy new TVs in the next month, year, etc., but once they do, the bombardment of ads for add-on services, features, programming deals, movie access packages and media sharing items start to make sense.

So does the deluge of direct mail pieces in your mailbox, which probably still is heavier than the holiday card intake of even the most popular folks.

And then your kids, nieces and nephews, visitors, etc will start telling you all the things you can, and/or should do, with the big screen in your living room. Gaming, moving around and viewing pix, video-on-demand?????

Things can snowball, pardon the pun, from there.

And there are plenty of service providers working on reaching out to you through the TV, and in more and better ways, with more and better features and products.

Opportunity doesn’t really need to knock. It’s there once you turn on the set.

Is there a better way to reach the consumer when they’re largely cringing at the non-stop reports of bad economic news? And in the grand scheme of consumer behavior, is there anything higher on the list than TVs and other consumer electronics?

The $629 42-inch 1080 DPI LCD HDTV sure makes you wonder. And remember again, prices will continue to fall.

Welcome to T-commerce.