This week’s International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) – with 2,700 companies and 140,000 attendees traversing more than 1.8 million square feet of Las Vegas exhibit space – is an exercise in excess for the tech industry.

I haven’t sifted through each of the estimated 20,000 product announcements expected at CES this week. But amid the eye-tracking technology, smart refrigerators, video drones and Bluetooth-enabled shower speakers, you’ll find some products that very likely will influence your publishing strategies – if not now (see smartphones), then down the road (smart TVs). Here’s a summary.

Smartphones

The next generation of smartphones on display at CES increases the urgency for publishers to improve the mobile web experience and also work out an app strategy. Bigger screens, HD-quality displays, faster processors, 4G connectivity and m-commerce features are likely to increase both the time users spend on smartphones and the digital content they’re consuming.  

LG's new Spectrum phone has a 720p HD display and comes with an ESPN app for streaming HD video. It also has Netflix built in for HD streaming. Nokia’s Lumia 900 (pictured), one of several new Windows phones debuting at CES, has a 4.3-inch screen and promises download speeds of up to 50M bps on AT&T’s 4G LTE network. The Samsung Galaxy Note has a 5.3-inch screen – pushing into tablet territory – and a pen interface.

Chip maker Intel is entering the smartphone market through partnerships with Lenovo and Motorola. Intel says its Atom processors, used previously in netbook computers, combine high-quality graphics, high-end performance and low power consumption.

These new smartphones give publishers another reason to consider increasing investment in digital video, or responsive design as a way to support the ever-increasing variety of screen sizes and formats, including HD.

Sprint’s version of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus will include near-field communications technology and support for Google Wallet, an important milestone in mobile payments. For publishers that are stepping more aggressively into the e-commerce space, mobile commerce presents an untapped and potentially significant opportunity.

Ultrabooks

This year’s entry in the overhyped new product category is the ultrabook, which Intel has been pushing to PC manufacturers as a counter to Apple’s MacBook Air. These thin-and-light laptops come with full-sized keyboards, power-saving processors and up to 15-inch displays and run full versions of Windows.

At CES, Intel said 15 ultrabooks are currently available with as many as 60 in the pipeline for release this year. Acer, Samsung, Sony, Toshiba and HP were among the PC manufacturers showing ultrabooks at CES. Intel also showed some cool concept designs, including the Nikiski, which featured a transparent touchpad.

Why should publishers care? Simple: Ultrabooks reinforce the need to create a superior Web browsing experience for your digital content across multiple devices. Ultrabooks could give new life to a category that’s been largely overshadowed by tablets. If your target audience consists of laptop-toting college students or industries that have widely dispersed workforces, they could be consuming a lot of your digital content on one of these devices in the not-so-distant future.

Smart TVs

“Smart” or “connected” televisions integrate Web browsing into the TV viewing experience. At CES, a half-dozen TV manufacturers introduced smart TVs, some based on the Google TV platform. Smart TVs offer publishers – not just broadcast media – yet another platform for delivering video and other "lean back" content to consumers.

LG introduced its first Google TV (pictured), which combines Google’s Android 4.0 operating system (aka Ice Cream Sandwich) with LG’s 3-D and Smart TV technologies, offering what the company says is a “a new and enthralling TV experience” for consumers. Users can manipulate search, social and TV functions simultaneously. Lenovo also introduced a smart television running Android 4.0, for the Chinese market.

Similarly, Samsung announced a smart, “gesture-capable” television. For Samsung, GigaOm’s Kevin Tofel writes, the new TV is part of a broader cross-platform strategy to let consumers view and share content across TVs, tablets and smartphones.

As manufacturers gird for battle to control this emerging ecosystem, publishers have an opportunity to create compelling content that plays well in the family room.

Game consoles

Speaking of the family room, don’t forget the game console, which Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo are aggressively positioning as a set-top box replacement. At CES, News Corp. said it would release several apps on Microsoft’s Xbox 360, including WSJ Live, which will feature live programming and content from WSJ.com, Dow Jones Newswires and other WSJ properties.

I’m not sure of the connection between gamers and investment bankers, but you get the idea. The takeaway: Don’t discount any platform that gives you an opportunity to deliver content to your audience in new and innovative ways.  

Keep in mind, however, that all of the gee-whiz gadgetry on display at CES means nothing if the consumer doesn’t buy it or use it in the real world. Testing your audience’s appetite for connected TVs and other emerging devices will provide the best guide to an evolving content development and delivery strategy. One commenter on Cnet summed it up best: “All the research and attention to detail goes out the window once the consumer gets involved.”