CES 2012 - Day 4: Leaving Las Vegas - winners and losers

CES 2012 rumbles on, but I'm just about to board a plane back to the UK. So with my time in Las Vegas coming to an end, who are the winners and losers of the show?

Winner: Intel and Ultrabooks

Netbooks were awful, but Ultrabooks are excellent. The technology is finally ready for companies to be able to make genuinely portable laptops. Ultrabooks benefit from excellent battery life, fast boot-up and SSD storage. They're sleek, they look great and if the prices start to come down, they'll be big sellers. For the moment though, Intel can be very happy with the positive noises being made about the Ultrabook range.

Loser: Blackberry

While all around were making big announcements, RIM apologetically announced native email support for its Playbook tablet and pointed apologetically at apps available for Blackberry smartphones. While software updates are always welcome, the Playbook is already being heavily discounted in the UK and doesn't look like lasting much longer. Blackberry is suffering against better products; the Apple iPhone, Android devices from companies like Samsung and HTC and Windows Phone 7 devices from Nokia to name just a few.

Winner: Huawei and white label companies 

You might not have heard of Huawei, but there's a strong chance you've used something they've made. The Chinese manufacturer has hidden its name behind white label products that are rebranded by other companies and then sold in the West. But no more. Huawei are finally bringing their own phone, with their own branding, to the UK. Other white label companies are following suit and it should certainly add some interesting competition to the technology industry.

Loser: Microsoft

Steve Ballmer's keynote didn't deliver the headlines the headliner writers wanted, but it was Microsoft's stall at CES 2012 the delivered the main disappointments. A mix of things already available and things already announced, the Internet Explorer booth just about summed it up.

Winner: Polaroid

For coming up with a clever, worthwhile product, Polaroid is worthy of a 'winner' spot. I couldn't help but smile when I stumbled upon this product nestled away in a sea of 3D TVs and ludicrous 'smart fridges'. The camera is charming and the results excellent. A genuinely clever piece of technology that I can't wait to use again soon.