A notable trend that emerged from CES 2012 is how input methods will evolve over the next year and how we’ll increasingly interact with our connected devices through touchscreens. While touch is not a new technology, the growing use of smartphones and tablets have conditioned most smart mobile device users to input via touch. It’s become automatic to pinch, widen, type, and send with our forefingers and thumbs.

One specific observation stands out: Recent desktop OS introductions (e.g., Windows 8), look a lot like their mobile versions, offering touchscreen-inspired GUIs. This suggests a move away from traditional desktop experiences in favor of mobile operating systems across all connected devices.  And while I’ll hesitate to say that touchscreen tablets will serve as a replacement for laptops and desktops, I can see the touch input method replacing mouse control over time.

This may not be the most profound observation coming out of CES this year, but technological shifts are compelling, no matter how small.  Wasn’t it revolutionary (and much more convenient) when GUIs replaced DOS commands?  I think it’ll be quite convenient to leave those little mice in a drawer and just use our hands.