Flagship smartphones in 5- and 5.5-inch screen sizes are preferred by most consumers, especially in China and India, where a 5.5-inch screen is considered “ideal” vs. the preferred 5-inch last year, Strategy Analytics reported. SA Wednesday cited better productivity and entertainment capabilities, thinner designs, higher quality screen resolution and quality as features driving consumers to larger screens. Improving “one-handed usability” and adding voice assistants will reduce user friction with larger screens, pushing preferences for larger devices further, said analyst Chris Schreiner.

Twelve percent of U.S. broadband households reported unresolved technical problems this year vs. 5 percent in the previous three years, with issues becoming more complicated and difficult to diagnose, Parks Associates blogged Wednesday. “Strong value is achieved from the smart home when devices communicate with each other,” analyst Patrice Samuels said, but diversity in device technology and communication protocols is making seamless communication difficult. Wi-Fi connectivity is the most persistent issue, Samuels said.

Effects of 10 percent tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports, which the Trump administration imposed last month, aren’t likely to be felt at retail this holiday season, said CTA President Gary Shapiro Monday at the association's conference in Boston. Shapiro’s bigger concern is what happens after Jan. 1, when tariffs will rise to 25 percent. He left open the possibility of a domino effect involving other events -- the stock market, elections and the overall economic mood -- that could affect the holiday season. Responding to our question whether CTA will sue over the levies, he said “there’s definitely a reason to question the legality of what the president has done because the Constitution lays out our laws, the Constitution gives Congress the authority to raise taxes, the tariff is a tax, and there’s a very serious question of whether Congress has given the president the authority to raise tariffs because of retaliation.” Meantime, LG will deliver its first-ever keynote address at CES, CTA Executive Vice President Karen Chupka announced. Chief Technology Officer I.P. Park will discuss artificial intelligence and its future impact on consumers, said a company spokesperson.

Smartphones remain among the most popular holiday gifts, and many will use them to make purchases, said Ben Arnold, CTA senior director-innovation and trends. Two-thirds of U.S. adults plan to buy a tech product as a gift this year, on par with 2017. Voice technology will help drive record-setting $96.1 billion in holiday U.S. tech revenue. Shoppers making purchases via mobile devices will bump to 58 percent, surpassing online for a second straight year, the group reported Tuesday.

U.S. demand for skilled tech workers is rising, but tech company optimism about finding such talent is waning, said CTA Monday. It canvassed 293 tech “leaders” May-July who identify as CTA members or CES attendees. Asked how they expect finding qualified candidates to fill jobs will change in five years, 7 percent think it will be easier, a 2 percentage-point decline. Fifty-nine percent expect it will get tougher.

SiriusXM bought PayTollo, a GPS mobile payment platform, said SiriusXM Thursday. It adds transportation tolling to Sirius unit's Automatic offerings, said Joe Verbrugge, the parent's general manager-emerging business. The company offers an install-it-yourself adapter and mobile app that enables most vehicles to become connected so drivers have access to services including crash alerts, roadside assistance, real-time vehicle location monitoring and sharing, vehicle performance monitoring, recall notifications and service reminders. PayTollo's mobile payment platform for tolls and bridges is used in California and Florida.

Facebook and Google announced voice-enabled video screens this week. The Google Home Hub has Google Assistant built in and lets users get “the best of Google” -- search, YouTube, photos, calendar and maps -- by voice and see content on the 7-inch screen. Unlike the Facebook Portal devices equipped with camera and mics, Google Home Hub has no camera. “We consciously decided to not include a camera on Google Home Hub, so you feel comfortable placing it in the private spaces of your home, like the bedroom,” said Diya Jolly, Google Home vice president-product management.

Vuzix said it amended a 10-year noncompete restriction with TDG Acquisition, which bought its defense division in 2012, and will pursue opportunities for its smart glasses and waveguide optics with first responders, DOD and security organizations. “Vuzix has always seen great opportunity in the first responder, defense and homeland security markets but saw better near-term opportunities in enterprise and consumer," said Vuzix CEO Paul Travers. The added markets have global reach “and exceed millions of equivalent personnel,” said the company.

French high-resolution music streaming company Qobuz, which expects to launch in the U.S. this month, is looking toward 5G to deliver its product. David Solomon, chief hi-res music evangelist for the company, said Friday that 5G could eliminate the need for 1 gigabit-per-second fiber. As a wireless network backbone, “5G is going to be so awesome” that Qobuz may be able to stream hi-res music “portably or at your place -- but over the airwaves,” he told us at a conference in Denver. Qobuz has its eyes on the 5G future and 1 gigabit fiber going into homes capable of delivering the necessary bandwidth. “It’s really easy to get the speeds that are required to have a strong enough backbone to not need additional compression methods, even if it’s not compressed fully,” said the former Tidal executive.

Amazon’s coming Fire TV Stick 4K has Dolby Vision and HDR10+ support, the company said Wednesday. It responds to customers’ requests for a compact and “complete 4K solution,” said Marc Whitten, Amazon Fire TV vice president. It incorporates new antenna technology, a quad-core processor and 802.11ac Wi-Fi, said to deliver a robust streaming experience even in congested network environments. HDTV antennas also are available in a bundled deal.