Computer Times
CES 2008: An Editor's Perspective
Written by Angie Kibiloski
I just recovered from my trip to the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) that is held every year in Las Vegas, on the second week of January. CES is one of the largest trade shows of the year, with over 2,700 exhibitors, and is a definite "can't miss" for anyone who is into technology. As press, I get a slightly different view of CES than would a consumer, so I thought I would share some of my time there with you, my readers.
The show runs from Monday, January 7th through Thursday, January 10th. I, however, arrived in Las Vegas 2 days early for the large press party that is held on Saturday night at the Venetian/Sands, called CES Unveiled. This party is put on by the lovely people of the CEA (Consumer Electronics Association) and provides members of the press with a sneak peak at some of the companies that will be exhibiting on the show floor. We get to partake of the open bar and eat free food while browsing the booths, manned by people from the companies and the PR firms that represent them, collecting press kits full of product information and free goodies like pens, t-shirts, and memory sticks along the way. In my view, not at all a bad way to spend an evening. CES Unveiled typically houses around 50 quality companies.
On Sunday, press can fill their day with hours of press conferences. These can be...a little dull. So, I filled MY day with touring around Las Vegas, and awaiting another great press party that night at Caesar's Palace, called Digital Experience. This is a larger party than CES Unveiled, with around 150 exhibitors, and is held by a company called Pepcom. This is always my favorite party of the show. They have the best food, the best selection of products, and the bars are carved out of ice. Digital Experience always has a theme too. Last year was pirates, this year was football.
Monday rolls around and it is time to really work. CES is spread throughout the entire Las Vegas Convention Center, The Hilton and Renaissance hotels, and the Venetian/Sands Expo Center. There is no way to see everything, but I made a valiant attempt at the whole of the LVCC at least. The show floor is a very different atmosphere than the parties. For one thing, it is open to all ticket holders, not just press, so the crowds are astonishing. Another thing is that the booths are bigger, larger companies trying to draw attention to themselves with grand set ups that resemble little cities unto themselves. Every product in their new line displayed to its best advantage on lighted pedestals, demos on big screen TVs, company reps all over showing the visitors to the booth with all the cool features about their newest product. The companies span the spectrum of consumer electronics, from cameras to HD TVs, to toy robots, to power cables, to scanners, laptops, networking software, video cards, memory media, you name it. It really is something you need to experience to fully picture.
Lunch was provided for me, another perk of being press, at the grand unveiling of the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus, featuring an appearance by Yoko Ono. How cool is that? The bus is one of my favorite things that I saw at CES, because it was created for the sole purpose of traveling around the country providing an opportunity for kids to come aboard and create music video projects, with the help of the staff and guest musicians that work on it. Kids that may never have had the chance to discover their love of music get to make their very own video, whether they sing, play an instrument, or want to try their hand at editing. Some of the artists that have been touring with them this year are Natasha Bedingfield, Pat Monahan, and The Black Eyed Peas, all of who were at the unveiling.
Later Monday night was the last big press party, called ShowStoppers, held at the beautiful Wynn hotel. Another impressive event, and an important one to attend, with over 200 companies in attendance. The catering for ShowStoppers is always delicious, and the venue was spacious and grand. And for the weary member of the press who is dreading trudging all the way back to their hotel after a long and tiring day of walking the show floor and party floor? ShowStoppers provided relief in the form of free 20-minute chair massages! I don't think you can ask for a better end to an evening.
Tuesday and Wednesday were more of the Convention Center show floor, with various company meetings scattered throughout the day. Tuesday night was filled with cocktail parties hosted by several companies like Microsoft, in their giant tent at the Convention Center, and Saitek, in their gorgeous suite at the Bellagio. And then Wednesday evening was a return to home, office, and reality, with bags full of goodies, press kits, and business cards, with the prospect of products arriving in the mail to review and tell you all about in the coming months. But before those reviews start posting, here is a little taste of the great things CES had to offer this year, with 5 of my favorite products.
Sentry Safe is a company that provided security solutions for small businesses that need to backup their hard drives every night. Store your backup drive in one of their water proof, fire proof, and crush proof safes, and hook it up to the USB plug inside the safe before locking it. You never have to remove it again, because there is a USB plug on the outside of the safe as well, so all you need to do to backup more data is to hook up your computer to the safe itself. Just an way to help keep your files twice as safe.
Powramid is a simple product, yet it can release you from a bit of frustration. It is a surge protector, and does what any surge protector will do, with one exception. It is shaped like a cute little UFO that sits on your desk or floor, and the plugs are spaced around the outer circle of the short cone. Unlike traditional power strip surge protectors, where you might plug in an oversized plug and cover 2 holes, making the second hole useless, the design of Powramid makes it so that your plugs cannot over lap two holes.
Taste Book is a website where you can create your very own customized recipe book, with 100 recipes chosen by you. You can search their database of partnered recipe sites or input your own family recipes and photos. Choose from 50 beautiful cover designs and get your one of a kind recipe book professionally bound and in the mail. This would be a great gift for Mother's Day or Grandparent's Day, or a treat for yourself.
Kodak has a wide range of exciting new digital cameras, with 10 and 12 mega-pixel resolutions and face recognition capability, so the most important part of your photos is always in focus. One camera even has a cool touch screen to easily navigate through the menus and photos. The new models are nothing less than you would expect from a trusted name like Kodak.
Franklin has a new handheld game coming out called Speaking Spelling Bee. This game can be played on the small device screen, or connected to a television for larger and multiplayer viewing. This game is set up like a traditional spelling bee, where contestants take turns listening to a word spoken and then attempting to spell it, in this instance, using the keyboard on the device. It seems easy to use and, of course, educational. There is also a built in dictionary and thesaurus feature, that shows kids the pronunciation of words and words of similar meaning, making this device far more than just a game.
I couldn't possibly tell you about all the cool new products that I saw at CES, but I hope this taste has wetted your appetite for future Editor's Choice reviews. I had a blast touring around the show and the parties, gathering interesting info from all the companies. Come back frequently to this Web site to see what new products I have for you from the various exhibitors. And if you ever have the chance to attend CES yourself, take it. It is truly an experience like none other!