For some people, Christmas
comes in December. That
time when you can live out your
fantasies and dream about the
things you want and to have.
For me, that time is the first
weekend in January. That
would be the week CES invades
Las Vegas
For four days every January,
this town becomes Geek
Central. Everybody
that is anybody in the world
of consumer electronics, or
wants to be, hits town
for 4 days. Filling the
streets, the hotels,
restaurants, shows and cash
drawers... Its our after
Christmas, Christmas...
After a cold and slow
December... The famine
of winter is replaced by the
feast known as CES.
The Consumer Electronic Show
(CES) is one of the largest
conventions in the nation, and
the largest to hit Vegas every
year.
Just how big is this?
Hmmm.... Imagine this ....
1.4 million square feet of
convention space.
Spread over 3 locations
Not including off site
hospitality suites, vendor
showcases and private
events.
Approximately
140,000 attendees with close
to 2,700 Exhibitors.
That's a lot of convention.
It takes 300 busses to move
the people from all the hotels
to the events. Plus almost
every limo, town car and hummer
you can find, has been rented.
Wait for a cab can be up to 2
hours. If it has wheels
and can move people, I am sure,
it is being used somewhere for
the show!
Temporary staffing agencies
scramble each year to fill
thousands of jobs. Everything
from dispatchers to runners to
models to water boys to human
billboards.
With this many people, many
executives and those with fat,
beginning of year expense
accounts, the boost to the local
economy in gaming and non gaming
revenue is massive.
Setting up the convention
space begins three weeks
prior to the start of the
event. Even by Las Vegas
standards, this is a large
convention.
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People
and booths for as far as
the eye could
see There is no way to
adequately see the
entire convention in 4
days.
You need to plan what
you want to see, who you
want to meet and where
you are going, before
you go.
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The City During CES
If you plan to be here that
first weekend in January,
you need to plan months in
advance. Hotel rooms?
Not only do the rates go up,
but the best rooms are
booked by the attendees
annually before they leave.
So book early and expect
sticker shock. Want to
see a show? Have a
nice dinner at a restaurant?
Good luck getting last
minute reservations for
anything. Even the
Chairman of the Board, Ol'
Blue Eyes himself couldn't
pull that one off during CES!!
What will you see at CES?
You will see nothing unless
you have a badge. And to get
that, you need to be a member of
the trade.
CES is absolutely closed
off to the public
because what's in here may scare
off the average consumer.
(Just joking)
Truth is, some of what is shown
here could, if seen by the
general public, scare them!!
The technology and where it is
all going is amazing.
Fascinating, yet scary.
Put it this way... Anyone
walking into this event, with
anything electronic that's more
than 6 months old, felt like a
dinosaur. Five megapixel camera
phone? Sorry, that's from
the stone age. Here sample this
10 megapixel, office in a phone,
do everything but the dishes,
phone.
This is where the manufactures,
distributors, buyers and sellers
of anything consumer
electronics, come together to
show off their new toys and
technology while talking about
tomorrow and what's on the
drawing board.
What the consumer may take as
science fiction or fantasy, is
real and in here somewhere.
Some of the products showcased here
today, will not be in your hands
for another 2-3 years. Or
never. Yet the technology
displayed here will find its
way into your everyday gadgets,
into your home, business, car or
toy within months.
Here is an example:
That new plasma 64" plasma
screen TV you got for
Christmas?? Yea,
whatever... That's sooo 2008...
How about a 108" flat screen
that weighs less and will cost
less than your 64"?
Plus it is connected to your cell
phone so that you can program
your TiVo from on the road?
Hmm...
You can watch CSI and Law and
Order at the same time, while
checking on the microwave in the
kitchen that's cooking dinner
and stealthily check on jr. who is at the
library across town, all without
ever leaving your massage
fingered, blue tooth enabled
recliner with built in alarm
clock with 5 settings. During
a commercial break you can listen to an audio
update on your voicemail, sent
to you by your car. Telling you
how its feeling and how many
miles your daughter drove it
today. Complete with
average speed and how many
different doors were opened or
seats sat in.... How is
that for technology?
This is heaven on earth for the
Geek and Gadgets freaks of the
world...
And it Happens every year! |
