This year CES is the most radically different that I've attended in years. To start off with, in physical space size, it is smaller. In previous years, CES not only encompassed the entirety of the Las Vegas Convention Center, but also part of the Sands Expo (which it infamously shared with the Adult Video Expo). This year they gave up the Sands Expo and are strictly at LVCC.
So, instead of having attendees split into two locations you now have all attendees concentrated on one location which may be one of the reasons that it really feels crowded this year.
Also, I have the feeling that while there are more new vendors than ever showing (with obviously some old vendors no longer in business or choosing not to attend, in particular International vendors), the CEA probably owes a huge debt of thanks and sigh of relief to the dissolution of the MacWorld show that for years has coincided with CES. While Apple itself does not have an official presence at CES, there are hundreds of Apple Third-Party accessory developers (from Ear Bud Headphones to iMac Cases to iPhone docks) that are showcasing in the North Hall. I couldn't help but feel that if it weren't for the end of MacWorld and presence of these vendors, CES would have had a particularly painful year and the show might have lost a big part of its cache.
I've been describing CES this year to friends and colleagues as the world's largest Best Buy. I couldn't help, but laugh when i saw that Best Buy has a very large tent outside of the show where its showcasing its in-house Insignia brand and also allowing consumers to charge their phones, which is a wonderful thing given how fast my iPhone battery is dying as it battles it out for signal with thousands of other iPhones in the area.
Clearly there are three main themes at this show: 3-D, Tablets, and Convergent Devices
3-D
I fully recognize that there are many media pundits that think that, once again 3-D is a fad and not going to take off. In fact, if i may quote friend and industry mentor Shelley Palmer, 3-D is the video cicaida making its every 10-15 year appearance only destined to fade back into hibernation. With all due respect, i disagree. What's different this time is that there is a real consumer driven marketplace with a full infrastructure being developed and 3-D is not just about viewing, but also interacting with 3-D gaming. While Avatar has been a hugely successful 3-D film, it is not just Avatar that shows there is consumer demand, but looking at the overall success of almost every 3-D movie over the past 2 - 3 years (U2-3D, Hannah Montana 3-D, Monsters vs. Aliens, even My Bloody Valetine and Final Destination). The recent announcements by ESPN, DirecTV, and Discovery of the launch of 3-D Networks guarantees content will be available and the demos of 3-D gaming clearly change the experience of gaming for the better.
Every major TV manufacturer is showing 3-D sets. The most impressive has been Sony's 21" OLED screen. OLED will not be the driver of 3-D adoption though as we are still many years off from OLED being mass produced in larger screens. I have been most impressed by Panasonic and Samsung's LED and Plasma 3-D screens.
Tablets (umm..err Slates), e-Readers, and Internet Appliances
HP, Dell and others have introduced Tablet PCs that are remarkably similar to what Apple is rumored to be announcing shortly.
There are so many e-Readers that there's actually an e-Reader Zone. The two standouts here are the long awaited Plastic Logic Que (which is now available on pre-order) and the Blio e-Reader Software Platform (developed for PCs, Slates and other devices) which was created by Ray Kurzweil.
There are various new TVs and Blu-Ray players that are integrating Yahoo Widgets, Netflix, even a Panasonic TV and LG TV with integrated Webcam and Skype. Sony has new product that is part alarm clock, part widget player, part Internet Appliance called the Dash. It even integrates Chumby widgets! (Paxton that part was for you!)
All in all, an incredible amount of innovation and positive vibes so far...
