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Consumer Electronics Show Review
By: Angie Kibiloski
The Consumer Electronics Show was held in Las Vegas January 5-8, 2006h, and I was lucky enough to be among the members of press that attended. The show was huge, so huge that not even a week would be enough time to cover everything. As Entertainment Editor, many great new products caught my eye, from portable media players, to fun learning software, to robotic dogs! (See photo at right.) There are definitely lots of goodies to look out for in 2006.
All of the amazing products, featured by thousands of companies, were displayed in elaborate booth spaces in the Sands Convention Center, the Las Vegas Convention Center, and the Alexis Park Center. The booths were often city blocks within themselves, little neighborhoods of kiosks and high-tech displays, all built to grab your interest and draw you in. Better than the show floor, however, were the pre-show events. As Press, I was able to attend CES Unveiled, Digital Experience, and Showstoppers, three of the largest and best product showcasing parties. These dynamic events combine a cocktail party atmosphere, with free food and drinks, and around 120-150 booths each, showing the best of CES.
Imagine, if you will, arriving in Las Vegas as a proud member of the press, say...me. You check into your hotel, go to the special Press Room, where you are loaded down with press kits detailing all the major new products of the season, and you are happily bribed with treats like a very fine backpack on wheels, courtesy of Toshiba and CES, and multiple USB memory sticks. You clip on your handy press pass, your ticket to all the cool stuff at the show, and you're off to the parties. So began my CES experience.
CES Unveiled was a first look at the wonders to come during the show. Greeting the attendees at the door, underneath a beautiful mardi gras type display, were people in costume handing each entrant a masquerade mask. Once in, the food table called, tempting myself and all who saw it, with sweet and savory all-you-can-eat treats. Head to the bar for some top shelf, and then to work, but not before all were surprised by the comic genius of Dana Carvey. Brilliant as ever, he made us all laugh with industry related humor, and a bit of fun at politics. Once I actually began circulating the room, stopping at each booth for a little info and some free goodies, I found some real gems, which I will get to momentarily.
Digital Experience began in much the same way, entering into a cool theme, which this time was a beach theme. A vintage car with a classic style surf board on top, a bar made out of ice, cardboard cutouts of beach goers, and a surfboard necklace for each attendee were among the decorations. The food was delicious, the bar ready to please, and a new crop of products waiting to be seen, with lots more free goodies to take home. What sort of free stuff, you ask? Well, hats, t-shirts, cool light-up pens, USB drives, cute little plush Tivo toys, tape measures, mini-clocks, rubber balls, and more. By the end of two parties, you realize why they gave everyone a free rolling backpack. You need a piece of luggage just to carry all the free treats, not to mention the inevitable press kit on CD.
ShowStoppers was the third major press event on my list, and a last look at some products in a more intimate atmosphere than the show floor. More food, more drinks, and a USB drive for the first 500 people through the door. My editor, Terrance Kibiloski, was right when he said that ShowStoppers always had some of the best products at the show. Half of the room was wireless technology, and the other half more entertainment related. Like each of the other events, there were around 120 new products to view, and the typical 3 hours to view them in. One of the exhibitors had Austin Powers passing out cards for their booth and flirting with our Executive Editor Charlene Jones, as only Austin Powers can, giving her more than one of his cards. By the end of this third party, I was satisfied that I had seen a huge number of new items, learned about companies I had never heard of before, and would consider my trip well spent even without setting foot on the show floor itself. But the next two days were spent, none the less, on the CES show floor, weaving my way through a maze of booths, all filled with what each company hopes to be the hot items in 2006.
I found some of those hot items especially intriguing. Here is a bit of a taste of what CES had to offer. Singing Coach by Carry-A-Tune is a great package to help you learn to sing at home. Instant DVD + MP3 by ADS Tech is a unit that converts all your old audio and video formats to burn to CD and DVD. WowWee wowed with their new line of Robotpets. Kodak, Canon, and Nikon all had new models of digital cameras. Lego had a rockin' robotic Lego set, to build mechanical contraptions much like an erector set. And Sony had their cute little Aibo robot puppy. These of course, are only a handful of the coolest products on display. Keep an eye out for reviews of some of these and other products in upcoming months of Computer Times.
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