The New Year hangovers have barely cleared yet around 150,000 tech enthusiasts have already convened at the consumer electronics show (CES) in Las Vegas to find out which devices will be top of our most wanted list this year. CES is regarded as the super-bowl of consumer electronic tradeshows. You can expect the latest product announcements, exciting tech demos that in time will pass the Turing Test and even celeb appearances (Justin Timberlake to Will.i.Am).
However I can’t help but wonder, are large tradeshows like this really what they used to be? In a few years’ time will tech giants still look to an annual event to compete in hope of being crowned the Last Gadget Standing?
Don’t get me wrong, CES brings a lot of exciting technology that will shape the way we work, shop, socialise and interact in the future. The theme this year was creating a user-friendly, connected ‘ecosystem’ of gadgets. For TVs this means connecting to the Internet so users can watch what they want, when they want and play along online with their favourite programme. For Ultrabook devices, the must-have new collection of ultra thin laptops, this allows users to enjoy new features like gesture-controls and touch-free credit card readers. For cameras it allows easier uploads of pictures to the Internet. Overall, CES was full of geeky updates this year looking to make our lives easier, and more exciting, through technology.
However, we are already seeing companies break out of the CES mould. Apple, despite dominating the consumer electronics market, does not attend CES. It has its own product launch dates and PR trajectory. Yet despite not attending the event it still has a large influence on the products on show. We can also say goodbye to Microsoft which bids farewell to CES next year. Its CEO Steve Ballmer explained how CES just isn’t in the right place in Microsoft’s product cycle. With the company having no real new announcements, it felt like its place at the keynote table was no longer required.
It seems even the porn stars have left CES. Yes, you did read that correctly. CES used to have an adult entertainment section that is until the porn got too big, excuse the pun. The AVN Adult Entertainment Expo now holds its own separate event but in the same convention centre and on the same week. I wonder if you get a discount for buying two passes? I am sure a few people could answer that one.
Overall, in such a fast-paced market, it seems that an annual event can constrain companies from making announcements and issuing releases when they want. While the beginning of the year timing of the event proves motivating and inspiring for ‘what’s hot in 2012’, it does not give a lot of flexibility to companies who may want to make announcement pre-Christmas to influence sales. This could then put companies in the position of turning up at CES with no news.
What do you think will happen with future CES or large tech shows? Or can we expect there to be further dropouts over the coming years?