CES - Behind the scenes

Economy takes bite out of CES

The Consumer Electronics Show has become a mammoth event every January in Las Vegas, but the down economy is paring it back as Cisco Systems, Yahoo, and other companies scale back their presence.

CES remains a useful way for technology companies to meet with retailers, press, and the media. But for some in the current economic climate, it's not useful enough to pay $35 per square foot for a sprawling booth on the Las Vegas Convention Center's cavernous interior.

"This was to have been Cisco's first time as a formal exhibitor," said spokesman Jim Brady. "Given (Cisco's) focus on reducing costs, the company has decided to scale down its participation in CES in Las Vegas in January 2009." Instead, the networking giant is sticking with a more modest space rented at the Venetian Hotel supplemented with videoconferencing technology.

Cisco isn't the only one to scale back. Also on the list are Yahoo, Seagate, Logitech, and Belkin, company representatives confirmed. Philips won't have a space on the CES show floor, either, though Funai, which has taken over manufacturing and selling TVs under the Philips brand in the United States, will pick up some of the slack.

The Consumer Electronics Association, which runs the show, said the show will be the third largest in terms of floor space, shrinking from its size the peak years of 2007 and 2008.

"The economy is causing some companies that may have had booths to say, 'Maybe we want to be in a meeting room instead,'" said association spokeswoman Tara Dunion. Despite it, the total number of exhibitors is level from 2008's show at about 2,700. "We're also seeing companies on the show floor for first time," including Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile, Iomega, and Mattel, she said.

And there's a silver lining, too. "Vegas hotel rates are coming down because tourism travel to Vegas is slower than it's been in years. That provides an opportunity for business professionals," she said.

Incentives to show But the organizers are working hard to keep the show as lively as possible. One promotion is aimed at technology buyers--the middlemen who buy all those TVs, gadgets, cameras, and other devices before selling them to ordinary folks.

CEA i-stage: And the winner is...

And the winner is...

Although there were worthy competitors in the afternoon, the winner of the CEA i-stage event here in Las Vegas was Boxee, the "open, connected, social media center." (Though I did talk to a venture capital guy who said he was following my pick, Occipital.) I suspect that Boxee won through sheer slickness of interface, defined value proposition, and possibly presentation value. It's a good product, there's no doubt. Boxee walks away with the $50,000 and the coveted CES booth space, and we'll probably try to keep tabs on it on … Read more

CEA i-stage: Round one

It's lunchtime now and we've seen the first half of the i-stage presenters. It's been interesting and occasionally contentious, with a few notable standouts. First thing in the morning we saw a voice-activated remote control (Amulet) that manages Windows Media Center (cool, but with some minor hiccups that belie the difficulty of voice-recognition technology) and a portable, wireless video-camera system from Avaak that comes paired with an online streaming service. And a company called Frontline showed off the future of the treadmill--an Internet-connected exercise device that lets you virtually run through various locations, like the route of … Read more

Look for Funai, not Philips, at CES 2009

Philips will not be exhibiting at the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show. The Philips brand, however, will still be on display at the Las Vegas Convention Center, thanks to the expanded presence of Funai--the Japanese company that will be producing TVs sold in North America under the Philips name starting later this year.

A Philips representative confirmed to CNET that the Dutch electronics giant will not have a presence on the show floor at the mammoth Las Vegas trade show, verifying rumors that had surfaced earlier this year.

Traditionally, the Consumer Electronics Association's massive January event is used by industry … Read more

A misdirected meeting at CES

LAS VEGAS--On the Internet, no one knows if you are a dog. And at trade shows, no one knows if you are Jeff.

I had to meet Jeff Ziegler and Jake Player, the CEO and president, respectively, of PC recycler TechTurn, for a breakfast meeting at a restaurant. I had exchanged e-mails with the company but had never seen them in person.

While waiting outside the appointed restaurant, two guys approached me, and one pointed his finger at me. "Jeff?" I asked. "Yes," he said.

We sat down and exchanged pleasantries. Then another guy joined us. … Read more

CES 2008: Closing thoughts

First, special thanks to CNET Networks for the opportunity the company granted me to sound off from CES. I thought I'd end this series with what I'll be thinking about on the flight from Las Vegas to Austin, Texas:

Even as we rapidly introduce new technologies, existing innovations are maturing and increasing in quality and affordability.

Wireless connectivity is de facto for electronics, and connectivity devices are driving personalized and affordable new options.

We live in an increasingly visual world and HD is renewing the potential and interest in technology.

Appealing holistic technology solutions … Read more

Watt's happening? Tech tackles energy consumption

Green is big here at CES 2008, and I'm not just talking about the kiwi-colored gadgets and lime-green LED gizmos. For years, the tech industry pushed performance with little consideration for environmental and economic consequences. No more; the awakening on this issue as expressed in power-efficient device designs and the accompanying product messages at the show are unavoidable.

This decade the industry accelerated its focus on decreasing the energy consumption even of high-performance consumer devices and PCs. As more and more always-on technology integrates into our homes and offices, we've made a targeted effort to make superior efficiency … Read more

CES: The anticable, no wires movement

The open assault on cables and wires was on particular display at CES. Apparently, wires clutter your life and cause you misery, or some vendors would have you think. Whether it's faster and faster Wi-Fi from Intel, streaming video from Slingbox, in-home HD distribution, Bluetooth home theater audio from Samsung at different parts of the radio spectrum, the trend is moving away from physical media and physical connections.

That said, I wondered how a leading wire cable company, Monster, would make themselves relevant in this anticable movement. Apart from having a sold-out Mary J. Blige concert, Monster has made … Read more

CES Notebook: Tales from the show floor

LAS VEGAS--Every year, I schedule too many meetings at the Consumer Electronics Show and don't get enough time to just roam the show floor in search of gadgets that are either ultra-cool, absurd, or preferably both.

This year, I made a commitment to wander the show floor and absorb as much as possible. It should be said, in three hours on the show floor, I covered a very small portion of the south hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center.

So the seventh wonder of the tech world could have been in the north hall, central hall, or the … Read more

The techiest guy at CES--my cabbie

LAS VEGAS--It's not just inside the CES hotels and convention center that you find technology and tech enthusiasts here in Sin City.

One of the most passionate techies I met all week was Daniel Habtewold, the cab driver who took AJ and me back to our hotel after visiting with the Pleo robot dinosaur on Monday night.

Habtewold was playing an eclectic mix of reggae and other music, and AJ asked whether it was a CD or the radio. He said the tunes were streaming from his iPod, noting that it was Apple's beefiest model, the 160GB iPod … Read more