CES Is Industry's Barometer

This reporter has been attending International CES for more years than I care to remember but the recently completed 2006 edition was by far the largest, most successful in its history.

Its success, and the momentum behind CES as the ultimate technology trade show rests with Consumer Electronics Association's (CEA) president/CEO Gary Shapiro, events and conferences VP Karen Chupka and the CEA staff as a whole, as well as the 2,500 exhibitors who showed and debuted their wares.

CES has become a dramatic barometer on the health of the worldwide technology industry. Based on the energy and enthusiasm at CES 2006, the industry's prospects have never been better.

Still, there were a few things that one could quibble about, even with a tremendously successful event like this one. I don't know about anyone else, but when I heard that CEA estimated CES attendance at “more than 150,000” I didn't believe it. That number is too low.

During the first evening of the show, when I made my way from the TWICE CES Daily workroom in the South Hall to press events that night, there seemed to be at least 125,000 people waiting to board shuttle buses and taxis from the Las Vegas Convention Center. Traffic cops and the like did all they could to move everyone along during the show, but I expect that when the final attendance figure for this CES is released it will be closer to 160,000 than 150,000.

The opening of the Sands Convention Center seemed to be an unqualified success, with CEA providing special shuttle buses to go to and from the Sands to various hotels and the Las Vegas Convention Center. Maybe the crowds during CES, especially at the Sands, were more overwhelming than I can remember because part of the building housed the Adult Entertainment Expo. Snickering aside, astute judges of Las Vegas crowd sizes (i.e. taxi drivers) told this reporter in an informal TWICE survey that anywhere from 20,000 to 30,000 people came to town at the same time to attend that show. That added to traffic jams around town.

While adult video supplies used to be part of CES years ago, I have a couple of suggestions: Is there any way to move that show back a week? Or move it out of the Sands and to the Sahara, where it was housed a few years ago? With CES' growth expected to continue, CEA could sure use the extra space.

Exhibitors at the Sands reported that they saw the people they needed to see and that traffic getting to and out of the venue ebbed and flowed all week, according to CEA communications VP Jeff Joseph,

Next year's CES goes to a Monday through Thursday format, Jan. 8-11. The 2006 show was the earliest CES ever, beginning Jan. 5. Last fall when asked about this year's early dates, Shapiro quipped, “Well, that will give everyone more time in January to recuperate from this year's show!” All CES attendees will now test that theory. We at TWICE won't recuperate until we put our second CES post-show issue to bed, the Jan. 30 edition. With all that went on at this show, we need two issues to cover it.