As you may have read, the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), owner and producer of International CES reports that the 2012 edition, held last week in Las Vegas, was the largest in its 44-year history.
The CEA reported an initial attendance figure of 153,000, which will be verified by an independent audit available this spring. Last year’s audited attendance was 149,529. The show also reportedly had a record number of exhibitors at 3,100 and had the largest show floor in CES history — 1.861 million net square feet of exhibit space.
And, yes, there were plenty of celebrities, politicians, international attendees and other special visitors who attended the show.
But, most importantly, the CEA estimated that more than 20,000 new products were unveiled at CES last week.
While pundits bemoan the absence of such titans as Apple (which, as I pointed out in last week’s blog, never has attended, but exerts a major influence on the show nonetheless) and Amazon (who attends as a retailer but not an exhibitor) at CES, the number of products introduced at this year’s record-setting event illustrates that the industry still finds value in its annual trek to Vegas.
