Munching bons mots from CES

 

Connecting state and local government leaders

Here are the things that have stuck in my mind about this year's Consumer Electronics Show.

As a newbie to CES this year, I didn’t really know what to expect. I’m not a veteran yet like some of the other labbies, but I’m getting some battle scars and learning a lot. I really thought I knew what I would find here because of going to FOSE every year, but this isn’t a tightly focused show aimed at the federal government. This is everything under the sun aimed at everyone under the sun. And although I’m looking for government and business angles, there’s a lot of stuff to see, and some stuff that you can’t help but see.

So as the weary first day draws to a close, these were the things that really stuck in my mind. This has to be quick because the rent-a-cops are shutting down the press room on me. I guess its time for Margaritas in Vegas, and they don’t want to be delayed by an annoying press person trying to work just a bit longer.

Highlights of the day included

  • A very cool demo of BenQ’s pocket projector, a full projector that could easily fit in a purse or backpack. Load up an included storage drive with your PowerPoint files, and you could be a peripatetic professor, giving presentations on the go.
  • Samsung partnered with Coca Cola to develop a touch screen Coke machine that lets you download ring tones and (of course) view video ads. The company also rolled out a 3D monitor that provides the 3D experience without the glasses.
  • And of course, the oddities: a lady covered with copper wire at the Flatwire booth, demonstrating its “disappearing wire” solution.
  • Huge crowds formed around a wireless gaming headset from Creative.
  • A company called Newber offers a beta version of software that lets you add a second number to your Blackberry or iPhone.

Everybody also was talking about the economy. Some people said, “Stop talking about it so much, the doom is making it worse.” But several CES veterans also said, in quiet tones, that this year was the quietest they had ever seen. It looks like a madhouse to me. What was it like before?!

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