In case you missed last year’s blog post about CES, we’ll catch you up quickly. International CES is the Consumer Electronics Show, the year’s biggest trade exhibition of the up and coming gadgets and appliances. But if you’re looking for a sneak peek at the next iPhone, Android upgrade, or other big publicity item, don’t get your hopes up. Major companies like Apple, Google and Microsoft have withdrawn from participation in recent years. They can afford to reveal their products at fancy openings with exclusive attention. Instead, CES is filled with smaller companies in all kinds of niches ranging from educational software to medical diagnostic tools to plain old dishwashers.
For many companies, this is the big chance to network and see what other people in your industry are up to. Although the event is held in Las Vegas, it draws businesses from all over the country and some from abroad. The show takes up 1.9 million square feet of floor space and has more than 2,700 exhibitors, plus plenty more on waiting lists. This year, they’re divided into “TechZones” based on the fields the different products are used in: Including kids products, environmental tech, fitness and medicine. There is even one section for start-ups called “Eureka Park” and many of the companies exhibiting there don’t even have products to show off yet.
By including even the newest promising startup companies, the organizers of CES are hoping that they will be able to continue their expansion. Not only will these companies get a lot of sought-after attention, but they guarantee that there will be exciting things ready for International CES 2014, 2015 and onward.
Some exhibitors from past years aren’t so thrilled with the expansion that International CES is aiming for. They say that because the trade show is so all encompassing, they’re not getting the relevant foot traffic at their booths that they used to. While the growth seems great, it may not be so helpful for an individual company, especially one whose niche is fairly isolated. As the show gets more and more divided by different fields, you’re not as likely to be seen by anyone who is not looking for you directly.
However, for the average consumer the wide breadth of industries and products on exhibit are pretty darn impressive. Not that the average consumer is invited of course, this is an industry event. But there are plenty of tech journalists who will report back to us on their favorite new gadgets that were on display. And so check back here at Consumer-Rankings.com in the next week or two. This is only the first in a series of post where we’ll be filling you in on what our favorites were to read about and what we’re really looking forward to getting our hands on.
