As a first timer at CES this year, I was hoping to be like a kid in a candy store drooling over products that others have yet to touch and experience. I imagined walking into the LVCC and dropping my jaw, following by a ton of drool. New mobile devices, laptops, and a host of innovative gadgets for me to be the first to experience. CES seemed like a dream come true in theory. The reality of it was more like something out of Alice in Wonderland.
Disclosure: I’m attending CES as a member of the press and as an Intel Insider courtesy of the great folks at Intel.
CES Day 1 Recap
For starters, the LVCC is a huge convention center. It seems to be 3-4x the size of SxSW. Due to it’s size, it made for a lot of confusion and not just for conference attendees. I was falsely directed to the wrong places numerous times by CES staff (unsurprisingly). Apparently, they knew just as much as everyone about the setup of the exhibitions.
The Core Of Innovation at CES
When I finally had a chance to explore the showroom floor, I was beyond disappointed. It seemed the only real innovative technology being demoed were Intel’s new lineup of Core processors. The Intel Core processors are amazing advances in computing and the demos around the Intel booth showcased the power and uses for these processors in a very innovative fashion especially with the Cube (video below).
Beyond that, I’d seen the showcases of laptops and mobile accessories. To be quite frank, I saw nothing that I hadn’t already heard about, or seen, before coming to CES. The 3D technology displayed in Sony games and Samsung’s TV’s was eye-catching, but nothing I haven’t seen before CES. I thought this is where innovative consumer technology was supposed to be demoed. Was I already ahead of my time before CES?
I’d like your help thinking otherwise. If you know, can you point me in the direction of the real innovation happening at CES?
