Who's Got the Hottest Electronics This Year? - January 5, 2009

The International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), produced by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), is the preeminent trade association promoting growth in the consumer technology industry.

CEA represents more than 2,100 corporate members involved in the design, development, manufacturing, distribution and integration of consumer electronics products. All profits from CES are reinvested into industry services, including technical training and education, industry promotion, engineering standards development, market research and legislative advocacy.

Held each January in Las Vegas, Nevada, the CES is a trade-only show in which its displays are not open to the public. In the past, numerous products have made their debuts here at the CES. Included are the VCR, introduced in 1970, the Camcorder in 1981, the CD player, also in 1981, DVDs in 1996, HDTV in 1998, and Microsoft’s Xbox in 2001.

This year, the International CES will have a trimmed down feel to it, as the recession has weighed heavily on electronic retailers. In fact, it is expected that there will be a 10% decline in attendance this year, or 11,000 less visitors from last year’s total.

The current economic condition has certainly taken its toll on the consumer electronic industry. last month, the CEA revised their previous forecast for sales in the 4th quarter from an increase of 3.5% to a putrid 0.1% growth rate.

Businesses surrounding the convention center have also been affected by the decrease in consumer confidence. Hotels, which are usually booked weeks in advance, are now offering special discounted rates to help fill the empty rooms remaining from the decrease in projected visitors.

With companies such as Sony Corp. (SNE), Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) and Panasonic Corp., all presenting this year, there will be substantially fewer exhibition booths this year.

Spanning over 30 product categories from various markets including audio, digital content creation and distribution, digital imaging, embedded technology, gaming and digital entertainment, high-performance audio & home theater, video, home networking, in-vehicle technology and wireless networks, this years CES will still provide have plenty of surprises presented.

Sony, for instance, will be unveiling their newest flat-panel TVs that provide smoother action scenes, better 3-D capabilities, along with internet connections that allows the owner to download movies, screen savers and other features directly to the TV itself.

As for Cisco Systems, the company plans to reveal its latest version of their wireless stereo system, which should most surely outperform the simple version of web radio players that the company’s Linksys division is currently selling.

Running from January 8-11, the CES will be at the forefront promoting the newest and latest electronic technologies for the upcoming year. "This is still the largest technology show we have in the U.S.," said Tim Bajarin of Creative Strategies in Campbell, Calif. "Attendance may be down, but its impact will be just as important as ever."

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