CES getting bigger, but not necessarily better

I find myself agreeing with telecommunications analyst Jeffrey Kagan, who noted Wednesday that while CES is growing in size, it may be waning as a source of truly cutting-edge gadgets and ideas.

"I'm not sure how to say this kindly, but this year's Consumer Electronics Show was pretty dull," he said in a note to reporters. "It was big, in fact huge, and getting bigger every year...But there were no new ideas that have not been talked about to death already."

At the airport on Wednesday, I heard two other show-goers making the same complaint in language I won't repeat here. Suffice it to say, they didn't feel they got their money's worth.

Last year's CES was overshadowed by Apple's iPhone announcement in San Francisco. CES got this week all to itself, but it wouldn't take much from Apple next week to overshadow this year's show as well.

Bill Gates' CES keynote was entertaining--the video was the best I can recall--but the speech was short on news and offered little in terms of gadgets that people can get their hands on anytime soon.

And that just set the tone for the show, in my mind. Much of the attention seemed to be around whether or how much the economy would hurt consumer tech spending.

In my mind, if there is going to be a major slowdown, it's all the more reason the companies at CES had better come up with some really must-have products. If they were there, I didn't see them.

Did anyone see something they just have to have?

[lmasanti]

The problem with CES this year...

The problem with CES this year... was that it arrived one week <br />before MacWorld!<br />Last year, CES began Monday and ended Tuesday noon (after <br />Steve announced the iPhone), so nobody knew it was "so borely <br />dull!"

[timro]

CES Sucked

Not only do you have to walk 100 hundred miles, but you have to do it through cigarette smoke so thick you could cut it with a knife. I about died with asthma

[timro]

CES Was Bad--Smoke Was Worse

Are all geek heads smokers? I got so sick from cigarette smoke I about croaked over. There was nothing new @ CES either, I don't believe I'll ever go back, it's not worth the smoke inhalation, the parking fees (30 to 40 bucks)or all the walking.<br /><br />CES is dead as far as I can see it in my book.

[punterjoe]

Did CES underwhelm or did we overexpect?

Eventually the curve has to flatten out, or at least plateau from time to time. Could that be what's happening? Or were the real innovators simply lost among the noise, smoke &#38; mirrors?<br />A number of people have compared this CES to E3 before the downsizing. Could that be what's happening?

[bcjenkins]

there was one thing..

<a class="jive-link-external" href="http://www.pr-inside.com/hauppauge-demonstrates-new-affordable-high-r381217.htm" target="_newWindow">http://www.pr-inside.com/hauppauge-demonstrates-new-affordable-high-r381217.htm</a>