What Is The C.E.S?

Posted by Chad Criswell Jan 6, 2008

The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is the largest and most well known of all electronics exhibitions. The vast majority of new product announcements and major press releases come out around and during the CES convention, usually during the first weeks of January each year. At the convention over 2700 electronics exhibitors from thirty different categories pack into Las Vegas to display their wares and get a little free publicity from the thousands of reporters, analysts, and freelance journalists that swarm the booths that cover the floors of the Las Vegas Convention Center, the Venetian Hotel, and the Las Vegas Hilton.

What's the catch?

You probably can't get in.

The Consumer Electronics Show is generally closed to the public. The convention is aimed at media and members of the electronics trade. Registration and costs for some of the events that occur during CES can run into the thousands of dollars, not including lodging and meals. Still, for those that make a living on the electronics trade, CES is akin to making a pilgrimage to Mecca. Nowhere else on the planet will a person be able to find so many exhibitors and so many new gadgets to look at at one time.

Don't feel bad though if you can't get in the door. For the next several months the media will be avidly discussing and displaying the newest and greatest in gadgets gleaned from the booths at the Consumer Electronics Show. All you have to do is look around on the web this month and you'll be able to get at least a peripheral glance at what is truly the biggest geek convention on the face of the planet.