2010 CES in Las Vegas US

The International Consumer Electronics Show, or CES, held every January in Las Vegas, Nevada, is an opportunity for consumer electronics firms to show off the latest gadgets and gizmos, while giving a sneak peak into futuristic devices. This year's show featured 2,500 exhibitors and 110,000 attendees. It ushers in a wave of cutting-edge consumer electronics and cool new ways to access your favorite entertainment, from 3DTV to mobile TV, from Windows 7 to new chips, and from smart phones to netbooks or e-books.

Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association, which is the sponsor of CES, says after a harsh year for the consumer electronics industry in 2009, the show has brought people to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

"It was a difficult year, our industry saw our overall revenue drop for the first time in some 20 years. Last January at this event, CES forecast a modest decline in the industry revenue for the year. And now we know that the industry revenue actually dropped some 7% in 2009. Now we look forward to 2010 and there is light at the end of the tunnel, it's the bright light of innovation."

The Consumer Electronics Association, or CEA is forecasting a slight increase in sales of consumer electronics of 0.3 percent to 165 billion US dollars in 2010. As CEA president Gary Shapiro points out, the most dynamic driving force for this growth is innovation, which was the theme of this year's show.

"I submit we see more innovation in this show than in any show in our history. First, record number of new exhibitors in this year's CES. Second, a record number of tech zones. Third, we see an incredible pace of announcements on technologies and contents."

Highlights of the 2010 CES included the Intel Infoscape which is ran on the Intel Core i7 processor. In its demo, one computer ran two 7-foot screens, displaying 576 cubes hooked up to 20,000 info sources, including 20 live video feeds. The demo was acclaimed by some media as "the most spectacular demo at CES 2010."

Paul Otellini, president and CEO of Intel, says innovation has been critical to the success of the company.

"What I enjoy most about technology is the surprises that look around in every corner. At Intel, our engineers innovate by expecting the unexpected. It's been critical to our success as a company. As you know, Intel is a company built on Moore's Law, a law that postulates that we can double the number of transistors on a chip every 24 months. The first microprocessor was 4004, with a total of 2251 transistors. The new processor that we're introducing at CES today has over a billion transistor in them."

Chinese exhibitors are no strangers to the CES. There were over 100 of them at this year's show, including big names such as Lenovo, Hisense, Haier and ChangHong. Chinese consumer electronics manufacturer Hisense chairman Zhou Houjian says, many Chinese companies have come to fully realize that the magic weapon to stay in the market, to expand the market share and to compete with foreign counterparts is innovation.

"Just like in the rest of the world, China's consumers electronics market is highly competitive, characterized by fast-paced technological evolution and cut-throat competition. In early 2000, we assembled the company's best talents to form a R&D team and started intensive product development. For the past 5 years, Hisense obtained over 3000 patents. We'll see not only new applications but also new business models. "

Propelled by innovation of new technologies, experts say this year's CES was a far cry from last year, which felt like a wake. Clearly, this is an industry hoping to get people reaching for their wallets again.

SS, CRI news, Las Vegas.