By Andy Goldberg Jan 6, 2006, 3:48 GMT
Las Vegas- The hard-nosed business executives were raving in one of the fanciest restaurants in Las Vegas Thursday and the source of their joy was not the delicate texture of the seared foie gras that lay enticingly before them.
US Actor Tom Hanks takes his own photograph at the Sony keynote address Thursday, 05 January 2006 at the CES in Las Vegas, Nevada. EPA/BARRY SWEET
The cellphone wholesalers had gathered in the brasserie at Las Vegas' swankiest new hotel, the 2-billion-dollar Wynn, at the invite of Motorola, which wanted to showcase its new lines of phones. So as they tucked into 100 dollar dishes at the restaurant run by master chef Daniel Bolud, they clucked like happy geese at the new versions of Motorola's trendily-thin Razr phone, while they flipped open the new Pebble phone with the practised grace of a gunfighter reaching for his holster.
Similar scenes are playing out thousands of times this week throughout Las Vegas, which has attracted an estimated 150,000 tech professionals to the annual Consumer Electronics Show that this year is boasting its highest ever attendance. More than 2,500 companies are showcasing products in the vast halls of the Las Vegas Convention Center and two overflow sites added this year to deal with the surge in attendance.
From ridiculously large high definition flat screen TV's to customized cars fitted out with 100,000 dollar media systems; from miniscule music players to diamond-studded cellphones; and from eyeglasses that feature tiny LED screens to ball-shaped cameras that take photos when you throw them, this year's CES is nothing short of gadget heaven, says technology buyer David Seymour.
'It's where us gadget freaks can let our inner child run wild. It's like being a kid let loose in the world's biggest toy store.
The huge influx is straining Las Vegas to its limits, and not everyone is happy.
Though the airport greets visitors with slot machines at the gate, it might do better placing them alongside the line for taxis.
The city's speedy new monorail never made it out to the airport, so almost the only way to get into town is via cab. But this is easier said than done. The taxi line snakes through a huge concourse outside the terminal and travellers can count themselves lucky if they get in a cab in less than an hour.
Once in the cab, it can take just as long to get to a hotel as the city's streets are jammed with traffic. At the hotel, visitors are in for another shock. Rooms in hotels along the strip, which generally go for 100 dollars a night, are now 300 dollars a night. Restaurants are fully booked, and if you want to see one of the popular shows in town, be prepared to pay through the nose.
The show floor is usually as crowded as a New York subway station at rush hour, and a lot noisier, as visitors are bombarded with music, sales pitches, computer sound effects and announcements.
Scantily-clad booth babes are another popular feature. And for those who suffer from technology overdose, a respite is always available at the adjacent conference in the same complex, the annual confab of the porn industry that charges porn fans just 50 dollars for a one-day pass.
About the only places that aren't packed are the casinos. The four days of CES is the only time of year when gambling is not the city's primary activity. Casinos that are usually filled with reckless high- rolling gamblers now must be content with a sprinkling of tight- fisted and calculating amateurs.
The huge influx of geeks shows how powerfully the consumer electronics business is growing, as the maturation of the Internet combines with emerging digital technologies to create an incessant stream of new products to foist on a gadget hungry population eager for their iPods and other essential accoutrements of the digital life style.
According to the Consumer Electronics Association that runs the show, wholesale figures for consumer electronics in 2006 will top 134 billion dollars, up 8 per cent from 2005. More companies than ever are jostling for pieces of that pie and the days when firms like Sony, Intel and Microsoft could rest on their monopolies and brand strength are long past.
'It's a jungle out there. Salespeople are fighting for their lives,' says analyst Seymour. 'Lucky it only lasts four days.'
Your Talkback on this Story