The International Consumer Electronics Show #CES2013 opened to the public yesterday with a record 3250 exhibitors displaying their latest technologies - and a surprise appearance by Microsoft boss Steve Ballmer.
The 2013 International CES opened its doors yesterday featuring more than 3,250 exhibitors across 1.9 million net square feet of exhibit space, breaking both space and exhibitor records that were set last year. Innovation propelled this year’s preshow press events that kicked off with 74 companies showcasing their latest tech at CES Unveiled on Sunday night, and nearly 30 exhibitors launching new products during CES Press Day.
Owned and produced by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), the 2013 International CES, the world’s largest annual innovation event, opens today and runs through Friday, January 11 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
“Some 20,000 new products will launch this week at the 2013 International CES and we couldn’t be more excited to kick off this record-breaking show,” said Gary Shapiro, president and CEO, CEA. “CES has an incredible story to tell with every major technology company spanning the globe participating in this year’s CES to showcase their innovations.”
Qualcomm’s chairman and chief executive officer (CEO), Dr. Paul Jacobs, delivered the presshow keynote address Monday evening to highlight the company’s mobile roots. “We are at the heart of mobile devices that are the center of everything you do,” said Jacobs. He was joined on stage by Microsoft President and CEO Steve Ballmer, who had delivered the opening keynote himself in previous years.
He was there to demo Microsoft Windows products that include the Qualcomm Snapdragon 10 processor. The Snapdragon 800 will be a premium processor for tablets, smartphones and full PCs and leverage the power of LTE, ultra HD and 7.1 surround.
The event elicited puzzled responses from media present, with a complex script that seemed to miss the mark in addressing youth culture. Celebrity appearances were made by Director, Guillermo Del Toro, NASCAR’s Brad Keselowski and Marc Jenkins, Star Trek Into the Darkness actor Alice Eve and Scott Chambers and Big Bird from Sesame Street. The event capped off with a performance by Adam Levine and two other members of multi-platinum, three-time Grammy Award winning band Maroon 5.
Pre CES media events kicked off Sunday night with CES Unveiled: The Official Press Event of CES. Seventy-four exhibiting companies drew one of the highest media crowds in Unveiled history with companies such as 3M Touch Systems, Body Media, Canopy, Chevrolet, Fitbug, Goal Zero, HAPI Labs, House of Marley, Hz0, Liquid Image, Matrix Audio, Parrot, Synaptics and Urban Hello. Major trends included ultra-HDTV, hybrid tablets, flexible touch screen display, apps and mobile solutions.
Product announcements continued on Monday, January 7 with CES Press Day, featuring 28 exhibitor press conferences, the largest number of Press Day events in show history. Product announcements included:
- LG – 55” OLED TV. Three sizes of smart capable Ultra HDTVs (84-inch, 65-inch, 55-inch)
- Livio - FM Connect enables in-car FM radio listeners to interact with FM broadcasts from dashboard through a Bluetooth-connected smartphone
Monster - New lines and designs of headphones including Nick Cannon's NCredible headsets
Sharp - Ultra HD – 85 inch 8K TV delivering 16 X resolution of HDTV
VOXX – NM100 rearview navigation
Fujifilm – Two new X series cameras X100S and X20 Startup time of 0.5 seconds, shutter lag time of 0.1 second
Huawei – Ascend Mate smartphone with 6.1 inch screen – currently the world’s largest smart phone
Intel – Perceptual Computing adds natural human interfaces to computing, voice, touch, facial recognition and gestures. User becomes password through facial recognition
Limited Computing - VYZAR - geo-location based 3D augmented reality technology
Samsung - New flagship Smart TV Samsung LED F8000 (46-inch, 55-inch, 60-inch, 65-inch, and 75-inch) with voice recognition technology
Panasonic - New TV Series: ZT60, ST60, WT60, DT60 - High Efficient LED TV’s reduce power consumption by 15 percent and are ENERGY STAR 6.0 certified
DISH Network - DISH Anywhere, powered by Hopper with Sling takes the DVR and live TV mobile
@GadgetZA