Each year, the Consumer Electrics Show (CES) packs in thousands of attendees despite its seemingly diminished influence: This year, more than 150,000 are expected. Some of the most popular tech products of recent times — Apple’s iPad and iPhone, Amazon’s Kindle and Samsung’s Galaxy smartphone — were introduced elsewhere. But CES remains the biggest tech show in America, and a place for the entire industry to congregate.
In many ways, CES is the Super Bowl for geeks – a weeklong bacchanal of parties, exhibits and keynote speeches from the likes of Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer and Intel CEO Brian Krzanich. Among bands performing at private events during the coming week: Fleetwood Mac, Dave Matthews and Lynyrd Skynyrd. Celebrities touting products at booths include singer Pharrell Williams, rapper 50 Cent and football player Tim Tebow.
For several years, CES has been all about televisions. First, it was 3-D sets, a trend that never took off. Last year, it was Ultra HD — super pricey 4K TVs with four times the resolution of standard HD.
But this year, while televisions will continue to dominate the show floor if for nothing more than their mammoth size – LG and Samsung will both showcase 4K TVs over 100 inches – there are many other trends emerging for products that will start showing up on shelves in coming months and years.
Wearable tech. One of the most distinctive — if odd-looking — products of 2013 was Google Glass, the computer that sits atop your nose. Look for many more gadgets in this vein at CES, with regular glasses, sunglasses and ski goggles that can display maps, restaurant reviews and more while you’re out and about. CES will feature a Fashion Zone showcasing wearable devices, and smart clothing.
The 2014 International CES, the annual consumer electronics show takes place in Las Vegas. Preview events begin Sunday Jan. 5 for the show, which runs through Friday.