CES Is A Launching Pad For New Tech Products
It’s that time of year again…
The International Consumer Electronics Show, or CES, kicks off in Las Vegas today.
This massive technology trade show is the size of 31 football fields. And it isn’t open to the public. But industry insiders are flocking to the Las Vegas Convention Center to get a look at the latest cutting edge tech products.
Since starting in 1967, CES has been home to a laundry list of product introductions.
Videocassette recorders (VCR) were introduced at the CES in 1970. The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) was first shown here in 1985. DVDs made their debut here in 1996. And it was also home to the first glimpse of 3D HDTV in 2009. And that’s just to name a few…
No doubt about it, CES is one the most highly anticipated events of the year for technophiles. This year alone, 140,000 people are expected to show up to check out the 2,800 or so exhibits.
This year a number of companies are expected to unveil new tablets and ultra light weight laptop computers. They’re armed with new lightning fast processors and solid-state hard drives (SSDs), as well as features like batteries that last all-day.
And there’s sure to be a slew of new smart Android phones and tablets.
What’s more, Nokia’s (NOK) expected to introduce a new phone running the latest version of Microsoft (MSFT) Windows (Windows 8).
It’s the first time we get to see what tech companies have been working on over the last year. And there’s sure to be some exciting new gadget or toy that’ll get everyone excited.
But the tech industry is changing. And CES is losing some clout.
The glaring holes in the CES lineup are tech heavyweights Apple (AAPL) and Google (GOOG). They don’t even bother showing up to CES. They prefer to introduce their products at their own events.
The problem for CES is Apple has been the leading force of innovation in technology over the last decade. Think about it… the Apple iPod, iPhone, and iPad have taken consumer electronics by storm. But they were nowhere to be found at CES.
The anchor of CES has been Microsoft. For the last 14 years, a Microsoft CEO has kicked of the trade show with a keynote speech.
Now even Microsoft is leaving CES behind. A few weeks ago, Microsoft said 2012 will be the last year they’ll have presence at CES.
The bottom line is the CES has become much less important to big technology companies. They would rather introduce their products on their own timetable and at their own events.
But the CES is still a key launching pad for small tech companies. And there are thousands of them lining up to show off their stuff.
It makes sense…
CES is still the easiest way for a small company to quickly get their product into as many hands as possible.
The most exciting moments at CES are sure to be when one of these small companies unveils something completely unexpected. That’s where the real magic happens.
In fact, I’ve found one small tech company that’s unveiling an exciting new product at CES today. I think this product could vault revenue and earnings for this small company into the stratosphere.
I’ll reveal the name of the company to subscribers of my new service Tech Boom Trader on Thursday.
Category: Stocks
