My First Trip to the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas

I recently had the opportunity to attend the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. While the show was held on January 7-10 this year, I was only able to attend on the final day of the show, which was January 10th. This was my first trip to CES, and I only went as a favor to a friend who was going. I didn't really want to go, since electronics aren't really my thing, but I ended up having a great time, and learning a lot about up-and-coming technology. I have to admit that I was amazed and overwhelmed with all the technology we saw.

We flew in to Las Vegas on the evening of the 9th, and stayed at a Marriott on the outside of town. It was difficult to get a room close to the Las Vegas Convention Center, where part of the show was being held, because the hotels were full of other people attending the CES. We had hoped to get in to town in time to see some of the show before they closed for the evening, but our flight was delayed in Denver, and we didn't make it. We ended up grabbing dinner and spent the rest of the evening hanging out in our hotel room.

The show opened at 9:00 a.m. on Thursday. We didn't get to the Las Vegas Convention Center until almost 10:00 a.m. I was surprised at all the people in attendance. The line for the taxis seemed a mile long - I was glad we rented a car at the airport. When we got inside, it was nuts - there were people everywhere.

After we walked around the Convention Center, we went to get some lunch, and then headed for the Las Vegas Hilton, to see more displays. The Hilton was just as packed as the Convention Center. There were also displays at the Sands Expo and Convention Center.

We saw a lot of great stuff, but there were two things that made the biggest impression on me. One was a new Super Multi Blue player that LG Electronics is introducing to consumers sometime this year. I've been very confused about the difference between DVDs and Blue-ray discs. Apparently, this new player has the capability to play both types of media. However, it will be a bit pricey - information we received at the show estimates the cost around $2,000. I'll be waiting for a while to buy one, I think.