CES Kicks Off 40th Year in Las Vegas
A look at the biggest trade show in the world, the Consumer Electronics Show.
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January 7, 2007 – The International Consumer Electronics Show gathers in Las Vegas this week for the largest trade show of any kind. From January 8-11, manufacturers will showcase their new digital cameras. Stay tuned to DigitalCameraInfo.com for a wave of coverage that will include the latest news and hottest products. The enormous trade show gathers 140,000 attendees from 130 countries, filling Las Vegas hotels and restaurants to capacity with technologically advanced crowds. Karen Chupka, senior vice president of events and conferences at the Consumer Electronics Association, said she expects the 40th edition of the show to be the biggest and best ever. "With the largest exhibit space in CES history and a global array of 2,700 exhibitors set to debut their latest innovations, the 2007 International CES is gearing up for a phenomenal show," she said. Bill Gates will speak tonight as a prelude to the show. Several celebrities and rock bands are expected to appear throughout the week to flaunt various products. The show floor, which is larger than 35 football fields, is covered with innovations from many areas of the consumer electronics market including gaming, cell phones, wireless networking, digital car devices, and accessories – just to name a few. The Consumer Electronics Show is known as a launch pad for big innovations. In 1970, VCRs were introduced for the first time. In 1981, the CD player made its debut. The Xbox was unveiled at the show in 2001. Every year, the new wave of digital cameras also make their first appearances here. The Consumer Electronics Association released a report projecting the average cost of a digital camera to be $236 in 2007, down from the $301 tag when CEA began collecting data in 2002. The average U.S. household has 26 consumer electronics products in it, according to CEA, with digital cameras in 59 percent of households. With the digital camera market saturated, sales are expected to decline in 2007. CEA predicts heated competition between camera manufacturers. "As the market turns downward, friendly competition will turn bloody," the report stated. Sales of digital cameras in the United States peaked in 2006 with $7.8 million, while 2007 is projected to bring in about $6.9 million. DigitalCameraInfo.com will provide the best coverage of CES this week from our first impressions of new cameras to the latest news on the heated competition.