Done.

Being pregnant at the show was not easy. My body did not always follow my determination to get to every meeting, stand, listen, and take notes. Morning sickness ensued, as did some light-headedness, at which point I was afraid I might pass out. But overall, I managed to see far more products than I had time–or energy–to write about.

I avoided big parties or extremely late nights. I did enjoy beer pong one evening, however, with a designated drinker from our friends at Samsung and MWW (thanks, Kim). And seeing Slash was definitely the highlight of my week. I just wish I could have shown off my “Sweet Child of Mine” ringtone to him. Oh, well. I also saw handfuls of products that aren’t announcing yet, including a very sleek group of notebooks and some impressive advancements in digital cameras, which you’ll see more of at PMA later this month.

Cameras and Camcorders

In general, the cameras follow suit in becoming easier for novices to use, though my first impressions are that the DSLRs still won’t be easy enough. Mode dials are still jam-packed with icons that will intimidate even the most tech-savvy photography novice (myself included). We were also impressed with the advancements in camcorders this year. Sony took the cake with 16 new devices, loaded with the latest and greatest, but Canon, Panasonic, Samsung, and others are advancing the category with their hybrid models.

GPS

GPS will continue to grow but not necessarily in the direction we we want. So many companies are getting into the GPS market, the most surprising of which was GoodYear. While I was impressed with its products for a first attempt, there wasn’t much innovation in them, aside from a remote that clips to your visor or steering wheel, but Garmin also had this, so that deflates whatever strides the company might have made.

Also, both this year and last year, I met with a company called VoiceBox, which makes voice-recognition technology for GPSs that can supposedly handle more conversational text and keep you out of deep menu trees, yet none of the GPS units I saw could truly do that. Magellan was supposed to incorporate this technology into one of its new PNDs, but when I went to see it, the rep told me it really wasn’t conversational yet, and you still had to say exactly the right words and go through deep menu structures to get what you wanted. This was disappointing, especially after seeing VoiceBox’s demo two years in a row. VoiceBox also told me that Pioneer was incorporating its technology into one of its devices, but time did not allow me to visit that booth.

CES 2009

Rumors are circulating that CES might move to a different city next year or in the following years. That remains to be seen. All the drivers seemed to have more information on this than anyone else. Apparently, Chicago’s making a bid for the next Olympic games and wants to prove that it can handle a large event. None of this is confirmed, but if you’re thinking of attending next year, you might want to hold off on your reservations until we know for sure. As for me, this is my last CES post for 2008. I’m on a plane, heading home, wearing my slippers (which I’ve been wearing since I got in the security line in Vegas) with the solace that CES 2009 is almost a whole year away.

Posted in Straight from the Show Floor