First-Person: CES Las Vegas 2008

CES is the largest tradeshow for consumer technology in the world, and is held every year in Las Vegas, Nevada. In 2007 over 140,000 people went to see the exhibits which held over 2,700 exhibitors. I was therefore overjoyed when I last week got a phone call from a relative in California who asked if I was interested in coming down for a visit and drive over to the exhibition together. I love gadgets and new technology, so with a plane ticket in my email two hours later I was ready to rumble into paradise city.

This exhibition has been held annually since 1967, and when we first drove into Las Vegas it was packed. It was my first time in Nevada, and I was amazed by all the lights, people and traffic that was literally everywhere. We got to the city late at night, and after checking into a motel I managed to control my excitement over CES until the following day.

I have never been anywhere where there were so many people and so much press corps. Journalists and camera men flooded the entrance, and after we arrived at the scene and managed to get into the exhibition I was already overwhelmed by all the life around me.

I had expected stands with new products and technology, but when I saw how massive CES really is it went above every one of my expectations. There were enormous HD TV's that were as tall as the ceiling in my apartment. There was the much talked about USB 3.0 with speeds up to 4.8 Gbit/s! I even got to see some of the brand new Sony products, where one of my favorites was the OLED TV that's so thin you could hardly believe it. Too bad that the price is simply outrageous, but hopefully a product like this will drastically fall in price after a few years on the market.

Sony also had huge amounts of wireless equipment. Wireless image transfers, wireless connections between the TV and DVD etc. There were also rumors going around that Playstation will become wireless in a while, and the countless opportunities that wireless transfer can open is super exciting.

CES was the most interesting exhibition I have ever been to, and I'm so thankful I got a chance to go. I only wish I would have won the lottery too so I could actually bring some of the cool stuff home with me, but with the prices these things hold that will be a dream for a few more years.

Who wouldn't want a super-deluxe massage chair in the living room, with specially designed sensors to find knots in your back? I know I would, but $4000 makes it something to dream about at night.

The correct way of explaining how I felt would be like a kid at a candy store. There were gadgets and technology everywhere, and I wanted to bring it all back home with me. Next year I hope that I'll get a chance to go back, because this exhibition was well worth the visit.