Next week, AMP will be heading back to Vegas to the 2013 International Consumer Electronics Show. I hope that we find a ton of awesome technology to bring back to our clients and, on a personal level, that I consume much less Sbarro than last year. Here’s a quick outlook of some of the things we’re looking forward to:
Who’s Going to Step Up?
2012 marked Microsoft’s last CES booth and keynote, and even though Windows 8 will be on a ton of devices, this is the first year they won’t officially be there. So that begs the question; who’s going to be this year’s big dog?
The Next Big Thing
Tablets, Ultrabooks and 3DTV have been some of the biggest stars from the past few years. This year, there’s a bit more mystery on what will be considered ‘THE thing of CES.’? Will it be this?! It might be, but honestly, I have no idea what that even is.
Eureka Park
If I had one regret from last year, it’s that I didn’t get to visit the inaugural year of Eureka Park. It’s where all the up-and-coming entrepreneurs will be sharing their big ideas, products and services. Last year, companies like Tactus and Kogeto made a splash. This year, the area has grown which makes me think there could be a few diamonds in the rough just waiting to be found.
The Mobile Apps Showdown
I’m cool with anything that makes use of an Applause-O-Meter. The basic idea is that developers have 2 minutes to demo their app and audience applause determines the winner. Not a thing you can hate about that. Last year had a few awesome ones, so we eagerly await the competition.
BONUS! 3 Tips for Having an Awesome CES
- Wear comfortable shoes: There are roughly 35 football fields worth of exhibit space and hard, concrete floors. If you can’t wear your new Jordan’s, either invest in Dr. Scholl’s or some post-conference foot massages.
- Pack a power strip to make friends: Assuming most people will be carrying somewhere between one and three devices (unless you’re Steve Wozniak), that leaves the outlet-to-device ratio at the Las Vegas Convention Center somewhere around .00001:1. Pack a power strip and make someone’s day when they’re looking to charge up.
- Spend most of your time at the weird stuff: If you’re going to CES to check out the TVs and tablets, you’re better off spending a few hours on TechCrunch next week and saving yourself some time and money. The big items and brands are going to get covered on every tech site out there. If you’re looking to get the most out of the week, make sure you don’t overlook the corners of the exhibit space showcasing the truly bizarre stuff that is most likely years away from a viable market introduction.
Feel free to follow #CES2013 throughout the week or stalk us via the usual channels (Twitter, Facebook, or this blog) to get live updates, photos and videos.
