Jan 12
28
CES Takes Over Vegas
Gadgets and gizmos. Everything electronic and accessories to go along with it. Officially, it was my first year at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada. There was so much to see at the LV Convention Center.
“With more than 3,100 companies showcasing more than 20,000 new products, the 2012 International CES is the world’s largest hub for consumer technology innovation,” said Gary Shapiro, president and CEO, CEA.
New Audi
A lot of flashy cars could be seen throughout the show.
Lenovo Mobile
I spotted this guy atop a long stretch limo accompanied by a police motorcycle in front and in back. The company, Lenovo, is #2 in laptop computers behind Hewlett Packard. I learned this at the Digital LA party sponsored by social media gurus IZEA at the Marquee Club inside The Cosmopolitan.
Best way to check email!
Piero's Restaurant
Lenovo just might be one of the few companies that could afford to park at Piero’s Restaurant. If you wanted a closer parking spot you’d better be prepared to pay for it.
I was able to attain a press badge since I’ve written for two magazines this past year; David and Vegas Seven Magazines. Getting to have free press lunches was very nice.
Press Cafeteria
The folks at PV and Twonky were cooking up some food at their booth sections outside the Convention Center. Free food tastes a bit better somehow.
Mohzy fashionable cables
Belkin had all sorts of applications that allow the user to turn appliances on and off. In case a user forgot to shut the garage door, Belkin has an ‘app for that!’
Elite Screens had these really cool film screens that had interchangeable formats. You can just switch from one screen to another with the flick of a switch.
There’s this company called Sphero that had these balls that lit up and were controlled by a remote control. You could change their direction and even color. (I’ll bet some women’s wheels are turning now.)
Speaking of women, they might like the idea of accessorizing their accessories. What? A company called Mohzy produces fashionable mobile devices for charging phones or transferring data. You can wear them as bracelets. They come in numerous decorative styles. Who says a girl can’t be a fashionable geek?
The Sound Egg
This company, Sound Egg, is very eye-catching. What is this guy doing? Well, he’s sitting in an ‘egg’ and listening to the fine quality 5.1 HD Surround sound. The egg sports 5 full-range speakers, a 10″ Subwoofer and Acoustic Isolation Foam!
Social Media Lounging
The CES Social Media Lounge was more of a resting place then anything else. It was nice looking. You
FaceBook Group
can follow Tweets on the bright giant screen. Skype had their own lounge outside where you could connect with others.
One woman was involved with a group of attendees organized through FaceBook.
I met an editor, Robert Fine, who’s putting out a new magazine, the Social Media Monthly. We had a great discussion about cross-promoting his magazine and my Social Media Film Festival.
Robert Fine, Editor at Social Media Monthly
Social Media Monthly booth
Sony Speaker
Sony Xperia SmartPhone
Sony had a variety of new products coming out including their new SmartPhone, Xperia that makes sharing photos on FaceBook and Twitter much easier.
Tyler Stableford
After walking the isles of the show floor for only an hour or so, you start seeing how numerous companies are coming out with similar products. It seems like there’s more accessories for iPhone filmmaking then the typical digital and DSLR cameras.
Canon had experts talking about their products at their booth. Photographer Tyler Stableford talked about Explorers of Light and how well the Canon DSLR cameras work in low light situations. The EOS C300 was on display for all canon looky-loos.
Jim McHugh, Polaroid Photographer
Polaroid is making a comeback! They had a larger than life booth at CES. When I approached the booth, Polaroid photographer Jim McHugh was speaking about his Polaroid photos of Los Angeles.
Polaroid has a new line of products including tablets and a camera that takes instant photos without any ink. It’s called Zink as in zero ink. The device is as clunky as the old cameras, but doesn’t have a need for ink. The Zink still needs to work out the ‘kinks.’
Ross on Polaroid
ESPN HD in 3-D – BOXING
I had heard something about a live boxing match taking place through ESPN at CES, but I hadn’t paid attention to when or where it was taking place. I stumbled upon a very large crowd gathered by ESPN and sure enough I arrived just in time to catch and film the first round of the match. How exciting! I had never seen a live match before. ESPN was gearing up for their upcoming events including the Olympics…in 3-D. That’s why the screen looked rather fuzzy when I panned my 7-D to it from the ring. No, I am in focus. The screen is showing double. You may be drunk either way. Take a look?
CES CELEBS
SNOOKY!
Justin Timberlake made some sort of announcement about MySpace TV.
As I walked by the iHip booth, I noticed people were lining up to see someone. So, what celebrity would I see? Snooky. Since I already have my 7-D out, I might as well snap some photos. Now that I’ve seen Snooky, I was ready to see a real celebrity, one with talent.
LL Cool J was going to speak at the Dolby booth about Boomdizzle, a
LL Cool J talks 'Next Level.'
software that allows users to collaborate simultaneously on music from anywhere in the world.
Rodney Berthe of The Informer and I met up in front of the rope. We decided that since we’re press we should attain a better position inside the ropes. So, we found our spots and waited for LL. LL arrived and wouldn’t you know it, he spoke his entire pitch to the attendees standing outside the ropes. Where Rodney and were standing originally was perfect to film and snap photos. LL’s immense back was to us 95% of the time. You live and you learn. LL didn’t wait to pose for photos. He finished his sales pitch and disappeared. It probably would have helped the sales team if he mentioned the product once in a while. SEE LL Cool J’s pitch on VIDEO.
I spotted Seth Green talking to a representative at one of the booths. At first I was thinking of taking his picture. Then I thought, ‘I need to talk to him about my film festival.’ He was walking around with some friends. I tried to get his attention. Then I talked to one of his friends and handed him a business card. Either he got it or he didn’t.
START-UP DEBUT
WOWee @ CES
Start-Up Debut was a pre-CES event that took place inside the Foundation Room at Mandalay Bay Casino. There was one room full of local Las Vegas start-ups like Tracky and Counterless. Other companies included Snap Cuts, Tourwrist, WOWee and We Video. WOWee was showcasing an impressive digital projector you carry in the palm of your hands.
We Video also attended Blogworld 2011 in Los Angeles. That was my first introduction to the company. I wasn’t sure what to make of their product, a software program that allows video editors and graphics people to collaborate using files through their system over the internet. With a closer look, I’m very intrigued.
I could have taken much more advantage of the press badge, but I had other plans during CES.
Ross & SMFF Sponsoring LaunchFest
LAUNCHFEST
Launchfest Panel
At the Clarion Hotel, there’s an event called LaunchFest in association with CES and put on by iHollywood over the past 5 years. I was sponsoring LaunchFest with my start-up film festival called Social Media Film Festival. Sometimes you have to give a little (sponsorship) in order to get a little sponsorship. The festival was one of about 4 demo tables.
SMFF had an Indie Go-Go crowd-funding campaign that was ending that night of Wed. Jan. 11th so it was a perfect opportunity to begin the sponsorship phase.
LaunchFest always has a topic and theme for the event. The topic for this event was ‘Attacking Social Media and Mobile Marketing.’ There was a panel with 3 panelists; Yoav Tzuyra, Partner of Jerusalem Venture Partners, Bruce Taragin, Managing Director of Bloomberg Capital and Adrian Sexton, Founder and President of New Medici. The moderator was Amanda Cooling, Co-Founder of Tech Zulu.
Jostein Svendsen, CEO of We Video
Some companies like We Video pitched their start-up to the panel.
After attending LaunchFest 2011 last year with hundreds of participants, I thought the turnout would be similar. Unfortunately, this had lot of no-shows. The turnout was dismal. My sponsorship coordinator, Rayna Booker, and I met some quality people.
I actually made more sponsorship leads simply strolling up and down the endless isles at the CES show.
Magnus of We Video, Rayna & Ross
Rayna and I attended the Digital LA party at the Marquee Club inside The Cosmopolitan and met Chief Marketing Officer Ryan Schram of social media company, IZEA, which sponsored the party.
One company at CES even shared my first name…ROSS. They felt obligated to give me a poster.
(NOTICE: I’m wearing my NY Giants cap. GO GIANTS!)
Ross and ROSS!
*Check out the video I put together of CES.
