The PHOTO MARKETING ASSOCIATION SHOW
I have attended the PMA trade only shows for decades with my friends and cohorts. But things change and the market evolution has really effectually killed the PMA as we knew it as the voice of the Photo Retail Community.
I'm harsh about this because it could have been avoided. The Captain of this ship, the PMA management showed the same kind of talent as the Captain of the Italian Cruise ship Costa Concordia who just gave the stimulus for the forthcoming movie TITANIC II.
Interesting thing about character, everybody I know thought this and expressed it always with "but I didn't say that, or don't quote me' no one would admit or voice it, it was always done in the "other tense" .
Their press release on the subject was warm, sort of like the aftermath of a large herd of cattle passing by. 'With the convergence of digital imaging and consumer electronics, the PMA, has decided to merge to the International CES' show slated for Las Vegas". These guys can spin, the whirling verbal dervishes of the industry.
Good thinking, they had no choice as they had no show. An organization without major players since some of the major players balked at the PMA like Canon for one at Anaheim. They really had no choice and the CES folks had already quietly picked up on the major players for the super show. It was simple, no choice, survival mode 254, and virtually non-existing relationships with several large corporations who had enough of PMA and felt the digital relationship was stronger especially with cellphones hitting eight and more megabits.
I believe this might be an evolution more so than revolution and change it did, and it started six years ago. It started when the industry went on what is now digital time, grandfather tick-tocks were gone. And yesterday Kodak officially joined the fray with Chapter 11 so complex they gave them a year to sort things out. First film, the Big Box stores, then finally social networking and the internet… all contributed to the rise of the end-user in the photo industry. The end-user is in charge now.
THE MARKET, THE ECONOMY and MOTHER NATURE STEPPED IN
- The 2010 normal PMA trade show common to Vegas had to be booked into Anaheim because of a conflict in scheduling with Las Vegas. There is nothing appealing in Anaheim for those used to Vegas. You have the Crystal Cathedral (bankrupt and sold to the Vatican family of institutions) and Mickey Mouse Land (doing well for a small world). The show was boring.
- CANON PULLS OUT OF ANAHEIM… More to it. and rumors abounded about certain comments made by a very senior PMA staffer that reached the ears of Canon and they started a stampede when they announced they were not going to Anaheim's Evangelical/Mickey Mouse show. (Some say the Japanese translation and reply was more like "Honorable sir, you can go kiss my ass) You don't tell Canon what to do.
- Many small vendors rely on the Nikon, Canon, Fuji, Samsung, Sony, Panasonic, draws at these dealer trade shows and pulled out. result …bad attendance. It's a shame, at PMA headquarters there were some wonderful, gracious, helpful, considerate, great folks and friends known through the years, most never saw it coming. This was truly an upper level management FUBAR… Check your MIL-SPEC manuals for the acronym FUBAR meaning and check out ATTIIC…"At the top, Idiot In Charge".
- The PMA show for 2011 was re-dated, then cancelled in 2011, and put back a year after the loss of much revenue. It never got relaunched, vendors balked at the fees, waste, and the attitude of certain staff and this resulted in layoffs of 90%. The last scene in the "movie" was a "For Sale" sign on the building. Fini. the PMA was not as we knew it anymore.
- This had been brewing for years, the first bad signs of a diminishing market were the mom and pop retailers losing to the big box sellers. The thousands of Mom and Pop retailers were the PMA. Then the core manufacturers (C-N) started looking at the enduser shows because they had "Big Box" mentality which came back to haunt them. Circuit City and Ritz were not "too big to fail". Nikon and Canon lost tens of millions.
- In the mean time, the other end-user organizations like the WPPI, PPI, Javit's Center Shows drew buyers and you simply add an order system and a cash register. Sellers thought now we are talking to buyers and don't have to worry about credit managers. Visa, MasterCard, Discover, Amex all worked well.
- Its made in heaven for the internet sellers like Adorama, B&H, Calumet and others since they do far more domestic and international business than many retail outlets. Canon and Nikon do BIG numbers at the end user shows as the users bring and ring the credit cards.
- It will really tell you what you really sell at a show rather than guessing. Two years ago, Tampa hosted the WPPI with 9000 live buyers and B&H was right there ringing the register, taking orders, ten plus salespeople, laptops and a server. Unfair to other retailers yes, but essential for survival and it resembled a feeding frenzy. One local dealer who set up at the show was mobbed and did very well as they had product.
- I told the PMA for years you can do a trade only three day show and leave the last two or three for the public for local exposure. Local dealers would love it. I voiced this opinion time and time again, that the trade show in this day and age really needs to get the product to the end user who today can buy anywhere he chooses. It also helps pay for the show.
- Besides most stores have a preference in their sales help and I have seen a sale lost when the Canola salesman beats down the Nikolola the customer asked for. I fired a guy once for doing that because time and time again, we had what the customer wanted and we lost opportunities to sell a camera. He had simply confused the customer and I suspect the customer thought he was being baited and switched. We sold nada to him. At end-user shows you get what you looked at.
MOTHER NATURE MAKES IT A BAD YEAR FOR THE INDUSTRY The MILL: 99% Accurate
- The Nuclear Shutdowns because of earthquakes in Japan killed development and production. The Tsunami didn't help. The floods in Thailand just about finished things off. Chip makers and assembly took a big hit. The Honda plant in Thailand who make Honda Car Parts sustained 650 million dollars of damage. Nikon was wiped out, Sony got their plants, entire plants to higher ground and other countries, they believed the weather forecasters.
HERE ARE THE STATISTICS BY THE NUMBERS OF BADGE HOLDERS (NOT GUESSES)
• Now the International CES Is Largest Annual Show in U.S. History
• 2012 International CES was the largest in the event's 44 year history.
• Record number of more than 3,100 exhibitors
• 1.861 million net square feet of exhibit space
• Drawing a record of more than 153,000 attendees.
• A record 34,000 international attendees.
• More than 20,000 new products were launched at the 2012 CES
REALITY IS MARKET SHIFT
STATEMENT - "The traditional photo market that PMA serves has a need to look into new products and services outside the strictly photo market to offer their customers. CES believes it is the ideal venue for such products as it is all about consumer electronics, thus the Consumer Electronics show". Theoretically, PMA@CES will bring a breadth and depth of photo-specific products and services that CES attendees would not have otherwise been able to experience. (and make the shrinking PMA show more exciting).
REALLY?
- That did not happen as a planned because the major vendors like Nikon, Canon, Samsung, Sony, Panasonic, LG, had already committed to the "BIG HALL" side of the CES show. They were not stuck in the Venetian. One of the vendors said to me, "He felt his location was like the waiting room at the Doctor, you are present on location but not seeing anyone who can help you.
The question is whatever is left of the PMA and can folks wait for them (PMA) to come around. I'll explain later about the logistics and people moving components of this event and how four days and dead on your feet waiting might not be so good an idea. The Venetian exhibitors were not happy, many under the table were talking, this won't work next year. An entire group told me they won't be back if this is what it looks like next year.
MORE STATEMENTS FROM PMA-CES
"PMA and CES have enjoyed a close relationship over the year as this convergence has taken place, and believe now is the best time to combine their efforts to bring the ultimate event in photo to the ultimate event in consumer electronics". Sounds great, but….
REALITY
- When you make cake or biscuits you put the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in another and then you mix them. At this show we had the (wet) heavies in one building the LVCC, the huge Las vegas Convention Center and the other (Dry) PMA vendors in another building a mile away at the Venetian.
- The transportation was OK, providing you didn't mind standing on line for an hour and sometimes an hour on line for the bus and a half hour in traffic. So, back and forth could cost you three hours using their bus system on a nine hour day if you had the legs for it, bearing in mind there are 153,000 other people trying for the Starbucks and the usual overpriced food at these events. Not to mention the bathrooms, which was a major event if you had to.
- That was part of the rub, the cameras and the accessories were not in the same place. Sony, Canon and Nikon were in the main hall with Panasonic and LG. Their booths were like small cities with multiple events going on. Everything SONY makes was there, cameras was only one-tenth of what they presented. Thus the main hall got all the good stuff and the PMA hall at the Venetian got a fast track of ancillary vendors, late comers and a ton of Mainland knocker-offers. Lots of anodizing being done in China now, with rows of multicolored everything's like monopods and tripods. I can't repeat some of what I heard, that may be the end of one group as a whole returning.
At LG, Samsung and others in the main hall there were myriads of unique TV's, and lots of washers and dryers, a really unique refrigerator that that has four sections or units that can be switched into a freezer or refrigerator depending on you immediate needs. There was a nice Lamborghini to touch, they are rare, and that was frowned upon…the touching part. Like the kid in the crib….there were exhibits that boggled the mind and after a half day at the PMA side we spent the remainder in the main halls.
- For those in the Consumer Electronics field it was a great show, incredible and eye opening, a fabulous show put together well, but the PMA was like the little sister division and it had no cohesion or identification like it did in the past. It reminded me of the cartoon of the ARK and the skunks were dragged along in a small towed boat behind…. Hopefully next year they will do something about that feeling...
- For those smaller vendors of the Photo Marketing group, harbored and huddled at the Venetian, a mediocre show and if you liked the other gadget and geeky stuff, you might, just of had fun if you got over to the other side, the WOW side. For the vendors looking for business it was just not structured properly.
- Reality - It was a great show if you looked at more than just cameras, it was the future in lifestyles of the electronic prisoner, and the addicts of technology. And you sensed a slew of new goodies will come out as one of the giants, Nikon looks for other countries to produce their products for the amateur side. The D4 and others might be relegated to Japan but I see China, the mainland and Taiwan, and possibly Vietnam coming to the mix after the plants were destroyed in Japan and Thailand. Expect new products to have faster chips, more features and a stiffer price, they have to recoup all their losses somehow.
HUMPTY DUMPTY AND GENERAL CUSTER
SCRAMBLED EGGS AND MESSAGES
So, how do we put Humpty Dumpty back together again and where does the PMA stand. Lets go back and study Humpty Dumpty and General Custer. OK the PMA took a great fall. Offing 90% of your staff, your building and stature. But fixing Humpty is easy, admit the split venue backfired badly, and the lack of vendors to support it indicated the total memberships disdain for the venue. It stunk so we have to make another egg. The egg does come first as the initial singular celled animals on the planet did evolve from proteins and microscopic meteorite parts containing bits of
The failing organization couldn't get what they needed, many retailers having economic downturns, product shortages, messy help from the PMA management, and the high cost of exhibiting there. I knew something was wrong when we got to the Venetian early Tuesday, via the bus in about 45 minutes but the trip back was packed with folks on line standing up two floors. Whoever was there first was getting out of Dodge City! What omen was that!
They came, they saw, they looked, and they left! If they (the PMA) do not act quickly and pull the membership back together, the word dis-i-nfranchise comes to mind. Let a year slip buy and so other group will be put together. Probably a digital imaging division of the CES, a possible play by IPI, or PRO to take over the process. I'll bank with CES. Someone with bigger hands has to tackle the alligator as the swamp dries up.
INDIANS, WHAT INDIANS?
It is rumored that General Custer's last words were probably something like "Where did all these Indians come from". It showed for one thing a bigger than life ego and a smaller than needed intelligence unit makes you into a temporary living porcupine real quick. Had he just looked over the hill, the six thousand angry true First Americans were waiting. Let's hope this was not the PMA's last stand, and loses the members who incorporate in the CES and forget about the PMA.
Nikon, Canon, Samsung, LG, Sony, Tamron and others were very happy where they were. This was an A game for them and I doubt you will jar them loose so another plan is needed.
THE ROAD BACK
Research the goals and aspirations of the members. Ask the members what they want in an organization, obviously the intel gathered failed quite miserably and late decisions caused a shortage of participants, very abruptly.
1- The first step in the rebuilding of the PMA would be to get the true intel, the true feelings from the players. The members themselves need to step up, and to take that data and form a new constitution for the organization. The old "You just became part of our organization needs to be changed to you are the organization and we will listen to you". Somehow that changed just like the governments position of "We the people became wee-wee on the people over time". What am I doing here? Why did the PMA fail.
2- Form a more perfect constitution for the industry members reflecting the changes for the future and the connection to the CES and possibly split shows working with WPPI, PPI etc. many manufacturers did well at these end-user shows. Some retailers did quite well. Thats a problem as it affects customers from all over.
3- Get some OUTSIDERS with chutzpah to look out of the box and who can see things from a different perspective and at the same time get a few ball busters, risk managers, what-if folks, and a geek or two to study the other side of the brain-farts that have accumulated in numbers from the past.
4- For the retailer, the reason for the PMA, a campaign is needed to earn back the membership with more local events and shows where they may be able to come in contact with people on the retail and wholesale end of the industry. Both PRO and IPI have proven they can retain their memberships as they offer relief to the smaller retailer in some areas and maybe their business models should be looked at.
EAST MEETS WEST AT THE VENUE
The show was huge and many, almost the majority of direct manufacturing vendors came from the East. Lets face it, Taiwan , the Mainland and Japan manufacture the bulk of digital equipment in the world. As the statistics show 153,000 attend, nearly 34,000 were foreign visitors to the show, many who were manning the booths. There was a large percentage of "journalists" who were very busy videotaping everything in sight for dubious reasons.
However my East-West venue, adventure, a very pleasant few minutes, came totally out of a clear blue and very sunny sky. My brother and I had to take a break around noon and looking at the hundreds on line inside we decided to get some fresh air so we went to the front of the LVCC.
We found sustenance, and a vendor with ice cold BUD light beer to mellow the contraband bag of OREO cookies we had smuggled in. I am a vendor favorite getting wonderful attention in any booth by simply offering cookies as a gesture and trade. Cookies are an international favorite and OREOS produce instant sugar relief at the exhausting show.
An empty bench appeared and we grabbed the seats. Low and behold, a beautiful young lady appears from nowhere and sits down with us. Within moments a conversation ensued and we both had escaped from the show for a break. I had just met Jessica A. Ching, an eMarketing guru out of California. She is the founder of Rogue Digital.
Then the subject changed to trade agreements. After all I was from the East Coast of the US (Florida) and she was from the West Coast (California).
She iterated that she could only finish half of her sandwich and I offered a counter bid of five of the precious OREOS. Just a cultural difference, she was eating sensibly a wrap filled with dried tomatoes, goat cheese, fresh basil and lightly seasoned. I, from the West, was the purveyor of the Western style of indulgence with high sugar content fully awash with a beer. Thats OK, our group was going to the "M" for dinner and I was saving space to indulge.
We negotiated the trade, I had half of the sandwich and I found out she likes OREOs and she is a scraper. One of the four corners of OREO indulgence. You have scrapers, dippers, breakers and stackers. She made it a very pleasant luncheon.
AL'S BROOKLYN REVIEW OF THE PMA /CES
STATEMENTS
"Top executives were participating in keynote sessions, including those from Qualcomm, Mercedes, Wal-Mart, Intel, Ford, Verizon, Unilver, Ford, eBay, GE, Google and Facebook".
"CEA is currently reviewing requests for 2013 CES keynotes and will be making announcements in the coming months. In addition, the 2013 International CES is already generating significant interest as space selection for next year's show began this week. For example, 95,000 square feet of exhibit space in the 2013 CES iLounge
Pavilion has already sold, and Mazda and BMW have committed to 2013 CES exhibit space along with Ford, Kia, Audi and Hyundai, creating an even larger Apple-related product and automotive presence at the 2013 CES". So next year it will be a car show too!
COMMENTS
- It was exhausting, over 3100 booths, hallways and rooms on different floors of the Venetian, the Hilton and the Sands exhibit space, six buildings and all three major caverns and second floors of the Convention Center. The estimated traffic count, 160,000 dealers, was close and it hit 153,000. Probably another 7000 snuck in with fake passes. The expected and the dreaded possibility of a toilet paper shortage, worse a shortage of bathrooms was avoided as we knew the location of every hidden facility.
- This awesomely huge attraction and 153, 000 humans all stuffed into the LVCC and three additional hotels make walking and navigating look like the blood flowing in your arteries. You all have to move at once or gridlock and clogged aisles. Vegas was happy. Most restaurants were booked already for dinners with Pucks, Stagos, Battellis, Roys and others priced around 60-to 80 a head plus drinks. I think they have special EXPENSE ACCOUNT MENUS for those on corporate accounts, as they know you are coming. It's cheaper off season if you can figure when that is.
- This was too big to fail, sounds familiar. Too many people, too far between venues, masses of folks not knowing where they are going, traffic, buses and buses and cabs, limos and the main attraction was get back to your room and collapse, we did just that on Thursday as we cut the day short to recuperate. Delightfully physically ehausted and mentally overloaded.
TIPS & TRICKS FOR OFF THE STRIP and TRAVEL
- I stay off the strip about one good street, away from noise, people, strip hotels, elevators, no parking, and overpriced necessaries and fearing the huge crowds we opted out of a car. Instinctively, I changed my mind about a car and went AVIS, I could always cancel. Best move I ever made. I had an all night Albertson's grocery a short mile away, major needs and wants, a microwave and coffee pot in our rooms. Many of the hotels through the convention arrangements were nice but it's all about kickbacks and rates when you book through the convention, and you won't be in your bed much.
- We paid about half of what the others got a deal on…and thats a lot less than most, plus 1/2 price meal tickets and other discounts. We have been convention hopping for thirty years and know our way around Vegas on a budget, the town doesn't have to financially kill you.
- Anything for the bodily needs like orange juice, soda, snacks like Twinkies and LIFE cereal, Iced tea and beer for the fridge were three lights away and at local prices. You will dehydrate in Vegas in 48 hours and pack Vaseline Jelly for the bloody nose, Chap-sticks for lips and fingernails and lots of body lotion for the dry itching if you are prone. The Airlines now allow a Gillette Fusion razor, and a nail clipper. You still take your belts and shoes off.
- I tried eating myself into oblivion at breakfast knowing the choices for midday were slim. I avoided the paltry sandwiches (wheres the beef) and junk food at the Convention center with a Kashi bar but the closest buffets and restaurants were so booked for dinner and OVERPRICED, we went to the car and got out of Dodge in a new brand new ( 003.2 miles) Ford Fusion. Nice car.
My friends in Vegas had told me where to go and we found simple places with great food, home town pricing and huge portions. Near Bally's go to the Blue Belle, huge breakfasts, dinners, about three lights south of the strip and you'll find an Outback and Olive Garden and they were not crowded. Our hotel, the Tuscany, we made our own deals on rates, paid half of what our friends paid to stay in Vegas and had Marilyn's cafe and The Garden on site. Excellent American and Italian cuisine, very modestly priced and big portions.
- I was also doing an article on the Buffets of Vegas for my website on food while out there and you can read me at www.aljacobskitchen.com. Last years winner was the "M" buffet at the fabulous "M" hotel and it was outstanding. This year it was the winner, outstanding again and after my crew, four guys at 215 average weight managed to eat almost everything they had including some excellent wine with the meal. The only exception was the Crawfish was overcooked and I mentioned it and five minutes later they changed it. I guess the Cajun Emperor Emeril Lagasse had the night off. This place is also the Cooking Channel TV show and our table of Carnivores clobbered the prime rib table three times.
Actually the eating and sleeping parts of the trip were great. At first I was against the car thinking the buses and monorail could do it but that was not the case. I like having the escape vehicle. It got us fed, reasonably and with great volume.
The most aggravation we had involved the Continental-United airline merger and Mother Nature. We had bad weather landing in Houston from Tampa and a very precise approach through CB's, CNM's and reported Tornadoes certainly made the E-ticket ride a blast. The next leg after three hours of waiting finally got us into Vegas.
The skateboarding refugee (dress code and body parts unspeakable) sitting on my window side didn't listen to the part about tightening ones seat belt and he decorated the luggage bin before he came out of the induced coma he appeared to be in. It must have been too much partying, dude. The Captain found a slot in the radar and greased a nice landing.
It was the return trip. Our plane with the door being closed gets the fuel ticket from the fueler and then the instrument panel lights up like Christmas and after an hour the Captain tell us the plane with a no pressure light for the fuel pumps, is broke! Worse, no parts in Vegas or the return leg to Houston. Another hour goes by and we get another aircraft and he announces we will get the free movie channel for 200 people missing their next flight.
We are stuck in Houston but the airline will put us up for the night at a Holiday Inn Express. Free transport to the hotel via the hotel shuttle, and a nice clean room. The other treat was dinner for twelve dollars at the airport and any offsite vendor who would accept them. We were advised we would have choices at the hotel. "BAD INTEL".
Our "choice de cuisine" was a SONIC, but we had no car, and it was a long walk and cold outside. The default was WAFFLE HOUSE and I will personally disembowel myself by committing Hari-Kari If I have to ever eat in one of those filthy operations again. My salad was best explained as the salmonella died eating it. These places were dirty looking, bad low end food and the waitress tried but I hope I never see that place again.
Next morning we had a great complimentary breakfast at the hotel, really nice, fresh food, clean and that solved the food situation. Off to the airport, the undressing, dressing processing went OK, I stopped at a Sandwich shop and got food for the flight. Beautiful flight back and all went well till we get the gate at Tampa and the Jetway is broke. They finally got that working and connected and we were home.
THE SCREWED UP PLACEMENT MIGHT BE THE END OF THE PMA
- The PMA was getting stale, the show shrinking faster than a dollar at the supermarket. It was still operating as if film was coming back and not realizing the digital game is a lot faster and moves quicker than film did which resulted in a lack of people attending. I will never forget walking into the PMA and seeing Kodak, Polaroid, Agfa and Gretag booths empty and this killed the smaller vendors also who had symbiotic partnerships with the giants. Kodak went into bankruptcy this week like a final thought. As film died downsizing became very apparent and somehow the PMA might of been the last to know.
Models of cameras, lenses and accessories were changing faster than Lady Gaga at a concert and were being announced on the short runs as products evolve and those who evolve faster, turn product faster. In addition the convergence of products, cameras into cell phones, computers, tablets and iPads all integrated and shared componentry. Photography was digital electronics the silver era was gone and change took place.
The death of the Mom and Pop stores cut attendance severely. All the biggies were delighted with the advent of the 'Big Box Stores". Till Circuit City and Ritz went belly up and now Best Buy might be in trouble. Sears and K-Mart sure are. Many manufacturers are looking for the Mom and Pops again, it was a mistake to ignore them and I see a few of the brands looking to get out of retail cameras (point and shoots and high end as well) as for some they are not that profitable and sell off to another company. Pentax is now Ricoh, Olympus might be out and bought by XXXXXXX to eliminate it's financial woes with millions missing. Others looking for more or new partners.
The Mom and Pop stores were the strength of the PMA as we knew it. The trade show was additional revenue, and what they had to offer other than a bunch of feel good club promos was the same as other groups. In the beginning, the PMA show took four days to cover and 24 months ago, the last year we attended (they cancelled last year) had it done in a half day. You could not cover this entire show in two weeks. You could cover the cameras in one day if you had the legs. Like digital and film, film took time to develop and print, digital is instant. Organizations are similar.
HITS OF THE SHOW - 5000 JOURNALISTS ATTENDED
Tremendous coverage of the show and over 5000 press passes were issued so there is plenty of Canon, Sony, Panasonic, Tamron, Samsung, Fuji and Nikon fodder out there in droves and reviews. Basically a rewrite of press releases and it bores me to death since they all say the same thing. All is wonderful in review land since they want a sample to play with. Just go to your local forums and favorite story tellers for the published gossip on the web.
Like I said; "I went and saw the photo Industry, about a third of what usually came to the show, rates were high, bad locations, cheap seats got expensive, hotels knew it and charged, transportation problems, a down economy and a show that just had better things to look at". After one day at the Venetian, we spent the other four at the CES side.
TELEVISIONS GETTING BIGGER AND THINNER
Many thought CES didn’t have a hold on innovation as in past years, I thought the refinements were impressive. CES notable new products, 20,000 according to the spiel, were bigger, faster, lighter and brighter. Images were breathtaking.
There were also many motion detectors for the games on the TV, similar to Kinect. Some even had face detection. Some vendors had 84 inch TV models on display pretty soon you can expect a wall unit in sections life size. I'll bet HBO late night can't wait.
LG and SAMSUNG ( KOREA) Both showed OLED screens that are about as thin as an iPad and in 55 inch models. You could theoretically mount one on the wall recessed a half inch and think there was no TV there. The downside is now, thats not going on one average credit card.
The Koreans are the new techno-builders thinking constantly out of the box and thats where Im looking at their innovation and giving the Japanese fits over their OOTB thinking and prowess with electronics. They have a tremendous ability to make a product, get it to sale, and then use the feedback to make it best in the world. The Hyundai and the KIA, voted the worlds worst cars ten years ago are now running with Mercedes for the best JD POWERS ratings possible. I have rented some of their cars and they are impressive.
SONY and TOSHIBA had 3D TV's that don't need glasses if you can afford them. A friend of mine has a Phillips and the glasses are thirty dollars a pair. With kids in the house you are constantly looking for glasses.
SONY also showed a new TV, the split screen, two shows at the same time. Watch football games from two different stadiums, four teams and the trick is in the glasses. You set the glasses and earbuds to one game and you can give the other glasses and earbuds to a friend and the oneTV play both overlaping simultaneously.
THE CHAIR - THE ULTIMATE WORKSTATION and personal bragging device I have ever seen.
Shaped like a Scorpion, I sat in the Emperor chair, a highly stable steel structure, tilting capabilities, integrated audio system, LED lighting and much more… the Emperor 1510 is the future of high-end home and office computer work environments for those companies wishing to invest 6500 dollars per worker bee or for someone who truly has everything and wants you to know it.
WOW! - The Emperor offers functionalities that enable the user to experience unprecedented comfort and quasi total immersion through strategically positioned monitors, audio system and accessories. The result is a complete computer office, ergonomically optimized, with a minimal footprint that improves overall performance and productivity.
One of the coolest tools at the show and I am sure some gamer has already cloned and built something in their garage from Moms old recliner. I wish I had one, but I can't fit it on my X-Wing Obe-One-Kenobe Mark five laser system Wiii. The basic model is 6500 dollars and the deluxe shown cost $44,000 dollars USD and sorry I can't justify that. I'll just go back and buy another airplane Like a Piper Cherokee 6 that I can fly and it comes with six seats and seat belts and has panoramic viewing, a Lycoming or Continental engine and real thrills built in.
THE BUZ... TABLETS!
The Consumer Electronics Show is the technology leader with conferences, demos and forums all hoping to predict and be there with the next new gadget. But this year it was all tablets as the other guys follow Apples thing and vision and mass produce their own usually cheaper versions and platforms.
Android’s rise to the top of the mobile world, meant that there were phones and tablets on hand in every flavor and size. Some made sense and some didn't. The 2012 show will be coming to a town near you as these innovations will start to appear in about four months.
AT&T Samsung Galaxy Note LTE
The Galaxy Note will officially launch on a carrier, AT&T announced at its press conference that the much-anticipated phone would launch Samsung confirmed in its own conference hours later. There are a couple of important distinctions between the international version and AT&T’s flavor: one, it’ll work on the new LTE network, which in AT&T’s case is playing catch-up to Verizon.
ASUS Going after KINDLE and NOOK
Announced an upgraded 1080p refresh of the Transformer Prime. The MeMO 370T a 7-inch Tab on Nvidia’s Tegra 3 system-on-a-chip. Estimated street price. The MeMo 370T will be out sometime in the second quarter.
The new SONY ERICSSON is a new Android-based watch which has a full touchscreen (as opposed to just the sides like the original) and a collection of mini-apps pre-loaded. The SmartWatch can pair with a standard phone via Bluetooth, but it can also function well enough on its own. Most impressively, it’ll get apps from the Android Market, and the rated battery life is 2-4 days depending on use. Sony expects the SmartWatch to go on sale in the next two months for $149.99.
MIllions of more data on the phones just cruise their website and include the letters CES in Google for more information. Tons of information.
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- FIND YOUR DOG BY PHONE
The Tagg pet tracking system uses advanced GPS tracking technology to allow you to see where your dog is and be notified if he or she wanders off. The lightweight tracker attaches to your dog's existing collar, and is designed to be worn at all times, even while swimming.
CUTE ACCESSORIES
- PENTAX Q
The Pentax Q represents the smallest interchangeable lens camera to date, maybe borrowing from the Pentax SLR 110 days, but this time Pentax is working a little magic with its tiny sensor camera . Check out a full size image from that little camera and you’ll be surprised at the image quality and we all remember the popularity of the Pentax 110, both owners loved them…….
And, with the number of accessories already are available, you’ll have some “extras” to sell right away. Adaptors allow SLR lenses to be used, and Pentax already thought of flash photographers throwing a shadow from that big tube by making flash able to “climb” way up and away from the camera body. The specialty retailer will have fun with this little guy as long as he has schnooks that want one…..
Tamrac – Announces a line of ladies camera bags as more and more women are moving into the dSLR camera market especially in the wedding, kids and newborn markets. Most camera bags still grunt masculine and don't camouflage their use for the ladies. The ladies will find the multi-use bags better than dragging hubby's along.
With raving reviews like:
01/12/2012 - 01:09 AM ビジネスワイヤ）ェームズ・ボンドの節目の50周年を記念して、メトロ・ゴールドウィン・メイヤー・スタジオと20世紀フォックス ホーム エンターテイメントは本日、ジェームズ・ボンド映画全22作品をブルーレイディスクで初めて1セットに収録した収集価値のあるボックスセット「BOND50」を発表しました。史上最長を記録する映画シリ,
I mean that just says it all!
More coming…..