2012 International CES Sets Records as Largest Annual Show in U.S. History

2012 International CES Sets Records as Largest Annual Show in U.S. History

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Arlington, VA—The 2012 International CES drew more than 153,000 attendees, setting an attendance record for the 44-year-old trade show, CEA reports. The Las Vegas gathering last week also set records for the number of exhibitors, with more than 3,100, and the size of the exhibition space, at 1.861 million square feet. Technology innovations generated excitement across the 2012 CES show floor, from OLED TVs and tablets to smartphones, digital cameras and 3D printers.

“The 2012 CES was the most phenomenal show in our history, generating more energy and excitement across every major industry touching technology than ever before,” said Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association, the owners and producers of CES.

Executives from business, government, entertainment, automotive, consumer electronics and every major industry converged on the 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show to experience new ways of doing business at the world’s largest consumer technology trade show. According to CEA, the show drew a record of more than 153,000 attendees, including 34,000 international attendees.

More than 20,000 new products were launched at the 2012 CES, which also featured for the first time the PMA@CES TechZone, located at the Venetian. And, top executives participating in keynote sessions included those from Qualcomm, Mercedes, Walmart, Intel, Ford, Verizon, Unilver, Ford, eBay, GE, Google and Facebook. Executive delegations from thousands of global companies, from Apple to Zeo, attended the event to meet with current and future customers.

The Innovation Power Panel featured Ford’s president and CEO Alan Mulally, Xerox chairman and CEO Ursula Burns and Verizon Enterprise Solutions’ president, John Stratton. The panelists discussed how innovation must be a strategy for their respective companies and for the U.S. The conversation centered on how to stimulate innovation through investment and employment.

In his 2012 CES keynote, Hans Vestberg, president and CEO of Ericsson, discussed “The Networked Society” that connects everyone and everything through mobility. “We have a responsibility to build networks that can carry innovation,” said Vestberg. Ericsson predicts there will be 50 billion connected devices worldwide by 2020.

Wednesday’s SuperSession with Brian Dunn, CEO of Best Buy, and CEA’s Shapiro talked about hot-selling products this holiday season and the retailer’s strategy. “We’ll have more doors and less square footage,” Dunn told Shapiro in a question and answer session. “Stores have an important place in the ecosystem.” When it comes to product trends, Dunn expects tablets and smartphones to stay hot.

The 2012 CES was also a star-studded event with numerous Hollywood celebrities in attendance, including Eliza Dushku, who served as the official ambassador for the CES Entertainment Matters program, Justin Timberlake, Justin Bieber, Ludacris, 50 Cent, Wil.i.am, Wayne Brady, Jillian Michaels, LL Cool J, Ryan Seacrest, Will Smith and Kelly Clarkson.

“CES is the change agent, the catalyst, that brings executives from a wide range of industries together and helps them create better ways of doing business together. The breadth and depth of the 2012 CES, which featured more innovative technology products than anywhere else on Earth, is a testament to the dynamic and innovative global consumer technology industry, which will reach $1 trillion globally this year,” added Shapiro.

In other 2012 International CES news, Lytro won the Last Gadget Standing SuperSession competition with its revolutionary consumer light field camera, which allows photographers to continually refocus captured pictures at anytime, after the fact. Lytro beat nine other finalists, including the PlayStation Vita, Autom Robot, Cotton Candy, WIMM, Origami, Svivl, Basis Body Band, Lenovo Yoga and Samsung Note.

In addition, the 2013 International CES is already generating significant interest as space selection for next year’s show began this week. In fact, 95,000 square feet of exhibit space in the 2013 CES iLounge Pavilion has already sold, creating an even larger Apple-related product and automotive presence at the 2013 CES. ce.org

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