Stage set for Consumer Electronics Show 2005

 

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By Paul Trotter in Las Vegas

Posted on 5 Jan 2005 at 09:08

The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) kicks off here in Las Vegas tomorrow and the world's media is already sniffing around the products manufacturers have kept under wraps in preparation for the event.

Exhibitors are putting the final touches on the show floor in anticipation of more than 120,000 visitors, but many early visitors arrived a day or two early to begin planning their route around the Las Vegas Convention Center. Many of them will surely soon begin to queue up for Bill Gates' keynote speech, scheduled for 6.30pm this evening, local time.

Over the years, the Microsoft boss has used his pre-exhibition keynotes at the world's top tech shows to demonstrate a number of so-called disruptive technologies - for example the Tablet PC, SPOT watches and the Mira Smart Displays.

The jury is still out on those products (apart from Smart Displays, which have been canned). But, the 2,400 companies exhibiting here - described as a `who's who in consumer technology` by Consumer Electronics Association vice-president Jeff Joseph on Tuesday - are likely to reveal some key products at the world's largest consumer tech showcase.

Digital imaging, audio and recording products will be on show, while US consumers will be on the look out for the latest in HDTV sets. Consumer voice-over-IP is likely to be another key area, as too is gaming. Sony is expected to show off its PlayStation Portable, for example, although there's no news on Microsoft's Xbox 2 as yet.

The decision to cancel last November's Comdex Fall means CES has become an even more important date in the technology calendar. All of the top companies with traditions in the PC market have been looking at ways to get their products into the living room over the past few years. As well as Gates, Intel's chief executive Craig Barrett, HP supremo Carly Fiorina and 300 other industry experts will be speaking over the next four days.