I just returned from CES 2012 and have had time to digest my first trip to the industry's dog and pony show. In a word, it was a little overwhelming.
After a few days of reflection, though, my mind seems stuck on one thing -- specifically, which companies weren't in attendance (at least as exhibitors, anyway). Yes, Apple is a perennial no-show at CES. No surprise here. But what about Amazon, Facebook, and Google? These four companies are, in their own ways, each driving the current technology revolution. As I write in The Age of the Platform, today everyone's talking about the Gang of Four -- and for good reason. By everyone, I don't just mean attendees. I mean the other exhibitors as well. Consider a few examples.
TV manufacturers were bragging that their new units will ship with Facebook integration so you can "watch" TV with your friends in far away places. Ditto being able to view YouTube videos with just a click or two. Amazon's Kindle Fire is hardly the only tablet that lets you instantly easily purchase a movie, book, or album from its massive selection. Even cars will soon allow you to download apps for them. (Frequent question at the event: So, it's like iTunes, right?) And let's not forget the myriad iExhibitors that made iStuff: extensions, hardware, and other add-ons for Apple products. iShower and iGrill were my two personal favorites.
Perhaps there's something to be said for not being at CES. Why else would stalwart Microsoft announce that 2012 was the last year that it would maintain a physical presence?
And I'm hardly the only one noticing this trend. On Facebook, Walt Mossberg and some others exchanged thoughts over the elephants not in the room. Whey weren't the really important companies there?
Simon Says
Samsung, Microsoft, Qualcomm, and the others attend CES because they have to attend. They have to be noticed. They have to get the word out. The benefits of attending exceed their considerable costs, even when considered against the backdrop of a crowded, expansive venue with competitors hawking their wares -- often right beside them.
Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google could easily justify descending upon Las Vegas, but why bother? These companies have long benefitted from their ubiquity. They are always on people's minds and don't need to drop $100,000 or so on a tricked-out booth with reality stars to prove it. As attendees walked around, they were no doubt adding new friends on Facebook, tweeting, taking pictures on their iPhones, etc.
In other words, just because Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google weren't there doesn't mean that they weren't there.
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Don't know about Amazon or FB, but I have a photo of Sergey Brin and a small entourage of engineers asking many questions about a 55" Sony screen. Maybe they see themselves more as intermediaries for the actual electronics.
I go to CES to wander around the booths in the South hall and the small booths in the Hilton to see what innovative things are being developed by small US, European and Asian companies. Stuff that could make a big splash with the right PR and distribution in the US and around the world.
Unless you read a lot of the Asian and European trade press (which I do, but it is not enough), you can easily miss all the neat stuff that is being developed.
What is even worse is the US trade press tends to ignore or worse, mock, everything that doesn't come from the "big guys."
So the next time you go to CES, only go to the central hall on the first day for an hour or so to get the free stuff, then head for the 10x10 booths in the rest of the show. Over the years I have found some real gems that way.
But back to your point, which is why Microsoft bowed out. It's probably because Microsoft wants to focus more on software than consumer electronics, so the question in my mind is why they were there in the first place. They already have an extremely full plate without CES. The big question I had is why HP, which was the absolute leader in corporate electronics not too long ago, especially in displays, butted out without a word, while Samsung and LG put on the most spectacular show I've ever witnessed. LG's massive 3D display as you enter that hall had everyone gasping for air (and me asking why HP could never do that).
Refreshments inside the HP "booth" were entitled "these are only for HP executives". So I traipsed back to the Samsung booth where the sign said "these refreshments are only for customers", and marveled about how one single person, Carly Fiorina, managed to single-handedly cause HP stock to drop 95%--her legacy lives on at HP.
Apple, what were you thinking exactly?