Post CES

How I got invited to the CES New York press preview is simple: I registered. The ratio of real journalists to random folks like me: about 75:1. None-the-less, I had a great time. The afternoon begun with a trends analysis and then the room opened up to preview all the latest gadgets.

I was welcomed to a trends analysis review by a Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) analyst, Sean Wargo, whose predictions have our holiday market looking good. The sum up was as follows:

Healthy Industry; Dreary Consumer

CEA surveyed 100 random American households to find their results. Some of the most interesting statistics shows a higher spending trend. When asked if they would spend more or less on gifts this year, 37% said they would spend less, but their actual dollar amount of how much they plan on spending was 14% higher ($1430 up form $1250 last year). This interesting stat comes from the fact that the items being purchased are more expensive per unit, as opposed to previous years. We now see a shift to items like the ipod and LCD TV rather than a discman or tube TV. Those two items alone account for the upturn and if predictions stay true, will show a $17 billion holiday spending season.

Some of this year's most exciting gadgets are the mFuel emergency charger, the eMagin OLED 3d goggles, and Kodak's Easyshare One (4mp wifi camera). I will have pictures and reviews up soon.