CES: Sands Show Floor and ShowStoppers

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

CES is the world’s gathering place for any company significantly involved in the consumer industry. CES is owned and operated by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA). It has served as the key display and introduction event and proving ground for innovators, breakthrough technologies, as well as various “me-too” devices for many years. No matter how many other global shows there are, CES is the key stage where next-generation and improved present generation, as well as off the cuff, ideas are introduced to the marketplace. This includes top companies from leading global technology countries to those that are just entering the technology industry.

As the largest event of its kind, CES features all aspects of the industry and attracts the world’s business leaders and pioneering thinkers. Every aspect of technology is covered, from the latest computer processors and the most advanced virtual reality devices to quantum computing using the latest AI, handheld tablets and toys, robots, drones, and the latest entertainment devices, such as 8K wall-size TVs. In addition, if you want a new smartphone case or screen cleaner, there are many new ideas. If you name it, it is somewhere at CES, including automotive, medical, and military.

No matter how much time you dedicate to attending CES presentations and viewing additional focused exhibits, it is impossible to see it all. In fact, I would say that it is not even possible to visit all of the various exhibit halls and locations. Therefore, no matter how many articles like this one you read, there will be many things that you will not hear about or see. For those of us who cover CES, all we can do is our best while spending the better part of a week trying to see, learn about, and describe the things that interest us the most. Also, locals in Las Vegas have now committed to adding 600,000 square feet to the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC) within the next two years, so expect the expansion to continue.

Sands Show Floor

This year, I decided to hit the Sands show floor on Day One in the hope that by Day Two, the LVCC halls might not be as crowded as on the first day. On Tuesday, the show floors opened. The day started with the usual hundreds of emails sent to the registered press, saying, “Come and see us,” but one notice was of particular interest to me.

My “golf” or hobby is building computers, so the invitation to visit the private Corsair press exhibit area got my attention.

Corsair is one of the leading suppliers of high-end, innovative computer components. In fact, over half the key components for my latest build are from Corsair. Corsair recently announced the acquisition of Origin—a leading supplier of high-end, custom computers—the exhibit was even more of an attraction.

For the last few years, RGB lighting has added lots of bling to custom electronics, but Corsair has added significant value. For example, their iCue software—used in conjunction with their RGB-enabled fans, memory, liquid cooling, and other components—can be programmed to provide information that is important to a custom builder who is overclocking and pushing their build to get the maximum performance. If you see a component using their system, the lights that you thought were just bling start to change color, from relaxing blue to yellow and then red (or whatever color or pattern you desire), warning you that the specific component is being stressed. You can even set the color of the keys on your keyboard to mimic the signals showing the operation from normal to stressed.

After spending about an hour talking to the Corsair folks, it was time to move on to the Sands Convention Center. The Sands is the second-largest CES location, covering multiple floors over three buildings. Most of that space is used for exhibits, but there were also many presentations and conferences too. One of the key attractions at the Sands is Eureka Park. Per CES, “CES Eureka Park is the global stage for startups where new ideas are funded, new partnerships are formed, and new acquisitions happen. More than 1,200 startups used CES 2019 as a platform to showcase their products and have been funded at more than $1.5 billion since 2012.”Page 1 of 3

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