A new year means a new Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. The desert city plays host to 45th annual show where geeks like me go nuts over the latest connected gizmos, gadgets and appliances. Appliances? Yes, they too are becoming more aligned with this connected world we live in and they are growing in focus during the world’s largest electronics expo. I am looking forward to what big players like Samsung and LG have to in that category. More on that this week.
On the ‘press day’ of CES 2012 and for my inaugural post on ITBusiness.ca, I thought it might be entertaining (- or helpful if you are also in Vegas -) to see what must-have ‘tools’ are needed during the four-day show.
Here are my top 10 must-haves to survive CES 2012:
- iPhone 4S – to stay constantly connected and use apps like the one specially programmed for CES 2012 to navigate among 150,000+ attendees and catch the latest happenings. A U.S. data roaming package is critical.
- Mophie Juice Pack – to power the above, giving me several hours of additional battery life.
- Foxtex AR-4i audio accessory – adds a boom-like mic to my iPhone when recording video, the hand-held grip is convenient too when filming.
- Canon Rebel T2i – to snap pro-like product and lifestyle images.
- Sony HDR-XR550 Handycam – to record exciting moments, complete with two mini Dynex lights and mount to brighten up the mood when necessary.
- HP Compaq 6910p laptop – to crank out blog posts.
- iPad 2 – to check email, provide quick email replies, Tweet, Skype, and do just about anything but slice bread.
- Cole Haan loafers with Nike technology – comfortable shoes while at CES are a must. Spending several hours walking and sometimes running to catch celebrities, comfy shoes are critical.
- Nintendo 3DS – for entertainment purposes only, onboard my flight to/ from Vegas. Super Mario 3D is keeping occupied.
- Ogio backpack – keeps all the gadgetry in one place and conveniently portable.
If you are attending CES, what else you recommend bringing to survive the excitement and activities of the show?
The bigger question is: what products will be the big newsmakers coming out of CES 2012? We will find out soon, but already the buzz is about new OLED TVs, tablets, slimness is better (e.g. ‘ultrabooks’ – laptops), convergence of electronics and anything connected.
Elliot Chun is Communications Manager of Future Shop Canada. He lives and works in Vancouver. Eliott is a blogger who is passionate about PR, marketing, technology, gadgets and playing/ watching sports.
