My first CES started a little bit more than 24 hours ago for me. As I wrote yesterday, I want to share my impressions of the show. I’ve been following CES for years, but seeing it in person is a much different experience — starting with press day.
Press day at CES means that all the big names from Samsung to LG, Panasonic, Sharp are holding a press conference to announce their latest products. These all happen in the same building, the Mandalay Bay hotel and casino. I woke up in the wee hours of the morning to attended the LG conference, and was also at the big Samsung conference.
But there are many other conferences happening every hour. In fact, there are still conferences happening right now. I feel like journalists willing to attend every single press conference will want to scream and leave Las Vegas before the end of the day.
There are many reasons why a day like press day can be exhausting. First, press conferences tend to be dull. They all have the same narrative, boring computer-generated videos and movie executives reading a teleprompter saying how great this technology company is. Second, there is a narrative at each CES.
Last year, a lot of companies showcased new wearable devices in a race to market. Everybody wanted to release some sort of watch or fitness band before Apple, one of the only big names that ignores CES every year.
This year, it’s all about 4K TVs. While these ultra high definition TVs are not a novelty, they are bound to become mainstream in the very near future. Yet, I can say with confidence that the entire team at TechCrunch doesn’t pay any attention to these 4K TV announcements. And it turns out that many other media outlets don’t either.
So we’re left with the other announcements. While LG announced a new phone, most of the other announcements revolved around washing machines and other home appliances. And now, people can’t stop talking about washing machines.
Jordan wrote about LG’s double washing machine this morning, because it’s a crazy beast. LG pulled off a washing inception as there is a mini washer below a more traditional washer. It comes with Wi-Fi and everything, but just the idea that LG put a second washing machine inside a washing machine was both a staggering and yet incredibly well-calculated move.
Samsung also put a sink on top of a washing machine, and I’m sure that other companies had some washing machine to showcase as well. Every washing machine announcement comes with passionate statements about TurboWash 2.0 and a lot of unnecessary marketing jargon. So there is one takeaway from this press day, it is that washing machines are the future.
https://twitter.com/CESTrailer/status/552226961125163009
https://twitter.com/MattRosoff/status/552244090637541376
Read my other posts in the Tales of CES series.