CES Spin Versus the Taxi Cab Driver Reality
January 9, 2009

As I've sat through all the manufacturer press conferences at CES, I have been honestly surprised by the huge number of new Blu-ray players will be launching in 2009. Analysts from Adams Media Research and DisplaySearch seemed upbeat during this week's Blu-ray conference about consumers' continued demand for the format. 
However, this Blu-ray optimism comes during the same week that the U.S. is posting the biggest job losses in decades, and retailers continue to report falling sales. People may certainly want to buy Blu-ray, but will they have the money to actually seal the deal?
After speaking to some Vegas taxi cab drivers, who are pounding the streets harder than any reporter that I know, the general consensus is that people are really suffering out there. The CES is apparently reporting that overall attendance to this 2009 show is down 10% from last year. Taxi cab drivers believe that the drop has to be steeper than that. They report many hotels are dealing with unexpected vacancies, as a number of companies have pulled out of attending the show at the last minute.
In one personal experience in a cab, a driver told me that earlier in the morning he had picked up a prostitute who sat bawling in the back seat. He asked her what was wrong, and she said that she had gotten no business the entire night. If a hooker isn't having success in Vegas, I'd guess that times have to be real slow, right?
I certainly hope people do show up to buy all the cool goodies exhibited at CES. Beyond Blu-ray, there are loads of glamorous TV sets and laptops.  It's also exciting seeing so many 3D-enabled TV sets that will hopefully hit store shelves soon.

Posted by Susanne Ault on January 9, 2009 | Comments (0)