CES 2011 - AT&T Failed

AT&T had ZERO presence at the 2011 CES.

Verizon had a GINORMOUS booth, with lots of devices to touch and play with. 
Sprint had at least two, also with gadgets, including one outdoors with a DJ, 10 PlayStation 3's and freebies.

Also, my iPhone 4 had constant problems with data around the LV Convention Center during the show.  Likely a problem with network congestion.  Even if they didn't want to do a booth, they could have rolled up at least one of those mobile cell stations.

So me (and likely others) were using their iPhones, and getting poor data performance from AT&T.  We're being courted by Verizon & Sprint, who have some admittedly nice phones.  And where is AT&T?  Nowhere.

AT&T - you failed.  You should have had a booth at CES, and you should have done something to improve network performance around what is probably the biggest technology trade show in the United States, if not the world.

CES 2011 - Tiffen wins award for CHEESIEST GIMMICK

At the CES today, I strolled by the the Tiffen booth.  Tiffen makes the famous Steadicam system for motion picture production, and they also offer "consumerized" versions as well - even for iPhones.

The Tiffen rep told me that they would be having a raffle, and the prize was an iPod Nano.  I don't need one, but I figured why not?  The rep handed me a ticket and said I must be present to win, and that the drawing would occur at 2pm.  It was around 1:30 or so, so I figured I'd browse other booths and come back.

I got back about 1:55 and noticed that there was a bit of a crowd, but not too much.  I figured my chances were at least decent.  The crowd began to build a bit, and after a few minutes, a woman's voice comes over the P.A..  She announces that Lady Gaga would be performing, and that after her performance, the drawing would occur.   I was immediately suspicious, because Lady Gaga had already been at the CES for Polaroid - two years in a row.

She repeats the announcement that Lady Gaga would be performing - and she repeated the announcement multiple times.  This causes a very large crowd to build.  Many people pushed and shoved to get a closer spot.  I looked behind me and it looked like there were at least 100 cameras or phones in the air hoping to catch a shot of the star.  This was not a huge booth.  The crowd overflowed into adjacent booths and walkways.


"Poker Face" begins playing over the speakers, and out comes what is clearly (at least to me) an impersonator lip-syncing.  Some in the crowd realize it, many do not.

NOT Lady Gaga.  Nice try, Tiffen.

 
After the "performance", instead of letting the crowd in on the gag, the announcer carries the charade further.  The drawing occurs and they have the winner pose for a picture with Lady Gaga.  The rep tells the crowd that Lady Gaga will be available for pictures with the crowd.  To my knowledge, they never told the crowd it was a fake.

Tiffen is a local (Glendale, CA) company that makes very fine, world-renowned products.  They shouldn't even consider such lame antics.  It reflects poorly on them and their company's goodwill.

2009 CES

Just got back from the 2009 CES in Las Vegas.

Some cool new stuff, like:
- Windows 7 - running on a large touchscreen
- Upcoming SDXC (super high-capacity SD) cards
with up to 2TB capacity
- Super-thin (less than 1" thick) HDTV's

I also got to play with:
- T-Mobile G1 Smartphone
(feels good in the hand, but still needs some more time)
- Blackberry Storm (I was unimpressed)
- Halo Wars
(interesting - didn't play it too long, but probably will buy it)

Click through to see my pictures from the show.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/martinlosangeles/sets/72157612445477409/