Expectations of CES 2009

One major problem with this year’s CES is the gloomy economy that has the US in an official recession. According to Information Week, “the glitzy Las Vegas show is smaller than last year, as vendors have scaled back in anticipation of fewer attendees in the current economic recession. In addition, CES has less star power with Microsoft founder Bill Gates no longer giving the opening night keynote, a job he filled for the last 11 years.”

So what can consumers expect from this year’s “less buzz” event?  Information Week’s article explains by stating “the new products hawked at the show will cover many of the most exciting markets, including smart phones, third-generation netbooks, slimmer and better-looking digital TVs, touch-screen laptops and gaming.” We’ve already covered a few of Lenovo’s gems for this year’s 2009 CES and for another summary of what can be expected this week, check out our previous post.

Yesterday, Apple had their big keynote address at Macworld (which is considered the anti-PC event of the year) and by several reports, there was a lot of bark but no real bite. Like CES, the main attraction of Macworld (Steve Jobs) was not there (Bill Gates stepped down as CES’ main attraction last year). Although some reports believe Macworld’s Keynote yesterday wasn’t a success due to Steve Jobs, others say it has more to do with technology companies feeling the pain of the economy like everyone else.

For more coverage of this year’s CES, you can check PC Magazine’s live coverage of CES 2009 here.