LOS ANGELES - Kevin Costner, Yoko Ono, Mary J. Blige and Danica Patrick will be hawking products at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next week -- but they'll hardly be noticed.
As usual, the main attraction at CES will be the blizzard of new gadgets that will have tech geeks salivating the whole year. Instead of celeb-stalking or whiling away the hours at slot machines and Blackjack tables, 140,000 like-minded gear-hunters will be prowling 1.7 million square feet of exhibit space to find never-before-seen phones, TV screens, chips and other devices that defy conventional gadget categorization.
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The most sought-after products at the convention, which runs Jan. 7 through Jan. 10, will likely be mock-ups and prototypes of products that are still a few years away from hitting store shelves.
One such elusive item is a phone running software from Google's new Android mobile-software platform. Several Asian third-party manufacturers are rumored to be tinkering with the software, and these companies might offer key partners a first glimpse.
CES veterans also know that each year a battle rages between television makers such as Panasonic, Mitsubishi, Samsung and Sony. These companies fight to best each other in record-breaking "firsts," involving extreme sizes and cutting-edge display technologies. This year's contests include the largest-ever plasma screen (150 inches), the largest Organic Light-Emitting Diode TV (a new bright and energy-efficient screen), the first functioning laser television and the first TVs that receive high-quality wireless streaming from a high-definition signal.
Forget Plasma and LCD, the newest TVs make use of Organic Light-Emitting Diodes (OLEDs)
Set-top boxes and media-extender devices that broadcast high-def video signals to TVs will also be sought out at the show. Many manufacturers are working together on standards for this technology and have formed a group called WirelessHD to address some of the challenges of sending massive amounts of video data across airwaves while still impressing picky home-theater buyers with perfect pictures.
Many companies may bring working prototypes of cutting-edge devices with them to Las Vegas, but they won't display them under glass or leave them at a booth for manhandling. Rather than risking poor reviews for a product that isn't nearly ready, these companies will hold closed-door meetings with a select group of potential partners and analysts, and make them sign non-disclosure agreements.
More important than touching a buggy prototype is hearing a secretive chief executive disclose plans for his or her company. Some of these speeches will also take place behind closed doors.
This year's keynote speakers include Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, Comcast Chief Executive Brian Robertsand Intel Chief Executive Paul Otellini. Otellini is a familiar face at CES, but this year his keynote will take on added significance as attendees wonder whether he will drop any hints about his appearance at Apple's Macworld conference in San Francisco the following week. Intel is due to unveil a variety of cellphone and other portable device storage and processing chips, some of which are bound to end up in future Apple products.
And for the first time at CES, a chief executive from an automaker will speak. General Motors Chief Executive Rick Wagoneris scheduled to take the stage on Jan. 8. GM hasn't hinted at what points or product news Wagoner intends to discuss, but it had better be something about how his company intends to take the lead in safely integrating music, video and news content into cars. Consumers demand it. Bluetooth, cameras, GPS and other satellite technologies are at the forefront here, and companies such as Ford, Apple and Sirius have already made some headway.
ConnectR telepresence home robot from iRobot
Palm and Motorola chief executives will be attending CES, but they won't be making public speeches. Attendees, however, are clamoring to hear how they plan to reboot their struggling companies. Motorola's new Chief Executive, Greg Brown, will contend with the CES crowds during his first week in his new role--he replaced Ed Zander Jan. 1--and any meetings he takes will surely address the company's flagging earnings and prospects for its next Razr-level phone.
Palm's Ed Colligan, meanwhile, must convince investors and analysts that his company can revive and redesign its line of smart phones in the face of Apple's slick iPhone and the top-selling BlackBerry from Research in Motion.
Apple, as usual, won't make an appearance at CES because Macworld is held a few days later, and Steve Jobs likely will be busy rehearsing his own keynote speech, which tends to get more attention than any of the announcements that emanate from Sin City.
