Off to Consume Electronics! (at 2014 International CES in Vegas)

And so off to this year’s (2014!) International CES, the show formerly known as the Consumer Electronics Show, or, as I refer to it, “Consume Electronics!” I’m packing a camera, my iPad and Asus Nexus 7 tablets — plus, for most of my note-taking, if the AC charger still works, my trusty old NEC MobilePro, which flips open ready for being typed into faster than anything else I’ve got.There’s a lot I don’t plan to see, or at least do more than quick-browse — automotive/RV, boat, home, high-end audio, hi-end home theater, parts/components manufacturers, and more.

That still leaves more than enough to look at — tablets, smartphones, cameras, health, storage, smart-home appliances, innovations, accessories… and hopefully even some traditional desktop and notebook PCs, along with printers and monitors. Along with some of my niche interests, like USB turntables, mobile fuel cells, AA/AAA rechargables and disposables… and a few candidates for what Jerry Pournelle calls “the dangdest thing I saw.” (Almost every show has at least one product that qualifies.)

In addition to the CES show floor proper, I’ll be going to the Pepcom and ShowStoppers multi-vendor press/analyst-oriented events — where my colleagues and I can time-effectively chat with dozens-to-scores of vendors within a few hours, something that the Las Vegas Convention Center’s sprawl isn’t suited for. (And the show floor’s main targets are buyers/resellers, not us press folks.) As always, I’ll also be schmoozing the vendors/exhibitors at the Storage Visions event… and whatever/whoever/where else I can manage.

And there’s also a blogger-oriented event, NMX New Media Expo (formerly “BlogWorld”), which I’m targetting to spend some time at.

Wish me luck!