2012 CE Week Features Top Industry Leaders, Products and Media

07/13/2012

CE Week, presented by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA®), concluded in New York City on June 29. The event, which spanned more than 48,000 square feet of floor space, featured a weeklong series of technology events across the city, including the CEA Line Shows, Digital Downtown Conference, Eureka Park Challenge and Mobile Apps Showdown. The conference sessions, networking events, press conferences and product launches drew thousands of media and CE industry professionals from across the nation.

“Growing bigger and more important each year, CE Week is a must-attend industry event in the media capitol of the world,” said Gary Shapiro, president and CEO, CEA. “This mid-year event brings all the key audiences together for ‘reality check’ features, compelling product launches, dynamic discussions and quality networking that continue to fuel the dynamic CE industry.”

The CEA Line Shows featured an assortment of new CE product introductions from more than 140 major brands, innovators and start-ups, including: Dish Network, Intel, LG, Monster, Pioneer, RCA, Scosche, Sony, Tiffen and Westinghouse Digital.

“This was our largest exhibit floor ever and turnout was amazing among the mid-atlantic tech community,” said Eric Schwartz, president and publishing director, CTPG. “It’s clear that CE Week has become the premier technology event for the east coast technology community. We have a strong partnership with CEA and Martin Porter Associates and look forward to continuing this momentum and coming in even larger for 2013.”

The Digital Downtown conference began with a 1:1 Executive Interview with Gary Shapiro, president and CEO, CEA, and Randy Fry, president and co-founder, Fry’s Electronics and Chairman of the CEA Board. The executives discussed internet sales tax and key retail trends.

Shawn DuBravac, chief economist and director of research, CEA, presented the latest market research trends in his Industry Update. DuBravac discussed the impact of the global and U.S. economies on the consumer technology market. He explained that consumers are holding back on tech spending in proportion to overall spending on durable goods, but that this will likely change in the second half of the year.

In a CEA press conference, CEA launched its new foundation and announced New York-based Community Services, Inc. as its first grant recipient.

A panel of four judges and attendees voted Tactus Technology Inc.’s Tactus Tactile Touchscreen the grand prize winner of the Eureka Park Challenge, CEA’s contest for entrepreneurs and start-ups. Tactus was founded in 2008 to develop the next generation of touch interface. As grand prize winner, Tactus will receive a free booth in the specialized Eureka Park TechZone at the 2013 International CES®. Interbots received second place honors for their product Popchilla, a robotic therapy platform that combines mobile apps, interactive robots, and a data tracking service to help children with autism practice social interactions and everyday skills. Finally, Novusport was voted fan favorite of the competition for their social media game that defines sports in a whole new and innovative way. All finalist videos are featured in the embedded 2012 Eureka Park Challenge at CE Week playlist.

Living in Digital Times displayed the best and brightest in mobile app technology on the Wall of Apps and at the Mobile Apps Showdown. Life360, an app that lets you locate and track family and friends, was named the winner of the online vote. Pressman Toy’s iPieces, an interactive board game, and Kurio7, a family-friendly Android tablet, both won the popular vote, determined by audience applause.

Condition One, an embeddable immersive video player for the iPad / iPhone that integrates seamlessly into existing applications or can be launched as a standalone product, won the NY Tech Start-Up Classic, produced by NY Tech Meet Up. As part of its prize, Condition One wins free exhibition space at the 2013 International CES, the world’s largest consumer technology tradeshow, to be held January 8-11 in Las Vegas.

The Women in CE Career Enhancement Forum on Tuesday featured sessions, topics, workshops and keynote speakers related to career enhancement for all corporate, small business and entrepreneurial women pursuing a career in consumer electronics. Event highlights included an opening keynote address from Cathie Black, former chairwoman and president, Hearst Magazines and New York Times best-selling author, and a presentation by Joshua Henderson, director of programming, Springboard Enterprises, outlining several apps to “supercharge your career,” including administrative, travel, fitness and hobby-related apps.

Jeff O’Heir, Editor in Chief of Dealerscope presented DISH Network with the Best in Show Award on Wednesday evening for their Hopper™ Whole-Home HD DVR. The Hopper was selected amongst hundreds of products for its standout features including AutoHop’s provision of consumer choice and control of TV viewing.

Seth Pinsky, president, New York Economic Development Corporation, gave a Thursday morning keynote and addressed how the Bloomberg Administration is working to build on the growth of New York City’s start-up community and secure a leadership position for the city in the 21st century for innovation. Other sessions featured discussions from top-name panelists on home technologies, mobile health, Next Gen TV, including 4K, OLED and Passive 3D, CE industry predictions, tablet accessories and more.

GeekBeat.TV, with host Cali Lewis and co-host John Pozadzides, broadcast live from the show floor at CEA Line Shows and provided coverage of the latest news and announcements, complete with interviews and demonstrations from exhibitors, speakers and attendees.

The editors of CustomRetailer Magazine voted Variable Technologies’ NODE the Technovation Award winner yesterday after they squared off against SafeAwake and SoloMatrix during the Innovation Zone demos. The NODE is a portable powerhouse sensor tool that works as an extension for the usefulness of present smartphones and other mobile devices.

More information on the 2012 CE Week can be found at ceweekny.com. The 2013 CE Week is scheduled June 24-28 in New York City.

About CE Week

A weeklong, citywide event in New York City, including CEA Line Shows and Digital Downtown Conference, organized in association with CEA, along with Martin Porter Associates and Consumer Technology Publishing Group/NAPCO, publisher of Dealerscope, Custom Retailer and E-Gear Magazines.

Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), www.CE.org