Live From The CES 2007 Show Floor

To say that the International Consumer Electronics Show is big is like saying that hippo is heavy; it goes without saying.

This year's CES in Las Vegas is spread out over three convention spaces: the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC), the Las Vegas Hilton, and the Sands Expo and Convention Center/The Venetian. Several hotels also host exhibits. According to the Consumer Electronics Assocation, which produces the show, it boasts 2,700 exhibitors in 30 product categories.

On the show floor itself, vendors vie for the attention of the attendees with booths that are larger than a typical Manhattan apartment. There are a few floor shows typical of past years -- for example, at the Intel booth, two young women persuade volunteers to do a quick dance number for the edification of their colleagues -- but most of the attention of those here are on the mass of products, many of them being introduced for the first time.

The trends this year seem to be centered on either the very small or the very big. The former centers on mobile entertainment via your media player or your cell and ultra portable PCs and handheld game systems; the latter centers on high-performance gaming systems along with bigger and better HDTVs.

High definition is, in fact, being pushed a good deal, not only for displays, but DVD recorders, notebook PCs, home theater systems, and a variety of other products. Blu-ray disc technology also is starting to be touted by several manufacturers such as LG Electronics and Dell. The race is on.Of course, a lot of what's here is overshadowed by the coming of Vista. Microsoft has a huge booth inside the convention center, and a small tent city outside. Product managers make sure you know that their products are Vista-ready (or Vista-compliant, or ready-for-Vista) -- nobody wants to be left behind.

It's impossible to cover the entire show in the week that it is here -- the best that anyone attending CES can do is grab a map, try not to crash into too many of the other attendees, and make a beeline for the products that they find the most interesting, exciting, useful, or just plain fun.

We've assembled some photos of our travels through the halls of CES so that you can see some of what is new -- and perhaps get a taste of the experience.