This blog post is part of a 2010 Consumer Electronics Show series supported by The Network Hub. To find out more about The Network Hub, please visit www.thenetworkhub.ca.

Far be it for me to call myself a trade show veteran, but I have been to Las Vegas for the Consumer Electronics Show three years running and I did notice several significant changes for this year's show.

Traditionally, Las Vegas hotels tripled their rates during CES. This is because many of the attendees are not "normal" tourists and, thus, don't spend nearly the same amount of money on shows, drinks, gambling, and other entertainment. This year, you could get a perfectly nice room on the Strip for $100 or less. Rooms at the Stratosphere were only $29! Vegas must still be hurting from the recession.

The trade show itself felt a lot smaller. In previous years, the Consumer Electronics Show would invade the entirety of the Las Vegas Convention Center, Sands Expo, Las Vegas Hilton, and several suites up and down the Strip. This year, the North Hall of the LVCC felt almost abandoned and the Sands wasn't even used.

Instead, many companies chose to use private hotel suites to showcase their new merchandise. This is more cost-effective, but it takes away from the trade show because only invitees could visit these suites. The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), which is responsible for planning and hosting CES, was not at all pleased with this growing development.

I have one other observation that had little to do with CES itself. Due to the attempted terrorist attack by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab two weeks prior, I was not able to bring a carry-on bag onto my flight from Vancouver. Many Canadian press went without their expensive DSLRs and other equipment, because they didn't want to risk having them in their checked luggage. Did this affect their coverage of the show? Absolutely.

Looking ahead to 2011, should we expect more shrinkage from CES? Time will tell.

This blog post is part of a 2010 Consumer Electronics Show series supported by The Network Hub. To find out more about The Network Hub, please visit www.thenetworkhub.ca.

One of the hottest topics coming out of this year's International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas was the pending arrival of 3D television in the living room. From Samsung to Sony, Panasonic to LG, all the major players demonstrated that they were prepared to enter this new dimension of home entertainment. However, I'd argue that 3D TV still doesn't matter. At least, for the time being.

The technology behind the 3D TV is not new. This was the third time that I've ventured into Sin City for CES and I've seen televisions from all the major manufacturers touting the "immersive experience" that a 3D TV is supposed to offer. Aside from a quirky prototype from Samsung, you need to wear specialized glasses or goggles to get the 3D effect. Without them, you get a blurry mess.

Yes, I understand that 3D has become a big money-maker for Hollywood and for movie theatres, but the living isn't quite ready for the jump. Here's why:

1. Everyone in the room needs those specialized glasses, which makes it useless (or expensive) for larger groups. Further still, do people really want to wear these goggles the whole time they're in the living room?

2. There is not enough 3D content out there yet, but that could change in the next year. There's a new 3D standard for Blu-ray and DirecTV is forged a relationship with Panasonic for more 3D content. That will take time.

Given the ongoing push for the format, I'm reasonably certain that 3D TV will get there some day. But that day is not today. For now, we're much more interested in streaming Internet content to the living room TV. To that end, the development of TV-based apps and widgets could prove to be more influential than the adding of an extra dimension.

This blog post is part of a 2010 Consumer Electronics Show series supported by The Network Hub. To find out more about The Network Hub, please visit www.thenetworkhub.ca.

It's a trend that has continued to grow in recent years and it was once again demonstrated at the 2010 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. While we were once bound to our computers if we wanted anything to do with the Internet, this clearly is no longer the case. Seeing how CES is meant to showcase the bleeding edge of technology, it's not surprising to see that the Internet was front and center at the show.

For starters, it seemed like print media took a back seat to online media outlets. One of the biggest stages outside of the conventional halls was the one dedicated to CNET. It also wasn't hard to spot video bloggers (or vloggers, if you prefer) holding their Flip Videos out at arm's length while walking around on the trade show floor. And then there was Leo Laporte doing his podcast too.

Further still, I didn't see anything about an official press partner for the Consumer Electronics Show, but Engadget was prominently featured everywhere as the official provider of blog coverage for the show. They had giant displays scrolling through the Engadget RSS feed at several locations.

The growing ubiquity of the Internet filtered through into the actual gadgets and technology being showed off by manufacturers too, of course. Sony's newest entry into the pocket camcorder market is called the Bloggie. Samsung introduced Internet-connected apps for its televisions, not unlike the apps you get on the iPhone. And, of course, all the smartphones were proud to show off their Facebook and Twitter integration features.

Moving forward, it doesn't seem to matter what kind of company you are or what kind of product you sell. If you're not intricately intertwined with the World Wide Web, you're falling well behind the curve.