Delayed posting ...

My mother-in-law always maintains that “nothing good ever happens after 1am.” Time stands still in Las Vegas and it’s always much later than 1am.

I went to my first and hopefully only CES in January. To say it was a scene isn’t paying enough respect to scenes. Way too many people and my own affliction of S.O.S. (Shiny Object Syndrome) was in overload.

When you ask anyone for their impression of CES, they are more than likely to respond “overwhelming” which is completely accurate. I went because I was on a panel discussion about venture capital and consumer electronics investing, and because I have two investments that are related to the CE business - CHiL (power control semiconductors) and Acinion (Internet video infrastructure). I also went because I have been hearing about the insanity of CES for years and finally decided to see for myself.

My observations about CES are as follows:

1. (1)Too many venture capitalists in attendance. I am thinking about creating a new law, Aronoff’s first law of venture capital buzzkill “the attractiveness of an investment sector is inversely proportional to the number of venture capitalists throwing parties at international conferences”
   

2. 
   

2. (2)Renting flat screens and mounting fixtures is good business in Las Vegas. It was a site to behold walking the show floors at CES - more LCDs and Plasmas than ever before in one place on earth. I thought seriously about investing in companies that rent them to trade shows ...
   

3. 
   

3. (3)The iPod economy is far bigger than I ever imagined. It was hard to due an accurate survey, but it was staggering to see how many companies, little and big, make money from selling things related to the iPod. (Not including Apple). I saw numerous companies selling speakers, bags, protective enclosures. waterproof protective enclosures including speakers, backpacks - some really innovative and well-designed accessories. 
   

4. 
   

4. (4)That “other” show is not as low-budget and schlocky as you (or I) might have imagined. I was able to score a ticket to the AVN conference and walked the pavilion (strategically placed in between CES venues such that geeks had to pass by adult video stars on their way to-and-fro). Ignoring the X-rated materials, my shocking discovery was that the iPod economy has penetrated (pardon the pun) that business as well. I saw at least three startups with very-well industrial designs, selling iPod connected (but not officially endorsed by Apple mind you) “devices” that connect - in one case wirelessly - to the iPod. I am sure Bill Gates is working on making sure Zune gets its fair shake.