Notable for this year's CES is XM's presence at the show, or should I say lack thereof. In what only can be chalked up as cost-management, XM is sharing the booth with Audiovox and doesn't have a booth of their own.
Well, sort of.
There is some XM space in the middle of the North Hall, but we just don't know what it is. As you can see below, the "XM Monolith" is just a big black box in the middle of the show floor.
The contents of that box are unknown to the general public. (...for now)
XM did manage to maintain an outward appearance to general show-goers, having the same "column boxes" and a big ol' blow-up square-thingy outside of the North Hall (which houses all the In-Vehicle Technologies exhibitions).
These are a nice location, because when everyone is leaving the show (an arduous task), they're waiting in line and staring at these displays. XM also is featured in much of the CES magazines that are distributed to everyone.
So while they actually don't have a significant presence on the floor, to the average attendee, they're still very much front and center. A nice usage of precious marketing dollars.
Lame...
I would like to see one, just one, consumer satrad product at this years CES. In general CES has bored me. Sad when the most exciting thing is a 12 GB MicroSD card. It's so small and can store so much!
Maybe it's just me, but...how much cheaper can it be to have a space filled with an empty booth, than have a manned boot showing stuff off? Did CES just say when XM cancelled their reserved space, "Well we got nothing to put there, feel free to set up some signage..."?
Figure on that much booth space running about $42,000, since the NY Times says CES booth space is about $35/sq foot, and that looks like a 20x60. It's not uncommon (when I go to the NAB show there, the next largest compared to CES) for some of the huge companies to have setups like this used just for meeting space, but then again, it's usually behind or next to their much larger display area. I know some smaller companies we've dealt with at NAB told us that for their 20x10 booth, by the time they bought the space, had their booth deisgned, built, shipped, and put together and then torn down (which has to be done by the union workers at the LVCC, a big beef for a lot of exhibitors), plus all their staff flown, put up in hotels and fed, it can easily go over $100,000 for a booth the size of your bedroom.
at noon on the final day, Europe's Final Countdown will shock all at CES, originating at the XM area. The lights will go black except for a laser light show coming from behind the walls. In sync with the chorus announcing "It's the Fianl Countdown!", the walls will fall down, inches from smashing the curious crowd. Inside you don't find a CD player playing the epic track, but the band Europe, rocking not just the convention center, but all of Las Vegas. This is XM's grand announcement, Europe, Artist Confidential, live from CES. Ryan will rush the booth like a 15 year old girl, shrieking in sheer excitement. Tears stream down the face of Sirius, Slacker and HD Radio supporters.
XM has done it again.
Or maybe the booth will just remain as is.
it does look like its set up to have a press release right there at the booth and have people come out and be introduced. Although ... I doubt it will be Europe.
I am still waiting for atleast a few pictures from the bunny ranch
Every year can't be a banner year for XM but I miss the days of when the Inno/Helix were announced at CES and we were all drooling....ahhh the good ol days.
XM is supposed to host something today at 4:30 local time, according to a news release I saw
Once again you see proof that XM will merge into Sirius and the XM Label is already fading fast as well it should. Just like the horrifying Starbucks deal, Lets hope that Sirius management can undo all of the XM management blunders starting with the termination of Opie and Anthony and the revenue bleeding Oprah. I see this as a good sign that XM is finally admitting defeat, the merger has passed, and Sirius management will right this ship.
I gotta imagine they have some use for that space? Ryan has there been any mumbling or chatter about it?
Yes, there's a use for it. No, I'm not sharing what it is. Ryan will be doing that soon enough, I'm sure.
XM's products are on display at the Audiovox and Delphi booths. As with many companies this year, there's not a lot that's new. It's "evolution, not revolution" this year.
Yeah...terminate one of the highest rated shows on satellite. That makes sense ex_xmer. Sirius management has their own financial blunders and hemorraging of cash to worry about. Defeat? Better equipment, better signal, better talent, more subs. Yup...thats a losing I could get to liking!
Actually, Ryan was scooped by CNET, who let them behind the black walls...
http://ces.cnet.com/8301-13855_1-9844582-67.html?tag=head
Well then, guess they must be trying to keep the prying eyes of Sirius out of their business. Maybe a sign that all's not well in merger-land?
13 posts so far on this board vs. 1 on the SIRIUS CES board. XM's black box is certainly generating chatter. But if new channel graphics are all that is behind that box - big whoop.
My first stop was the The Museum of Photographic Arts , located where every other museum in San Diego lives, in Balboa Park. Next to the San Diego Historical Society and above the San Diego Model Railroad Museum , the MoPA is an interesting, if small, museum dedicated to photography. The gift shop features a wide array of photography books, picture frames, gifts, and not one but two photobooths. Side by side near the front entrance, a generic black and gray striped color booth and a beautiful rounded- end...