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Waves with Wireless Nerd
Mastering CES 2025: Insider Tips for Navigating Tech Giants, Startup Marvels & Unforgettable Experiences at Eureka Park and Beyond
CES is a massive showcase of technology that can be intimidating for first-time attendees - luckily I've been going for over a decade! This episode dives into navigating the event with practical tips, insights on the layout, strategies for exploring various halls, and how to discover both big brands and innovative startups.
• Exploring the CES layout and its main areas
• Importance of the South Hall for innovation and sourcing
• Highlights from the Central Hall: major exhibitors and tech trends
• Deep dive into the automotive technology featured in the West Hall
• Looking for the wireless nerds? Check North Hall!
• Discovering entrepreneurship and startups at Eureka Park
• Developing a strategic plan for effective exploration of CES
• Transportation options to minimize stress during the event
• Dining tips within the convention center
• Recommendations for revisiting favorite booths on subsequent days
Did I miss anything? Was there anything that you like to do at CES that I didn't even talk about? Feel free to drop me a line; let's connect!
Hey, what's up everybody? It's Drew Lentz, the Wireless Nerd. Today I want to talk about CES. So I've been going to CES for a little bit over a decade now, and it's a show that I go to every January. I enjoy going to understand what's happening in our world of tech, whether it's in my house or in my business, or hanging on a wall in a restaurant, or the way people take orders, or the cars that are driving down the street. Ces has everything involving consumer electronics. It is, after all, the Consumer Electronics Show. So I wanted to talk real quick about what I do there, because if you've never been, it can be kind of daunting, and even if you have been, it's still pretty daunting. There's a lot to see at the show, there's a lot to do there, and I want to walk you through what my methodology is of it, because I've had a couple of people who are new this year or new last year who wanted to understand what I did and how I jam-pack everything into a couple of days. So it's important to understand how the show is laid out. So this year is going to be a little bit different. 2025 is going to be a little bit different than it was the last couple of years. We finally are getting the south halls back.
Speaker 1:So here's a quick little map of what it looks like, the overall floor plan. So you see, on the left hand side you see the North halls and then you see the central halls there. These are the main areas. And on the right hand side you see South hall, where it says S1, s2, s3, so on and so forth. This is a little bit different, because before what would happen is for the last couple of years these halls have been closed. Now the West Hall isn't even located on this map. So let's go look at a bigger map of what overall CES looks like. This is on the CES website. At cestech you can go and you can see a whole view of everything that they have. And we're going to look at the Las Vegas Convention Center view because that's where the main stuff happens. So you've got a few different areas there. Let's zoom in here real quick. A few different areas. There's our South Hall 1 and 2, south Hall 3, central Hall, the meeting rooms and the main lobby area. Then you've got Westgate, which there's some interesting things that happen at Westgate. Is it Westgate where it happens every year? Yeah, westgate has its own stuff there, and then you have the West Hall. So a couple of things here. Let's start down here. So the South Halls these are the areas that are the innovation areas, where people who want to build and fabricate and create and source materials, these are the halls for that. So you go in there and you find a lot of different countries that come in and represent their different products from a manufacturing and sourcing and facilities side. It was closed the last couple of years, but this year it's back. It's pretty neat to see where everything starts. So if you want to know how to make a case, or if you need a casemate, or if you need a PCB or if you need the basic elements of consumer electronics, that's the spot where you want to go there.
Speaker 1:The big, flashy hall is the central hall. The central hall is the area where you see all the TVs. You see all the gaming hall. The central hall is the area where you see all the TVs, you see all the gaming, you see the photo equipment, you see the video equipment, you see all of the big stuff that's happening. That's where all the big exhibitors are the huge, huge booths that are millions and millions of dollars from Samsung and Sony and LG. All those guys are in the central hall.
Speaker 1:Across the grand lobby and the meeting rooms area. You've got on the left-hand side. Over here you've got the West Hall. Now the West Hall is like a car show. It really is. I mean, it's like it is the car show. So you go in there. You see lots of EVs, you see tons of electric vehicles. You see things that help with that whole area. As you can see from the description, it says EVs, ev tool, vertical takeoff and landing. There's a couple of those there. You'll see those Heavy machinery so John Deere has a big presence there. Marine, you see some stuff with boats, self-driving and all of the suppliers in that world. There's lots that happens in that space.
Speaker 1:The other one that I want to call attention to is the Central Plaza. This is the outdoor stuff. So there's some test driving, test tracks out here. There's some stuff that you can do outside. It's a great place to, as they say, catch a breath of fresh air. The Central Plaza is a really fun area just to go outside for a minute and see some of the self-driving vehicles and some of the autonomy that happens out there.
Speaker 1:But one of my favorite spots isn't even on the LVCC campus. If I go back and I look at the other campuses that are there, the Venetian has a really cool campus as well and it's got one of my favorite areas and it's called Eureka Park. And Eureka Park is downstairs at the Venetian. If you've been to any of the big, larger tech events that happened, like the AWS reInvent or HP Discover or any of those, this is the downstairs area. That's usually the dining area. This area they convert over and it's called Eureka Park because it's all the people that want to show off something new.
Speaker 1:Basically, the way I always explain it is Eureka Park is the people who want to be at CES but can't afford the big booth upstairs. So downstairs you have really, really cool stuff happening down there. You've got a lot of really great tech, a lot of innovation that's happening, a lot of new startups and eventually you see some of the stuff that's happening down in Hall G at Eureka Park. You see it make its way up to the next floor or even to the main floor at some point in time or another. Then, above that, on that second floor, for halls A through D, you've got a whole different area. Now these are the bigger pavilions. There's food technology, smart home accessories, digital health, big innovation, the innovation showcases there where you can see all the awards that have been nominated and won for CES. That's there. That area is a very cool area. Don't sleep. Make sure you take that area into account. There's a lot of stuff that happens. So those are the main areas that you have at CES.
Speaker 1:Now, how do you tackle all of that? That's kind of the issue, right? The way that I do it, the way that I do all trade shows, is what I like to do, is I like to be very methodical about the way that I approach it. I read up on what the big trends are, what I'm looking for in a show, what I'm trying to understand. Is there anything that sticks out that I really want to see and get hands-on with this year? I want to see some of the stuff from Morse Micro. I want to see new adaptations of Wi-Fi 7. I want to see more people who are using Wi-Fi 7 in their products. I haven't really started what I want to dig into. That's going to be this weekend. Over the weekend, I'm going to start to really get refreshed on what I want to see, and then when I hit the ground on Monday, it'll give me something to look forward to on Tuesday morning.
Speaker 1:But I like to go through each one of the halls. The car hall is a. I try and get through there pretty quickly. But the problem with the car hall the one where the West Hall at the Las Vegas Convention Center that's also where all the IoT and communication stuff is. So I like to go there because I like to see the IoT stuff, but then I get caught up talking to all the car people and seeing what's going on there, so that can be a little bit tricky. I would definitely recommend making some time to look into what you want to view and understand what's happening there.
Speaker 1:So it looks like the IoT stuff and all the smart stuff is not there. It's over. I get these. I think I'm getting these confused. It looks like it's over in the North Hall. Yeah, the West Hall is just autos and the North Hall has the AI, the FinTech, the IoT, the smart city stuff. Okay, all right, I was confusing myself. There's a little bridge that goes across right there. So all of that stuff's going to be over here in the North Halls. That's on the other side of the lobby. So this is a whole. There's a whole other area that happens right there. So sorry about that, but that's okay. That's why you listen to the whole thing. You don't just clip some of it out, I guess. But this area is where that IoT stuff is, and then across now this is all the auto stuff. So things have changed over the last couple of years. Now I don't know if this has changed from last year to this year, and maybe it has. I might be confusing myself even more, but as the new West Hall was loaded on and as it was built out, I think some of that has moved over.
Speaker 1:A cool trick here that if you want to see is if you look at the bottom left-hand corner of the West Hall and you also look at the Central Hall, you'll notice it says Vegas Loop. If you haven't taken the Vegas Loop, that is such a great way to get to and from the event. Now I know at Resorts World there's a stop at Resorts World, so if you're staying at Resorts World you can get in and out of there. You can jump on the loop and go back and forth. Also, if you just want to cab it or jump in an Uber and take it over to Resorts World and then ride the loop. Sometimes that's faster.
Speaker 1:Traffic gets really really crazy. Ubers get really expensive. It gets really nuts. The monorail is packed. It's always packed. So, getting back and forth to the show, they do have shuttles from the hotels, but I'm not always. I don't always jive with the shuttle schedules and sometimes I like to. You know, sometimes I'm on a phone call or I'm talking to someone, and it's a little bit easier for me to do that in the back of a Tesla than it is in the back of a, you know, a big bus. So make a plan on how you're going to get to and from.
Speaker 1:So what I do is I like, like, as I mentioned, I like to go and I like to look at what I'm, what I'm looking for, and then I go to the show and I actually walk. I start in the one hundreds and I walk back and forth 100, 200, 300, 400. And I go back and forth up and down as many of the aisles as I possibly can. I try and walk the entire show floor. I know that that's a big ask, but it's what I like to do and I do that because, ahead of time.
Speaker 1:I like to think about what the theme is of the event and, as I'm walking back and forth, I like to see how these vendors play into the theme. The way that I'm thinking about CES, what is the big overarching theme? Is it 5G, is it IoT, is it Wi-Fi? And how are each one of these vendors addressing that? But inevitably, what I find out after doing this at all the different halls is there is a different theme. It's whatever the show brings, because the show has its own thing. The show daily, every day. They give you this little piece of paper you can pick up. It's like a little magazine and it talks about all the announcements that were made. And, of course, you can look online and see what's happening. But understanding what the theme of the show evolves into as the show is happening is just as important. And this doesn't just go for CES, right. This is every tech event. So, in my opinion, you start to see the things that stand out, because the people that may go into the show thinking that they're innovators might have more competition than they originally thought and the innovations might not be as big. There might be these tiny little things that make them more innovative than the company right next to them, and those are what I'm looking for. I'd like to see the big theme and see the little things that people are doing that are different.
Speaker 1:So the way that I approach this, you know my last year I stayed at the Fountain Blue. It's walking distance to the West Hall, which was really fantastic. I really enjoyed that. I didn't have to drive anywhere, which is great. So walked across, went to the West Hall, worked the West Hall, then worked the North Hall. After I did the North Hall, then it's probably lunchtime by then. If you're walking back and forth, if you're not stopping to take meetings and take notes, you can probably get to those two in a couple of hours and then grab something to eat.
Speaker 1:The eating situation in the Grand Lobby is a little bit of a pain in the butt, but that's if you're looking for just a sit-down experience. There's lots of room. You can just get in and get out, get into the area, grab a couple slices of pizza, grab a sandwich, whatever it is, pull a drink off the wall, pay. You're on your way. Make your way into the central hall right across from the area where you eat Usually. Lg has that whole area and it's super packed, super, super, super packed.
Speaker 1:If that's what you're going for is those big things, those big consumer electronic things like LG, and trying to see what they're doing, I would suggest do some research on what they're doing before you walk into their booth, because if you don't have a plan, when you walk into Sony and LG and Samsung, it's Panasonic and then all the other manufacturers, hcl it can be a little overwhelming. You don't really know where to start. So it's difficult to see the innovation that they're bringing unless you know ahead of time what it is. So be careful when going into those, unless you're just looking around. If you're just looking around, have a field day. I mean, if you've got time, knock yourself out. They offer booth tours and I believe you can sign up for those. I think you might have to do it ahead of time, but have a great time.
Speaker 1:Take lots of pictures you know that you want to share with people. Look at what's going on, be inspired. There's so much creativity and innovation that's happening in there by the big companies that it's great to see it. You get to see these crazy big screen TVs and wonder how in the world you're supposed to supply connectivity to them. The gaming side is really fun. You get to see all the advancements in gaming. You get to see all the AV advancements. You get to see all the av advancements. You get to see all the stuff in speakers. And then you know I bought a whole shower just because I saw the way that, uh, what kohler had they? Kohler has an incredible display, incredible, incredible presence at at ces and you know be be be inspired by what's there. Like don't take a minute to just to take it all in central hall again is going to be that area where you get to see all the big Fortune 100s, fortune 500s and whatnot, going across the connector and then going into South Hall Again. South Hall is where you're going to see the people that. It's all design and source, and then it's also the accessories. The accessories are going to be all the things that go with cell phones, all the things that go with lights and all that other stuff. So so I work kind of in.
Speaker 1:I did last year, the last couple of years I started over here in the West Hall make my way to the North Hall, grab some lunch in the lobby, hit the Central Hall. At that time it's usually time for a break. I head out, go home I think that's about dinner time. That's really all I can do and then the South Hall. Go and hit the South Hall if you can, if you're interested in that. If not, you know, it's a very specific in design and source and if that's not really what you're there for, then it might not be good. Day two definitely probably going to want to go back and see some stuff, because after day one you're going to get a feel for what it is and you're going to say, hey, I want to go back and see that again. So sometimes it might be better to break up Central Hall into day two.
Speaker 1:For me, if I'm working, you know, north to south, but on day two, really where my focus is is going over to the Venetian and over at the Venetian. That's where I really like to hit Eureka Park. I like to go downstairs. I spend a lot of time downstairs at Eureka Park. I really enjoy talking to the people that are there, talking to the people that are driving the innovation. I really, really enjoy Eureka Park. It's the startup side of the stuff.
Speaker 1:Make some time there and go there first, because when you go up to halls A through D. This is fun because this is the day-to-day in-your-house stuff. This to me, halls A through D at the Venetian are where the rubber meets the road. This is where it's the stuff that's inside your house. It's the things that you use every day. Are there now the big, flashy tvs and stereos on and all that? Of course you do. You use that, the computers and the photo stuff and all that that's all over in in the central hall. But the stuff in halls a through d is really fun. Um, there's also samples, so they have like smokers and barbecue stuff and the little Bartesian automatic drink maker. You're going to find some neat stuff in halls A through D. That's how I get through CES.
Speaker 1:Basically, in two days or three days, work the North Hall if you're into cars and stuff, or West Hall. Then move over to North Hall, see the IoT wireless nerds that are hanging out there. Move across into Central, call it a day, hit South and then make your way over to the Venetian. I'm only there for two days this year, so it's going to be a little tight. I fly in Monday. I'm there Tuesday and Wednesday. I've got some meetings set up Wednesday If you want to hang out with me and walk the show floor.
Speaker 1:Please know that I do walk the show floor. I try and hit every single aisle. I try and put eyes on every single vendor that's there, even if it's just for a split second, because I've found at this show as well as other shows, that even when I'm not expecting to see something crazy like last year, I think one of the coolest things that I saw was in the Central Hall. It wasn't even Central Hall, I think it was in the West Hall, in the automotive side. I think it was in the West Hall, in the automotive side. I was back in the corner, the back right-hand corner, and I saw an AI tire-changing machine that used artificial intelligence and machine learning to understand where issues in tires are taking place, and it was incredible to watch.
Speaker 1:So pay attention to everything that's there. Take a look. Have a great time. Food make reservations if you're trying to go out to eat. If not, man, there's some great food. All around Las Vegas, a lot of the city is sold out for the show, so make sure you plan accordingly. But other than that, enjoy your time at CES. Have a really good time. Feel free to drop me a line. Whoa, feel free to drop me a line and say hello and see where I'm at. There's going to be a couple of us walking around roaming the area. That's really where I spend my time.
Speaker 1:Now what I want to ask you, dear listener, is did I miss anything? Was there anything that you like to do at CES that I didn't even talk about, because it is a huge show and it usually takes three full days to get through? So if there's something I've totally overlooked, please drop in the comments or send me a message. Otherwise I will see you all at ces. I hope to see you all at ces. It's gonna be a cool year this year. South hall's back and, uh, we'll talk to you soon. Bye.
