CES Product Reviews, Press Releases, Vendors, New Tech – My Gameplan

January 9, 2012

As I indicated in my last post here a few days ago, the plans I had for attending and covering CES were in flux. I have spent the better part of the last decade covering the biggest technology trade shows on the planet, and CES is THE show to attend. In my book, I see this event as a can’t-miss, but this year I’m missing it for reasons beyond my control. Two clients had budgets slashed or ‘unapproved’ at the last minute and I had to cancel my flights, hotel and other plans so I didn’t take a complete monetary bath by jetting westward and spending a week in the Las Vegas heat.

That said, I still plan to bring you reviews of all the gadgets on the show floor. You see, companies are rabid for attention and coverage of their newest products. Press professionals send out hundreds of releases to qualified journalists to see if they have the time and inclination to review technology gear in their publication or on their Website. I plan to do both.

See that screenshot? That’s the email that came in today in the first three hours of the day. I count about 30 emails from PR folks asking me to pay attention to their clients’ products. So, there’s no lack of tech that needs a skilled journalist to evaluate it. My plan (since I’m not on the show floor) is as follows…

1 – Send a note to all the PR reps (400-500 in the past two months) who sent me an email asking me to test their gadgets.

2- Receive about 200 products at my office over the next two months.

3 – Test these products and then provide you – gentle reader – with my professional opinion on whether you should buy the technology I’ve tested.

Sounds simple? It is…sort of. The only two people with the hard job are me and the UPS guy. Let’d do this thing! Emails go out later today to the masses. Packages will start arriving next week, I expect.

What products have you heard about that you especially want me to cover and test?