The International Consumer Electronics Show kicked off Monday at the Las Vegas Convention Center as more than 130,000 analysts, reporters, industry experts and tech enthusiasts descended on Sin City.
CES is the biggest trade show of its kind with nearly 2 million square feet of space and more than 2,500 exhibitors, including several from Orange County.
It’s a big hub for international government officials and tech executives from around the world. The event boasts more than 25,000 international attendees this year, many from Asia.
CES is the main forum for networking and deal making between makers of consumer electronics and buyers for retail and online stores.
Companies show off their latest technology in a variety of venues, including traditional booths on the show floor and suites at nearby hotels.
Show floor displays can get huge and elaborate with some booths as large as football fields.
Some aim to recreate the life-size interiors of a futuristic home, in which all appliances are linked up wirelessly.
OC companies represented at CES this year include:
–D-Link Corp., the Taiwanese networking gear maker that has its U.S. headquarters in Fountain Valley.
–Irvine’s Broadcom Corp.
–Anaheim’s ZyXel Communications Inc., the U.S. unit of Taiwan’s ZyXel Corp.
–Irvine’s Toshiba America Information Systems Inc., the U.S. outpost of Japan’s Toshiba Corp.
–Anaheim-based Targus Inc.
–Cypress-based Universal Electronics Inc.
–Aliso Viejo-based Smith Micro Software Inc.
–Santa Ana’s SimpleTech, the former consumer unit of STEC Inc. that was bought last year by the Bay area’s Fabrik Inc.
At a kickoff event Sunday night at Caesar’s Palace, Fountain Valley’s Kingston Technology Co., Lake Forest’s Western Digital Corp. and Irvine’s Linksys, a unit of Cisco Systems Inc. had small booths.
The event, which was open only to analysts and media, had a football pep rally theme complete with Big Ten banners and a martini bar made of ice flanked by ice sculptures of the Heisman trophy.
