Orange County companies hit the floor or expanded exhibits at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas earlier this month.
The added presence is a sign of how important consumers are to technology companies as buying from Corporate America remains sluggish.
Lake Forest-based Western Digital Corp. hit the show floor for the first time this year. The company rented about 600 square feet of space for a private booth.
Targeting Geeks Who Tweak
The disk drive maker wanted to show off clear-top drives aimed at geeks who like to tweak computers with neon lights and other flourishes.
Irvine’s Linksys, a Cisco Systems Inc. unit, also put up its first booth. The company made the move after its 2005 buy of Denmark’s KiSS Technology AS, which already had rented space for CES.
KiSS designs home entertainment products.
Linksys spokesman Trevor Bratton said the company could be back on the floor next year after it assesses the impact of this year’s booth.
Other companies stayed away from the crowded show floor and rented suites or meeting rooms for talks with customers.
Santa Ana-based Ingram Micro Inc., the industry’s largest distributor of tech products and OC’s biggest company by yearly sales, could be on the floor next year.
Ingram Micro’s bigger push into more consumer electronics, including home entertainment, could justify the move, spokesman Chris Kelly said.
This year, Ingram Micro hosted a meeting room at the Aladdin Resort Casino.
Irvine-based Broadcom Corp. upped its square footage from 2,500 square feet to 3,500 square feet, though its booth again was for private meetings with customers and press.
The extra room housed more people and more meetings. Broadcom saw its shares surge last week on big expectations for Apple Computer Inc.’s video iPod, which Broadcom supplies video chips for.
Broadcom opted out of a party this year,a fixture of shows past. The chipmaker didn’t see it as a good way to pump up its products.
Anaheim’s Targus Group International Inc. did party. The computer bag and accessories maker took over the Tab & #250; Ultra Lounge at the MGM Grand as more than 100 people marked the launch of the company’s new logo.
There was no band at the Targus bash. Big names such as Microsoft Corp. and others anted up to bring the Black Eyed Peas, Stevie Wonder and the Black Crows to their bashes.
CES set several major show records including number of attendees and exhibit space of 1.67 million square feet. The show, which ran Jan. 5 to 8, drew about 150,000 people and 2,500 exhibitors.
