Gallery: Most Amazing Booths, Demos and Awkward Public Spectacles at CES
01the-no-eye-contact-breakfast
[](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/gadgetlab/ces-2012)Oh, CES. We can always count on you to showcase humanity's gross excess -- as well as all those small, poignant, personal moments that show man at his most vulnerable. In one booth you'll find blinding video screens and bone-shaking bass. It's AV as performance art, and CES at its most indulgent. Turn a few corners and you'll find a manufactured spectacle so inappropriate and awkward -- perhaps a man being shaved, or paid actors pretending to eat breakfast -- you'll reach for the sani-wipe in your pocket, if only as a rote gesture to erase the scene from memory. Attendees themselves deliver performance art, too. *Everyone* looks somewhat misplaced and awkward at CES, but attendees never look less graceful than when reaching for cellphone cameras to take photos that will never, ever be looked at again. The No-Eye-Contact Breakfast ---------------------------- Many manufacturers arrived at CES ready to argue the case that 3-D is *not dead*. To show off its continued investment in the hot-for-a-minute technology, Panasonic set up a fake 3-D movie shoot inside its booth on the expo floor. Two actors sat at a table in the small set dressed up to look like the average American eat-in kitchen. The dual lenses of a 3-D camcorder gazed at them, and the 3-D image of the couple was displayed in real-time on a 3-D television next to it. So what did the couple do? The woman, a pretty blonde dressed like she had just come from the yoga studio and the hair salon (in that order), flipped through a magazine and sipped tea with the forced smile of an overworked flight attendant. The husband, a 50-ish middle manager in Haggar slacks, munched on finger food and futzed with his laptop. They didn't speak, they didn't interact, they didn't even look at each other. They just ... sat there. It was like bad performance art. Or a Samuel Beckett play. Passersby were invited to slip on some glasses and gaze in wonderment at this display of suburban ennui. Ooh, but look at the color depth! *— Michael Calore*
02the-road-to-nowhere
The Road to Nowhere ------------------- How do you show off a $6,000 camera like the new Nikon D4 in style? You ask six-time world champion [Rebecca Rusch](http://www.rebeccarusch.com/) — aka [The Queen of Pain](https://twitter.com/#!/thequeenofpain) — to ride continuously on an [E-Motion Roller](http://insideride.com/) while acclaimed photographer [Corey Rich](http://www.coreyrich.com/) runs through its best features. The Nikon booth was one of several at CES that featured people moving strenuously in one place for no gain, be they atop treadmills, stationary bikes, or whatnot. We can't yet say whether this was just a coincidence or part of a growing, long-term trend. Everyone at CES seems to move at faster-than-normal speeds. Some people, though, aren't actually going anywhere. *— Erik Malinowski*
03because-no-getting-a-shave-isnt-a-terribly-personal-thing-between-a-man-and-his-barber
Because, No, Getting a Shave Isn't a Terribly Personal Thing Between a Man and His Barber ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To demonstrate its [Hydro 5 Power Select](http://www.schickhydro.com/products-power_select.asp) razor system, Schick set up a faux barber shop, complete with a working barber offering shaves in situ. Who wouldn't want to trim some 5 o'clock shadow in front of multiple thousands of creepy (and creeped-out) onlookers? This is the raw essence of CES. Lost in the spectacle: a detailed, easy-to-understand explanation of how Schick's new shaving system actually works. Marketing materials promise the Hydro 5 "allows men to interact with their razor in a new way," and we know the razor has a hydrating gel reservoir along with three "custom-powered" vibration settings to make one's shave (allegedly) irritation-free. But we never got a chance to demo the system for ourselves. The lines were too long -- proving indisputably that CES attendees are not afraid of public grooming rituals.*— Jon Phillips*
04close-encounters-of-the-pixely-kind
Close Encounters of the Pixely Kind ----------------------------------- We can thank the TV manufacturers for delivering video spectacles so gaudy and overproduced, one is forced to consider whether half of South Korea had to work over-time just to complete CES fulfillment orders. Last year, Samsung showcased a sky-high video wall in a deliberately chaotic arrangement that absolutely screamed, "We have more flat panels than we know what to do with, and we're not afraid to use them!" This year, Samsung went for a slightly less impressive construction reminiscent of the final scene of *Close Encounters of the Third Kind."* Stunning? Yes. Were we concerned about the structural integrity of the display, and whether plummeting panels might claim lives? Yes. It crossed our minds. *— Jon Phillips*
05sportsnation-on-espn-3d
*SportsNation* on ESPN 3D ------------------------- It was a week of firsts for [ESPN 3D](http://espn.go.com/3d/) here at CES. On Monday night, [the 18-month-old network](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/playbook/2011/06/future-of-3d-sports/) hosted a viewing party for the BCS National Championship Game, which was [broadcast in 3-D for the first time](http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/09/espn-3d-bcs-championship-demo-eyes-on/). (Football has long been considered one of the tougher sports to film in 3-D, due to its unpredictable flow and action.) ESPN used a Sony HDC-P1 camera system and custom rigs developed by director James Cameron and 3-D camera expert Vince Pace. By hour's end, show hosts Colin Cowherd (pictured) and [Michelle Beadle](https://twitter.com/#!/MichelleDBeadle), guest/UFC president Dana White, and local magician Shimshi (who "sawed" Beadle into three while on the air) were all part of the first ESPN studio show to be broadcast in three dimensions. *— Erik Malinowski*
06dirty-rascal
Dirty Rascal ------------ When you're trying to navigate the labyrinthine corridors of the CES show floor to get to the Motorola booth for a product demo that started five minutes ago, nothing's more annoying than having to wade through the scads of zombified attendees who've stopped in the middle of the walkway to snap blurry smartphone photos. OK, scratch that. There's one thing even more annoying -- the guy who brought his Segway. *— Michael Calore*
07the-curious-car-chassis-that-defied-explanation
The Curious Car Chassis That Defied Explanation ----------------------------------------------- Panasonic is one of those multidisciplinary mega-manufacturers that has its hands in just about everything. Yeah, it's famous for its TVs. And it probably still makes transistor radios. But who'd've thunk Panasonic does electric car development too? The glowing prototype we see here was on hand to demonstrate just how many ways Panasonic can use its battery tech to wire up your car. With a pulsing glow traveling through the snaky tubes running along the bottom of the cabin, Panasonic attempted to demo just how many car systems can be powered by a central lithium-ion battery module -- from the car's main drive train, to the heater for the battery itself, to the seat heaters that keep your body warm. Well, that's what we *think* this spectacle demonstrates. Like many CES demos, this one was just plopped down on the show floor without much support information, and the little verbal description we did receive was delivered in an impenetrable version of what I'll simply call "international English." *— Jon Phillips*
08the-player
The Player ---------- "This is going to get *so many* likes on Instagram!"
09psst-its-not-a-rave
Psst, It's Not a Rave --------------------- CES isn't a cosplay-heavy show. Most of the costumed characters are in the booths: the aliens, the cowgirls, the sexy cops, Iron Man. This being Las Vegas, however, there are plenty of oddballs wandering the floor. We're not exactly sure what this guy is going for. Either he's a huge Firefox fan, or, judging by the water bottles strapped to his legs, he's planning on hitting Tiësto's afterhours set in the desert. *— Michael Calore*
10lets-all-touch-the-same-flat-panel-and-not-worry-about-germs
Here's an Idea: Let's All Touch the Same Flat-Panel and Not Worry About Germs! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Whatever you do, don't step up to this gigantic, fully multitouch display in the Corning booth and exclaim, "Ooo! It's one of those Microsoft Surface computers!" This 55-inch capacitive touchscreen is Windows-based, sure, but the story here is all about the Gorilla Glass covering the screen. Because the glass is so strong, it can be less than 2 mm thick, allowing for very accurate touch response (I tried it. It works. Beautifully.), while also protecting the pixels underneath from random abuse (perhaps flying staplers during a heated business meeting). The display was created by Perceptive Pixel, which deploys these touchy-feel monstrosities in broadcast, government, and regular old business environments. Accompanying storyboarding software lets you quickly develop and annotate presentation slides. Or you could just put the display on the floor of CES and let nerds defile the technology with Sbarro residue. This was definitely a product demo that deserved a post-facto sani-wipe response. *— Jon Phillips*
11flying-audiophiles
Flying Audiophiles ------------------ Polk Audio claims its [UltraFit sports earbuds](http://www.polkaudio.com/headphones/ultrafit/) are designed to never fall out of your ears, no matter how extreme your chosen activity. To illustrate the security of the fit, the company hired a group of athletes to jump on a giant trampoline while wearing the earbuds. Most were gymnasts, but we also saw a skier doing flips while wearing his skis. The ample height of the Las Vegas Convention Center's ceilings gave them enough space to sail as high as 30 feet over the showroom floor. Approaching Polk Audio's enclave from afar, it was odd seeing the gymnasts' heads and feet periodically bobbing above the top edges of the surrounding booths. *— Michael Calore*
