UPDATED 11:37 PM JAN 10, 2010

Goodbye From CES 2010

By Bill Hartnett, Mark Lukasiewicz

Another CES is over, and our well-fed, if not well-rested, NBC Universal team is headed to points East -- and West. Most of us are returning home to New York, but some members of the team are packing up the technical guts of our booth for the trek North, to the Vancouver Games. The Games were the main focus of our booth this year, as thousands of people stopped by to learn more about the extensive multi-platform coverage we'll be unveiling across NBCU's networks and platforms in just a few weeks. And in a few days we'll know the identity of our Olympics sweepstakes winners -- who will be taking a free trip to Vancouver to enjoy some of the Olympics action !

As always, the NBC Universal CES booth has been a massive undertaking -- but with such an awesome team at work it went incredibly smoothly. It's no easy task to design and build a booth that is appealing to show visitors AND functional for the broadcast, cable and digital producers who generate hours of programming in a matter of days.

We couldn't do it without our partners at Sharp -- whose gorgeous screens powered all the media in our booth, on our stages, and in the Sharp / NBC Universal Multimedia Lounge ... or the terrific team at Jack Morton and its Production Design Group, who come up with spectacular eye-catching designs for our booth every year (check out the BizBash top 10 at CES, including our booth) ... or the amazing team of engineers and technicians from the NBC Long Island City shop who assemble, run, and pack up an amazing broadcast and streaming operation here every year.

And we can't leave CES 2010 without a special word about Jay Linden - NBCU's EVP of strategic partnerships and one of the founding fathers of NBCU's presence at CES at the 2008 show. Jay retires from NBCU next month: we couldn't have done this without him and we'll miss him !! Good luck, Jay !!

It's been a great CES. See you in 2011 !!

Our Blog

UPDATED 06:30 PM JAN 10, 2010

CES 2010: Going, going, gone!

By Giacinta Pace, NBC Universal

I must be psychic. A few weeks ago on this very blog I predicted that CES 2010 would be over in a flash and here we are at the end of the road. It is the final hour of the show and Jon Accarrino and I are the last bloggers standing or sitting in the NBCU Sharp Multimedia Lounge.

I have seen so many great things, met countless amazing people, but most of all I am leaving here smarter, better and faster than when I arrived. Helping to host in the "blogger" lounge has been a great experience that I will never forget. I can't wait to get home and tell everyone that the NBCU lounge hosted some of the top bloggers in the world and I got to meet them all!

Most of my time was spent helping NBCU staff with show registrations, tending to catering issues in our double wide trailers and helping out in the booth's blogger lounge. This morning I was lucky enough to squeeze in a whole hour of looking at innovation at its best and it was a real treat. 3D TV (hey that rhymes) has been a big hit at CES this year, but I want to tell you all what MY 3 favorites have been.

I LOVE that there is technology that exists that allows me to paint my fingernails with a picture of myself. Thanks ArtPro Nail Printer for that fun advancement in technology. I also had a great time chatting with OrigAudio's Jason and Mike about their innovative speaker systems. They are friendly twenty-somethings with great vision and great products. Stick Clean has a cleaning cloth for phones, cameras, computers, etc. that can stick back on the device when you are done using it for quick and easy access.

Well that is it for me for now until CES 2011 when there will be more wonders to see. Thanks NBCU for giving me the opportunity to be here for my third year in a row, let's do it again next year.

UPDATED 06:17 PM JAN 10, 2010

Thank You Bloggers, Tweeters and Podcasters! #itwasfun

By Jon Accarrino & Giacinta Pace, NBC Universal

CES is always a whirlwind. After months of planning and preparation, the 4 days of CES always seem to fly by. We just wanted to thank all the podcasers, tweeters and bloggers who spent time on our broadcast stages and in the Sharp NBC Universal Multimedia Lounge. And a huge thank you to Sharp for sponsoring the lounge again this year!

We had a great time hanging out with everyone, reading your blogs and watching your podcasts. Be sure to check out all your photos on our Flickr page. Just think, CES 2011 is only a few hundred days away! See you all again soon. #itwasfun

Tim Conneally, betanews
Andrew Kippen, Boxee
Peter Smith, Candella
Carolyn Slater, CES
Trevor Curwin, CNBC.com
Wayne Karrfalt, Cynopsis Media
Jay Adelson, digg
Peter Pachal, DVICE.com
Leslie Shapiro, DVICE.com
Curtis Walker, DVICE.com
Charlie White, DVICE.com
Tom Newman, Fogview.com
Troy Gayle, Gadget-T.com
Jack Ellis, GeekNewsCentral.com
Jeffrey Powers, Geekazine.com
Todd Cochrane, GeekNewsCentral.com
Rob Blatt, GeekNewsCentral.com
Dan Woolsey, TheGrio.com
Mike Bertolino, Hack College
Chris Lesinski, Hack College
Kelly Sutton, Hack College
Darren Kitchen, Hak5
Shannon Morse, Hak5
Patrick Norton, HD Nation
Robert Heron, HD Nation
Dave Brown, Holiday Matinee
Partick Larsen, Jack Morton
Cori Weiss, Jack Morton
Joseph Jaffe, Jaffe Juice
Ken Graffeo, JAGTAG
Antonietta Pace, New York City Department of Education
Mark Milian, Los Angeles Times
Chris Ariens, Mediabistro.com
Jon Accarrino, NBC Universal
Tausha Cowan, NBC Universal
Carly Greenberg, NBC Universal
Bill Hartnett, NBC Universal
Brett Holey, NBC Universal
Devin Johnson, NBC Universal
Nick Johnson, NBC Universal
Brett Joss, NBC Universal
Melissa Kondak, NBC Universal
Jay Linden, NBC Universal
Mark Lukasiewicz, NBC Universal
Dave MacKinnon, NBC Universal
Molly McCaskill, NBC Universal
Stacey Naggiar, NBC Universal
Chris Nelson, NBC Universal
Bonnie Optekman, NBC Universal
Giacinta Pace, NBC Universal
Tim Peek, NBC Universal
Katie Primm, NBC Universal
Darren Sherriff, NBC Universal
Marc Siry, NBC Universal
Mary Somers, NBC Universal
Jim Starzynski, NBC Universal
Brian Ford, newsvine.com
Alex Lee, newsvine.com
Calvin Tang, newsvine.com
Rohit Bhargava, Ogilvy
Christine Ngo, Ogilvy
Jennifer Kavanagh, Oxygen
Staci Kramer, paidContent.org
Patrick Roanhouse, The Plan8 Podcast
Ben Sedaghat, Radius Products
Ted Schilowitz, Red Digital
Serafina Kernberger, Revision3
Jim Louderback, Revision3
Ryan Vance, Revision3
Roger Chang, Revision3
Ryan Duame, Revision3
Aaron Broder, Scholastic
Andy McCaskey, SDRNews.com
Ron Kenedi, Sharp
Chris Loncto, Sharp
Bruce Tripido, Sharp
Rob Blatt, TechPodcasts.com
Kara Karsten, TechPodcasts.com
Scott Elliott, Techzecs.com
Matt Cohen, Tekserve
Veronica Belmont, Tekzilla
Partick Norton, Tekzilla
Ryan Osborn, TODAY Show
Tim Street, 1TimStreet.com

UPDATED 05:03 PM JAN 10, 2010

Firsts and Fabulous Flatscreens

By Stacey Naggiar, NBC Universal

The longest five days of my life are coming to a close at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. I'm exhausted, my feet hurt, my back hurts, and I lost a substantial amount of money for a 22 year old. Nonetheless, I am smiling, thinking about all the exciting things I've done and the wonderful people I've met here, my first in time Las Vegas, and my first time at CES.

As an NBCU employee in Charlotte, NC I came to CES as an "outsider" among the majority of employees from NY. I had apprehensions about being the odd-man-out and probably the most inexperienced, but I was met with overwhelming warmth and welcome from my NYC colleagues. Never have I been made to feel a part of something so quickly. Thank you thank you thank you to everyone who made my first experience as a NBCU brand ambassador a special one!

Wake up calls at 12am and 10 hour days on my feet... this wasn't quite the picture I had in my mind of what my first time in Vegas would be like. Let's just say on my next trip to Vegas, there will be many many other "firsts" that I'll have to give a try. But there is one first I am very proud of, and ... a little embarrassed about too. My first shot at gambling and my first time at the craps tables. After standing around for an hour trying to follow the dice, chips and lingo I finally picked up enough to put down some money. On my first roll I launched the die across the table only to hit the table attendants hands. I was properly scolded for throwing too hard. It didn't take too long before I crapped out. Maybe I'll have better luck next time.... it was just so hard to walk away!

It would be insensitive to talk about my firsts in Vegas and not mention the awesomeness that is CES. As a self-proclaimed movie nerd, this place is my heaven. Surround-sound systems that can literally blow your mind, crystal clear HDTVs with gorgeous images, the new and exciting 3D TVs and my favorite, the fabulously thin flatscreens. Flatscreens the thickness (or "thinness" rather) of a few pieces of paper. All I can think is I want it, I want it, I want it, and I wouldn't complain if I could get one of the 3D TVs either! But I suppose it just wasn't mean to be on my first trip to Vegas that I'd walk away from the craps tables with enough money to buy a new flatscreen.

Headed to the airport in a few hours for what I'm sure will be a "fabulous" five-hour-flight home in a middle seat... I am grateful more than anything for my first time in Las Vegas, my first time as a brand ambassador and my first time at CES. Most of all I'm thankful for this lovely group of people I had the opportunity to work with and hope that we all stay in touch!

UPDATED 09:27 AM JAN 10, 2010

How the Sharp NBCU Blogger Lounge Saved My CES

By Kelly Sutton, Hack College

For the second year in a row, I went to the Consumer Electronics Show. Perhaps I had forgotten the lessons of my first year at the conference, but I managed to completely exhaust myself. In a convention center that holds more people than my home town, oases of Wi-Fi and hydration are hard to come by. As someone who writes online for my blog Hack College, Wi-Fi is a necessity. We haven't grown to the point of being able to afford a bottomless expense account, so we budget on a shoestring. Things like the Sharp / NBC Universal blogger lounge gives hope for us "little guys."

I was more than pleased to hear that NBC Universal and Sharp would be back with their blogger lounge for 2010. After meeting Jon Accarrino through Revision3 the year before, spending time at the blogger lounge was a godsend. After Accarrino gave us two hours on the NBC Universal broadcast stage (an amazing experience for a bunch of rag-tag college students), the blogger lounge was a great place to collect thoughts and products prior to each taping. Accarrino, Katie Primm and Gia Pace were both helpful in making sure we were stress-free and able to concentrate on our shows and blog posts.

The blogger lounge is more than just comfortable chairs accompanied by nice Sharp TVs and laptops. It also serves as a meeting place. Some of the most interesting people I met at CES were introduced to me by Jon Accarrino at the lounge. It's an easily identifiable place with just the right amenities and atmosphere. NBC is providing the space for tomorrow's important press relationships.

Katie, Chris & Kelly on the broadcast stage in the 2010 NBCU CES booth