It has become fashionable of late to highlight the fact that the Consumer Electronics Show has lost some of its relevance in a market that's as fluid as technology itself.
And while it's true that tech giants like Apple, Microsoft, Google and others may feel like they have outgrown the event, the spirit of CES is very much alive with every tech company that comes to Las Vegas with the hopes of hitting it big.
The Combat Creatures booth, hidden in the shadows of larger players, is among the smaller companies creating a buzz at this years show. Their robotic "Attacknids" are drawing a crowd as they battle among themselves for supremacy.
"The reaction has been great, everyone loves it," explained Alan Bryant, of Combat Creatures.
"Everyone who comes in stops, everyone who comes by, straightaway, you can kind of see them wandering along behind you and then they're like ' oh wow,' and come over and straightway want to play with it, so we've have had hundreds and hundreds of people playing on it."
Cube 3D is another of the companies that is drawing a crowd. Their demonstration of the possibility and potential of the 3D printer market
is limitless.
"Military parts are printed, architectural things are printed, Invisalign, all through our technology, car parts, airplane parts, shoes, architectural designs, all 3D printed," said Adam Reichental, of Cube 3D, one of the main players in the emerging field. " It is not just about the higher end uses about this, it is about making it available to everyone as well."
The reality is that CES is still a great place to be discovered, according to Living In Digital Times founder, Robin Raskin.
"Really, if you just look around there are robots that wash your windows, there are toilet training wi-fi devices, there are so many cool products being invented right now. Maybe they will be acquired by the big guys, maybe they will be the big guy," said Raskin.
Also at the show was rapper turned entrepreneur 50 Cent, now a veteran of CES and once again hawking his line of headphones. "When I came to CES, this is my third CES, when I came I had 3D renderings of a headset style and I was announcing that it was coming. Since then we've launched in 46 countries, and I've accomplished it in a short period of time, actually faster than I anticipated."
The 46th annual CES, which attracts thousands of exhibitors and is expected to be attended by more than 150,000 people, runs through Friday (January 11).
