Hey folks, sorry if I haven’t been updating the blog the past couple of days, but I’ve just been really tired and wiped out by the time I get back to the hotel. I still have a ton of photos I haven’t uploaded, and I’ve just been going through some minor personal problems. Nothing terribly major though, so don’t worry.

That said, I think this probably ranks as a much better CES than last year’s. I went to all my meetings, I made several new contacts, and I wrote a lot. I even scored some new products that I’m going to bring back to the office to review. I’m still aghast at the huge crowds and the gigantic convention center (getting from one meeting to the next in a midst of slow walkers blocking the aisles is like a bloodsport), but hey, at least I got my weekly dose of exercise out of the way. As a gadget geek at heart, I was also delighted to see the really cool stuff on display at the show — large ambient light plasma TVs, robotic pandas, and R2-D2 DVD projectors — all the kinds of things that made me squeal like a kid in a candy store. Contrary to what I may have said elsewhere, I actually do enjoy this job, and this kind of work. It took CES to make me realize that, and for that alone I’m grateful.

The irony, of course, is that the highlight of CES was actually what happened at MacWorld. The much ballyhooed iPhone is real, as well as Apple TV. I’ll give my thoughts on both of these products in a separate entry, but I’m really excited about them. Hey, I’m a self-confessed “Apple freak” and I don’t apologize for it. I was checking the relevant gadget blogs on an almost second by second basis, loading refresh every chance I could, and I was not disappointed.

The strange thing at CES this year was that I didn’t see many celebrities like last year. I saw Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes last year; this year I saw Hulk Hogan and his family (from VH1′s Hogan Knows Best) sign autographs for people at the Polaroid booth. Maybe celebrities aren’t as swayed by corporate cash this year, I don’t know. Another trend I noticed this year was a big concern over advertising and product placement. I saw Plantronics hyping the fact that they’ve managed to place their headsets in TV shows, and I wondered if they’re supposed to be talking about that.

As for Vegas, well, what can I say? We stayed at the Palms this year, which is a fantastic hotel with large rooms and great amenities. But Vegas is still Vegas — dry air, bad traffic, long queues for taxis — and generally a frustrating experience for anyone who doesn’t gamble, who doesn’t smoke, and who doesn’t like to indulge in large quantities of alcohol. I’m also not really a fan of shows, unless I’m attending them as part of a group. I did actually want to go shopping, but that was a pretty bad idea since it conflicted so much with CES. So Vegas is pretty much a wash for me. That said, the hotel was great, and I actually just liked kicking it back in the room enjoying the WiFi (Apparently the WiFi at the Palms gave Windows PC laptops some problems, but not the Macs. MacBook Pro FTW!). I also didn’t end up going to Bloghaus, which is unfortunate, but I’m guessing I would’ve ended up meeting the same people at SXSW anyway, so that works out.

I’m writing this blog entry right now at the McCarran International airport in Las Vegas, and I am LOVING the free WiFi. Complete with full bars. If only all airports were like this (*cough*SFO*cough*). Even though I’m arriving at around 2 p.m., I may drag myself out of the house around 4 p.m. to make it to the Mac Podcast meetup at the Apple Store. We’ll see.

See you in San Francisco!