Comdex Canceled For 2004 185
Stephen Shankland writes "Comdex is canceled -- at least for 2004. The once-imposing tech event lost out to trade shows for specialized niches and consumer electronics, but the Comdex organizers want to bring it back in 2005, according to an executive quoted in our story at CNET News.com."
Shame (Score:1, Insightful)
Security jitters? (Score:4, Insightful)
all trade shows are suffering bad. (Score:5, Insightful)
shows in general are pretty much useless.. overpriced tickets to see a talk by someone who is going to rehash what they said for free online and you already read, and the schwag has turned into crud.
R.I.P. Comdex 1979 - 1995 (Score:5, Insightful)
Comdex lost track sometime in the 90's but the real end was in 1995 when it was sold to Softbank.
It went from being a twice yearly Mecca to being a monthly, or bimonthly travelling international 'Disneyland' for marketing.
Prior to the infiltration by 'Windows World' it had been the hard core contact point for developers, implementors, and users, all feeding and grooming the craft (with the spice of some good natured marketing).
There is a real need for what Comdex was just as there is still a need for the every other year show of photographics at Photokina in Koln Germany.
Let Comdex lay in it's grave, quiet in silent repose, and start something unique and alive in the spitit of the original Comdex.
Reflecting a change in corporate reimbursement? (Score:5, Insightful)
-PM
Re:First Lollapalooza, now this (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Security jitters? (Score:2, Insightful)
First Bunnies, Now This (Score:4, Insightful)
Comdex was killed by a number of things. The internet makes physically attending shows less necessary. Not only that with so many thousands of IT jobs sent overseas, many of those who might have attended in the past are no longer in IT at all. And the current generation of technology (I know, not well defined) has matured somewhat. There just isn't much in the way of mind blowing, paradigm shifting technologies that demand a Comdex. And heck, the consumer tech oriented shows like CES or E3 are more fun!
Will Comdex really be back? Who knows? I won't cry if it isn't because when the time is right, something new and exciting will arrive on the scene. Afterall, the Playboy Club is still gone, but now we have Hooters!
Which is more Sad? (Score:4, Insightful)
It's about time (Score:4, Insightful)
about time (Score:5, Insightful)
I'm sure locals in Vegas are probably thrilled. Most of them hated Comdex anyway.
Re:Macworld / WWDC (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Sucks for Vegas (Score:5, Insightful)
Actually, Las Vegas resorts dread COMDEX because the attendees tend to be cheapskates that leave very little money at the gambling tables.
The resorts actually make FAR more money from the National Finals Rodeo in December, where people attending this rodeo tend to be big spenders that do like to gamble.
Yup--'bout time (Score:2, Insightful)
I hate to see it go, but if it's time to go let it go.
Re:First Lollapalooza, now this (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Sucks for Vegas (Score:3, Insightful)
If the casino owners have a gripe, it may be that COMDEX attendees posess basic math skills. This is an area in which cowboys are not known to shine.
Blame Ziff Davis (Score:4, Insightful)
AND made it pretty well a "Retail" show.
Are big trade shows dead?
Heck no.
Computex (May31 - June 4 in Taipei, Taiwan) this year had over 1,000 vendors showing, took over 4 big conference spaces in downtown Taipei surrounding the new 101 centre ( tallest building in the world) and over 100,000 registered attendees.
http://www.taipeitradeshows.com.tw/co
There are four good reasons COMDEX is dead:
1) Ziff Davis made it too expensive, too difficult for smaller vendors/manufacturers.
You do not go to a show like this to see what HP, Seagate, IBM and Microsoft are doing. They spend vast sums to tell you that in other media.
2) People from outside N. America do not want to travel to the USA.
3) US unions. To be a vendor at COMDEX cost about $5,000 for a booth space. And over $10,000 to get your goods in and out by the "show services" monopoly.
4) It became a "retail" show. You do not spend good money to display at a trade show to meet 10,000 end user "tire kickers".
You are looking for quality commercial leads. Qualified buyers.
Re:all trade shows are suffering bad. (Score:2, Insightful)