World's biggest tech show searching for 'wow'

The world's biggest technology trade show will feature razor-thin laptops, powerful new smartphones and fancy flat-screen TVs, but talk in the cavernous halls of the Consumer Electronics Show, which kicks off on January 9, may focus on whether the show itself has a long-term future.

Apple Inc, which has set the agenda in consumer electronics for the past decade, does not even attend the show.

Microsoft Corp, desperately trying to catch up, is making this show its last.

It has been a few years since Las Vegas-based CES had the "wow" factor.

"There's a lot of hype. The promise exceeds the deliverable a lot," said Todd Lowenstein, portfolio manager at HighMark Capital Management, which owns several technology stocks. "I take an interest in it only to the extent that there's market-moving information that comes out of there, which I find is rare."

Image: A security guard enters the Las Vegas Convention Center for the Consumer Electronics Show on Sunday, January 8, 2012, in Las Vegas.

Text: Bill Rigby, Reuters

AP Images