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Industry Address by U.S. CTO Caps Successful CEA Line Shows

ARLINGTON, Va. - (BUSINESS WIRE) - A keynote address from White House Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra, cutting-edge technology products and newly unveiled market research were among the highlights at this week's inaugural CEA Line Shows and Digital Downtown Conference Program in New York City. The event, which concluded yesterday, brought together media, analysts and technology professionals for two days of exhibits and conference sessions focused on CE innovations and the latest technology trends.

Aneesh Chopra, U.S. Chief Technology Officer and Associate Director for Technology in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, delivered a keynote address on Thursday afternoon. Recently appointed as the nation's first CTO, Chopra discussed how the technology industry's entrepreneurial spirit can have a meaningful impact on the collective good and on President Obama's innovation agenda to improve economic growth, health care, energy policy and educational excellence.

After discussing how the June 12 digital transition represents a transformational shift in our airways by offering a digital platform for broadcast, Chopra praised the private-public partnership that promoted the transition and encouraged consumers to call 1-888-CALL-FCC if they have any DTV related questions. He spoke about his plans to bring Retail 2.0 strategies into government services and operations and challenged the technology industry to use 20 percent of available resources to develop products and services that will benefit society and not just result in economic gain. After his keynote, Chopra participated in an executive one-on-one with CEA President and CEO Gary Shapiro and discussed harnessing the power of innovation to improve our nation's strengths and how public-private partnerships can drive economic growth.

Gilbert Fiorentino, chief executive of the Technology Products Group at Systemax, parent company of CompUSA and Tiger Direct, also gave a major Thursday morning keynote at the CEA Line Shows. Fiorentino addressed how the Internet is deeply woven into the fabric of CompUSA's business strategy and discussed how the company is combining the best of storefront and online retailing to offer an optimal Retail 2.0 experience to consumers.

Aviary, which offers four browser-based applications for editing online images, and MakerBot, a build-it-yourself 3D printer, were the winners of the NY Tech Start-up Classic competition on Wednesday evening. The two companies will be awarded free booth space at the 2010 International CES in January in Las Vegas.

CEA Economist Shawn DuBravac and CEA Director of Industry Analysis Steve Koenig presented a mid-year reality check on Wednesday morning which focused on CE industry sales and trends. Despite the current economy, they noted that CEA's CE Advisory Panel's expectations for the future are more optimistic now than they were three months ago, and that CEA expects sales to increase later in 2009. DuBravac and Koenig noted several hot trends in the CE industry, including 3D HDTV, Internet TV and netbooks.

On Thursday morning, CEA's DuBravac and Senior Research Analyst Ben Arnold discussed future trends in the digital realm in a session titled, "After the Transition: New Product and Technology Trends From DTV and Beyond." DuBravac and Arnold discussed the increased importance of interactivity and viewer engagement in the television experience and how 3D HDTV and Internet TV both leverage this trend by offering an enhanced user experience. They noted that television shows and user generated content are the two most popular forms of online content and that now, for the first time, manufacturers are having a say in the content that goes into their products via the partnerships they are creating with content and technology companies, like Widget TV.

More than 40 product showcases were featured at the CEA Line Shows, displaying the latest innovations from leading CE manufacturers. Exhibitors included Alcatel-Lucent, Atlona, Boxee, ClickFree, Cobra, Contour Design, Disc Eraser, Ergo-Tilt, Eviant, Hantech, Help Alert, Instinctiv, Lightglove, Minoru, Mitsubishi, Monster, Nextar, OmniMount, Pongr, SanDisk, Schlage, SmartFish, SoundSense and Toshiba.

Technology pavilions highlighting new market-specific innovations were also on display at the CEA Line Shows, including the Gadget Nation Pavilion, Mobile Apps Lounge and the Techlicious Lounge.

For more information on the CEA Line Shows and Digital Downtown Conference Program, including the full list of highlights and displays, visit www.CEALineShows.com.

About the CEA Line Show and the Digital Downtown Conference Program:
These events are being organized in association with CEA, the producer of the International CES, along with Martin Porter & Associates and Consumer Technology Publishing Group/NAPCO, publisher of Dealerscope, Custom Retailer and E-Gear Magazines.

About CEA:
The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) is the preeminent trade association promoting growth in the $172 billion U.S. consumer electronics industry. More than 2,000 companies enjoy the benefits of CEA membership, including legislative advocacy, market research, technical training and education, industry promotion and the fostering of business and strategic relationships. CEA also sponsors and manages the International CES - Where Entertainment, Technology and Business Converge. All profits from CES are reinvested into CEA's industry services. Find CEA online at www.CE.org.

UPCOMING EVENTS

• 13^th Annual CEO Summit
  June 17-20, 2009, Dana Point, CA
• SINOCES 2009
  July 9-12, Qingdao, China
• 2009 CEA Industry Forum
  October 18-21, 2009, Phoenix, AZ
• 2009 i-stage
  October 19, 2009, Phoenix, AZ
• Digital Hollywood Fall
  October 19-22, 2009, Los Angeles, CA
• CES New York Press Preview featuring CES Unveiled @ NY
  November 10, 2009, New York, NY
• Future of Television East
  November 18-19, 2009, New York, NY
• 2010 International CES
  January 7-10, 2010, Las Vegas, NV

Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)
Tara Dunion, 703-907-7419
tdunion@CE.org
www.CE.org
or
Sarah Szabo, 703-907-4368
sszabo@CE.org
www.CESweb.org