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Vegas hits you like a cheap hooker’s embrace. The jangling sounds of slots and jewelry, the cheap scent that hints of desperation and the instinct to clutch your wallet a little tighter. “Feed me,” clamor the airport slots; “hold me,” exhorts the hooker; “pay me,” whispers the city.
But this trip was immediately different. The airport had been twisted straight, sanitized into a banal airport. I had to double check that we hadn’t been dropped in the wrong state by an airline looking to cut yet more corners by skipping part of the journey completely. The airport was quiet and efficient and, well, bland. It was troubling. Even nature had rebelled against the city, bringing storms and flash floods, in a foolish attempt to clean the streets of discarded adult calling cards, homeless and hookers. All was clearly not well in Sin City; The Lady had been tied down and sedated till she had no will to fight back.
But if The Lady had been sedated, the CTIA show had been beaten senseless and left for dead. What used to be the mobile show was rapidly on its way to being a carcass even before the show opened. The smell of death was in the air from day one and the stench increased as the day went by. No twisted acts of nature or man were going to save this; that much was clear.
We were there, giving CTIA one last chance. Last year’s show was so quiet that you could hear crickets chirping in the background. This year, even the crickets didn’t show up. “Super” mobility week was a spectacle of failed dreams. The highlight of the show was a streamed broadcast from Cupertino, California, as the CTIA embraced its failure and took a backseat to Apple. But it was by far the only factor. IFA was just one week ago, and all of the major announcements were made there, leaving nothing for the CTIA show. Worse still, it’s New York Fashion Week, which was stacked full of wearable tech.
So what were we left with? A plethora of phone cases in many gaudy colors, and the odd antenna array. Super indeed. One wearable was sighted in the entire week, in direct contract to CTIA’s banners, which promised a glimpse into the future. If this was a glimpse into the future of the American mobile market then it is doomed. The most noise I heard in the entire week was when the show floor closed. The exhibitors all cheered, as though they had just been rescued from a deserted island. Fools. Don’t they know that this is just a temporary reprieve? CTIA is not giving up. Same time, same place, read the banner as we all slunk out of the hall.
Hunter Gates is a long time follower of the mobile market. He watched the world move to digital and saw shows such as the CTIA show enjoy the benefits. But he also saw CTIA stubbornly hold onto its two-show format for three or four years too long, pretty much guaranteeing it a place in history as the show that died just when the mobile market peaked in excitement. He is not amused by this.
