Samsung, LG's absence turns CES Asia into TV-less tradeshow

By Lee Min-hyung

SHANGHAI, China ― Televisions are all the rage at the world’s leading electronics tradeshows, but this was no longer the case at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) Asia.

This comes as the Asian version of the world’s largest technology show kicked off here on Wednesday.

In recent years, the CES in Las Vegas and the IFA of Germany have covered various key themes of global technology trends, including connected vehicles, high-end electronics devices equipped with Internet of Things (IoT) features _ driven mainly by televisions manufactured by Korean tech giants Samsung and LG.

But as they have not attended the premier technology event, such an ecosystem has drastically changed, with few of the participating firms hyping up their new TVs.

Hi Sense, China’s TV market leader, was the only outstanding company seeking to draw attention through televisions.

“We have good relationships with Samsung and LG, but participation is the decision they have to make,” John T. Kelly, director of CES Asia, said in a meeting with Korean reporters. “I want them to participate, but every company has their own marketing perspective.”

He stressed Samsung and LG are not directly involved with the event through setting up their own booth, but they are indirectly sponsoring the event.

“It’s not about large companies, but bringing large companies with small ones together. In particular, more than 60 companies participated in the ‘startup park’ booth for the CES Asia.”

Smart vehicles again

Despite the absence of high-end electronics devices, the regional tradeshow was nearly identical to the CES in Las Vegas, at least under the theme of “future of smart vehicles.”

The world’s leading automakers, including BMW, Mercedes Benz and Chevrolet, set up their own booths to promote their vision of connected vehicles with IoT functionality.

At the BMW booth, the company unveiled its plan to expand the presence of electric vehicles (EVs) across the country through its EV charging station ChargeNow.

“We have some 700 ChargeNow stations in China, and plan to establish 1,500 more by the end of this year,” said a BMW representative at the booth.

Mercedes has also sought to grab the attention of the audience with its infotainment system, NTG 5.5.

A Mercedes official said, “The system allows users to control most of the systems ― including navigation and driving mode ― while holding the steering wheel.”

This is made possible as drivers can control such basic driving systems by simply rubbing and pressing motion sensor buttons set up along the wheel.