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Like last year, the 2010 CEA Line Shows event was held at 7 West 34th St., taking over the entire 11th floor of what is otherwise a design center, no doubt one of many in midtown Manhattan. And that floor was definitely more crowded than last year—according to executive producer Martin Porter, about 70 exhibitors (twice as many as last year) and roughly 1500 attendees, an increase of more than 30 percent. Not only that, there were quite a few new-product announcements that had not been originally made at CES. Clearly, the whole idea of a consolidated line show has gained some traction, as I hoped it would.

It's hot and muggy in New York City. Fortunately, I'm spending most of my time indoors at the Consumer Electronics Association's second annual CEA Line Shows being held across 34th Street from the Empire State Building. This event is designed to give manufacturers of consumer-electronics products the opportunity to exhibit their latest wares in one venue, drastically cutting the cost of putting on separate line shows as they used to do when the economy was booming. It's a great idea that I heartily support.