CTIA Wireless 2009 starts tomorrow in Las Vegas. Traditionally held in the spring, it is considered the largest and most comprehensive trade show in the wireless industry. CTIA -The Wireless Association®, which represents carriers, manufacturers and wireless Internet providers, is expecting over 1000 exhibitors and up to 40,000 attendees. That number could be considerably less due to the economy.
Many of those on “Pre Watch” have been sort of willing something to happen in Vegas that won’t stay in Vegas. For example, two weeks ago, Phil Goldstein in his CTIA Preview piece at FierceWireless that was titled, “Palm may dominate a low-key CTIA,” wrote:
“One announcement that may be made is the pricing and a launch date for the Palm Pre, which Sprint Nextel is expected to launch sometime in the second quarter. So far, few details have emerged.”
He also quoted Avi Greengart, an analyst at Current Analysis, who said, "I don’t know if they’re going to announce anything. I haven’t seen any major presence from Sprint," Greengart said. "I don’t necessarily expect them to announce anything."
That seems to be the general consensus around here.
We do know that Sprint will be showcasing the device in its “Pre VIP Lounge.”
CNET’s Bonnie Cha, in a post appearing last Friday (“Palm Pre vs. iPhone 3G: Which do you want?”), noted:
“Both Palm and Sprint will be in Las Vegas for the show, but the companies don’t have any news conferences or major events scheduled–just an invite-only VIP Lounge where they’ll have the Palm Pre on display.”
While stating how she hoped we will learn some new information at CTIA (pricing, release date), she also remarked that, “there comes a point where the canned responses get old and things like the Webcast look like a stalling method or shameless self-promotion. I think it’s pretty safe to say, we’re at that point, and the masses are getting restless.”
There are a lot of us who second that emotion.
The good news is that our own Dieter Bohn has landed in Vegas and will be working the show hard. Keep checking back for updates from him.
Note: For those of you unfamiliar with what CTIA Wireless 2009 is all about, you can learn more here and here.
