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Thursday, Jan. 6, 2011 | 2:41 p.m.
2011 International CES
Las Vegas locals wanting a glimpse inside one of the city’s largest conventions will get their chance on Sunday.
The Consumer Electronics Association is offering free admission to its Consumer Electronics Show with the purchase of a $49 Tech Enthusiast membership. This is the first time the trade show has been opened to the public.
A CEA membership is typically only open to technology industry professionals, but opened to the public earlier this year, said Jason Oxman, senior vice president of industry affairs at the CEA.
“This is something we’ve never done before. The CEA designs CES as a trade-only event. You’re not allowed to go if you are a consumer, but for this one-time celebration, we will give them a pass to go to the show floor,” Oxman said.
Those interested in registering for the Tech Enthusiast membership to attend the 2011 CES can visit the CEA website and use the code “Vegas.” Registration must be completed by Friday to attend the conference.
On the show floor, attendees will get to browse more than 20,000 new products from 27,000 exhibiting companies. The 2011 CES is expecting more than 126,000 attendees for the four-day event.
Funny, its free, but you have to spend 49 dollars for a membership. So how is it free.
that's almost as sneaky as the Sun's Unverified comment section.
Not only did the reporter pass along the "free" claim without blinking, but she didn't verify the provided link either.
There is nowhere to enter a promo code, and regular registration requires a company name (and doesn't accept the promo code as a company).
A search for and through "tech enthusiast" turns up the following page http://www.ceatechenthusiast.com/vegas which accepts registration using the promo code.
On the way to that page, it is revealed that a "tech enthusiast" membership is $29., but on the registration page it has risen to $49.
What is the benefit to becoming a "tech enthusiast"? Your email address is registered to "receive hot deals and incredible opportunities from our corporate partners", in other words, an unending slew of junk mail.