Consumer Electronics Shows a Thing of the Past?

The International Consumer Electronics Show took place in Las Vegas last week, and although attendance of nearly 150,000 is nothing to be ashamed of, many question if this type of venue is still relevant. 

The Show, which began in 1967 as a platform for the makers of television sets and stereos used to be the place to go to announce new innovations.  Major technology innovations of the 20th century, such as the camcorder, were announced at the show, but the biggest of the 21st century, such as the iPhone, Kindle Fire, and Kinect, were not.

Some argue that this is because innovation is much more common today than it was 30 years ago, with more new products than ever hitting the market year round, while others argue today’s innovators want to stand out from the crowd, preferring to announce their products at smaller conferences and exclusive events.  What do you think; are consumer electronics shows a thing of the past, or still relevant?