If you’ve attended the Consumer Electronics Shows in years past, you know the drill. Book a hotel, try not to flinch at the $400-and-up nightly rate, arrive at McCarran International Airport and wait two hours for a taxi to your hotel. And when you’re finally in Las Vegas? You’re joined by thousands of attendees wasting too much time in lines — for a cab, coffee, dinner, the CES shuttle bus, the bathroom.

But, possibly, maybe, I sure hope … not this year. The first sign of a smaller, quieter and cheaper CES, which opens Wednesday night, was lower hotel rates. The official CES hotels starting reducing prices months ago. Places like Bally’s, which in 2006 (the last year I attended) charged $400/night, were still offering $139/night specials before Christmas.

Then I noticed that some Orange County tech companies that for years showed up in big, splashy booths were missing from the show floor.

A third sign? Bill Gates isn’t the opening keynote, as he has been for the last 12 years. What is this? Macworld? (Oh yeah, Gates retired in June.)

After a rough year for the consumer electronics industry –- one where Circuit City filed bankruptcy, Best Buy began layoffs and others went kaput –- CES is expected to be smaller and cheaper. Still, the Consumer Electronics Association, which organizes the annual event, is optimistic about the show and is pushing quality over quantity.

“We’re seeing pre-registration for the show that is stronger than in 2008,” said Jason Oxman, CEA’s vice president of communication. “Will we break a record this year? Probably not. But at the same time, trade shows take renewed interest in a down economy because business gets done.”

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CES expects at least 130,000 attendees this year, down 14 percent from the 2006 high of 152,000. While this year’s lag could be blamed on the depressed economy, CES organizers began taking steps two years ago to eliminate consumers trying to sneak in at the industry-only event. It closely scrutinized attendees living within driving distance to Las Vegas.

“That reduced attendance by 8,000,” Oxman said. “The message we’re trying to send is not to have the maximum number of people, but the best quality of people.” Read the rest of this entry »