Engadget: now the Official Blog Partner of CES

We've always known that CES is the gadget industry's single most important event -- and the busiest week of our entire year -- which is why when the CEA rings, we take the call. And while we tend not to bother with a lot of industry partnerships, we've accepted the rare distinction for Engadget to be named the first-ever Official Blog Partner of CES.

Of course, for you (and us) nothing much changes when it comes time to hit the floor at CES 2009: we don't accept any hookups or editorial privileges from the CEA, and, as always, we're out to live up to our own reputation for bringing you no-holds-barred, hard-hitting gadget news at breakneck speed on everything you need to know at CES. We'll see you there in January!

CEA Names Engadget as Official Blog Partner of 2009 CES

No. 1 Technology Blog in the U.S. Is Now Published in Eight Countries

New York, NY, October 14, 2008 – AOL announced today that the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA^®) selected Engadget, http://engadget.com, as the Official Blog Partner of the 2009 International CES^® to be held January 8-11, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

As part of the Official Blog Partnership, Engadget will provide ongoing news coverage of the hottest products from more than 2,700 CES exhibitors at the 2009 International CES.

"CES's choice of Engadget as its Official Blog Partner further cements the publication's place as the leading voice in consumer electronics coverage. Our award-winning site will cover the 2009 CES with the fast-paced, up-to-the-minute reporting that has made Engadget the market leader and final word in the world of technology journalism," said Joshua Topolsky, Editor-in-chief, Engadget. "CEA is one of the global consumer electronics industry's most powerful trade groups, and CES is the industry's most important and anticipated event, hands down."

"The online technology community is of continuing importance to us and this partnership shows the crucial role that blog sites like Engadget play in bringing CES' hot product news to a worldwide audience, before, during and after the show," said Karen Chupka, senior vice president of events and conferences for CEA, the producer of the International CES. "We estimate that some 20,000 new products are launched at CES each year and the Engadget editorial team is able to bring all the hot product news, across dozens of different categories, to life for both consumers and technology professionals."

Engadget will provide live coverage of the 2009 International CES on both its domestic and international sites, and will have extensive presence at the show, including interviews, product news and reviews, updates on CES events and commentary by a team of Engadget editors from across the globe. Engadget's expansion into the international market will provide an opportunity for consumers and advertisers around the world to follow up-to-the minute news from the show.

In addition to its strong presence in the U.S., Engadget recently launched in Poland, http://pl.engadget.com, Germany, http://de.engadget.com, and South Korea, http://kr.engadget.com. It will launch in France and the Netherlands later this month and in additional countries by the end of the year. Engadget is now published in eight countries and seven languages, including Spanish, Japanese, Chinese, German, Polish, and Korean. Each international site has an editorial team based in the territory, creating local content or featuring syndicated content from the U.S. and the other Engadget sites.

The general look-and-feel is identical throughout the Engadget network. Non-U.S. users accustomed to Engadget will find themselves at home in the international versions, and will be able to easily navigate through the sites. For advertisers, standard and customized local packages are available on any of Engadget's international sites.

With more than 3.9 million worldwide unique visitors each month and 1.2 million unique visitors in the United States, Engadget is the No. 1 technology blog in the United States, according to the August 2008 comScore Media Metrix report and is the cornerstone of the AOL Technology Network, which includes Engadget, Engadget Mobile, Engadget HD, Switched, TUAW (The Unofficial Apple Weblog) and DownloadSquad. The AOL Technology Network is one of the largest technology news and information publishers online, attracting 4.6 million domestic unique visitors and 8 million worldwide unique visitors each month, according to the August 2008 comScore Media Metrix report. The AOL Technology Network provides users with a complete resource to gather information about the latest technology news and products.

[Hotrod @ Oct 14th 2008 3:28AM]

Congratulations.

[Konstantin @ Oct 14th 2008 3:34AM]

Yeah Congrats! Keep up the good work and we'll keep reading!

[Techie @ Oct 14th 2008 5:00AM]

Man I wish the internship was still up for grabs because I would take it in a heartbeat to work at Engadget. Imagine all the gadgets you get to test out and review! VIP pass at CES 2009 "mouth waters"

[RyanTV @ Oct 14th 2008 8:42AM]

yah congrats.... just make sure you don't take one of those TV-B-Gone things like the "other" blog ;)
I hear they don't take too kindly to that.

[a ham sandwich @ Oct 14th 2008 9:55AM]

"With more than 3.9 million worldwide unique visitors each month and 1.2 million unique visitors in the United States, Engadget is the No. 1 technology blog in the United States"

call me a rabid fan of engadget if you wish, but isnt engadget the single most read blog on the whole tubes? im pretty sure i saw that somewhere according to alexa i think...

[Seth @ Oct 14th 2008 10:28AM]

I would have been more impressed if Engadget had politely declined, and told them 'it wouldn't be appropriate' for a news organization such as themselves to be officially endorsed by an organization or event they report on.

Was this CEA getting back at Gizmodo for shutting off hardware in the middle of demonstrations (which they probably deserved)?

[Poom @ Oct 14th 2008 3:30AM]

Wow.... They contacted you to be their partner!?!?! Congrats!!

[Steve Childs @ Oct 14th 2008 4:30AM]

More likely AOL / Engadget offered the most in the way of $$$ ;)

[Tohe @ Oct 14th 2008 3:36AM]

Congratulations on a distinction well deserved.

[Skorpius @ Oct 14th 2008 3:34AM]

It certainly wasn't going to be Gizmodo.

[Tohe @ Oct 14th 2008 3:55AM]

I strongly dislike that blog, they are bunch of amateurs, can you believe they banned me (along with many other of their readers) from commenting, just because I disagreed with Mr. Diaz? I even wrote the editor in chief as well as Gawker Media and they didn't care to respond, clowns!

[allislost @ Oct 14th 2008 4:08AM]

@Tohe

On what subject did you disagree with Mr. Diaz?

[dj496 @ Oct 14th 2008 4:49AM]

@ allislost: I bet he's not going to care to respond. Clown! ;)

[o rly @ Oct 14th 2008 4:57AM]

I doubt Richard Blakeley & Brian Lam over at Gizmodo think that prank is as funny now.

[Daza @ Oct 14th 2008 4:59AM]

That was my first thought.. "well, it sure as hell wasn't going to be Gizmodo..."

This is good news, I think. Engadget did a great job of covering CES that they may as well be an Official Blog. But what does it spell for other blogs? Do they not get the same clearance or rights to publish content, particularly photos? If no one is injured with this partnership, then congrats Engadget, you deserved it.

[Taylor @ Oct 14th 2008 5:03AM]

I don't think it was so much the prank on its own - turning off the TVs at stands.

The worst part was when they turned off Motorola's screens during their presentation. I'm no fan of Motorola, but to go disturbing press conferences is just rude. It put Moto in a bad light for something out of their control

[Tohe @ Oct 14th 2008 5:21AM]

@allislots:
The first link motivated the ban, the second is an example of bad taste.
http://gizmodo.com/5029524/steve-jobs-says-he-doesnt-have-cancer-and-why-its-not-your-business-anyway
http://gizmodo.com/5022283/sad-ending-flying-priest-found-dead-in-the-atlantic-god-positioning-system-still-missing

@dj496: don't get ahead of yourself, I'm not making things up.

[o rly @ Oct 14th 2008 6:03AM]

Tohe & dj496, I was banned a few years ago by Brian Lam for disagreeing with him and pointing out the blatant bias they have for Apple, but I simply went over his head and was re-instated.

[Mark Anderson @ Oct 14th 2008 8:00AM]

Gizmodo jumped the shark quite some time ago and is little more than an iPhone fansite these days.

And yes; Brian Lam is a bit trigger happy when it comes to the banhammer.

[dj496 @ Oct 14th 2008 12:35PM]

It's ok Tohe, I was only being light-hearted.

[iNToIT @ Oct 14th 2008 3:34AM]

Awesome. You guys deserve it!

[Troels C @ Oct 14th 2008 3:38AM]

Congrats :)

[allislost @ Oct 14th 2008 3:45AM]

Engadget as partner? no no... My ASS should be partner! It has a firm and well rounded stance on the issues and it knows how much dedication is needed to be presentable.

[Lloytron @ Oct 14th 2008 3:47AM]

And there was me thinking you were the official blog partner of Apple!

[allislost @ Oct 14th 2008 3:51AM]

Unofficial Apple Blog Partner, but desperately trying to be official.

[Patriks7 @ Oct 14th 2008 4:02AM]

No no! That's TUAW.. oh wait..

[Henry @ Oct 14th 2008 4:18AM]

Is there any reason why Engadget shouldn't be entitled to their own opinion?

Congratulations by the way!

[TK @ Oct 14th 2008 3:53AM]

It's 3 AM and there's a phone ringing in the tech blog world....

[Lam @ Oct 14th 2008 4:00AM]

Congrats... does this mean you guys have to start being serious?

[Troels C @ Oct 14th 2008 6:06AM]

Is that really the point of this site?

[Dahk @ Oct 14th 2008 4:02AM]

Congrats guys! Twitters say you guys worked long and friggin' hard on getting this, so pat yourselves folks (and previous folk)!

[iansilv @ Oct 14th 2008 4:03AM]

Awesome! Quality journalism rewarded- rare these days! Nice to see engadget get this.

[ED @ Oct 14th 2008 4:28AM]

an awesome anticlimax

[o rly @ Oct 14th 2008 4:57AM]

I doubt Richard Blakeley & Brian Lam over at Gizmodo think that prank is as funny now.

[Russ @ Oct 14th 2008 5:22AM]

Well done, guys! Nice writing style, no unbearable bias, and detailed and dedicated work. Glad to see Engadget's the #1 tech blog in the US!

[OCEAN 'CLAK' 20th Account Happy @ Oct 14th 2008 5:31AM]

CONGRATULATIONs, i always thought this site would become official partners of macworld, but CES sound more exciting so CONGRADULATIONS

[Sam Zebian @ Oct 14th 2008 6:41AM]

nice job guys, you weren't stupid enough to screw up your relationship with the CEA. If Giz wasn't, maybe they would have had to pick them instead, or maybe they would've picked you guys. I'm glad they picked you guys, your coverage of CES is usually a little bit more professional.

[Hotrod @ Oct 14th 2008 6:59AM]

I agree, engadget is a bit more professional and straight forward.

[Martin @ Oct 15th 2008 1:38AM]

It's really not hard to fathom that you guys were selected, i mean really with all the awesome work you do, i love the writing on this site i couldn't imagine looking at another site ever again when it comes to gadgets... honey.... err honey are you listening to me?

[Kragmose @ Oct 14th 2008 7:34AM]

Oh dear God.

[Tim Brown @ Oct 14th 2008 8:34AM]

Well done guys, any chance of getting your loyal reader free passes for CES 2009?

[Tim Brown @ Oct 14th 2008 8:35AM]

That should be readers!, not reader! Hungover on a Tuesday, never good!

[sr @ Oct 14th 2008 10:33AM]

It must be nice having rich, well connected parents.

[Sarah @ Oct 14th 2008 10:37AM]

So this essentially means nothing and is just an excuse to put out a press release, no? Just like the companies you cover! How fitting.

[the guy @ Oct 14th 2008 10:35AM]

Funny how Boingboing Fadgets and TechCrunch are whining...

[Pangs @ Oct 14th 2008 10:43AM]

"Of course, for you (and us) nothing much changes when it comes time to hit the floor at CES 2009: we don't accept any hookups or editorial privileges from the CEA"
Then why become an official partner of an event you are covering? These kind of hook-ups do nothing to promote objectivity and independence. You are either on our side or theirs, you can't play for both teams. This is a sad day.

[John Sullivan @ Oct 14th 2008 12:27PM]

Indeed... no hookups, engadget? I find it hard to believe that your crack reporting team will pass up their rights of first refusal on the finest Asian hookers that Toshiba has to offer! You can't resist including photos of them with every trade show product launch-- sometimes the gadgets are in focus, but the trade show girlies are ALWAYS in frame.

[Tara Dunion @ Oct 14th 2008 11:07AM]

To all tech bloggers out there, this shows that your tech coverage is very important to CES. We've even moved the LVCC Blogger Lounge to a very central location in S228 right across from the press room. Register now at CESweb.org, we'd love to host you and see coverage from all tech blogs at the 2009 CES.

[Addison @ Oct 14th 2008 12:04PM]

Hell yeah! Engadget rocks!

[jammin @ Oct 14th 2008 1:03PM]

If I see any Engadget staff while at CES I'm gonna flip them the bird.

I am of course, kidding.

If I do see any of you I'll probably get in the way of whatever it is you are trying to do to say hi.

As for questions of how the official partnership might affect the objectivity of reporting. Most of that is coverage of the company's exhibiting rather than the organisers themselves, so I can't see it being a problem.

Congrats.