2011 CES

The New Year marked the beginning of an exciting new chapter in Celestron's storied 51 years of designing and manufacturing high quality telescopes, telescope related accessories, scientific, educational and outdoor products.  What better event to unveil over 20 exciting new products from Celestron than at the annual International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), which recently took place in Las Vegas, NV on January 6-9, 2011.  Each year, CES showcases the world's latest, most innovative electronic gadgets and technologies from around the globe -bringing together thousands of exhibitors, media, bloggers and attendees.  CES remains unparalleled as a dynamic launching pad for new technologies.  With an entourage of 20 representatives from the Executive Level, Marketing, Product Development and Sales teams, Celestron came out in full force - eager to showcase its latest captivating product lines.

2 days prior to the start of CES, the media was provided a "sneak peak" of some of the newest product launches at CES Unveiled, which took place in the Venetian Hotel's Ballroom.  Celestron's Director of US Sales, Ben Hauck, and Marketing Manager, Michelle Meskill, were on hand and interviewed live on TV and radio to talk about some of the latest products that would be later showcased at CES, including: SkyProdigy, the first truly affordable, intelligent, automatic alignment telescope that's able to align itself in 3 minutes and ready to use - the perfect telescope for beginners, families and hobbyist; CoursePro, a handheld GPS device that will provide golfers with a competitive edge as it calculates distances to the front, center and back of the green and more; reTrace, a handheld GPS device that will literally retrace your steps to locations you saved, so you'll never get lost and TrekGuide, a handheld device with a digital compass, altimeter,  barometer, weather forecaster, thermometer and more.  It's quite a useful device that every hiker or outdoor enthusiast should never be without.  Nearly 40 credentialed media visited the Celestron table and provided the company with outstanding press coverage.

This year, Celestron was once again located inside the main Central Hall of the Convention Center and used its unique outer space themed booth setup to draw visitors in.  At the front of the booth, the new SkyProdigy 130, winner of the 2011 CES Innovations Design and Engineering Showcase and Popular Mechanics Editor's Choice Awards, was proudly displayed on a pedestal for all to see.  Nearby, an interactive monitor provided product and video tours, as well as informative information for all Celestron's products.  Excellent work provided by GammaFX Design Studio.  A newly "beefed up" CGEM DX gracefully occupied the adjacent corner of the booth and was equipped with an 11" EdgeHD OTA, larger counterweight bar/weights, CGE Pro style tripod and guidescope package with a DSLR camera attached.  The CGEM DX has a load capacity of 50 lbs and comes with an upgraded motor driver chip.  The new SkyWatcher AllView Mount, winner of the 2011 CES Innovations Design and Engineering Showcase Award, was also exhibited and drew much attention for its ability to simplify the process of taking panoramic photos with a DSLR camera attached.  This multi-purpose computerized mount features dual-encoder technology, a rotatable fork arm for use with a variety of OTAs and can be used for daytime viewing, surveillance or astronomical viewing.  Additional new products showcased included: CoursePro, reTrace, TrekGuide, 3 models of Nature DX, Outland X and Oceana Monoculars, Outland and Granite Series Binoculars, AstroMaster AZ tripod, HandHeld LCD Digital Microscope, Mini HandHeld Digital Microscope, PowerSeeker and AstroMaster Accessory Kits, Universal Mounting Plates, Dovetail Bars, X-Cel LX eyepieces, WedgePro, Magnifiers, Loupes and more.

Throughout the 4 day event, Celestron received unprecedented media coverage, and it wasn't uncommon to see Celestron representatives being asked to talk, often on camera, about all the latest products by the press.  With many new innovative Celestron products announced at CES, 2011 is certainly gearing up to be one of the most exciting years in the company's history.  It's not difficult to notice Celestron is expanding its product lines and is no longer just a telescope company known for producing superior optics.  As technology keeps evolving, so will the company to meet the demands of consumers to continue and provide cutting-edge products.  With outdoor recreational and personal products such as CoursePro, reTrace and TrekGuide on the horizon, Celestron will aggressively expand itself into newer markets.  January has only just begun and surely, even more exciting announcements will likely to follow throughout the New Year.