The 2015 International CES® (January 6-9, Las Vegas) is one of the world's largest trade shows. Its sheer size can be daunting… over 150,000 attendees will visit over 3,600 exhibitors covering over 2,000,000 square feet of exhibit space. Where do you start? Here's a quick overview of what to see and do, and a look at some of the most prevalent themes.

What's Where?

This year, the show is laid out in a new way –Tech East and Tech West. Tech East (in the Las Vegas Convention Center or LVCC) focuses on the more traditional CE markets like TVs, appliances, autos, digital imaging/cameras, etc. Tech West (at the Sands Convention Center) focuses on the emerging technologies like wearables, 3D printing, smart home and similar markets. And, this year, for the first time, technology, media, marketers, content creators, and dealmakers will congregate at the Aria Hotel in the new C-Space.

Startups & Eureka Park

Start-ups will be even more important at CES this year. Four years ago, Eureka Park – the section for start-ups – had just 50 exhibitors. This year there will be 375, up from 220 last year. Some of these nascent companies will spend more attending CES than they spent to start their organizations. What makes a successful startup? As you can imagine, there are huge lessons to be learned at Eureka Park.

Hype vs. Reality

The big buzz items this year will be 4K TV (aka UltraHD or UHD), streaming capabilities and services, wearables, smart homes, smart cars, and 3D printing. Despite all the hype, the overall consumer electronics market has actually slowed down over the past few years, from growth of about 7.7% in 2011 to just about 2% in 2014.

Although they collectively represent just 3% of the total CE market, 3D printers, health and fitness devices, smart watches, UHD TVs, and smart thermostats increased sales by 240% YoY and are expected to grow another 108% in 2015. mobile devices remain a large share of the market with smartphones and tablets making up over 35% of 2% in 2014.