When Microsoft announced a few weeks ago it would bypass the 2013 edition of CES, that mean that the company"s exhibit hall space at the Las Vegas Convention center would be available to purchase for the first time in years. On Tuesday, News.com reported that Microsoft"s floor space for CES only took 45 minutes to be sold off for the 2013 show.
The report states that two companies, the satellite TV provider Dish (formerly known as Dish Network) and the China-based electronics maker Hisense, ended up buying the exhibit hall space for CES 2013. The price was apparently the same amount if Microsoft had ended up buying the same space again.
The organizers of CES are now currently in the middle of the three day process letting companies buy exhibit space for the 2013 show. CES 2012 ended up with 3,100 exhibitors, which is up from 2011"s 2,800 companies at the show.
It is not publicly known which company will now get to present at the coveted first keynote address at CES 2013, which Microsoft also gave up. The CES organizers apparently know which company will be taking over but they are not yet talking. The article did quote an anonymous source who did say the keynote address would be handled by a business "that everyone has heard of and will generate a lot of excitement."