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The Consumer Electronics Association, which hosts CES, estimates that 130,000 people will attend, down from 141,00 last year. Hotel rooms in Las Vegas, usually scarce at this time of the year, can still be found.

The show's 2,700 exhibitors will be spread over 1.7 million square feet, a smaller footprint than last year's 3,000 exhibitors.

The tone will be different as well, with many tech companies focused on sealing sales rather than just making showy exhibits on the convention floor.

"A lot of companies are asking us for meeting rooms that haven't done so in the past," said Jason Oxman of the Consumer Electronics Association. "Companies are looking to do business at the show that they would otherwise do with individual customer visits."

In general, the two analysts believe that consumer spending will be down about 0.3% in 2009 and they noted that 2009 may actually be the worst year for the economy since the early 1980s. Since consumer spending is down, the general economy will take a big hit, as consumer spending accounts for about 70% of the U.S. economy. Koenig believes that the current may turn into the longest recession since WWII and may see a slight lift when the government stimulus package kicks in, which could happen in the second quarter of this year. CEA expects that employment will trail the general economy trend and we might see high unemployment rates of 8-9% “well into 2010.”