CES isn’t a big smartphone show, but there have been more new handsets here than I expected. Samsung gave us our first hands-on look at the Galaxy Z TriFold, Motorola launched its first book-style Razr Fold, and phone keyboard company Clicks revealed its BlackBerry-esque Android phone the Communicator.
But there’s one upcoming phone we didn’t see: The T1 Phone 8002 (gold version), the phone “designed with American values in mind,” was nowhere to be seen at the largest tech show in the US.
I searched for Trump Mobile’s handset across the various Las Vegas convention centers and hotel suites that make up the sprawl of CES. Trump Mobile didn’t hold a press conference, nor did it reach out to The Verge to set up any meetings at Trump Tower. Searching for “Trump” in the CES exhibitor database shows no results at all — and it’s the same story for Liberty Mobile, the MVNO that Trump Mobile is piggybacking on to provide its network.
It’s not really a surprise that Trump Mobile isn’t here, of course, nor that it doesn’t want to show off its phone. The T1 Phone is now five months late for its initial August release, with no official announcement from the company about why the phone is so delayed or when it’s actually expected to release.
But for a phone company so proud of its American values — remember, there are still “American hands behind every device,” even if the T1 Phone is no longer claimed to be made in the US — you might have expected it to take part in the country’s premier tech event. CES is the largest dedicated tech convention held in the United States, with over 142,000 attendees at last year’s show, and its organizer, the Consumer Technology Association, is the trade organization that represents the US tech industry.
Trump Mobile certainly isn’t too small to exhibit at CES, with large sections of the show devoted to minor companies and startups — in smartphones alone, brands like Clicks and the privacy-focused Hiroh have shown their wares in Vegas this week, so the show isn’t limited to industry giants like Motorola and Samsung. And while even small booths at the official show can cost tens of thousands, there are cheaper ways to exhibit, including pre-show events like Showstoppers or Pepcom, and even the option to simply book a hotel suite for the night and invite journalists and other attendees to see your products there.
The question is: Did Trump Mobile decide that it wouldn’t get enough value from making an appearance at CES? Or does it simply not have a phone to show off?
As ever, Trump Mobile did not reply to my request for comment.
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