Perhaps the most telling comment about last week's Comdex Fall 2003 was overheard between two airport shuttle drivers.

"What is Comdex?" one asked.

That's a question that would be hard to imagine being asked in the past, given Comdex's history as the biggest high-tech trade show in the U.S.

But this year the event drew only 45,000 attendees, about one-fifth of the 220,000 who attended three years ago. And the number of exhibitors, 550, is only about one-quarter of the total in 2000. The show also lacked much in the way of technology or business announcements beyond a few tidbits from Sun and some lesser-known companies.

Still, show organizers tried to put a happy face on the event, saying attendance met expectations. They also lured high-profile speakers such as Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates and Sun CEO Scott McNealy.

"We have fewer numbers than in the past, but we have higher booth density, more people per square foot this year," says Eric Faurot, Comdex's vice president and general manager.

Competition from a new show in town, Computer Digital Expo, didn't faze Comdex planners. That event focused on enterprise IT professionals and drew about 4,000 attendees and 60 participating companies.

"The other shows, HP with its sales meeting, their presence here the week before Thanksgiving, proves this is historically Comdex's week," Faurot says.

In terms of next year's Comdex, Faurot says Microsoft already has signed on, and show sponsor MediaLive International, formerly Key3Media, is working to bring companies such as IBM back into the fold.

"Comdex and IBM had a very public divorce in 1997, but this year there are 10 IBM speakers. We want to get the key companies as a foundation for this new show going forward," Faurot says.

Comdex in the past featured a wide breadth of technology, but this year the group honed in on key areas to help IT buyers and end users get information on important technology trends. Show planners say wireless and security tracks got a lot of hits, while on-demand computing didn't resonate with users as much as expected.