In recent years, the large public spaces and vacant parking lots were taken over by festivals.

BBC: The Quartier des Spectacles, Montreal's Broadway

That's the case at MWC in Barcelona, IFA in Berlin and CEATEC in Japan -- at SXSW in Austin, however, bars, tents, parking lots and even single-family homes host manufacturers large and small, and instead of starched button-downs and cufflinks, attendees sport t-shirts and tattoos.

ENGADGET