Fifty
Years of Showcasing Consumer Electronics….
© 2017 BOB SKIDMORE ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
BOB SKIDMORE
CORRESPONDENT
As is the case at
the start of every new year, manufacturers, retailers, entrepreneurs and the
media gather in Las Vegas for the largest exhibition of consumer products of
its kind. This year was no exception with over 3800 exhibitors and 165,000 plus
attendees in attendance. What made this a very special event was the
commemoration of fifty years of existence since the first exhibit in 1967. The
first show was held in New York City in collaboration with the New York Hi-Fi
Show, and yes, I was there for that event too. I’m reporting on just a few unusual items from the show since CES has
literally thousands.
In recent years, we’ve seen the auto industry join the array of
exhibitors. This year we saw the addition of Nissan and Honda.
Toyota unveiled
the Concept-i, a concept car for the year 2030. It utilizes a single
wide-screen, 3-D, full-color Head-Up display that blends into the interior with
plenty of gee wiz gadgets for sure. http://toyota.us/2j92IT7
For the water sports enthusiast, the PowerVision’s underwater drone, known as PowerRay,
is a drone that can navigate 30 meters below water and uses sonar to assist in
tracking fish. With its built-in wi-fi, PowerRay sends alerts back to the user’s
smartphone on land that fish are nearby. It will even capture 4K video and
pictures. Preorders for this $3000 tool start in February. http://bit.ly/2ittDud
LG introduced the “W”, a/k/a
WALLPAPER,
an unbelievably thin 65˝ or 77˝ 4K OLED flat screen. It’s so lightweight that
it attaches to the wall with magnets and is designed to look like you’re
watching TV through a window or picture on the wall. No price, release date or
web link were available at press time.
In wearables, MOTIV
introduced the ultra light titanium Smart Ring. This ring is designed to be
worn constantly since it maintains a 3 – 5 day charge. This ring measures
active minutes, heart rate, calories burned, distance, activity type, sleep
duration, resting heart rate and steps. It works with iPhone ios 9.0 or later
and charges in less than ninety minutes. Available by preorder at $199 in rose
gold and slate gray. http://bit.ly/2jFXI7m
CMRA presented their solution to an upgraded camera for the Apple Watch.
Incorporated into a sleek looking watchband that 007 would be proud of, are two
HD cameras. One is aimed frontwards (2 mega pixels) for selfies and the other
outward (8 mega pixels) for general use. An all day battery can capture 100’s
of photos or up to thirty minutes of video per charge. LED indicators indicate
when either camera is in use. Available by preorder with a Spring delivery
target date. Preorders include an $80 discount and free charging dock. $249.00 MSRP.
http://getcmra.com/
Vuzix introduced a pair of sunglasses that appear to be headed where Google
left off. These glasses pair up with Android devices and display what’s on the
screen in the right lens. You can watch videos, get directions and read text
messages. The glasses are voice controlled or by a touch pad on the right stem.
The left lens is for snapping photos with the built-in camera. Availability
third quarter and price TBA. http://bit.ly/2jhlb22
Kodak, who reintroduced the Super 8mm camera at last year’s show, did it
again by bringing back EKTACHHOME film. This classic film will be offered for
both still photography and Super 8mm motion picture film formats. Professional
Ektachrome, a color positive film, will be available in a 135-36x format. Availability
of both products is expected sometime in the fourth quarter of 2017.
DOK Solutions introduced a new docking product known as the DOK Talk CR25. It’s a
device that’s compatible with every smartphone brand and charges up to any five
portable media devices. USB Beam Forming Technology incorporates multiple
microphones that “hear” from across the room. SCD technology adjusts current
flow to ensure proper charging and includes surge protection. DOK teamed up
with Amazon to allow playing songs from Amazon’s Prime Music, Spotify, Pandora,
iHeartRadio and TuneIn. It can also manage
your Amazon Echo and like Alexa it can answer questions, read audio books, and
offer news, traffic and the weather. It gives information on local businesses,
provides sport’s scores, schedules and much more. The CR25 can serve as a timer
too. MSRP $189 - Shipping April 2017. http://bit.ly/2iNPaur
Robots were all over the show as were many products integrating the use
of Amazon’s ECHO Alexa, voice control modules. Watch for future Alexa
integration in many name brand products. CES was again a huge success!
Images:
By the manufacturer or Google Images
Bob Skidmore is a freelance
writer, who may be contacted at bob.thegadgeteer.skidmore@gmail.com, or followed at twitter.com/bskidmore for the latest gadget industry news. He does not represent,
or endorse any of the products he reviews and his opinions are solely his
points of view and not those of the manufacturer. The manufacturer generally
supplies products at no cost for the articles and no other compensation is
received. THE GADGETEER is highly selective as to products he feels worthy of
review so as not to waste the reader’s time, thus the reason for many superior
ratings. In some cases news services and press releases made
available to the GADGETEER are used to compile this column.
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