150,000 attendees are expected to converge upon Las Vegas for the annual Consumer Electronics Show this week. This is one of the largest trade shows in the world. Prepare to be awestruck by 1.8 million square feet of the latest and greatest gadgets, components, features, and systems in consumer technology.
Las Vegas will be SRO. Consultants, marketers, designers, gurus of geekdom, game-changing executives with managers and buyers in tow, and obsessive pilgrims in search of something brand new and exotic will sell out every hotel and motel room in the convention capital of the U.S.
Attendees will stand in shuttle lines, admission lines, buffet lines, autograph lines, and every other kind of line to be among the first to see over 20,000 new products from 2700 technology companies. Of course, nobody will ever see everything they came to see, but they’ll always see enough to make it worth the price of admission.
What follows is a list of ten products that are fun and quasi-magical—and that’s really what the CE industry is about before talk turns to MSRP and SKU’s.
- LG will show off their 84-inch 3D Ultra Definition (UD) capable of 4K resolution. The flat panel has an embedded 2D-to-3D conversion engine that gives viewers the option to watch 2D content in a simulated 3D format.
- Everybody will be looking for the new Lytro light-field camera with 8X optical zoom. Why? Because it looks like a mini-telescope with a retro-Fifties feel and because it has no built-in autofocus since it’s the only camera that lets you focus photos after taking them.
- Plextor will feature their new PlexEasy portable external DVD/CD burner optical storage device that connects directly to PTP devices (smartphones, tablets, etc.) and lets you burn videos, music, and other data without ever going near a computer.
- Eers [sic] earbuds by Sonomax can be custom tailored in less than four minutes to your ears to provide maximum sound isolation, fidelity, and comfort even while running, cycling, and other vigorous activities.
- Polaroid’s new digital Z340 camera harkens back to the company’s classic and wildly-popular instant printing camera which is now outfitted with an SD card and capable of instantly printing water-resistant and tear-resistant 3×4″ photos.
- Biscotti has a simple little device that turns your high definition big screen into a video phone. This personal video calling system lets you and your family make free HD video calls to friends (who also have a Biscotti or are on the Google Gmail network).
- HyperDrive offers the CloudFTP pocket-sized adapter that turns any USB storage device into a wireless file server and synchronizes data with popular online Cloud storage services such as Dropbox, iCloud, etc.
- The Nest Learning Thermostat observes your energy preferences then programs itself within a week’s time to keep you comfortable and automatically save energy. Installation is easy as installing a light fixture. Objective is conservation without sacrificing comfort.
- Devialet will again present their D-Premier 2×240 watts integrated stereo amplifier-preamplifier and Digital to Analog Converter (DAC). In short, it looks and sounds like the stunning money-no-object hi-end audio component that it is.
- Voxland BeeWi BB7351 radio-controlled Bluetooth helicopter is controlled by your smartphone. It’s a real toy, i.e., you use it to have fun just for the fun of it. I suppose it goes without saying you can fly it but don’t ride in it.
So don your most comfortable walking shoes, attend to your agenda, do what you need to do, and experience the excitement and wonder of it all.
Oh, and one quick tip—check out the Eureka Park TechZone to see what’s really new!
Stay tuned for our CES post-show wrap-up and several new Plextor product announcements coming your way. Enjoy the show!
