CES is all about the biggest, brightest, flashiest displays. Kudos to Samsung for its towers of LED TVs.
Integration. Dimensionality. Connectivity. Those were the three key concepts that exhibitors wanted to impress upon me as I walked the floors of CES 2010. The gadgets of this year and next were going to combine previous innovations, bring them into our 3D world, and connect us with people everywhere. The Consumer Electronics Show is the forum for getting your cutting edge technology into the hands of buyers for major retailers all over the world. As such, it’s full of remarkable innovations and cool demonstrations as well as hype and delusions of grandeur. Enjoy the following photo safari through the booths of CES 2010.
Sony, Samsung, LG, and Toshiba were all displaying 3D TVs...but it was Panasonic that won best in show. It will give us 3D HDTV (using special glasses) sometime in the second quarter of 2010.Speaking of TV...Samsung and others were touting systems that would integrate internet information into broadcasts. The right side of the screen demos how play predictions for a football game could be displayed right next to the game itself.Samsung, and others, demonstrated how multiple linked monitors could lead to a more immersive experience.Flying Parrot's AR-Drone outside was awesome. Pricing is still unavailable but a rep did say it would be available in the US this year. Can't wait.LG used Microsoft Surface to demo some of the cool features of the Chocolate Touch phone. No news on when the UK watch phone will make it to the US.LG and Ncomputing were both pushing versions of "networking monitors". These ethernet connected screens could allow you to run 30+ work stations off one PC. Hence the $70 "PC".The Peregrine glove from IronWill transforms your fingers into the keys of a keyboard. Conductive wires lace the glove allowing you to form circuits depending on where your thumb and finger connect. A cool bit of hardware for gaming at $150, and it may have applications in other fields.Microvision had a Dr. Evil look alike pimping its new Pico Projector.The Date Check mobile App from Intelius lets you use a phone number or email address to perform some pretty invasive checks of people's backgrounds. Free to download, $5-$50 to see if your prospective mate has a criminal history.Electric cars are making a comeback!Kia may soon integrate haptic dials into its cars for radio and other non-driving applications. Played with this thing for a while. It works really well.Rhythm Touch's Acu-therapy was fairly popular among the CES attendees whose dogs were barking after walking all day. I'm all for alternative medicine, but these guys set off my BS detector. Can't afford an Actroid? Kokoro makes the iFairy to cheer you up or say hi to guests as they enter a building.
I finally got to pet a Paro. Amazingly soft and cuddly. My psyche definitely felt healed.Goodbye CES...see you in 2011. (Taken via the Pico Projector from Microvision)
