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Computer Times
January 2012
5 Unique Products from CES 2012
By
Angie Kibiloski
Every January, I attend the
Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, in the hopes of finding
new, cool, and interesting products. Through the clutter of dozens of the same
type of product, it always feels like a little ray of sunshine when I can find
something really unique. In case you don’t know, CES is the largest
technology trade show in the world, spreading itself across all 3 halls of the
Las Vegas Convention Center, as well as the Venetian Meeting Rooms
and many of the suites in other hotels. Held in the first couple weeks of
January, the 4-day show has been bringing together movers and shakers from every
aspect of the tech industry for an astonishing 44 years! In addition to the
main show floor, there are a handful of other opportunities for companies to
exhibit their innovations, including the 3 major Press events of the show:
CES Unveiled, Digital Experience, and ShowStoppers. With so
much ground to cover, it is almost impossible to see everything the show has to
offer, and yet, it is hard to resist trying to pack it all into 4 short days.
With over 3,100 exhibitors and more than 153,000 attendees, it can be a
challenge just to navigate the show floor, much less find the truly noteworthy
little gems among the masses. This year though, I am pleased to say I didn’t
have too hard of a time making my Top 5 list. Here they are for your reading
pleasure. If these products prove to be as cool as I expect them to be, look
for more in-depth reviews of them to be posted in the months to come.
Swag of the Month
Introduced to me at the
Start Up Debut party at the House of Blues Foundation Room, this
clothing web site for men is very unique. I hope it will prove as fun and cool
as it sounds. The idea is that you go on their site,
www.swagofthemonth.com, and create a style profile. You enter in all of
your preferences in t-shirt styles, like color, graphics type, logos, etc.
Then, for $9 a month, their system will analyze your info and send you one new,
surprise t-shirt each month, which will supposedly match your style. I am very
excited to find out how accurately this site can guess which shirts will suit
someone’s tastes. I’ll keep you posted as our male Editors test it out. Female
shirts are not yet available, but are coming sometime in the future.
Four Door Media’s Road Mice
I actually saw this company
last year, but haven’t yet seen another like it, so it remains in my unique
list. Road Mice are wireless mice that are shaped like sports cars.
There are about 15 different models to choose from, like the Mustang, Camaro,
and Corvette. This year, they have joined with HP to incorporate
improved technology inside the mice, and have signed deals with several
NASCAR drivers to create upcoming branded racing models. All of the models
are so detailed and cool, that these could easily be like collectible toys, but
better, since they are functional too.
Marchon
3X3D
Marchon is an
established company that has been producing quality, designer eyewear for
years. Since 2010, their subdivision Marchon3D has been making these
quality glasses with 3D lenses. You get the functionality of RealD certified
passive 3D lenses, with the comfort and style of designer frames. Their 3X3D
line allows consumers an affordable, stylish alternative to other more expensive
glasses, with frames available for men, women, and even kids. No more will you
be forced to endure 2 hours in a movie theater wearing their heavy,
uncomfortable rental glasses. You can whip out your attractive pair of
Marchon 3X3D specs and watch the movie in style. I mentioned this company
in my CES wrap-up article last year as well, but I haven’t seen another
company doing a product quite like this, so they get a mention again.
Kogeto Dot
Kogeto was
demonstrating a 360-degree lens for the iPhone called the Dot,
which they released back in May. This device hooks onto the iPhone with
a holster, and proceeds to take video simultaneously from all angles, giving you
a 360-degree panoramic view. Download the app to start recording, and upload
your video to their site. With the video editing software on the site, you can
rotate your view to whichever angle you wish to see at each moment of playback,
giving you infinitely customizable editing options. They were also showcasing
prototypes for their Android version, which has a projected Fall release,
and their GoPro version, compatible with the GoPro HD Hero 2
camera, with a yet to be determined release date. This is no doubt a very cool
device for the iPhone, but what I am really excited about is the GoPro
version, and I wait with baited breathe any further announcements about this
model.
Sonomax Eers Earbuds
These earbuds are custom made
for your ears, in 5 minutes, from the comfort of your home. Just put the
molding device headset on, with the uninflated buds resting evenly in your
ears. Activate the device and sit quietly while the buds are inflated with
silicone, which molds to the contours of your ear and hardens in 5 minutes. The
silicone will retain its shape for the foreseeable future, and you have a
comfortable earbud made especially for your individual ear. The molding process
is pretty much dummy proof, and actually kind of fun. In a sea of earbuds and
various other kinds of headphones at the show, these stood out as unique, not
necessarily in their audio technology inside, but in their extreme
customization.
There are many other products
that I came across that looked cool and interesting, which were updated versions
of past models, or variations on a handful of themes, and I will be excited to
review and write more about them in the near future. Instead of giving you a
huge list of every trend I found though, I wanted to delight you with the most
singular products. I could never do justice to all of the innovations shown at
CES in one small article anyway. Hopefully, these 5 products will give
you a taste of the sort of fare to be had throughout the show, and hopefully get
you excited about all the cool new technology coming out this year as well.
Keep checking back on the site for more in-depth reviews of these and other
products from CES.
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