44th International Consumer Electronics Show 2012
44th International Consumer Electronics Show 2012
January 20, 2012
The International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) that took place in Las Vegas on January 10th – 13th opened with a record breaking number of exhibitors and proved to be yet another successful demonstration of innovation in the electronics industry. CES took up 1.861 million net square feet of exhibit space, more than 35 football fields according to host Consumer Electronics Association (CEA). The show is also known for its large number of attendees estimated at over 140,000 which is three times the number of slot machines on the Las Vegas Strip.
The show also brought with it a number of celebrities from professional sports, movies/television, and the music industry some were featured while others were interested attendees. Utah Channel 3 was able to meet some featured stars such as 50 Cent and Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi but unfortunately missed such celebrities as Justin Bieber, Dennis Rodman, LL Cool J, and Wayne Brady. Some of our staff was able to grab a photo with Seth Green and see Nickelback perform at the AT&T Developer Summit in between events.
On the evening of Jan. 08, 2012, we attended CES Unveiled held at the Venetian to catch a glimpse of products being released in the show to come. There were many exhibitors with noteworthy products being released some of the honorable mentions are Fujitsu Limited, Parrot, and House of Marley. Fujitsu, which is based in Japan, does have some of its products reaching the United States such as computing products, hardware, and software. One product by Fujitsu which has high hopes of reaching the U.S. is their new line of water resistant mobile devices and tablets that can stay under water for half an hour in as deep as 1.5 meters of water without water damage. Fujitsu told us that since water damage is the number one cause of phone replacement they wanted to make a product that could meet this challenge. Ethan Mandel representative of Fujitsu stated that the company is “very unique in our technology” and are planning to launch their water resistant devices in the U.S. and are currently discussing this possibility with all of the top carriers.
Parrot released the AR Drone 2.0 at CES Unveiled that is a wirelessly controlled flying device that can be controlled through it’s built in Wi-Fi System and can link to various devices such as the iPhone, iPad and recently the Android. The flying device can also be controlled through its AR.Drone Navigation software by a joystick or from a Linux PC. The AR Drone can do several maneuvers including back flips and serves as a pricey high tech toy at the retail price of $299.00.
The House of Marley offers eco-friendly music products and is inspired after the late great music legend Bob Marley. Some of the products the company offers are in-ear, on-ear, and over-ear head phones as well as other audio products. Every bit of each product that can be made from recycled materials is made eco-friendly as part of their movement in honor of Bob Marley. The company’s “musical endeavors move and inspire the world for positive change” said International Vice President, Paul Harrison. As a partner with the 1 love organization the House of Marley strives to follow the mission to “do good in honor of Bob Marley’s vision of hope and unity” (1love.org). Not only is the message of the House of Marley and its eco-friendly products unmatched, their products are also anticipated to be at the same level of quality as many other similar products on the market today. UtahChannel3 hopes to test out some of their products soon.
Outside of CES Unveiled there were other noteworthy innovations that were showcased at CES 2012 like the Ngconnect Program, Green Onions Supply’s Oleophobic Screen Protector, Kopin’s Golden-i, Maker Bot Industries 3-D Printer, and much more. Ngconnect is a program that brings together an alliance of companies considered to be both the pioneering and global leaders of the next generation of ideas to form ground-breaking service concepts. Green Onions Supply has developed a Oleophobic Screen Protector that actually blocks oil from your face from smudging or leaving smear marks on the screen of your mobile device. This screen protector was tested by UtahChannel3 and it yielded amazing results.
Koplin has developed the first hands-free mobile computing headset called Golden-i that uses speech recognition to access any information on web in real-time high definition through Verizon Wireless 4G Network. Maker Bot Industries, founded in 2009, displayed their upgraded MakerBot StepStruder® MK7 which is able to print in 3-D an object the size of a loaf of bread. One of their demonstrations was of a MakerBot Moonbase Playset that included a rocket ship and many different 3-D printed toy astronauts. The MakerBot StepStruder® MK7 is currently out of stock but sells for a retail price of $1,099.00 on their online store.
OtterBox is known for the quality protection it provides for our electronic devices and this year at CES they brought with them their latest protective case series. However, a new special edition case is being released shortly bearing the LIVESTRONG Trademark of Lance Armstrong in an effort to raise money for RadioShack’s $6 million commitment to support LIVESTRONG and the fight against cancer. EX3D Eyewear allowed for UtahChannel3 to test out some of their 3-D Glasses and not only were they stylish but also very comfortable. Their patented [M] 3D curved lenses technology improves visual clarity without creating distortion of haze on their scratch-resistant lenses. The Wear-Overs Collection was particularly nice because it allowed for me to slide the glasses over my everyday glasses and fit very comfortably. So if you are sick of wearing movie theatre 3D glasses or want to play 3D games at home EX3D Eyewear is the way to go.
Agloves Touch Screen Gloves work on all touch screen devices, are warm and breathable, and work for all ten fingers with its real silver threading. This product was extremely accurate even when compared to other similar brands like Totes Isotoner which only allows the user to use their touch screen device with one or two fingers. It was a surprise at first to see one of the leading board game companies Days of Wonder at CES. Days of Wonder is especially known for such board games as Ticket to Ride, Memoir 44, and Small Word. They just recently released Ticket to Ride: India and the expansion board game Small World: Tunnels. Days of Wonder is currently working on increasing their already popular online gaming to various devices where lovers of their classic board games can now access them online.
The company C.Crane has developed the Super USB WiFi Antenna 3 that uses “N” technology that has a connection rate of up to 150Mbps and features a USB split cable that offers two plugs for your computer. The product is also weather and UV resistant and can work up to one mile. This super Antenna is sold for the retail price of $109.95 Skunk Juice FG is the maker of the magnetic ear buds that allow up to 4 friends to connect and listen to one device. But their newest development is a head set that can perform multiple functions such as gaming, blue tooth, iPod, listening to music, working in a television or radio studio instead of having to buy multiple head sets. This new head set will use the same magnetic technology and style as that of their ear buds and is said to be released as early as June 2012. There was much to see and we hope to present to you with more innovations in the world of consumer electronics when we attend the show next year.
By, James Thorne, Reporter II / Editor
Links to check out for yourself:
http://ardrone.parrot.com/parrot-ar-drone/usa/
http://www.thehouseofmarley.com/
http://www.greenonionssupply.com/
http://www.otterbox.com/livestrong/livestrong,default,pg.html