When the Consumer Electronics Show rolls into Sin City each year, it virtually takes over the entire Las Vegas Strip. In addition to the Las Vegas Convention Center and a variety of suites up and down the Strip, you can also find a huge assortment of gadgets and technology on display at the Sands Convention Center, which is connected to the Venetian Hotel and Casino. While there are certainly some big names that set up their booths at the Sands, the majority of the trade show floor is occupied by lesser known firms, particularly those from overseas companies in China, Korea, Hong Kong, and so on.
Assuming that you don’t get distracted by the AVN Adult Entertainment Expo down the hall, the CES side of the Sands can be quite interesting too. Here is just a small sample of what we found there.
Peripherals You Can Wash…
This couldn’t be a better combination. With the AVN in the hall beside this one, what better place to show off keyboards, mice and remote controls you can wash.
Seal Shield products are 100% dishwasher safe and even work underwater. Their current product line contains mice, keyboards and remote controls, but I’m sure other products are on their way. They spent the show washing and drying their whole line of products for the curious crowds. I’m sure someone over at the AVN is kicking themselves for not outfitting the whole show in these so they can just wash and forget everything that happened over the course of that show. We can’t wait to get a couple of these products to wash for ourselves.
Genius Photo Frames and Touch-Enabled Speakers
Genius probably had one of the biggest booths at the Sands Convention Center, showing off its assortment of touch-enabled devices. In addition to a series of digital tablets that compete against the more expensive WACOM counterparts, we also saw some other products that are more in line with the average consumer. Shown above is the Genius SP-T1200 touch panel 2.0 speaker system. Instead of physical buttons and dials to control the volume, bass, and treble, the front face of the speaker has been equipped with a touch-sensitive panel. This makes for a very sleek appearance for the compact speaker set. A nice companion for laptops, the Genius SP-T1200 is compact and offers 30-watt of sound and sells for $99.00.
The great thing about digital photo frames is that you never have to print anything else. Just load those pictures directly from your digital camera and they can be shared just like a conventional picture frame. Genius is expanding on this phenomenon with the introduction of the DPF-T1000 (shown here) and the DPF-T805. Both of these Touch Digital Photo Frames come with a similar set of features, like touch-sensitive controls and vibrant colors.
One of the cool things about these frames are their ability to display up to four separate slideshows at a time, letting you see more pictures in less time. Rounding out the specs are 128MB of flash memory, MP3 playback, and AVI video support. The $199 T805 offers an 8.4-inch display whereas the $249 T1000 offers a 10.2-inch display, both of which are a standard 4:3 aspect ratio.
HYmini Wind Charger Blows Your iPhone
Maybe it’s because I was born and raised on the West Coast of Canada, but I feel that taking care of the environment is a something that should be important to all of us. This was well before Al Gore enlightened the rest of the world on our carbon footprints and implored us to reduce, reuse and recycle. Green technology is the way of the future and it’s also quickly becoming the way of the present.
While something like the Ecosol Powerstick is a move in the right direction, it still largely relies on the power coming out of the wall. The HYmini handheld universal charger takes it several steps further by taking its power from the sun and from the wind. The palm-sized turbine can be attached to an arm strap or mounted to a bike’s handlebars, converting the wind energy into usable electricity for your BlackBerry, iPod, or any number of other portable electronics. The internal battery holds 1200mAh of juice, relaying that wherever you need it.
The Cutest Flash Drives You’ll Ever See
I’ve reviewed more than my fair share of USB flash drives. When I go through to complete a review, I’ll run the drive through a couple of benchmarks, comment on the build quality, and discuss any extras that may come along with the little piece of memory. Despite my relatively objective way of evaluating flash drives, I was drawn to this massive army at the Sands.
Fruitshop has created a huge range of extremely cute USB flash drives, shaped like everything from pandas to dragons, dog bones to mini-iPhones. I’m not sure how well they stand up on the performance end of things, but they could prove to be excellent accessories for school-aged children (and those who are young at heart). To get at the USB connector, you essentially decapitate your chosen creature.
The squishy silicon injected exterior makes these drives quite hardy, I’d imagine, and the decapitating design ensures that you will never lose a cap. This is even better than the slider designs that I enjoy so much. The products are distributed by X-Treme Geek in North America.
Smoking Without the Smoke
I don’t smoke and I think that it’s a disgusting habit, but I do have a few friends who do smoke and some have been trying for some time to kick the habit. They’ve tried things like the patch and the gum, as well as trying to quit cold turkey, but nothing seems to work. There’s just something missing from those techniques.
Possibly serving as a way for you to reduce your addiction to the death sticks is an innovation known as the E-Cig. The electronic cigarette looks much like a real cigarette, except there is no tar and no smoke. All of those harmful chemicals have been removed, but you can still get your nicotine fix by sucking on the electronic cigarette… then you puff out vapors. It’s steam, so you still get a similar experience with similar sensations.
The $80 starter kit includes two batteries, a pack of refills (equivalent to four packs of cigarettes), a wall charger, and a car charger. Each successive four-pack of refills costs five bucks. You can see the E-Cig in action on YouTube.
Ultrasone Hooks Up Snobby Ears With Audio Bliss
Although they weren’t technically in the Sands Convention Center, Ultrasone did have a suite at the Venetian which is close enough. They were showing off a couple of things that might get your toes tapping and your wallet screaming.
First up was the new Edition 8 Headphones. These headphones replace the luxurious Edition 9 headphones which have been recently discontinued. The rep there explained to me that the 8 in the name signifies that these headphones will be around as a permanent member of the family as 8 is also a symbol for infinity, or if you’re Chinese, a lucky SOB if you get to own a set. I had a listen to them between one of the other reps buffing them lovingly and was blown away by how comfortable, light, and how totally melodious the sound was coming from these cans.
What was even more impressive was when they were hooked up to an MP3 player with horribly encoded files that were crappy by any standard. Typically, high-end headphones will show you just how crappy they sound, but the Edition 8’s just smoothed over all of that and to be honest, they didn’t sound too bad. The S-Logic technology really did a great job making filet mignon from meat loaf. At around $1000 US, they almost seem worth it. Get a set if you’ve got the green. They are primo and they come with this fabulous case too.
One thing that was sort of missing from Ultrasone’s reportoire was a headphone amplifier. Well, they’ve finally gotten around to producing one. The versatile Ultrasone 101 features regular 1/4 and a balanced XLR connection for true audio bliss. A special set of their PRO series headphones will be made available that features a balanced connection (for more money of course). I had a listen to both sets and it was quite clear which one I was listening to and the balanced XLR is definitely FTW. The 101 will run you about $1400 US (I actually guessed low at $800. My Bad.) and the headphones will probably cost you whatever you want to spend.
Taking a Vision Quest to Canada
In the wake of a US meltdown, it would seem that Canadian companies are totally thriving. Just look at what Psyko Audio and CoolIT have done this year. Launched over a year ago, Vision Quest is seizing this opportunity to make a big break into the consumer electronics market. Their core series of products include LCD, Plasma and Projector products. They also have high quality picture frames (shown above) with both wood and leather finishes. Mini-Systems and computer monitors round out the product line.
One of the more interesting products at their suite were a pair of sub $1000 HD projectors. Although the specs aren’t the same as what you’d find on top end projectors, the bulbs also won’t cost you $300 – 400 to replace. I can totally see people snatching these up for gaming on the PC or console because there’s nothing like activating “star power” on a big screen. Since most homes are built with an entertainment room these days, this makes it economical to put in that theatre.
With their simple product line and a focus on value and style, it definitely makes them a contender when put up against the big names. After all, no matter how bad the economy becomes, people still want quality products at a fair price. We’re certainly looking forward to checking these products out to see if they really deserve our “Value Added” blessing.
A Product That Radio DJ’s Fear
MYINE Electronics touts the Abbee as a product that eliminates commercials and useless DJ Talk from music played on your favorite FM radio stations. That’s enough to have the local radio DJ’s and station managers up in arms but that’s exactly what it does.
The abbee home speaker system with built in FM tuner records songs from your favourite FM radio stations directly to the Music Lock portable player. It auto-magically removes all the DJ talk from those songs using a technology called “Pop Catcher” and allows you to store up to 500 songs on the device. One button saves songs, one button deletes them and it will even auto refreshes with new songs.
The device requires no computer and no subscriptions, but most importantly no commercials or DJ Talk. Just all your favourite tunes. The MYINE abbee will run you $249 US and will be available this Spring.
Not All Companies Are Made Alike
Even if you’ve never heard of Fruitshop or Genius, you may agree that these companies have something to offer to the world. They are doing something in an attempt to be innovative and they are largely going about it in the right way. Canadian companies like Vision Quest are also stepping up. However, the entire Sands Convention Center is not like that. I encountered more than my fair share of knockoff companies, cloned devices, and blatant ripoffs. M & Soft, Inc. could be perfectly legitimate with a perfectly good product (they make software for GPS navigation systems), but I think it’s fair to say that they are trying a little too hard to knockoff the Microsoft name. They’re not alone in this kind of strategy either, as it’s all too easy to find things like the BlueBerry, the aPhone, and Soony HDTVs. I wonder what their hardware division is called?
At least the rep at M & Soft, Inc. appeared genuinely interested and enthusiastic about his company’s product line. The same cannot be said about this fellow from China Electronics. What do they do? With nary a product in sight and the rep taking a nap on the job, it’s pretty hard to tell and definitely a waste of booth investment money. Check out the next page for more pictures in the photo gallery and stay tuned for just a bit more CES 2009.
CES 2009 – It Came From the Sands Convention Center Photo Gallery
