Aside from what we saw via Techlicious, there was plenty of exciting technology to get a look at during this year’s CE Week. Here are our highlights from the show:
Paper and Pencil by FiftyThree
App developer FiftyThree kicks off our list of CE Week hits with their app and stylus combo “Paper” and “Pencil.” The simply-titled inventions work together to give artists, designers, and the like a unique way to work with and create digital art. Pencil in particular (which connects with its precursor and companion Paper through Bluetooth integration) is an easy-to-use, pressure-sensitive stylus that greatly improves the Paper experience. Paper alone won a slew of awards in 2012 (the year it debuted), including Apple’s iPad app of the Year award, and with Pencil by its side it is certainly unlike anything else currently available for tablets.
Otter
Up next is another must-have for tablet users (as well as anyone with a smartphone or iPod they want to keep safe!) Otter’s cases are easily ranked among the best for protection and style, and it’s not hard to see why. Dating back to 1998, Otter has provided electronics support for more than fifteen years, and is the #1 selling case for smartphones in the US and Canada. With durable waterproof cases available for any and every smartphone and mobile device you can think of, including Apple, LG, Samsung, Nokia, Motorola, HTC, Amazon, and Blackberry, if you’ve got it, Otter’s got you covered.
Jamstik
Our final CE Week highlight is a product that’s not even available yet, though its IndieGoGo campaign closed up just over a week ago on July 9. The Jamstik, an app and physical fretboard attachment, allows you to turn your iPad into a guitar on the go. It’s perfect for travel, as its compact size means you won’t be bumping into your seatmates as you record midi audio on a plane, train, or car trip. It’s also great for beginners, because it uses light to sense your hand positions and help you learn the right way to play guitar. Using real strings and real frets, the Jamstik is an innovative and fresh way to make music mobile.
We hope you’ve enjoyed our glimpse at this year’s CE Week– be sure to come back for CE Week 2015, and check out DadaRocks.com year round for electronics and tech info!
As part of our CE Week coverage, we were treated to a private lunch event at BLT Fish. The lunch included special presentations of the leading products and services from Phillips, LG, and TripIt, as well as one-on-one time with representatives from those companies and our host, Techlicious.
Phillips’ presentation focused mainly on their audio devices. The company showed off their line of water-resistant sports headphones (which can easily even be washed without damage to the product), two different types of portable handheld speaker, and headphones of various styles and price points for the whole family to enjoy. Phillips also demonstrated one of their LED HDTVs, showcasing their unique “Pixel Plus HD” feature. Pixel Plus HD, available on several Phillips HDTVs, creates bright, sharp images by generating 6.2 million pixels from any image source. Coupled with Perfect Natural Motion, this makes for an excellent HDTV experience.
Televisions were front and center for LG, whose HDTV lines were a major CE Week 2014 standout. Particularly interesting was their 55” Class 1080p Smart 3D OLED TV, which boasts 3D capabilities, built-in wi-fi, LG’s 4-color pixel technology, and the first “infinite” contrast ratio. The OLED TV also includes a stylish wall mount that resembles a frame (perfect for viewing art in the tv’s “gallery mode”) and also doubles as a speaker to keep the television itself nice and thin.
Finally, TripIt showcased the trip planning services that serve as the basis for the site. TripIt, billed as “the world’s easiest travel organizing app,” was founded in October 2006, and has been making people’s lives easier ever since. It offers travelers the ability to get an itinerary just by forwarding an e-mail, and access their plans anywhere, anytime, and on any device.
Overall, the lunch was a great way to get up close and personal with these brands, and get some good, personally-tailored information about them and their products.
Courtesy of electronics site Techlicious, we recently got a look at some of the great offerings at New York City’s CE Week 2014. The week brings together some of the hottest names in electronics today to display and demonstrate some of their latest products. Including companies like Sony, Sharp, LG, Phillips, TiVO, and more, this year’s CE Week was loaded with things to see and do. Thankfully, Techlicious set up a tour for us that showcased some of the most exciting products from the show. Check out our highlights from that tour below:
Activité by Withings
Often, when you hear “sports watch” or “fitness tracker,” you think of some neon-colored piece of junk that you’d never wear outside of the gym or your daily run (I do, at least!) But a team of Parisian designers and Swedish watchmakers from Withings has changed all that with Activité, the first watch and activity tracker that actually presents itself as a designer watch. The waterproof watch details all of your daily activities, and helps you to optimize your fitness by helping you to develop a plan, toning your sleep schedule, and keeping you on target to meet those daily goals.
Lyric Thermostat by Honeywell
We also got a look at home innovation company Honeywell’s latest thermostat, Lyric. The wi-fi interactive thermostat connects with your smartphone to keep track of when you’re home, when you’re not, and what temperatures to keep your house to correspond with that. Adjustable via your smartphone or internet-enabled device (with programmable buttons on the app interface to allow quick and easy temperature changes), Lyric ushers in a new generation of housewares that integrate the electronics we so often have right in the palm of our hands.
Thinium
The winner of 4 prestigious 2014 International CES Best of Innovations Design and Honoree Awards in multiple categories, a 2014 CES “Best of Show” Award from Popular Mechanics, and an iLounge 2014 Best of Show Award: iPad, iPhone, iPod + Mac category, Thinium is making a big splash in the electronics community this year. But just what is the company bringing to the table? Thinium has manufactured an end to charging cords, replacing the clunky cables with a sleek and slim transforming wall mount that allows devices to be plugged directly into the wall– no wires required. With two different models available for pre-order and a third on the way, Thinium is certainly one to keep an eye on in the near future!
