Consider it sheer nerdvana for a self-professed gadget geek like yours
truly. The following is a look at seven standout products – some
practical, some fun, and others borderline wacky – you could expect in
the months and years to come.
1. Parrot ‘Disco’ drone
Flying drones are hot once again at this year’s CES, and one takes flight like no other. Rather than a quadcopter rotor-blade design, Parrot’s Disco is a fixed-wing drone that can fly through the friendly skies at 50 miles per hour. Thrown like a paper plane, the Disco then dances to new heights after on-board technology kicks into gear and flies autonomously in large circles until you take control using Parrot’s SkyController or another RC controller.
With all that speed, you should expect YouTube to be littered with videos shot on its 14-megapixel HD camera (with three-axis stabilization). Battery life is said to be an impressive 45 minutes between charges. The mostly foam-based drone weighs about 1.5 pounds. No price or launch date has been announced.
2. Sensorwake
Wake up and smell the roses. Or coffee. Or mint. As the name suggests, the Sensorwake is a scent-based alarm clock. Instead of emitting that annoying buzzer to get you out of bed, Sensorwake emits a desirable fragrance for a couple of minutes to rouse you, via small cartridges inserted on top of the hi-tech clock (not unlike those plug-in air fresheners for your home or car). If you don’t turn it off, it reverts to an audible alarm. Along with fresh coffee (sign me up), croissants, mint and more than a dozen or other flavors, there’s also the scent of money (seriously), perhaps to motivate Wall Street types. It’s expect to ship in June for about $109, plus $10 for two replacement cartridges, each with a lifespan of 30 uses.
3. Sleep Number it
Speaking
of sleep, Sleep Number is back at CES again this year – this time with
its next-generation smart mattress called Sleep Number it (“IT,” but
lowercase). Along with the ability to select your desired firmness, this
$1,000 mattress is also embedded (pun intended) with sensors that track
information while you sleep, including breathing patterns, movement,
and heart rate, and you can access this data on a companion app with
suggestions on how to improve your sleep. Even better, Sleep Number it
can also connect to other apps to glean information on your life that
might impact the quality off your sleep (for example, with access to
your calendar it might see you have an early morning appointment and
suggest you crash earlier than normal). This smart mattress should be
available in the spring.
4. Samsung Galaxy TabPro S
Laptops are beginning to look a lot like tablets. You can have both experiences in one device – for your 9 to 5 work life and your 5 to 9 downtime, perhaps – and Samsung has joined the bourgeoning category with its Galaxy TabPro S. This 12-inch “2-in-1” is the first Windows device with a Super AMOLED screen (2160 x 1440 resolution) with adaptive display technology. At less than a quarter-inch thick (thinner than both the Surface Pro 4 and Apple's iPad Pro) and weighing just 1.4 pounds, you can easily tote around the TabPro S to the office, coffee shop, airport or home, and boasts an all-day battery, says Samsung, and quick charging feature that can juice up from 0 to 50% power in roughly 30 minutes. This hybrid machine includes a full-size keyboard and a trackpad. No price or launch window has been confirmed.
5. LaCie Chromé
Style meets substance with the LaCie Chromé (pronounced “chrome-ay”). Designed by acclaimed industrial designer Neil Poulton, this all-aluminum external SSD is an high-tech homage to a 1935 bronze statue from Constantin Brâncuși, yet it’s what’s under the hood that photographers, videographers and technophiles will be most excited about it. This 1-terabyte flash drive (well, two 500GB drives) is said to be the fastest on the market (USB 3.1 Gen 2), delivering up to 940 megabits per second – fast enough to copy two hours of 4K GoPro footage in about one minute, says the company (now owned by Seagate). This USB-C drive works with laptops, desktops and 2-in-1s from major brands like ASUS, Dell, HP, and others.
6. Withings Thermo
French
digital health company Withings has offered a few innovative products
over the years, including a Wi-Fi-enabled bathroom scale and Bluetooth
blood pressure monitor, and now you can add a less invasive thermometer
to that list. Dubbed the Thermo,
this smart thermometer doesn’t have to be placed under the tongue, in
the ear or, er, elsewhere, as you simply place it up against the side of
your head for the infrared sensors to do its thing. A free companion
app shows your temperature (even over time, if you wan to show a
physician), and can also be used to track your medication. The Thermo
can also recognize individual members of your family. The $100 sticker
price might heat up your wallet, however.
7. Sony AX53 4K Handycam
While a few smartphones are now capable of shoot 4K resolution, lest we forget there’s a lot more that goes into the quality of the video, such as image stabilization, autofocus, low-light sensitivity, optical zoom, and sound. Sony wowed CES attendees with its AX53 4K Handycam, which seems to excel in all of these departments. Along with a newly developed 20x optical zoom lens, this camcorder rocks a 16.6-megapixel sensor with large pixels, optical SteadyShot image stabilization, autofocus speeds roughly 40 percent faster than previous models (and with more accurate subject tracking), and new microphone technology for high-quality audio capture. Those who shoot at 1080p HD resolution could opt to shoot in 120 frames per second for fun slow-motion effects. The Handycam should be available this spring for about $999
1. Parrot ‘Disco’ drone
Flying drones are hot once again at this year’s CES, and one takes flight like no other. Rather than a quadcopter rotor-blade design, Parrot’s Disco is a fixed-wing drone that can fly through the friendly skies at 50 miles per hour. Thrown like a paper plane, the Disco then dances to new heights after on-board technology kicks into gear and flies autonomously in large circles until you take control using Parrot’s SkyController or another RC controller.
With all that speed, you should expect YouTube to be littered with videos shot on its 14-megapixel HD camera (with three-axis stabilization). Battery life is said to be an impressive 45 minutes between charges. The mostly foam-based drone weighs about 1.5 pounds. No price or launch date has been announced.
2. Sensorwake
Wake up and smell the roses. Or coffee. Or mint. As the name suggests, the Sensorwake is a scent-based alarm clock. Instead of emitting that annoying buzzer to get you out of bed, Sensorwake emits a desirable fragrance for a couple of minutes to rouse you, via small cartridges inserted on top of the hi-tech clock (not unlike those plug-in air fresheners for your home or car). If you don’t turn it off, it reverts to an audible alarm. Along with fresh coffee (sign me up), croissants, mint and more than a dozen or other flavors, there’s also the scent of money (seriously), perhaps to motivate Wall Street types. It’s expect to ship in June for about $109, plus $10 for two replacement cartridges, each with a lifespan of 30 uses.
3. Sleep Number it
4. Samsung Galaxy TabPro S
Laptops are beginning to look a lot like tablets. You can have both experiences in one device – for your 9 to 5 work life and your 5 to 9 downtime, perhaps – and Samsung has joined the bourgeoning category with its Galaxy TabPro S. This 12-inch “2-in-1” is the first Windows device with a Super AMOLED screen (2160 x 1440 resolution) with adaptive display technology. At less than a quarter-inch thick (thinner than both the Surface Pro 4 and Apple's iPad Pro) and weighing just 1.4 pounds, you can easily tote around the TabPro S to the office, coffee shop, airport or home, and boasts an all-day battery, says Samsung, and quick charging feature that can juice up from 0 to 50% power in roughly 30 minutes. This hybrid machine includes a full-size keyboard and a trackpad. No price or launch window has been confirmed.
5. LaCie Chromé
Style meets substance with the LaCie Chromé (pronounced “chrome-ay”). Designed by acclaimed industrial designer Neil Poulton, this all-aluminum external SSD is an high-tech homage to a 1935 bronze statue from Constantin Brâncuși, yet it’s what’s under the hood that photographers, videographers and technophiles will be most excited about it. This 1-terabyte flash drive (well, two 500GB drives) is said to be the fastest on the market (USB 3.1 Gen 2), delivering up to 940 megabits per second – fast enough to copy two hours of 4K GoPro footage in about one minute, says the company (now owned by Seagate). This USB-C drive works with laptops, desktops and 2-in-1s from major brands like ASUS, Dell, HP, and others.
6. Withings Thermo
7. Sony AX53 4K Handycam
While a few smartphones are now capable of shoot 4K resolution, lest we forget there’s a lot more that goes into the quality of the video, such as image stabilization, autofocus, low-light sensitivity, optical zoom, and sound. Sony wowed CES attendees with its AX53 4K Handycam, which seems to excel in all of these departments. Along with a newly developed 20x optical zoom lens, this camcorder rocks a 16.6-megapixel sensor with large pixels, optical SteadyShot image stabilization, autofocus speeds roughly 40 percent faster than previous models (and with more accurate subject tracking), and new microphone technology for high-quality audio capture. Those who shoot at 1080p HD resolution could opt to shoot in 120 frames per second for fun slow-motion effects. The Handycam should be available this spring for about $999
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