
On January 8th, tens of thousands of exhibitors, buyers, pundits and press will gather in Las Vegas for the annual Consumer Electronics Show. This year the show happens in the shadow of a deepening recession where consumers have (gasp) actually cut back on spending. Everyone will be looking for those products with the innovation, utility and sheer coolness factor to unleash our credit cards in a frenzy of wild shopping.
Though still weeks a way, CES has been featuring 30 Days of Innovation: The Countdown to CES, featuring 30 new CES exhibitors and their products. It is described as: “a window into the kind of technological innovation only found at CES”.
Over the next month I’ll be bringing you features on some of these products. But be warned – just because something is innovative, doesn’t mean it’s going to catch on. New does not mean useful, or practical, or economical. So don’t expect a rehash of enthusiastic press releases here. Instead I hope to offer a real examination (I am an examiner, after all), or at the very least some analysis as to which of these new technologies are really something special, and which are likely to end up forgotten (or worse, examples of gadgets gone wrong).
#30 – The Chumby - cuddly technology.
#29 – Hyperspace by Phoenix Technologies - the return of Sidekick.
#28 – Eye-Fi - wireless SD card.
#27 – Mango Radio - retro innovation.
#26 – Powermat – a device charger you can live in.
#25 – Alert GPS – the radar detector that isn't.
#24 – Schlage Link – the smart lock that can replace your neighbor.
#23 - Pocket Safe and Secret Diary - a super secure USB drive.
#22 - iTRAVL - like having a tranlator follow you around.
#21 - Flexicord - a flexible HDMI cable.
#20 - Hoovers mobile - helping salespeople annoy you
#19 - iM Boot Dual - a hardware dual-boot device
#18 - Seal Shield - dishwasher safe keyboards and mouse
#17 - Vivitek projectors - greener and LED versions
#16 - Wherver TV - TV from around the world
#15 - Merit Entertainment countertop game - console games
#14 - iHearSafe - Volume limiting headphones and earbuds
#13 - Electronic Arts - videogames
#12 - Kia Motors - cars
#11 - Mumbo Jumbo - videogames
#10 - Ooma telo - phone calls without fees
#9 - Playjam - interactive TV
#8 - Archerfish - helping you spy on the people in your life
#7 - Co-Pilot Live - GPS for your smartphone
#6 - Dashboard Devices ENV - A carputer
#5 - HUAWEI Mobile U-Life - a USB phone modem
#4 - Motevo Mobile Devices - in-dash entertainment and navigation
#3 - Victorinox - watches, Swiss army knives and USB devices
#2 - ZeeVee TV - Send computer output to any TV in your house
#1 - Sendero - accessible technolgies