The annual Consumer Electronics Show is not just about changing the world. It is also about supplying people with the gadgets they want and need – and conversely in many cases, the bad ideas they can absolutely live without.
This year’s show delivered in spades on both fronts.
LG topped the list of desirable new products with a gorgeous new television that is even better than its already industry-leading Oled displays. The South Korean company’s new “wallpaper TV” is impossibly thin – about the same thickness as a credit card.
It’s so thin and light – less than 8 kilograms – it can hang from a wall via magnets rather than a bulky mount. It is not going to be cheap, though – the TV will cost US$8,000 and is expected to be available in March.
Sony is also getting into the Oled display game, but its new TV has a twist: it doesn’t have any speakers. Rather, the sound comes from the screen’s pixels instead, replicating the sort of technology found in Imax movie theatres.
The company hasn’t yet announced a price or a release date.
Audiophiles also have a slew of cool devices to look forward to. New York-based start-up Doppler Labs is launching its much-anticipated Here One smart earbuds in March.
The $299 devices use six microphones to separate sounds from the environment, which gives the wearer super hearing by allowing them to enhance what they want to hear and mute what they don’t.
Voice-assistant speakers are also hot right now, given Amazon’s success in the United States with Echo. Chinese manufacturer Lenovo won accolades at this year’s CES for its Smart Assistant, a speaker that has Amazon’s Alexa AI built-in.
At $130, Lenovo’s product costs $50 less than Amazon’s Echo. It will also come in multiple colours when it start shipping in May, and provides better sound quality.
Not all the products introduced at CES are bound to be mainstream hits, though. Some are inevitably niche.
LG may have a hit with its new TV, but its hovering speaker – which levitates above a base station via magnets – might be more show and less go.
There’s no pricing or availability so far, but exactly why anyone would want a levitating speaker beyond its aesthetic novelty is an open question.
Connecticut-based GeniCan, meanwhile, plans to launch a smart garbage can that scans items as they are thrown in. Those items are then added to a shopping list, with the possibility of automatic reordering on Amazon.
The company is taking pre-orders at $129, with shipping expected early this year.
In a similar vein, California’s SimpleHuman will be selling a voice-activated trash-can lid in March for those people who often have their hands full. A single bin will cost $180, while the double bin version will go for $230.
And in case anyone was wondering whether inventors and entrepreneurs were running out of ideas for connected products, there’s Oombrella. This “smart” umbrella not only checks the weather for you, it also sends an alert to your smartphone in the event that you leave it behind somewhere.
The Paris-based inventors have already raised more than $71,000 via their Indiegogo campaign to make Oombrella a reality.
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