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CES 2016: the good, the nice, the useful and the odd

Greetings from Las Vegas! CES is in full swing, with many press conferences and attendees. The Samsung press conference attendees lined up two hours in advance of the event with thousands of media representatives covering the session.

I had the opportunity to attend the Toyota press conference where they described how they plan to focus on using artificial intelligence to increase the car’s functions. They aim for to manufacture a car that is incapable of causing a crash, an honourable goal that will be tough to accomplish.

I’ve seen some interesting products since the doors of the convention opened on Wednesday. It is impossible to visit all the 3,000+ exhibitors, but I had a chance to spend several hours looking at some of the exhibits and walking over 10km.

The four exhibits I describe below can be called: the good, the nice, the useful and the odd.

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iCamPro deluxe

The iCamPro deluxe is a Wi-Fi home security video and audio sensor that looks like a light bulb on steroids. It screws into a standard light socket and when it detects motion, the camera turns toward the motion and starts tracking it. The iCamPro detects the motion through 360 degree motion, audio and heat sensors. When any of the sensors are triggered, a message is sent to a connected smart phone as an alert. It is in the Kickstarter stage and the cost is $200.

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Edwin the duck

Edwin is a small yellow duck that is a learning tool. I had the chance to check it out last year and liked it. It must be successful, as this year their booth size increased four-fold. Edwin looks like the yellow duck children take to the bathtub, but it does so much more than the every day yellow plastic duck. It reads stories, sings songs and reinforces self-confidence in children (and it is water proof). The Edwin app interacts with Edwin, and has educational games and stories. Edwin is available at Best Buy for $99. Oh to be young again!

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M-edge bag
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M-edge bag

 

How often did you experience your smart phone battery being so low that a warning light comes on? M-edge bags are a way to make sure that this doesn’t happen! They are a collection of elegant bags, backpacks and purses that have battery chargers built-in, charging tablets and smart phones on the go. The M-edge bags are $89.99 while the backpack is $29.99.

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Ripples

And just when you thought you heard of everything, I present you Ripples. The coffee ripples application allows any photo or image from your smart phone to be put on the foam of a cappuccino or latte. That includes personal pictures, uplifting messages and more. Personally, I like good coffee, but would be hesitant to drink a latte with someone’s picture on it. I guess I am not a latte art appreciator. *I have not been able to find out the cost.

So which do you think is the good, the nice, the useful and the odd?

Catherine Aczel Boivie
Catherine Aczel Boiviehttp://www.boivie.ca
Dr. Catherine Aczel Boivie is a widely respected executive with over 30 years of experience in the leadership of advancing the value of information technology as a business and education enabler. Prior executive roles includes: CEO Inventure Solutions and Senior Vice President of Information Technology/Facility Management for Vancity Credit Union; SVP of IT and Chief Information Officer at Pacific Blue Cross and Canadian Automobile Association of British Columbia. Catherine is also an experienced board member serving on several boards, including those of Commissioner for Complaints for Telecom-television Services, Canada Foundation for Innovation and MedicAlert Canada. Dr. Boivie is the founding Chair and President of the Chief Information Officers (CIO) Association of Canada that has over 400 Chief Information Officers as members across Canada. She has been publicly recognized for her contributions, including being named as one of Canada's top 100 most powerful women by the Women's Executive Network in the "Trailblazers and Trendsetters" category and the recipient of the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee medal for being a "catalyst for technology transformation".

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