The North American International Auto Show is not the only big show in January for automakers anymore. Manufacturers and their industry partners are flocking to the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas to announce and demonstrate the latest in vehicular technologies both present and future. CES is no longer just for radios and radar detectors in the mobile environment.
We already reported on the new additions to Garmin’s vivo line-up, the vivofit 2 and vivoactive, which round up Garmin‘s consumer wearable line. But they also added to their higher end products with the Epix and Fenix 3. The Fenix 3 is the latest in the company’s multi-sport category, and Epix is intended as a wearable GPS for outdoor enthusiasts.
Let’s be honest – I have been harshly critical of Android as a non-functional platform for making music. And while Android as a whole isn’t suddenly becoming a viable music platform, the programming hooks for low-latency audio are finally being fully exploited by developers! At NAMM later this month IK Multimedia will be demonstrating zero latency audio apps for Android.
AltspaceVr is a Google-backed virtual reality startup who is developing a shared virtual reality platform. This platform will give users a chance to share a virtual space and interact together, much like the real world. Users can play games together, watch movies together, or experience anything on the internet together. Currently, AltspaceVR’s platform is in closed beta.
I’ve always been a fan of Garmin products, considering them the ‘gold standard’ for running GPS watches. Their leap into fitness trackers in 2014 with the vivoFit and more recently the vivoSmart were highly successful and each is on a wrist in my household. Now they are announcing the ViVoActive Smart Fitness Watch that pretty much does it all!
Back in 2010 IK Multimedia introduced the first guitar/bass interface for iOS, iRig. Paired with Amplitube, the first amplifier & effects simulator for iOS, iRig provided a portable solution that turned iOS into a portable solution for all musicians. Since then they released the iRig HD, and now they’re back with the iRig 2, filled with improvements and new capabilities!
Most of us have several cables we carry or use throughout the day be they charging cables, headphone cables or data cables. Unfortunately, they all tend to create a mess in the bag, on your desk and in your car. Griffin aims to change that at CES with a new collection of cable management accessories.
I have professed my unabashed love for the Magellan Echo before, because of how it perfectly melds GPS watch capability while using your smartphone as the engine. I reviewed the Echo almost a year ago, and still use it regularly – because it just plain works. Now Magellan has introduced the follow-up Echo Fit at CES 2015!
Last night Dan and I had the chance to check out Urbanears new Plattan Wireless Headphones, No cord, 8 hour battery life, and they come in 12 different colors. They retail for $100, and you can swipe to adjust music and its volume. These are pretty freaking cool, and they will be out in June; take a look!
Henge Docks has been making Gravitas docks for some time; we’ve reviewed them, and Dan won’t part with his, no matter how much I beg. Today we got an exclusive Pre-CES look at their entire Gravitas line, their Clique Apple keyboard and Magic touchpad holder, as well as their amazing new Horizontal Dock for the 15″ MacBook Pro retina.
Whether your game is golf, tennis, or baseball, how good you are relies upon your swing. Zepp makes products that give you immediate and helpful feedback on how you are doing and how you might improve. Dan and I had a moment to learn more; see what you think — is this the type tool you’ve been waiting on?
On Monday, January 5, 2015, SCE President and CEO Andy House presented details on Sony’s PlayStation Now (PS Now) game streaming service at the CES show in Las Vegas, Nevada along with an official North American release date. This new Web service streams full games to Sony consoles, televisions, and other devices while offering game rental and subscription service options.
It may feel like everyone sells a bluetooth speaker these days, but the folks at NYNE are doing their best to stand out at CES 2015 with three new speakers that offer bluetooth and NFC! EDGE, VERGE, and ROCK are all waterproof and designed to share your music with the great outdoors. Just make sure the bears like Taylor Swift!
At 6mm, the new Dell Venue 8 7000 is being billed as the world’s thinnest Android tablet, but it’s size isn’t the only attractive feature; it also has an incredible 2560 x 1600 OLED display and “the first RealSense depth camera integrated into such a small form factor.” Have you even heard about it? Well, let me tell you…
Dodge, the performance brand at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, is celebrating its 100th birthday this year. As part of the festivities they threw themselves (and 2,000 of their closest friends and fans) a little party in Dallas that featured a huge Dodge and Mopar car show, Viper drifting, Challenger drag racing and a concert by a little band called Mötley Crüe.
Last week I spend a day with Chevy at their Milford Proving Grounds. I saw first-hand demonstrations of Chevy’s latest vehicle safety features, and I left feeling like it might be time to finally upgrade my GM vehicle to the latest version: GM’s newest technology may not be completely automated, but the technology removes a lot of guesswork and anxiety.
Little known fact: I was a Domino’s Pizza delivery driver in college. I loved that job, and if it hadn’t put so many miles on my 10-year-old Alfa Romeo Spider, I might have lasted longer. I like Domino’s as a company, and I like their pizza; that’s why I was happy to accept a recent invite to visit their headquarters.
What do you get when you cross a Lexus GS, IS and IS convertible? The all-new 2015 Lexus RC 350. Toss in a generous helping of IS F and you get the RC F performance coupe from the luxury division of Toyota. Lexus launches its RC line this fall, its first new coupe model in 15 years…and it’s a winner.
Recently Hewlett-Packard invited a group of bloggers into their Houston testing labs. Why do that? That was my question going on the tour – but it was quickly apparent that HP has a lot to be proud of in an area that adds tremendous value to their computers. Let’s take a look with HP at the Science of PC!
This is a sponsored post; we received compensation from Intel, but all opinions are the author’s. I’ve just returned from Berlin and a hectic week at IFA; it was my first time to attend. Perhaps because I went in with zero expectations, I left thinking the show was larger than expected, and I feel pretty comfortable saying that it was a great consumer electronics expo, and I’m glad that I was there.
One of the many things that Dan and I both agree upon is that the Sony Xperia Z2 is the best phone out now. It has an excellent camera, it’s lightning fast, it has expandable memory, and it is a factory unlocked world phone. IFA saw the introduction of the Xperia Z3, Z3 Compact, and the Z3 Tablet Compact.