Targeted Victory Co-Founder Michael Beach attended the 2014 Consumer Electronics Show. This was the largest CES in history with over 150,000 attendees, 3,300 exhibitors, and over 2,000,000 square feet covered. Here are 5 things we loved:
1. Wearable technology was big at this year’s show. We saw all types of eyewear, wrist watches, even speakers. Health monitors and fitness trackers were huge, but this year we were blown away by Esko Bionics wearable exoskeleton, which enabled a paraplegic man to walk.
2. Both LG and Samsung released 105-inch curved 4K TVs at the show, while Vizio released a 120-inch TV $999. Vizio’s version is not curved, but is much more affordable than its curved counterparts who are asking almost $70,000.
Smart TVs are becoming less expensive and more accessible to the public, which is changing the way people watch TV. In a panel entitled “Evolution of the Smart TV” advertisers and researchers discussed the best way to properly leverage the Smart TV platform as the industry continues to move to these devices. How smart can advertising become on these devices?
3. Traditionally known for their extended phone battery the Juice pack, popular mobile phone accessory company Mophie debuted its newest product the Space Pack. This device acts as an external hard drive for your phone, enabling users to expand their memory. This is unique because most remote storage is moving to cloud servers, but this device will allow users to access its contents offline.
4. Yahoo CEO Marissa Meyer was one of the Keynote speakers, she announced a host of new products and features that Yahoo will release over the next year. These include a new Yahoo News Digest, Digital Magazines, a Smart TV interface, and a new advertising platform. With these additions we will see how Yahoo competes with Google and Bing in the upcoming year. Her most exciting announcement was the addition of sponsored posts on Tumblr. It will be interesting to see how advertisers employ this creative medium.
5. This year there were many different cars in the show. These four really caught our attention:
The Chevrolet Corvette Stingray introduced its new Performance Data Recorder. This new technology uses audio, video, and GPS to enable users to track and record data from their driving experiences to share with others.
Mercedes-Benz announced that they have partnered up with Nest labs and Pebble Technology to advance their user experience. Pebble Technology will enable drivers to see important car information on their smart watch device. New vehicles will also be equipped with Nest Labs’ Nest Learning Thermostat, so users can control the temperature of their home en route.
BMW was also in attendance showing off their latest in driverless technology. This video says it all:
Since the last Consumer Electronics Show Audi has completely overhauled their driverless technology. A system that used to take up the entire trunk of the car can now fit in the glove compartment.
CES 2014 was packed with gadgets and technology that has yet to be released. Want it now? Click here for 17 gadgets you can actually buy today!