CES came and went with a blur of televisions, connected devices, and automatic roller skates. As always, there was plenty of innovation. Some of it questionable in its function, but it was innovation nonetheless. The casual observer might feel that CES seems to be an exercise in “If I can make it bigger and I can make it faster, why not? Who cares if anyone will buy it?” But of course CES has a rich history of creating and debuting the first products that become mainstream. The introduction of products like Camcorders, Tablets, and VCRs were intended at first only for early adopters, due to the price, available content and other limiting factors, but these products later became part of our tech history.
My top 3 favorite products (in order):
Rapid Prototype 3d printer – To me, this was the most revolutionary product that I saw. Makerbot was in full force with their booth at the back of south hall – pretty out of the way for CES. I went by the booth to show colleagues 3 times and each time it was absolutely packed with people watching this amazing technology. This printer was able to create 3d models that are created using their computer software. The material is spooled onto a wheel in the back of the printer, which is then fed to the print head. The printing begins on a base and moves in X, Y, and Z axes, allowing the material to be stacked to create the model. This technology isn’t brand new, and there are stories out there about people making working weapons out of this type of tech, but what’s fascinating to me is that this is now reachable for the public. I’m excited about the prospects for prototyping and industrial design concepts for small business.
Photo Source: Makerbot.com website
Ultra HD OLED TV – I know, I know…more TVs. 
CES is just full of TVs: 3d TVs, OLED TVs, Huge TVs…but this one just seems to jump out at you. By far, the most stunning display I have ever seen, Sony showed off it’s Ultra HD (or 4K, or UHD, or whatever you prefer) Largest OLED TV available. The picture quality was unlike anything you have ever seen. If we can get production cost of OLED down to reasonable levels for large screens AND get 4K content (some already exists in Asia), this will be my next TV.
Photo Credit: Sony
Flexible phone screen – Samsung showed off their flexible (yet still slightly rigid) phone screen. From what I understand, the screen is able to withstand everyday accidents like drops and spills. I’m still not sure why I need my screen to be flexible, but it sure was darn cool.
Photo Credit: Samsung
Other notes: I was happy to see an advancement in glasses-free 3d. The technology looks better and the TVs are much thinner – I’m sure this was present in several booths, but the Hisense display stood out for me. There were the usual assortment of headphones and 3D televisions, digital cameras and computing accessories. There were even “personal scooters” that attached to your feet, looked like roller skates and could propel you around the CES show floor. I tried to get Brennan to try these on and wear them to his meetings, but he expressed concern about overshooting the meeting and taking out someone’s booth. Maybe next year!
Related Links:
Makerbot Replicator 3D Printer