The Best Of CES Las Vegas 2019
The future
is here, and it’s curvy
The CES is held in
multiple locations all over Las Vegas, and each can have multiple football
stadium-sized halls full of gadgets crammed into every inch!
People
keep describing CES (Consumer Electronics Show) as the world’s biggest
technology showcase. But just how big is it? Let me describe it this way. It’s
held in multiple locations all over Las Vegas. Each location can have multiple
football stadiumsized halls full of gadgets crammed into every inch. Traffic is
brutal, thus moving from location to location is near impossible, and if you
went to CES with the objective of seeing it all, you would be a very tired,
broken and disappointed human being. Which is why you have me, as I bring you
the absolute best of CES 2019.
A FOLDING PHONE
Nope,
not by Samsung (even though that is around the corner). This was the Royole
FlexPai (yes, I know – what a terrible name) and it folds quite brilliantly.
Opens up to a mouth-smacking 7.8 inches and has serious horsepower hardware
within. The problem is that it’s quite chunky, doesn’t lie flat at the fold
area and weighs a meaty 320 grams. Still, the era of the foldable screen is
unfolding quite nicely this year.
SOUND ARMY IN ONE
You
know them for their headphones, now Sennheiser wants to own your Soundbar
budget too. The AMBEO Soundbar is a very serious attempt at disrupting this
category completely. A 5.1 surround system with true separation, room-filling
soundstage, thumping bass and an army of 13 drivers all encased in a pretty
slim silhouette bar. Audiophile level Soundbar redefines single source sound,
but gets its pound of flesh at $2,500.
DRONE, COME PICK ME
UP
The
media is awash with reports that passenger trials are on all over the world in
which drones pick you up from your rooftop and deposit you to your
destination’s rooftop. But who is actually making those sci-fi level drones?
Bell Nexus is the most serious contender. Top speeds of 250 kmph, six tilting ducted
fans, hybrid-electric system, wings for vertical and horizontal flight, space
for four passengers and one pilot – and it’s completely real and landing on
your rooftop soon.
AHEAD OF THE CURVE
Undoubtedly
the show stealer, the LG SIGNATURE OLED TV R has curved its way into history.
It’s the first commercially-ready roll-up 65-inch screen TV that appears and
disappears at the press of a button. It’s encased in a thin little stand that
looks very high tech. Prices currently may make your mouth curve into a scowl –
but the future is now and it’s very curvy.
OVER THE AIR CHARGING
Be honest. The first time
you heard of the term ‘wireless charging’ – what picture did your mind conjure
up? You thought your phone would be in your pocket and wherever you would go,
it would be charged wirelessly over the air. Right? Well, that dream died a
quick death! But now with WattUp – it’s turned to reality. This is the first
true over-the-air wireless charger for distance charging. It’ll start with
smaller devices like headphones and phones, and eventually be able to charge
laptops too. Think. Your phone’s in your pocket and “wherever you go, it’ll be
charging you”.
THE
ELECTRIC BEAST
Using the name Harley
Davidson in the same sentence as tech would usually be dismissed as an
oxymoron. But not when it’s the LiveWire – Harley’s first fully electric bike.
It may not roar, but it’s still a true beast as it can go from 0 to 100 kmph in
just 3.5 seconds. With a serious range and the fact that it’s not a prototype
and is going to be available soon, the LiveWire charges up a whole new
category!
THE
DREAM MACHINE
Throw in a whole load of
laundry. Shirts, tees, trousers, jeans, towels. Come back five minutes later
and the FoldiMate AI laundry-folding machine will have neatly folded each of
them and kept them ready for you. I dream of a world where this gets directly
attached to a washing machine. Wash, dry and fold – all in one shot.
STAR
WARS CAR
It’s sci-fi from books
and movies taking a literal giant leap in front of your very eyes. The Hyundai
Elevate is a vehicle with serious legs. Elevated legs! The vehicle can move in
all four directions, climb stairs, handle rocky terrain with ease, step over
huge gaps, climb walls and then retract back into a being a normal car – all
while keeping the passengers level at all times. Finally, there may be a
solution to traffic in India! Just step over the offending cars in front of
you.
That’s just the warm-up
round. More coming up next time including the game changers for the year,
quirky tech and the absolutely ridiculous gimmicky stuff that is literally
littered all over CES. Until then.
- Rajiv
Makhni, Managing editor, Technology, NDTV, and the anchor of Gadget Guru, Cell
Guru and Newsnet 3
HTBR 20JAN19
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