CES Unveiled 2012 Highlights

This is PopCultureGeek’s first time at CES in Las Vegas, but so far, it’s pretty much what I expected, even though it hasn’t really started yet. I’ve eagerly consumed my share of free food and drinks that they’ve provided as we press folk cluster and squeeze around each other and the various tables hawking the latest in consumer electronics breakthroughs. Yes, more than a few of us aren’t there to hear the pitch, but to score fistfuls of swag, often just digital press kits in the form of styled 1gb flash drives that we’ll never use post-CES, but gosh, who cares? They’re just so cute.

CES Unveiled gave the press a head start on what the show had to offer from a variety of vendors, both big and small. The technology ranged from the practical (fast DNA sequencing services from Life Technologies) to the flighty (Parrot had an always hovering aero drone flipping around behind their table), but it was clear they were all there to make an impression. Some were literally making their US debut last night, as these items were not available anywhere outside of Europe or Asia (nobody wants to go home without getting their gadgets some US distribution).

Here are a handful of interesting bits I came across while stuffing my face with noodles, mousse, and hard liquor, which always puts me in the mood to look at sometimes odd new tech…

House of Marley – Now you can recycle your headphones. But let’s hope you don’t have to do it too often. Rohan Marley, son of reggae legend Bob Marley, was on hand to show off some unique looking headphones and boomboxes, many wrapped in earthy woodgrains and fabrics.

Pure Sensia – I love tech that’s actually practical and something that I’d use every day. Sensia from Pure is exactly that. The big egg style is simple and clean and leaves no mystery about what it does. I’m sure will someday become my new alarm clock. Since I already check Facebook, the weather, and more from my mobile device every morning from bed when I wake up, it would be even more convenient to do it right from a device like this. Of course, being able to access a variety of cloud services for music and the like makes it an even more useful bedside gadget. Oh yeah, and it still has FM radio too.

Wi-Spi – Ever wanted to spy on your friends and neighbors and make it look like you’re just out in the backyard playing with your kids’ remote control toys? Well, now you can. Whether on the ground or high in the sky, Wi-Spi helps you do just that and have fun while you do it. Connect and control it with a mobile device and you’re on your way, with a controller and video screen all in one.

Lytro – Take pictures with this little box, but never focus. You do the focusing after the fact on your computer. Oddly, nobody was showing this off. It was just sitting in an enclosed glass display all alone, teasing me, tempting me… It was an award winner or something. I wasn’t sure. My brain went numb and I started drooling. I swear it begged me to find a way to release it from captivity at all costs, but I couldn’t find a large enough, blunt enough instrument to break the glass. Plus, the Venitian casino is huge and I’m sure they’ve got really good security. I wouldn’t have made it very far had I tried.

Arrows/Fujitsu – What will be the must-have feature on the next generation of mobile devices? If the guys at Arrows have anything to say about it, you’ll be able to take your tablet or phone swimming with you. It is impressive to see an entire tablet get dunked and still function flawlessly, especially in a time where if you so much as sneeze on your iPhone, it voids the warranty. But if you’re wondering if there are a lot of clumsy pool or pond adjacent tech users that are driving such technology into existence, I can tell you that’s not the reason for making water resistance the must-have new feature. It’s not a preventative component as much as it is a necessity… at least it is for the Japanese. They already have these devices over there mainly because they like to bathe with their tablets. Ah, yes, that makes complete sense now…