Last week at lotus823, it was hard to go more than five minutes without hearing three letters: CES. These three simple letters have excited many emotions in our CES marketing team, leaving them excited, intrigued, confused and, at times, insanely jealous. At other times, CES has left us at a complete loss for words.
According to the official CES website, “CES showcases more than 3,200 exhibitors, including manufacturers, developers and suppliers of consumer technology hardware, content, technology delivery systems and more.”
World-changing innovations that have affected all of our lives, including the VCR, CD, HDTV and tablet, were first introduced at CES. According to CES marketing team who covered the 6-day event live in Las Vegas and what the rest of us gathered back at the home office, it’s safe to say that CES 2014 was extremely impressive. It seems our lives are about to be even more influenced by technology. It kind of feels like we’re entering an old episode of The Jetsons; 2062 isn’t really that far anymore, after all.
To kick off with a cliché, iconic Back to the Future actor Christopher Lloyd arrived at CES 2014 in the DeLorean time machine used in the movie. The marketing event by Gibson commemorated the guitar company’s 120th anniversary. However, unlike when the guitar was first introduced in the movie, Lloyd re-imagined that fateful day in 1955 through a pair of Google Glass. Based on the life-changing inventions and innovations being presented at CES, it might be impossible to ever go “back” from the tech future set to unfold.
Let’s pretend that all of the products introduced at CES 2014 are already released for sale to the public and that you are waking up to a new day…
You wake up and straggle to the bathroom. You look up from brushing your teeth to your mirror, which gives you the weather for the day, any meetings you have scheduled and anything else you must remember. Convenient. Obviously, there’s a TV built into the mirror, too, because TV.
Don’t know what to wear? No worries. CLO3D’s Magic Mirror lets you virtually try on any piece of clothing you want to put outfits together and make sure you’ll look good in them, too. No more ripping off and replacing clothes a thousand times indecisively, but you might anyway.
You decide to play a video game for a while. Instead of controlling a random character, you control yourself onscreen. That’s right– a virtual “you” is now a part of all the same adventures you had growing up. xxArray powered by Nikon is making dreams come true for countless kids in this way.
Suppose you’re in the middle of a mission in your virtual world when real-life you get a phone call. You tell your TV to “shh” and it mutes. You don’t need a remote control. You don’t really need to move at all, apart from your lips. Eyelocks’ Myris recognizes your eyes, making a finger swipe unnecessary. If it’s not you looking at your phone, it won’t unlock unless you want it to.
Imagine you’re still on the phone when you decide to take a swim in your pool. You don’t need to hang up – just jump right in there! The Sony Xperia Z1 is a waterproof phone. You can now use your phone underwater, inflicting absolutely no damage. The concept of snorkeling never sounded so intriguing.
In our opinions, one of the coolest things ever, is 3D System’s ChefJet Pro, which can be used to print out candy. Yes, print out candy at the press of a button. We need one of those in the office ASAP.
Finally, CES 2014 has even provided us with a (sort of terrifying) replacement for our own mothers. No one can replace the love and care of a mother completely, but electronic company Sen.se thinks their new device, “Mother” can get pretty close. This little robot, “as with your real mother, cares about you and loves you… Mother knows how to help you in many areas of your daily life: fitness, health, security, wellbeing and comfort. You decide how she can help simplify your life, ultimately helping you live better, healthier and happier.” We guess she looks friendly enough.
CES 2014 also showcased bendable TVs, electronic paper airplanes and “smartwatches” aimed to track children, hair-growth stimulating helmets and other futuristic products. It’s definitely an event that brings companies together to show us that our lives continue to be altered and enhanced by technology in ways we never thought imaginable.
What do you think about our lives turning into an episode of Futurama? What products from CES are you really excited about or turned off by? We’d love to read your thoughts and comments!