by Mark Ollig
The annual Consumer Electronic Show (CES) provides the venue
for high-tech companies to showcase their technology.
This year’s CES, in Las Vegas last week, contained over
3,200 exhibits displaying the latest technological gadgets.
By comparison, there were around 100 exhibits at the first
CES held in New York City during 1967.
Many of those exhibits were made with solid-state
electronics, including televisions, high-fidelity phonograph stereos, cassette
and eight-track tape players, and a few bulky-looking headphones.
So, what was popular for CES 2014?
Many of the new devices were bendable, wearable, and curved.
One such item is the handheld mobile QWERTY keyboard by
TREWGrip, which can be wirelessly sync’d to any Bluetooth-capable smartdevice.
This curved keyboard was ergonomically designed for your
hands.
“The standard QWERTY key layout is split and rotated so the
hands gripping TREWGrip can effectively touch-type in a mobile setting,” stated
TREWGrip.
To me, using this curved, split-keyboard is definitely a
different way of typing; however, I suppose it would be beneficial in certain
settings when using the small touch-keys on a smartphone or other device would
not be as efficient.
We have trained our hands and fingers to acquire a
familiarity using “muscle-memory” for learning where the keys are on a standard
keyboard without having to look down at them while we type.
This video created by TREWGrip demonstrates the benefits of
their new mobile touch-typing device: http://tinyurl.com/bytes-trewgrip2.
Another video shows people proficiently using TRUEGrip’s new
method of typing. You can watch it at: http://tinyurl.com/bytes-trewgrip.
A wearable camera by Panasonic, which records in UHD
(ultra-high definition) 4K video resolution, was demonstrated during CES.
This compact camera hangs unobtrusively over a person’s ear.
The small camera lens sits parallel to one’s cheek, facing forward, recording
whatever the wearer sees.
The folks at Corning, who brought us its famous “Gorilla
Glass” used on many smartphones, have come out with a new glass surface which
contains antimicrobial, bacteria-fighting properties.
Corning says it is “the world’s first antimicrobial glass.”
The company made public their new Antimicrobial Gorilla
Glass 3 during this year’s CES.
Over time, our smartphones, tablets, and other mobile
device’s glass surfaces can become a home for germs and bacteria, due to their
exposure to the environment, handling, and finger smudges.
These bacterial microbes can build up on the surface glass,
becoming the source for illnesses.
Corning combats this by means of infusing
electrically-charged ion particles of silver, utilized as an antibacterial
microorganism killing agent, directly onto the glass surface.
They said this method can remove almost 99.9 percent of
particular types of bacteria on the surface of the glass.
The protection, according to Corning, lasts for the lifetime
of the device the antimicrobial glass is used with.
Yours truly (who is currently combating a winter head cold)
feels anything to help reduce the spread of germs is worth taking an interest
in.
One short video nicely explains Antimicrobial Corning
Gorilla Glass. It can be seen here: http://tinyurl.com/bytes-corning1.
During CES 2014, Samsung showed off the world’s first
curved, organic, light-emitting diode (OLED), 1080p UHD display television.
Their largest curved UHD TV measures 105-inches.
This curved TV offers a panorama view using ultra-high 4K
resolution, which Samsung says provides for a “more life-like viewing
experience.”
Samsung stated in a press release at CES 2014, that their
new UHD TV technology will “deliver a bold theatrical experience and
fundamentally change the way the world views TVs.”
Another device shown at CES 2014 I found interesting is
called the SkyBell.
This small, round, electronic gadget replaces a home’s
standard doorbell.
By using a smartphone, the person inside (or outside) the
house can see, hear, and talk with a visitor pressing the SkyBell’s button at
the home’s entrance.
The SkyBell connects wirelessly to a user’s household Wi-Fi
network router. Using the home’s Internet connection, it sends video and audio
from the SkyBell device to the user’s smartphone or mobile device.
Once a visitor presses the button on the SkyBell, it
transmits a live video and audio feed to your smartphone.
You can then see, hear, and talk with the visitor from any
iOS (iPhone) or Android OS smartdevice.
SkyBell’s motion detector will also activate video to your
mobile smart device if the visitor does not press the SkyBell’s doorbell
button.
An infrared LED on SkyBell allows for seeing who is at the
door during the night.
Pretty cool, huh?
The SkyBell device is 2.75 inches high, has a depth of .75
inches, and weighs 1.9 oz.
It is powered using a standard home doorbell voltage
transformer.
The SkyBell mobile app is scheduled to be released this
month.
The company said they are also working on a computer desktop
version useable with the Windows and Mac operating systems.
The SkyBell is made in America, and sells for $199.
Complete details (including a video) can be found at:
http://www.skybell.com.
The International CES uploaded many videos of the new
products exhibited last week during CES 2014. You can see them here:
http://tinyurl.com/bytes-cesyt.
