Worth a gamble
What happens in Vegas we can look forward to everywhere else when it comes to electronics
THE Consumer Electronics Show 22 was certainly a more lively affair than its 2021 online-only counterpart.
More of a hybrid event this year, some stuff was still shown off virtually, but people did show up to the actual live event in Las Vegas last week to give a glimpse of their future tech innovations.
There was more actual stuff that you might be able to buy soon revealed, too… last year’s muted show seemed to have exhibitors keeping their powder dry for more normal times.
We might not quite be in more normal times just yet, but they seem to be on the way, and the tech companies have stepped up.
It would be impossible to even list everything revealed at CES this year, so here’s my top five.
Samsung gets three entries into the list, not just because they gave an actual live presentation at the event, but because their new stuff seems like it actually might be useful as well as innovative… not always true of the wild and wacky stuff that usually makes it to the event each January. There are no release dates or prices for any of this stuff, it’s just promised to arrive at some point ‘this year’.
Odyssey Arc
The Odyssey Arc is an insane 4K 55in curved gaming monitor with a 16:9 aspect ratio. And it’s one of those devices that at first glance appears to be the kind of crazy tech that looks great but in reality nobody will use. Further thought, though, brings you to wondering why nobody ever thought of it before.
It’s huge, of course, which gamers do like, but it can also pivot to portrait mode as well as offering a more traditional view.
In portrait mode, though, the screen curves over the top of your head as you play… which, no doubt, will make for a considerably more immersive experience.
Nowatch
As you might guess from the name, the Nowatch is not a watch, even though it looks very much like one. It’s actually more or less a wellbeing tracker… with a twist.
Described by its makers as the world’s first ‘Awareable’, its goal is to foster in its users a new, more balanced relationship with technology.
The new thing inside is a sensor that can measure your stress levels, but it also does the usual stuff – heart rate, activity, and sleep, with lots of metrics gathered and analysed via smartphone app.
The USP is that analysis is more holistic and aims to puzzle out how all things come together to influence your mood. As there is no display there is no feedback during the day aside from gentle vibrations which are designed to draw your attention back to the present moment.
As well as interchangeable straps, there are also interchangeable ‘faces’ of all kinds of different materials, with the discs attaching to the front of the device magnetically.
Eco 2 Remote
Another one to file under ‘wild but useful’ is this new humble remote control for your Samsung TV.
Like the original Eco remote from last year, this can be charged by light (indoors, thankfully, as well as out), but also somehow can charge itself via your WiFi signal.
It captures the radio waves from your wireless internet connection and converts that to electrical energy with which it can recharge the internal batteries.
That seems like a magical thing to me, but the real win is in the number of disposable batteries this kind of innovation could prevent from ending up in landfill every year if every remote was powered in this way.
Sadly, at the moment at least, it’s only useful for small very lowpower devices, but you can bet the brainiacs who came up with it are working on bigger things as we speak.
Noveto N1 SoundBeamer
The interesting thing about Noveto’s SoundBeamer technology is that it appears to solve a problem that nobody has, while at the same time is intriguing to the point at which you decide
you have got to try it.
It’s been described as ‘invisible headphones’ and that’s a fairly accurate description of what it does.
The N1 is a pair of special speakers that sit on the table in front of you and direct audio into ‘sound pockets’ around your ears.
The net effect is that you can hear it, but anyone else in the room is limited to barely a whisper.
For people in communal spaces who don’t want to disturb their neighbours and yet want to listen to the radio all day, this might be the solution they never knew they needed.
Freestyle Projector
Samsung’s final offering is a fabulous portable mini projector that allows you to take a TV of variable size (17in to 100in) almost anywhere.
The clever bit is that it can project from almost any angle and still make a perfect rectangle of its projected image – so it doesn’t matter if it’s not on a level surface.
Add in Samsung’s decent smart TV OS for all the streaming services (no TV tuner, though), and the ability to stream from your Galaxy phone and you’ve got a real winner… even if you do need an external battery pack for true portability.