Top 10 Cravings of CES- 01.09.08
This is not your usual list of Top 10 CES picks ~ here are 10 products that are actually relatively attainable (either out now, or soon, and aren’t concepts), that made my wishlist far too quickly - and don’t fall under the cliche mobile, tv, pc launches you’ve probably been reading about and seeing everywhere.
Freshly back from CES, and i can barely feel my feet. As can be expected - it was one insane 36 hour vegas trip filled with more gadgetry than you can imagine, taxi lines longer than those at amusement parks, bright lights, tacky hotel rooms, the drone of slot machines pinging away, camera crews/bloggers/businessmen everywhere, booth babes galore, 150” tvs, robots, giant dancing/singing frogs with waterfall projections at the wynn, etc… But before i get into all of that, i need some sleep! ~ So, see below for the full list, and rest assured i’ll have some up close and personal pics/posts to show you some design details of these products and more probably in the next few days!
Here’s the list! (and yes, i think it may be in order of which ones i want the most)
1. Wacom Cintiq - after trying this far more affordable and portable cintiq (it feels more like sketching on a notebook than the larger models), i honestly don’t know how i can go back to my tablets.
2. Belkin FlyWire - Finally a sleek elegant solution to save me from ever again climbing behind a plasma/lcd to plug/unplug/fiddle with all the component, hdmi, rca, etc cables! They’ve managed to create a system where the only cable from the TV is only the power cable, and through the FlyWire’s receiver box, you can plug in all your components elsewhere! And with the IR dongle, all your remotes still work when pointed at the TV.
3. Logitech Squeezebox Duet - it sounds like the guys at Slim Devices have been having some fun since acquired by Logitech. The latest in this not only gives you all the open source goodies you’ve come to expect from their systems, but they’ve turned the remote itself into a digital media player ~ and some sneak peeks show an SD card slot, flickr slideshows/browsing, and more to come later. You will even be able to buy additional receivers and controllers to expand the music network throughout your house!
4. Brother GT-541 Garment Printer - watching this was just mesmerizing and extremely impressive! It prints water based inks on tshirts, and after heat pressing to set it, the colors are still incredible, and its so soft to the touch. It can actually print on everything from tile to towels, from deerskin to canvas bags! And it was REALLY fast.
5. Logitech Mini Di Novo - the latest in the di novo line (remember the di novo edge i fell for last year?), this palm sized bluetooth clamshell of a keyboard with trackpad and backlit keys is too cute (and functional!) for words. It feels a bit like you’re bringing smsing/thumb-typing skills back to your computer/tv.
6. Eton FR 1000 - Self–Powered Hand-Crank AM/FM/NOAA Weather/2-Way GMRS Radio with Flashlight, Siren and Cell Phone Charger. AND beautifully designed great feeling hardware.
7. Sentry Safe Waterproof DATA STORAGE CHEST - The idea of my data being safe through fire, flood, etc (particularly with the recent weather situations this year!)… what more do i need to say?
8. Belkin SOHO KVM - There are a lot of KVMS, but few look this good! This one allows you to share your monitor/mouse/keyboard with up to 4 computers, and you can even use one computer and listen to another’s audio! And the USB hub built in is a nice touch as well… as far as the look and feel, you HAVE to feel how nicely these buttons click.
9. Tiffin HT Filters - Tiffen’s latest line of filters are apparently even more scratch resistant AND thinner, letting in even more light than previous filters… the Tiffen man even said that they will let in the same amount of light your light reader reads.
10. Belkin Conserve Surge Protector - to help your house go green, here’s a fun way to start. This surge protector comes with a giant ON/OFF switch! And the giant switch even comes with a magnetic wall mount! Talk about a fun physical UI! As for why its good… two of the plugs are permanently on, where the rest of the plugs can be turned off with the giant switch to save energy (b/c we all know our chargers, tvs, computers are still sucking energy when off and plugged in.)
Ok, well thats my list for 3am. This is definitely a selection of beautifully designed products that are incredibly functional at solving needs i didn’t even realize i had, but now can’t figure out how i am living without them! So between the 150” tvs and microsoft surface touch tables… somehow it was the little things that grabbed my attention the most this time!
OH ~ and for anyone that doesn’t believe how tacky my hotel room was. Well i ended up at a tropicana suite for the night, and there were mirrors behind and ABOVE my bed. Encased in too much wood. Do you KNOW how freaky it is to wake up and scare yourself with what looks like an out of body experience looking down? up? on yourself?
Oh! That Cintiq must be mine!
Quite nice list thnx
----- M72 10.01.08 09:22