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Taking a spin in the electrified Chevy Bolt EV
There's a reason the Chevy Bolt EV received Best of CES from Engadget. Even though we drove a model that's about 80 percent of what will end up in production, the promise of a solid compact car that's also a long-range electric vehicle was certainly there. We were also only able to squeeze in a few laps on the closed track with the car. But in that time, we got to try out the drivetrain options and the new and customizable infotainment system.
Edit your GoPro videos on your TV with Sugarlock
Right now, if you want to share GoPro videos (or any video sitting on a memory card, and not your phone), then it usually involves a PC and some effort -- or at least some time exporting and uploading it. Sugarlock describes itself as an "action cam dock," but it's perhaps better (if less sexily) described as a dedicated video editing box you plug into your TV. The aim of which is to help you sift through your footage easily, find the best parts, and export them as sharable clips, without any of the baggage of most editing software.
CES 2016: TVs are finally taking a backseat
Where are the TVs? In my ten years of attending CES I've never had to ask this question, and to be fair, this year they were still front and center in a few booths. But Sony pushed TVs and projectors to the fringe of its spacious CES booth (ceding space for headphones and... turntables?) while Panasonic could only spare a couple of tables for the latest Ultra HD TVs. In the same space where Darth Vader stood in front of dozens of flat panels to announce a Star Wars Blu-ray, now Spartan Race athletes wearing action cameras took on obstacles, and electric scooters showed off fast charging. Instead of riding high as the primary electronics device on show, TVs, set-top boxes and Blu-ray players are settling in with wearables, VR, drones and the rest as just another thing that look to your phone for advice.
I became a cyborg to feel older, not stronger
I like to joke that I'm technically 33 years old, but on the inside I'm 65. I'm less inclined to make that joke after spending 20 minutes or so inside Genworth's "Aging Experience" exoskeleton. The R70i, which apparently is a barely coded reference to the fact that 70 percent of Americans will need some sort of long term care as they age, is a full body simulator that lets you experience what its like to lose your sight, hearing and even range of motion as the effects of aging creep in.
Carl Zeiss thinks it can make smart glasses you'll want to wear
After the initial bubble of excitement, Google Glass was ultimately rejected by the public and sent back to the drawing board, all for one simple reason: Despite repeated attempts to tone down the design of Glass and make it more familiar, it remained an alien thing to see on someone's face. Add in privacy concerns stemming from that camera and a lack of a clear use case and it's no surprise that the idea of face-worn wearables took a major hit.
At the CES 'Shark Tank' open call, the optimism is infectious
"I just want to do the royalty, because I develop formulas for cancer. So, I want to use Michael's money to help heal the world," a gray-haired man in a kung-fu uniform explained, his face perfectly serene as he explained his purported friendship with Michael Jackson. In a different setting, the situation might have been seemed bizarre, but three hours into open auditions for ABC's reality show Shark Tank at this year's Consumer Electronic Show, it was par for course.
Sling TV CEO on the competition and internet TV's future
Sling TV was the big winner at CES 2015. The internet TV service, which is owned by Dish, took home multiple awards from the show, along with dominating the news cycle throughout the first few weeks of January. And that shouldn't come as a surprise: For the first time, people in the US had a decent and economical alternative to traditional pay television. It was a cord-cutter's dream. Unfortunately for Sling TV, gaining popularity at such a fast pace turned out to be a double-edged sword. In the first real stress test for its servers, Sling TV didn't cope well during the stream of the NCAA's Final Four basketball tournament, leading the company to apologize to subscribers. A month later, the Game of Thrones season five premiere created another problem for the service, with many users missing out on it due to issues with Sling TV's Roku app. But that was then, says Sling TV CEO Roger Lynch, who I had the chance to interview at CES 2016. As part of our discussion, he also talked about other challenges faced since launch; the competition from Comcast and Time Warner cable; and what's going on with the long-awaited Sling TV app for PlayStation 4. (Hint: Lynch says the ball is in Sony's court.)
Nielsen wired me with sensors and exposed my CES tech fetish
After four days on the ground in Las Vegas, I thought I didn't care about any of the new products announced this year at the Consumer Electronics Show. But Nielsen Consumer Neuroscience hooked me up with an array of sensors to prove otherwise.
'Game of Thrones' is now a pinball machine
Stern Pinball, a regular at CES, usually bringing along its latest machines. The company has a history of tapping into the cultural zeitgeist and that explains why we're here playing Game Of Thrones through the medium of pinball. (Update: There are also, predictably, GoT slot machines somewhere in Vegas. So that's this evening sorted.) With a dragon to aim at, and red LED-reproduced animations from the TV series, the pro machine is fun enough for GoT and pinball dilettante alike. Take a closer look after the break.
What you missed on day five at CES
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-482866{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-482866, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-482866{width:100%;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-482866").style.display="none";}catch(e){} The longer CES goes on, the weirder it gets -- and not just because five days is wayyy too much time in Vegas. Rather, the big consumer announcements have already been made, so we're left with the more prosaic technology. Luckily, that's often the most fun. We saw a motion simulator called Moveo that could help you explore virtual reality's full vomit potential, for one. If you'd rather keep your thrills more grounded, BMW launched a connected motorcycle helmet with a heads-up display. And now that you've finally accepted the idea of 4K, guess what? Here comes 8K! Let Editor-in-Chief Michael Gorman give you the lowdown on these and other stories, or read more in the gallery below.
Indiegogo CEO talks crowdfunding, busts out push-ups
Slava Rubin has had a busy week. After ogling a brigade of drones on the show floor and revealing a way to help huge companies like Anheuser-Busch take advantage of crowdfunding, the Indiegogo CEO took a few moments to come say hello on the Engadget CES stage.
Sony aims to reinvent its LCD TVs to match OLED rivals
CES has a lot of TVs. So many TVs. Huge ones. 8K ones. HDR-capable ones (and not). In the midst of all that confusion, one thing has been constant: the increasing presence of OLED. LG is making more OLED TVs, Samsung is using quantum dot LED displays (while also tinkering with the same tech as its Korean rival). Sony? Well, it's sticking to LCD for now. But it's planning to rival (if not best) the more advanced OLED technology with its Backlight Master Drive (BMD). Sounds like a sci-fi MacGuffin, but it might be the company's biggest TV gambit in a while. To hear what it was all about, I was bundled into a very dark room with one very bright prototype TV.
Kodak's big comeback is an old school throwback
As I squeeze my way through the small gaps between people on the floor at the Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas, the excitement of the crowd is palpable. TVs are rolling up like sheets of paper; robots are swerving in and out of booths and speakers are shapeshifting. But there's something different about the buzz around Kodak's yellow-colored cubicle. The bright red "K" on the logo that looms overhead instantly evokes a sense of nostalgia that feels misplaced at a show cluttered with snippets of the future. I walk in, past the glass shelves with film rolls on display, to join a group of people huddled around the prototype of Super 8, the company's "new" film camera that made its debut 50 years ago.
ICYMI: Delivery drone for humans, VR gaming and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-809076{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-809076, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-809076{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-809076").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: The Ehang 184 is a Personal Flying Vehicle (PFV) that promises to deliver human cargo to its commuting destination in a way that has us intrigued and also, of course, mildly terrified. It can hold one person and fly anywhere within a 23-minute flight time radius. The person inside will use a very simple interface to take off and land, and be able to sit back and chill. Now we jsut have to wait while the at least $200,000 (but, probably more like $300,000) drone gets built, with a goal of reaching production by next year.
EyeForcer wants to force your kids to sit up straight
The rise in smartphone use has created a new spinal condition that's called "tech neck," or "gameboy disease." All of that time hunched over our devices, shoulders forward, has caused people to develop serious spinal issues. Dr. Vahid Sahiholnasab is hoping to prevent a whole generation of tweens becoming incapable of looking upwards by developing EyeForcer, a wearable gadget that forces kids to maintain good posture. How can a gadget force good behavior in children? By threatening their play time if they don't behave.
OhMiBod's smart kegel exerciser doubles as a sex toy
Though there were plenty of fitness devices here at CES 2016, OhMiBod's Lovelife Krush beat out all of them to win our Best of CES award in the Digital Health and Fitness category. That's because the smart kegel exerciser offers a unique take on the fitness quantification trend, by making it easier for women to strengthen their pelvic muscles. Of course, there've been smart kegel exercisers before, but the Krush offers a new easier-to-insert form factor plus you can unlock more patterns for use of it as a sex toy too.
Fossil's Q54 Pilot is a very handsome activity tracker
Fossil has long made a name for itself for affordable fashion watches, but it's recently ventured into the smartwatch territory with its Q line of wearables. At CES, it showed off a new model called the Q54 Pilot, which essentially adds a new watch design to the line. Essentially an activity tracker tucked inside an analog watch, the Pilot is a slightly more casual version of the Q Grant. While the Grant was dressier with its Roman numerals and shine finish, the Q54 Pilot has regular Arabic digits instead. According to designer Ryan White, this design choice along with new case backing makes it a little more suited for everyday wear.
I zapped my brain's pleasure center with electric headphones
Behind the scenes at Engadget, my nickname is "Mr. Chill" because I'm the most permanently-wound member of the team. That's why I had to meet Nervana, a company promising to use music to send pleasure signals to my brain. The firm, based in Boca Raton, claims to have discovered a way to excite the brain's Vagus nerve by pushing an electric current through the ear canal. When stimulated, this nerve promotes the creation of dopamine — the brain's happy chemical — which should lead to you becoming more relaxed. Naturally, if there was an opportunity to transform myself from "Mr Chill" to Mr Chill, I had to go for it.
At over five feet wide, this drone is not for noobs
Imagine: You turn up at CES with a big ass hexacopter, only to find it's not even the biggest drone at the show. Not by a country mile. Still, at 5.4 feet across and 1.65 feet tall, Aee's F600 is still a bit of a beast. Of course, you don't make a drone this size to carry a GoPro. The F600 is designed for industrial use. Think heavy-duty tasks like servicing oil rigs in high winds, as the six large rotors give it much more stability than your average Phantom.
Presenting the Best of CES 2016 winners!
After several nights debating with one another on which of our many finalists should win our Best of CES awards, we've come to a decision. Below is our list of winners for each category, including our Best of the Best (spoiler: it's a car!) and our People's Choice award winner too. Congratulations to all of our finalists and winners for not only getting award nods but also surviving the long week in Las Vegas. Hurrah!
