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Engadget Podcast 377 - CES Day Two - 1.8.14
The finalists for Best of CES 2014 have emerged and Terrence O'Brien, along with Sarah Silbert, kick back to review the merits of these chosen few. While it's only day two of the main event, the Engadget editorial team have been combing through gadget offerings at CES for nearly a week and sleep deprivation is rapidly descending. Although weary, Terrence, Sarah and a smattering of drop-in guests are keen to share their opinions on these devices, enjoy a refreshing beverage and fill you in on the state of CES so far. Join us for the second edition of the Engadget Podcast, direct from the show floor. Host: Terrence O'Brien, Sarah Silbert Producer: Jon Turi Hear the podcast:
Keecker is an Android-powered robot that projects video onto your walls
Sure, you could buy a projector for your apartment, or maybe even a TV; people still use those, we're told. Or, you could get an Android-powered projector instead. Solving a problem that not many people seem to have, Keecker is a smartphone-controllable robot that moves around your home, projecting video onto the walls. In particular, it runs Android with Google Play access, allowing you to stream from built-in apps like Netflix or YouTube. (Fun fact: the company's founder, Pierre Lebeau, is a former product manager at Google.) As you can imagine, Keecker also has a built-in speaker, meaning you could use this as a giant music player if you were so inclined. Some might be disappointed by the 1,280 x 800 resolution (especially with a target price of $4,000 to $5,000), but the 1,000-lumen light is at least bright enough that you can watch even with the lights on. (See our hands-on photos from the company's CES booth to see what we mean.) The thing is, even with clear picture quality, the robot is kinda big. At 16 inches wide and 25 inches tall it has a relatively large footprint, so it'd be a stretch to argue that this offers any space-saving benefits, per se. If you buy this, it's going to be because you want the freedom to watch TV on any wall in the house, or because you like the idea of having a projector with streaming apps built in (a better reason to splurge, if you ask us). At any rate, this won't ship until Q4, so you have plenty of time to think on that -- and start saving your pennies.
Live from the Engadget CES Stage: Orbotix
Like cool vehicles you can control from your smartphone? Boy have we got the company for you. Orbotix celebrated CES 2014 with the release of a new kind of Sphero. The 2B has two treads, moves fast and is available at a lower price point than its older sibling. We'll be speaking with the company's co-founders. January 9, 2014 2:30:00 PM EST
Live from the Engadget CES Stage: Opera SVP Aneesh Rajaram
The Norwegian company is still best known for its alternative browser, but Opera's been increasingly making a push toward new platforms, including perhaps most notification, TVs. We'll be speaking with Aneesh Rajaram, the SVP of TV and devices about exactly that. January 10, 2014 2:30:00 PM EST
Live from the Engadget CES Stage: MakerBot CEO Bre Pettis
We were calling CES 2013 the year of 3D printing. It's pretty clear this year, however, that the 3D printing explosion hadn't even began. The number of companies representing the technology has increased by enough to justify a standalone 3D printing area, and as usual MakerBot is helping to lead the charge. January 9, 2014 2:00:00 PM EST
Live from the Engadget CES Stage: Wacom CEO Masahiko Yamada
Wacom's been long known for offering up a different sort of tablet than the consumer models that tend to flood the CES show floor. And while the Cintiq marks a bit of an experimental step in that direction, the device is still firmly grounded in what the company does best: offering up high-end pen-based tablets for graphics professionals. January 9, 2014 1:30:00 PM EST
Live from the Engadget CES Stage: Stern Pinball CEO Gary Stern
It wouldn't be Vegas without some pinball. For the second year in a row, Stern Pinball CEO Gary Stern will be hitting the stage to talk about building machines in the age of the video game. January 9, 2014 12:30:00 PM EST
The Engadget Show: Behind the Scenes at CES 2014
Can't be here with us at CES? Unfortunately we can't give you the cold morning desert air, throngs of slow-moving showgoers or the creeping convention sickness that will overtake us all by week's end. We can, however, bring you the next best thing: a tour of the show floor and some behind-the-scenes peeks at our CES operations, including a walk through our backstage area and a look at our doublewide trailer (we roll classy here). Join editors Mat Smith and Michael Gorman for a funny-accented mini Engadget Show just after the break. Hosts: Michael Gorman, Mat Smith Producer: Benjamin Ahr Harrison Executive Producer: Brian Heater Subscribe to the Show: [iTunes] Subscribe to the Show directly in iTunes (MP4). [Zune] Subscribe to the Show directly in the Zune Marketplace (MP4). [RSS MP4] Add the Engadget Show feed (MP4) to your RSS aggregator and have it delivered automatically. [HD RSS] Get the Engadget Show delivered automatically in HD. [iPad RSS] Get the Engadget Show in iPad-friendly adaptive format.
Live from the Engadget CES Stage: Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment's Mike Dunn
CES is always a big show for TV manufacturers, but what about the video that we'll actually be playing on those sets? Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment President Mike Dunn will join us to discuss his company's vision. January 9, 2014 12:00:00 PM EST
WowWee's MiP revisited: the dance of the robot fairies
You might remember the MiP from such posts as Meet WowWee's MiP: A gesture and app-controlled robot with moves like Jagger and Live from the Engadget CES Stage: WowWee CTO Davin Sufer. Well, if you happened to catch the latter of those two, you might also remember that the demo gremlins made a bit of an appearance while Davin Sufer was on stage. So, we followed the company's CTO back to the WowWee booth where he promised a special treat, and boy did he deliver. Turns out you can control more than one MiP from a single phone. So he connected to six of his little bots, picked out a song from his library and started the charismatic little buggers on an epic synchronized dance. We don't want to bore you by repeating the details we already offered in our previous hands-on, just enjoy the video below.
Hot Watch about to ship to Kickstarter backers, here's the (almost) final version
The last time we saw the Hot Watch, the wristband was held together with a temporary strip of Velcro. To be sure, it was in good enough shape for us to test its voice-calling feature, but it was desperately in need of some TLC in the design department. A lot's changed in the past five months, however, and now the startup is ready to ship the watch to early Kickstarter backers. We got a chance to check out a (nearly) final version here at CES where, indeed, there were a few Kickstarter buyers milling around Hot Watch's suite, hoping to get a sneak peek. Read on for a rundown of what's new. And hey, all you backers out there? Don't shoot the messenger if it's not all good news: You backed it, you bought it.
SwiftKey's predictive text input makes its way into your car stereo
It's no secret that we're pretty big fans of SwiftKey 'round these parts, but even we couldn't have predicted where it'd wind up next. Today, the keyboard app announced that its adaptive text-entry will be integrated with Clarion's forthcoming AX1 head unit. It might seem odd at first, but since Clarion's kit has native apps for email and web browsing, predictive text (compared to a standard keyboard) ought to make the device easier to use. As SwiftKey tells it, the company is taking everything it's learned from the mobile environment, and applying it to other areas where it makes sense. In other words, this likely isn't the last time we'll see the third-party keyboard somewhere other than a phone or tablet. The AX1 is expected to release sometime this quarter for $800, and if you're feeling antsy you can pre-order one right now.
CES 2014, Day 3: The trade show highlights they don't want you to see!
While the White House was busy extending the lifespan of the International Space Station, we were pounding the CES 2014 show floor. Sure, the Las Vegas Convention Center is packed with home automation demos, arm-bound muscle sensors and prototype smartwatches, but there's more to a trade show than just the exhibition hall -- there are celebrity cameos, killer interviews and WWE programming announcements, too. Take a step back from the CES crowds and join Engadget for a look at the show from another perspective.
IBM spins Jeopardy-dominating Watson robot into a billion dollar business group
Ever since it was unveiled four years ago, Watson has been the factotum of the robotics world, working a slew of gigs in hospitals, on Wall Street and the like. Now IBM's ready to give its supercomputer what may well be its toughest gig to date. The company is pumping $1 billion into its new Watson Business Group, which is "dedicated solely to the development and commercialization of cloud-delivered cognitive innovations." The division will be headquartered in Manhattan, focused on applying the computer's smarts to apps aimed at such diverse fields as healthcare, finance, travel, telecom and retail. Apparently the old 'bot hasn't quite settled on one gig after all.
Samsung's 105-inch curved UHD TV and 85-inch bendable screen hit retail this year
If you dug the 105-inch curved Ultra HD TV and bendable 85-inch UHD screen (above) Samsung debuted this week, we have good news. They'll both hit retail sometime in the second half of this year, according to the tech giant. If you were expecting pricing info, well, you're going to have to wait a little longer because we don't have that just yet. However, it's going to be at least six months before these sets hit stores, so we suggest you start saving your pennies right about now -- unlike other options, we have a hunch that these beauties won't be cheap.
Airtame wireless dongle mirrors your computer onto any HDMI display
Here's yet another option for wirelessly mirroring your computer screen to another display, but don't worry: This one is rather impressive. Airtame, the creation of a group of Danish folks, is an HDMI dongle that links your PC -- be it running Windows, OS X or Linux -- to whatever display it's plugged into over WiFi. Installation is a breeze: All you need on the PC side is just the software, and from there you can choose which dongles to beam your screen to. Yes, dongles, because you really can beam one PC to multiple screens, thus beating Miracast. We also played a game on one of the laptops, and the response time on the remote display was surprisingly good. Airtame's Indiegogo campaign has long reached its $160,000 goal, but you can still pre-order this $89 dongle in the remaining nine days left. Do also check out our video from the CES show floor after the break.
WWE Network to stream choke slams 24 hours a day for $10 a month
CES isn't all about new devices. It's about programming too, and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) has an event of its own to announce plans for the year. Those plans include a subscription-based network that will provide grappling coverage 24/7 in the US. WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon made the announcement here in Vegas with a smattering of wrestlers (like Triple H, Shawn Michaels and Steve Austin) lending a hand. The $10-per-month price tag will include 720p streaming all 12 of WWE's live pay-per-view events -- including the popular WrestleMania. In addition to the live content, you'll also be able to access past pay-per-view events from WWE, WCW and ECW cards on-demand at your leisure. Yes, that means you can rewatch your favorite Royal Rumble whenever you like. The network's original series WrestleMania Rewind will allow subscribers to relive classic bouts with commentary from the wrestlers themselves. There will also be a one-hour Countdown series that will rank the top finish moves, submissions and more. If you lived through the rivalry between WWE and WCW like this editor did, Monday Night War runs down the battle for beginning-of-the-week supremacy. In terms of access, the WWE Network will be available on the desktop with iOS, Kindle and Android apps for mobile devices. The content can also be streamed to PlayStation consoles, Xbox 360 and Roku set-top boxes at launch, with support for Xbox One and smart TVs being added sometime this summer. A second screen icon will pop up when the program you're viewing offers that functionality on a mobile device for accessing that complimentary content. While the launch is slated just for the States for now, the company has plans to extend the offering beyond by the end of the year. The WWE is set to go live after Monday Night Raw at 11:05 p.m. on February 24th and WrestleMania 30 will be the first pay-per-view event to be streamed on the service. If you're looking to take it for a spin, you can nab a limited-time one-week free trial when the switch is flipped next month.
Here's a smart tennis racquet that'll improve your swing
Unless you're Novak Djokovic or John McEnroe, then it's highly unlikely that you're able to take advantage of the computer-assisted coaching used by tennis pros. Like Sony, French racquet maker Babolat is hoping to bring such tech to the masses with the Play Pure Drive, a smart racquet that's packed full of sensors. The gear inside measures gyroscopic and vibrational data to show how many backhand and forehand swings you've made and where they've hit on the strings. You needn't worry that the sensors will weigh you down either, as the handle was designed to weigh the same as a normal model. Naturally, all of this data is pushed over Bluetooth to your smartphone, where the accompanying app will analyze your data after the fact, and give you helpful hints. For instance, if you're hitting it too close to your open throat, then the app will advise you how to get better. There's also a social component that lets you see how far your skills match up to Babolat's team of professional testers - although given that the top-ranked name on that list is Rafael Nadal, it might add to that inferiority complex.
Home automation is the future and Archos knows it
Yes, this is another post about the internet of things blorg -- you know, that terrible buzz phrase for this new and actually exciting era of connected gadgets. Except this time, it's brought to you by Archos. The French outfit's branching out from its traditional portfolio of Android smartphones and tablets with a new Smart Home solution -- an ecosystem that's similar to Smart Things. The platform, which Archos announced just prior to the new year, incorporates a tablet-like gateway and various sensors that users can place in and around their homes for remote monitoring. Archos is gearing this whole system more toward convenience than security and its array of Bluetooth sensors proves this point. Smart Home revolves around Archos' gateway, a 7-inch tablet that gathers and manages a feed of all the data from its various Bluetooth sensors; sensors designed to monitor video, motion, weather and electricity. Though the initial $200 kit comes with just the gateway, one video camera and one motion sensor, users can go out and buy additional sensors piecemeal for anywhere from $14 - $50 (e.g., the weather sensor costs $30).
24 hours at CES
CES, it's a thing. A big thing. For us here at Engadget, it's kind of a big deal. For you, the gadget-loving public, it's a chance to see what the year in tech will look like. But enough about you already... what about poor old us? There's so much you don't get to see: the work, the constant scrums of people surrounding products, the late nights and cold trailer food. We figured you all probably wanted to experience those joys for yourselves, albeit vicariously. We hooked up one of our editors, Michael, with a GoPro and a FuelBand, and set him off into the wild with a photographer in tow, so you can get a taste of what 24 hours at the craziest tech show on Earth feels like. Hop past the break to see for yourself.
