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A woman pumped breast milk on the CES show floor. So what?
Every company at CES is incentivized to oversell their latest products but the invitations from Imalac promised something that was "groundbreaking," "the craziest thing you will see at CES this year" and "part of CES history." It was indeed an event the show floor had never seen before -- the CTA confirmed it. The unassuming booth in the baby tech section had a lactating woman.
Lenovo's eccentric product design is winning over powerful friends
Lenovo has evolved in the past few years to become much more than just a PC company. It's launched multiple connected home devices, like Alexa-enabled speakers, as well as the first Google Assistant-based smart display and smart clock. But it's also brought us more, shall we say, unique products like the Yoga Book and a dock to turn your tablet into an Echo Show. These more-unexpected devices are examples of how Lenovo innovates, but there's more to them than a simple desire to try new things. It turns out the company being able to bring novel ideas to market helps show partners like Google and Amazon why Lenovo is a good launch partner. The company's director of consumer products Wahid Razali joined us on stage at CES 2019 to discuss its innovations and plans for 2019.
LG's 49-inch, ultrawide monitor is a multitasker's dream
That rollable OLED TV from LG may have stolen the show at CES 2019, but the company's got a slew of other interesting products up its sleeve. The LG 49WL95C is a 49-inch, ultrawide monitor (32:9 aspect ratio) with a Dual QHD display (5,120 x 1,440 resolution) and two built-in 10W stereo speakers with "Rich Bass." The super wide and high-res screen also features support for HDR 10, USB Type-C and an adjustable stand that lets you swivel it, tilt it and tweak its height.
The Pix Backpack is a wearable screen for the hypebeast generation
We've seen a couple of attempts at marrying screens with attire to create endlessly customizable fashion, but so far none have actually made it to market. At first glance, the Pix Backpack looks like another one of these intriguing accessories that never escapes the concept stage. The Kickstarter pitch promises a backpack with a retro-aesthetic display you manipulate using -- you guessed it -- a mobile app. The app features a library of images, animations, widgets and even games that populate the low-res color screen, or you can make your own pixel art through a simple editor. The Pix Backpack isn't just a quirky idea destined for the halls of vaporware, though.
This is what Twitter chat bubbles and status updates look like
Yesterday, Twitter revealed that it will launch a beta program to test new conversation features out in the open, and now the company's showing off what some of those changes may look like. At a CES 2019 press event, Twitter's VP of Product Keith Coleman shared a couple of screenshots of chat bubbles for threads/replies and status updates for when people are at a show like this one. The status updates Coleman teased on stage appear to be slightly different than those that popped up last year.
Key by Amazon is not just about deliveries
When Amazon Key first debuted, its primary pitch was as a solution for porch piracy. Despite the initial queasiness of letting random delivery people in your home, the service appears to have caught on, so much so that the company has since expanded the Key functionality to cars and garages too. Now, at CES, Amazon has rebranded Key to "Key by Amazon" instead, and is reimagining it more as an overall platform for building entry access. It partnered with Schlage to unveil the Encode, the first WiFi-equipped deadbolt that supports Key by Amazon, and it's going to start allowing access to businesses and apartment buildings too. I sat down with Key general manager Rohit Shrivastava on the Engadget stage to discuss all of these new announcements and more, and you can check that out in the video above.
AMD's Radeon VII is the first 7nm GPU for gamers
AMD is making a big stab at 4K gaming with its new high-end video card, the Radeon VII. Announced during the company's CES keynote, it's notable for being the world's first consumer 7nm GPU. That architecture allows it to be around 25 percent faster than the company's last model, while using the same amount of power. The Radeon VII follows AMD's 7nm Instinct GPUs, which were built for computational professionals, not gamers. The new GPU looks like a significant bump beyond the Vega 64 and 56, which were powerful when they launched in 2017, but have since been blown away by NVIDIA's RTX GPUs.
Sonos finally showed Google Assistant working on its speakers
Yesterday, Google mentioned speaker-maker Sonos as one of many home device brands whose products would work with Google Assistant. Google's press release wasn't the clearest, and the wording implied that we could see the feature very soon on Sonos' two voice-enabled speakers, the One and the Beam. But Sonos fans who've been waiting for this feature know that the company hasn't said anything publicly since November, when it announced it wouldn't meet its 2018 timeframe for Google Assistant support.
CES 2019 recap: Day one
Monday at CES 2019 didn't quite match the hectic pace of Sunday, but there was a lot for gamers to see. We played with Razer's Hypersense haptic feedback system and found it a bit underwhelming, but the Turret Xbox One keyboard and mouse was more useful. Alienware unveiled a 240 Hz m15 gaming laptop that will beat HP's Omen 15 to market, along with an OLED screen version and the beastly Area 51m with an upgradeable CPU and GPU.
Mercedes and NVIDIA team up to build next-gen AI vehicles
From modular vans to autonomous cars -- and, as recently revealed at CES, gesture-based controls -- Mercedes has some big ambitions for the next generation of its vehicles. Now, it's announced that AI company NVIDIA will be the team to help it achieve them.
The simple Doppel wearable is built to help you relax
There are wearables, like the Apple Watch and Google's Wear OS devices, that do everything. And then there are wearables that go in the opposite direction, going as minimal as possible. Doppel falls into the latter category -- it looks like a small wristwatch, but instead of telling the time or tracking your steps or sending you notifications, its whole purpose is to calm you down. The wearable is mean to be worn on the inside of your wrist and sends a slight vibration in the same rhythm as a heartbeat. According to Doppel, a vibration rate that's slower than your resting heart rate is meant to help relax you, while one that exceeds your heart rate is meant to energize and focus you.
PAX Labs CEO on how technology will demystify cannabis
PAX makes some of the most popular cannabis vaporizers around. By fusing technology, with innovative software, the company hopes to take the mystery out of getting high. But, there are problems. Many people don't know where to start, it's still illegal in many states, and even the organizers of CES aren't quite sure how to handle companies like PAX. In our stage interview with CEO Bharat Vasan, we take a quick tour through cannabis' digital revolution.
Jammy makes the practice guitar modular
If you travel, but want to practice guitar, there are options. But I really don't trust TSA and the airlines not to bust a nice acoustic travel axe. Jammy has come up with a solution: a digital guitar with real strings that comes apart.
The Osé blended-orgasm machine sounds like a microrobotic marvel
Lora Dicarlo technical director Lola Vars won't disclose the precise mechanics powering the Osé pleasure wand (that's how trade secrets work, after all), except to say that it uses microrobotics, air flow, thumping and "come hither" motions in the place of harsh vibrations. The Osé is the first hands-free device designed to draw out blended orgasms, those that stimulate the G-spot as well as the clitoris. It's a sleek, matte black device with a bulb on one end that stays outside the body, on the clitoris, while the massager strokes the G-spot internally.
I just had my ass handed to me by a boxing robot
BotBoxer is the creation of SkyTech Sport, a company that makes gym equipment, most famous for the simulators used to train the US olympic ski team. Five years ago, the Los Angeles-based company turned its attention to creating a robotic boxing trainer, which it showed off in Las Vegas. I was excited to try the machine out for myself, despite being a total novice in the world of boxing.
Bose wants to keep the sounds of the road out of your vehicle
If the sounds of the road are interrupting your road trip playlist, Bose might have the solution. The company announced its new QuietComfort Road Noise Control system designed to cancel out all of the sounds that seep in from outside of your vehicle. The technology, branded with the same name as Bose's noise-canceling headphones, is being made available to vehicle manufacturers around the world to provide a quieter cabin experience inside of cars, trucks and SUVs.
Nissan unveils its longest-range Leaf EV yet
Even though it's one of the oldest EVs on the market, the Nissan Leaf has only been available with just 150 miles of range -- far less than its newer rivals. Nissan has finally rectified that at CES 2019 by unveiling the 2019 Leaf e+. It packs a 62 kWh battery pack that can propel it about 226 miles, approaching the range of Chevy's Bolt and the Tesla 3 base version.
This new HDHomeRun DVR makes life easier for cord-cutters
If easy access to a DVR is the only thing keeping you from cutting the cord, then the latest HDHomeRun devices could be just the push you need. While SiliconDust has previously built well-regarded tuners, a software suite that manages your TV experience and even expanded with a $35 per month 'Premium' streaming TV service, now it has an all-in-one DVR. The HDHomeRun Scribe Duo is similar to its Connect Duo DVR, but with the addition of a 1TB hard drive inside and a year of free DVR service (normally $35).
DJI built a drone remote with an HD display
To date, steering one of DJI's more accessible drones has usually meant using your smartphone as a screen. You now have a better option -- DJI has released a Smart Controller with its own 5.5-inch display. The remote gives you both more tactile flight controls as well as a view of what the drone sees in 1080p. It might be a better choice if you regularly fly under bright sunlight, too, thanks to a 1,000cd/m2 screen brightness that should remain visible outdoors.
Aura squeezes its fitness band into an Apple Watch 'Smart Strap'
In May Aura closed a relatively modest $109,000 Kickstarter for its Band, a fitness tracker that it says uses biompedance analysis to monitor "fat, muscle mass, minerals, and body water." We spoke to the people behind the Band, who said it is available for sale now and starting to ship to backers -- it was scheduled to ship in August, but comments on the page suggest few, if any have received one yet.
