A Fun First Glance At CES 2015
As I write this, I’ve just completed day one of this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES), along with a few product-featuring events, and I’m already overwhelmed with the new products that are out there. The show kicked off with keynotes from a variety of companies, including Samsung, Sony, Ford, Intel and, of course, Consumer Electronics Association. The recurring theme I noticed was wearables, smart/connected home and mobile charging.
On top of that, this year’s TVs are bigger and curved. Samsung announced a massive 105-inch curved SUHD TV (no pricing available) that will ship sometime in the second quarter of this year. Considering the non-bending 105-inch version is $120,000, I’m guessing the price will be way more than that. Next, Sony brought out the thinnest 4K UHD LED/LCD TV it has ever made. It was designed to appear as if it was floating, whether on a stand or on your wall. As with the Bravia 4K TVs, it will run on the Android TV platform and give you access to Netflix 4K, and 4K content from Amazon Prime Instant Video and YouTube.
As far as the smart/connected home, there was a range of products, from devices that open your garage door automatically when you pull into your driveway, to sensors that will adjust the temperature to your preferred settings in your home when you are in proximity. There also were a number of alarms, smart lights and locks to ooh and aah at. If you’re up for a home upgrade soon, you’re in for many treats.
Overall, there were about 20,000 products launched and a record number of 375 tech startups. These new companies mostly were in my new favorite area, Eureka Park Marketplace. Here, a plethora of new wearables, health and fitness tech, 3-D printing, sensor technologies and unmanned systems (drones) were featured. Of course, Apple did not have a direct presence here (it never does), but there was a boatload of products to accommodate its platform (both hardware and software).
Stay tuned. As these products launch throughout the coming year, I’ll be bringing the news straight to you!
Click Chick’s Mobile App of the Week: Perfect 365
While I was at the Digital Experience event at CES, I discovered ArcSoft’s Perfect 365 app. Of course, there were many other apps, but this one stood out because I thought of my daughter and her love for playing with my makeup.
This app allows you to give yourself an instant digital makeover with the selfies you take. It recently was upgraded with new features that easily allow you to try on new makeup styles. After you snap a selfie or use a loaded photo from your album, ArcSoft’s face-detection technology automatically maps your eyes, nose, cheeks, mouth and hair-line in a few seconds. You then choose from dozens of preset templates to spice up your photo. Most templates are free, but you can buy more for $1.99 each.
What makes Perfect365 different from all the other digital makeover apps is that it integrates face-detection technology. Using the app with upgrades is more simplified, and includes detailed how-to tutorials and a new mirror function that applies makeup in real time. It’s fun to play with and, best of all, it’s free for Android, iOS and Windows 8 devices
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