This is an incredible attempt to see everything at CES. It’s similarly hard to pick a favorite among the fantastic (and not-so-fantastic) things on the floor, but here are our personal favorites from CES 2019.
I sat down with each of our editors and writers at CES and — after our days in press briefings, meetings and conference hall walks with endless feelings — asked them what their favorite CES find had unearthed with a focus on what really drew them in. Attention , Below, paired with who we are and what we do, you will find what we liked.
You don’t really experience CES unless you are confronted by everyone and their brother (and their sister and cousins) with some kind of device that claims to calm you down, calm you down, help you sleep. When I saw the Doppel people and the information at their booth about how Doppel was a device designed to be worn on your wrist to put your mind at ease and to energize you, let me tell you: I only stuck my wrist out to try it out because I am an easygoing guy who is willing to try new things, not because I expected anything from the experience.
Georgina, who also looked at ease, tied Doppel to the inside of my wrist, explaining the whole concept: the tiny weighted motor inside fluttered like a heartbeat with a familiar rhythm, and people just naturally responded to the rhythm. You can set up and tune the Doppel with the accompanying mobile app, and it just so happens that the Doppel I tried at the time was as finely tuned to my heartbeat as you could ask for. The effect was incredible.
When I stuck my wrist out to try it, I had a «maybe my wife will like it» but after a few moments, I smiled at how nice and enjoyable the experience was. Before putting it on, I felt that it probably wouldn’t have much effect (and might even be annoying), and now I’m planning on ordering it — I certainly didn’t want to return the demo. Of all the devices I’ve come across in this category, the Doppel has been the most immediate and impressive.
Doppel is available now for $219, direct from .
Chris Hoffman, Feature Editor: Luca, Picture Book Reading Robot
Luca is an owl-shaped robot that reads picture books to your kids. Literally he’s reading a book — you put a picture book in front of Luka and she reads the title. You turn the page and she starts reading the words on the open pages. Go to any page in the book and Luka will immediately recognize the page you are on and start reading it. You don’t need to buy special books for this — it works with books you already have. Kids can read picture books on their own with the little owl robot even when you are busy.
The technology behind this is amazingly smart. Ling Technology Inc, the company behind Luka, scans tens of thousands of picture books and extracts the text — about 60,000 books are already in their database. When you open a page in a picture book, Luka sees the page with his camera, quickly recognizes the page, and starts reading the words. This makes it fast and guarantees its accuracy as the device doesn’t need to process text on the fly with local hardware.
Luka comes with built-in speaker and battery. It even reacts to different actions — you can pet the owl on the robot’s head and rub its tummy for a cute reaction. Parents can even ask Luca to say something through the smartphone app, so you can ask the cute robot owl to say, «Let’s sleep!» Or “Brushing your teeth is important!” This is amazing.
This smart owl launched last year in China, and the company is now working on a US launch in late 2019 — the technology is ready to go, but it takes a while to get the picture book rights. Expect it to cost around $99, but several models will be available at various prices.
Cam Summerson, News Editor: Cemtrex Smartdesk
I’ve seen a lot of cool products at CES, but on reflection, I keep coming back to one or two standout products.Of the two, I think Cemtrex’s SmartDesk might be my favorite because it offers an insane mix of cool features and integration at an impressive price.(For the curious, my other favorite is probably the HP Omen X Emperium 65 BFGD. So good.)
SmartDesk is a desktop computer with a built-in computer and all the hardware you need built-in — just plug it in and use it.It has an integrated keyboard and touchpad, as well as three 24-inch 1080p touchscreen monitors.Two configurations are currently available: one has 16GB RAM, GTX1050 graphics card, 256GB SSD and 1TB HDD;the other has 32GB of RAM, a GTX1060, and a 2TB hard drive instead of the 1TB found in the base model.Both are equipped with an 8th generation Intel Core i7 processor.
But these are really just the nuts and bolts of SmartDesk.It also has a built-in wireless charger on the right side of the desk and an awesome gesture control panel that lets you control your PC without touching it.Cemtrex has created a custom software layer that runs on Windows to track user movements, allowing you to use simple hand gestures for things like zooming, scrolling, and even taking screenshots.This is the closest thing I’ve ever seen to a Minority Report in a consumer product.
There’s also a small camera between the left and center monitors, which is pointed at the desk and works as a document scanner without any hassle.All you have to do is open the software and drag the document to the left side of the table — the camera will find the document, scan it and save it.This is a great example of a really cool, but still incredible, practical technology.
Of course, with this level of technology and integration, there is always a burning question:what happens if something breaks?Luckily, the integrated SmartDesk PC is fully user accessible and can be upgraded, so at least that’s the case.Otherwise, both models come with a one-year warranty on parts and six months on labor.
The base model starts at $4,499, while the upgraded model will set you back $5,299.To learn more about how incredible this service is,visit the Cemtrex website.
Craig Lloyd, SmartHome Writer: The Door Ring
Renters have always struggled to find smarthome devices they can install in their apartments without causing a commotion to the landlord — the Ring Door View camera is a great little alternative to the company’s traditional video intercoms.
It’s pretty much a digital peephole; installing it simply requires removing the existing peephole and screwing the door-view cam in place – with no permanent modifications. What’s more, while you have a 1080p camera that can do night vision, two-way communication, and is fully battery operated, you still get a traditional peephole for viewing.
The coolest feature, however, is knock detection. You can still use the Door Finder as a doorbell and connect it to the Ring Chime inside, but if someone knocks instead, the Door Finder can detect it and send you a notification. You will not find this feature in any other video intercom.
The door camera will be available later this year for $199.
Michael Kreider, PC Hardware Author: What3Words
CES is usually the place to showcase hardware, but the most innovative thing I saw in Vegas was the combination of a service and an app. What3Words is a precise location tool that is consistent, accurate, and easy to remember—an alternative to writing down street names, numbers, zip codes, or even GPS coordinates.
The idea is simple: the entire planet is divided into a grid of ten-foot squares, each of which is given a permanent designation of three simple words. For example, the welcome sign in Las Vegas is «ear.finds.awards». Locations work in any language, and the algorithm ensures that no two locations are the same in any sufficiently wide area.
The ideal examples were open spaces with wide spaces and a few distinctive features: you could say «meet me at the white tent» at a music festival and be less than helpful. But switch to «meet me at grass.billow.angry» and you’ll have a convenient location. The weak point of the service is large indoor areas, such as CES conference rooms, where there should be default inputs instead of accurate GPS receivers.
However, I think What3Words could be on everyone’s phone in the next two or three years, the biggest leap forward in personal navigation since Google Maps. The company’s promising start, open API approach, and growing list of integration partners certainly bear this out.
