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If you’ve never been to the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, let me paint a picture. Nearly two million square feet of show floor. More gadgets than a pre-SkyFall James Bond, and an equally Bond-like level of booth babes. As a married man and marginally respected journalist, the booth babes of course had ZERO influence on my reporting. Instead of being lured by sexist attempts to grab my attention, I steadfastly sought out everything that might be of interest to HomeFixated readers. What did I discover in my mad quest to cover every square inch of show floor? As mentioned in Monday’s Bosch CES coverage, our 60+ tweets and photos live from the show provide a great overview. By the way, if you like getting the latest and greatest product info and tool news, you should most definitely follow @HomeFixated on Twitter. Read on for six tech trends to keep a close eye on, and dozens of photos. Unsubstantiated rumors have suggested booth babe photos may be included, so if you’re offended by that kind of thing, or if your corporate overlords frown upon racy attire, you may want to peruse the photo section at home or just read the initial six trends.
One of the things I love about trade shows is that if you spend enough time on the floor you can spot broader industry trends and in some cases get a peak into the future. Here is what I gleaned from the show floor at the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show.
1) Electronics are Going Buddhist – The Interconnected Home Whirpool’s new smart appliancesEverything is becoming more interconnected. Things that were once purely mechanical are now not only battery operated, but also contain sophisticated sensors to help them function more effectively and efficiently. There’s been talk about appliances connected to your home wireless network, but now it’s truly at that tipping point. Your smart phone is also becoming a more and more essential hub for interacting with the electronics in your home. If we had a dollar every time a vendor mentioned their electronics also connected to a phone or iPad, we could have made it rain all convention long. Expect to see some interconnectedness that really adds value to your life, and other appliances interconnected more for marketing purposes than anything else. The market should sort out what should and should not be interconnected in the long run.
2) Wireless Charging is Coming Coming soon to a phone near youGrabbing a charging cable and plugging electronics in may not sound like much inconvenience, but when you think about it, it really is a pain. Especially since just about everything we love is battery operated these days. Wireless charging is already available on some phones and other small devices, and we have reason to believe you don’t have to look too far into the future to start finding it on your beloved cordless tools as well. From center consoles in cars that charge simply by resting your phone in them, to a desktop mat that will charge your tablet the moment you lay it down, expect to see a lot more wireless charging coming your way. I predict that within five years, wireless charging will be the norm for smartphones and probably other devices too.
3) Healthcare is Getting Outsourced to Your House
Going to the doctors can be a pain. Bosch and many others were showing off technology that helps manage your health at home. From devices that give the user details about their health stats, to products that report directly back to your doctor or others involved in your healthcare, there was no shortage of health-related gadgetry. While not quite at the Star Trek Tricorder level yet, expect to see more and more health-related technology enter the home in the coming years. We also came up with a great new health-related electronic invention. It’s a desktop box (and an app on your smartphone of course) that periodically yells at you to eat healthy and get exercise.
4) Robots (and Drones) are Finally Here! I’ve been waiting for robots to make my life ridiculously easy for years. Sadly, each new year is a disappointment that only highlights what things robots are still NOT capable of doing for me. I am happy to report there is hope on the horizon. There were quite a few robots on display, as well as several booths expousing the virtues of drones (not the kind that kill people, but the more mundane drones everyday folks can fly). One robot standout was the Winbot, a gecko-like square that manages to adhere itself to your window and then clean it. Think Roomba meets Spider Man meets Mr. Clean. Speaking of Roomba, iRobot had several varieties of floor cleaning robots and a new pool cleaning bot on the loose. They also had the latest generation of the Looj on demo. The Looj is a gutter-cleaning robot reportedly strong enough to fling wet concrete out of a gutter (not recommended by the way, it’s a messy test). Tosy the dancing and music-playing bot was also on hand at CES to entertain those that couldn’t resist hearing Gangnam Style just one, more, time. Watch him on video here. Next year I’m looking for the toilet-cleaning-bot, the beer-fetch-bot and the house-painting-bot.
5) The SLR Camera Is Dying a Slow, Painful Death Sony is diving headlong into camerasCamera companies have a secret. That secret is that you don’t necessarily need a giant pro-looking SLR camera and tons of expensive gear to achieve fantastic photographic results. Mirror-less cameras, compact interchangeable lens and impressive new sensors are bringing SLR performance to smaller cameras. Unfortunately, I think some brands are dumbing down their small cameras for fear of cannibalizing sales of their expensive SLRs. To them I say give it up. It’s time to get serious about small cameras rather than worrying about your SLR sales. Camera companies will make up the market share with increased sales of cameras that people actually want. Buyers seek SLR quality, but they don’t want to get a hernia carrying around 50 lbs of camera gear, or take out a second mortgage to get it. Keep an eye on the new cameras hitting the market, and keep demanding pro level features on a more practical form factor than the traditional SLR. They’re coming.
6) New TVs are Awesome, and Still Suck
This isn’t a home theater site, so I’ll keep this short and leave the heavy pixel lifting to the pros. What I can say is there was far less 3D than I expected and lots of focus on “4k” TVs. 4k, for those of you that haven’t heard about it, is basically Double HD. Sony had a side-by-side of a conventional HD TV and one of their 4k models. The image on both was a huge shot of a newspaper. Of course, the text on the 4k was far more crisp and readable. I suspect TV’s are engaged in the same war that cameras were battling out with megapixels until people and manufacturers realized at a certain point you hit some seriously diminishing returns. Keep your eyes peeled for 8k, 16k and maybe 32k in the coming decade. What still remains disappointing in TVs is the fractured nature of how many people now receive content. Is your favorite show on Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon? My wife and daughter still don’t know how to watch things on our tv thanks to the need to launch several devices and apps. Remember when you could just turn on your TV and start watching? We’re still not quite there when it comes to easily digesting content.
Read on for scintillating photos of products, “specially dressed booth staff”, “entertainment”, and random CES photos galore! Click any image for a more closeup view. . . you’ll want more details for some of these.
I’m pretty sure I wasn’t supposed to be in there, but I snuck into the show the day before it opened. There were still flurries of construction going on in many booths, but late in the day it was definitely the calm before the storm.Cars play an increasingly big role in CES, as more and more electronics get packed under the hood. We have no clue why the Ferrari was there.Brands like Bosch and many others you’ve probably never heard of are making vehicle interiors more and more sophisticated. No word on when the lucite steering wheel hits the market.Giveaways were very popular throughout the show. This one for Trojan personal appliances had a particularly long line. As you can see, attire was business casual.Robots were hot this year. This guy sported more black spandex than a Tour de France race, and he had an iPad for a face. He should totally save that for halloween this year!Our favorite robot of the show was the Winbot. Part gecko, part Roomba, this little box adhered to glass and cleaned it. My only question – will it still stick to windows that haven’t been cleaned in three years?This robot from muRata showed perfect balance thanks to gyroscopic action. Not sure if this was a tech showcase, or if they plan to tap the huge market of robotic bicyclist fans.The pint-sized Scooba from iRobot is designed to handle light duty cleaning in small areas like bathrooms. Who would you rather clean behind the toilet? You or Scooba?Part tank, part leaf-whacker, the Looj from iRobot makes quick work of clearing your gutters of leaves and other debris. No perilous trips to the roof required.Not all robots at CES were awesome. These little guys rolled back and forth on a mannequin’s butt and back while swiping two little arms in a circle, delivering what we imagine is the lamest massage ever.This guy did the most compelling Gangnam Style dance we saw in all of CES – and he did it on a foot massager.Makerbot’s booth was hot, hot, hot! The release of their Replicator 2 further delivers on the promise of bringing 3d printing to a desktop near you!The Epilog Laser had some awesome customized goodies on display in wood, metal and plastic. If only their starting price wasn’t around $8000. Very cool tool!The Sphero was one of the more unique remotely controlled products we saw. One was being piloted around the show floor and I can only imagine how many times it was stepped on.The first in our booth babes series, few things are more eye-catching than neon green body suits.Who is creepy enough to take photos on an escalator? It’s all in the name of journalism my friends. But, before you assume all booth babes were in body suits. . .Behold the show at the SuperTooth booth. What’s SuperTooth? Who cares?! They had Vegas show girls, and wardrobe changes!Oddly, there were very few women watching this show but for some reason the men were captivated. I think SuperTooth makes Bluetooth stuff.OK, back to our regularly scheduled program. Go Pro had a strong presence for their wearable video cameras.They showed their tiny cams mounted on trucks, bicyclists, and this crazy motorcycle rider who almost ran me over – or at least he would have if he was moving.Some of the big players had booths that looked more like small cities.Intel’s booth had some sweet mood lighting and more tech displays than a science museum.I tweeted from the show that I thought the most innovative product at CES was the iPotty. I was joking, but judging from their retweet, I think they thought I was serious. Anyway, how can you not love this?Slightly more upscale than the iPotty, Whirpool was showing off their White Ice line of appliances, featuring sleek white with tactful use of stainless steel accents.Whirlpool also had some concepts on display. Their Fresh concept espoused the idea of specialized cooling units for particular types of food. Kinda cool, but it also sounded like a ploy to sell each person 20 refrigerators instead of just one.Whirlpool also was showing their Fireside concept, which featured a table that uses top-secret technology to heat and cool food with light. They said this thing could cook faster than a microwave. We’ll believe it when we see it on the market.Not everyone was in line for nefarious, hedonistic reasons. Just another unique moment captured on the outskirts of the busy show floor.iPhone and iPad accessories like this phone dock were everywhere.iLuv even had boxes that could charge about a dozen iPads at a time. If you have this many iPads, it’s time for an intervention.Not everything was an app. Garrett showed off their Pro Pointer which not only helps you pinpoint your treasure when metal detecting, it’s also rumored to make a great stud finder.Numerous groups and alliances showed off tech that helped integrate automation and security around the home.I was also drawn to investigate the Powerhouse Alliance whose representatives were incredibly helpful. They may look like they are posing, but this was totally a cameo shot.If you weren’t lucky enough to score a box lunch in the press room, the outdoor area had several food trucks on-hand, like this one with the potentially offensive name.Gibson also had this rockin’ tent set up with live dj’s and more guitars on display than a Hard Rock Cafe.People were rocking out inside too, with just about every type of speaker imaginable, most geared towards smartphones and iPads.Bosch had their own way of rockin’ out with this display of their tools’ dominion over concrete.Bosch also showed their softer side – did you know they make parts for many of the 40+ electric bike brands in Europe?eflow, a Swiss brand, was also showing off their ready to roll ebike. We liked how the vertical tube in the frame doubled as the lithium ion battery housing.Camera brands were in full force there, including our favorite: Canon. They had a cool image gallery on display. If you look closely you’ll see my living room in the first picture.After a long day at CES, there’s nothing like a traditional German beer hall to refresh and rejuvenate.
That’s all we have for this year, but stay tuned to HomeFixated as we provide more in-depth coverage of several of the products and technologies we found at CES.
Marc grew up under a brave single mom who "encouraged" home improvement on the family home. Early toddler gifts included a tool set, and even a cordless Bosch drill when cordless drills first came out. In grade school (give or take a few years), Marc's mom said, "We need to cut down some trees. . . . here's a chainsaw." A father figure also involved Marc in many home improvement projects, including a summer of home remodeling in Palo Alto, CA. Toss in some Obsessive Compulsive personality traits researching everything home improvement related. The end result: a genetically pre-disposed, socially sculpted home improvement machine! For his complete profile, please visit our About page. Really, it's worth it.
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2 thoughts on “2013 CES – Six Insights into the Future and Photo Coverage Too Hot for Print”
Actually, the iLuv box could be really useful. I work for a company that has iPads deployed in operations. That device would be great to charge the iPads and secure them overnight.
Yup, it’s definitely intended for commercial uses. We overheard a guy talking about using them for a business that wanted to use dozens of iPads but couldn’t figure out how to charge and store them.
If you’ve never been to the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, let me paint a picture. Nearly two million square feet of show floor. More gadgets than a pre-SkyFall James Bond, and an equally Bond-like level of booth babes. As a married man and marginally respected journalist, the booth babes of course had ZERO influence on my reporting. Instead of being lured by sexist attempts to grab my attention, I steadfastly sought out everything that might be of interest to HomeFixated readers. What did I discover in my mad quest to cover every square inch of show floor? As mentioned in Monday’s Bosch CES coverage, our 60+ tweets and photos live from the show provide a great overview. By the way, if you like getting the latest and greatest product info and tool news, you should most definitely follow @HomeFixated on Twitter. Read on for six tech trends to keep a close eye on, and dozens of photos. Unsubstantiated rumors have suggested booth babe photos may be included, so if you’re offended by that kind of thing, or if your corporate overlords frown upon racy attire, you may want to peruse the photo section at home or just read the initial six trends. 
I’ve been waiting for robots to make my life ridiculously easy for years. Sadly, each new year is a disappointment that only highlights what things robots are still NOT capable of doing for me. I am happy to report there is hope on the horizon. There were quite a few robots on display, as well as several booths expousing the virtues of drones (not the kind that kill people, but the more mundane drones everyday folks can fly). One robot standout was the Winbot, a gecko-like square that manages to adhere itself to your window and then clean it. Think Roomba meets Spider Man meets Mr. Clean. Speaking of Roomba, iRobot had several varieties of floor cleaning robots and a new pool cleaning bot on the loose. They also had the latest generation of the Looj on demo. The Looj is a gutter-cleaning robot reportedly strong enough to fling wet concrete out of a gutter (not recommended by the way, it’s a messy test). Tosy the dancing and music-playing bot was also on hand at CES to entertain those that couldn’t resist hearing Gangnam Style just one, more, time. Watch him on video here. Next year I’m looking for the toilet-cleaning-bot, the beer-fetch-bot and the house-painting-bot. 
Actually, the iLuv box could be really useful. I work for a company that has iPads deployed in operations. That device would be great to charge the iPads and secure them overnight.
Yup, it’s definitely intended for commercial uses. We overheard a guy talking about using them for a business that wanted to use dozens of iPads but couldn’t figure out how to charge and store them.