by Joe Lonergan
What is the CES conference
Last week between January 9th and 12th, the CES conference took place, The CES
conference is a Powerful tech event or trade show for people who participate in
the trade of selling tech. It is organised by the Consumer Technology
Association. It is not open to the public, but we like to keep a close look at
this conference because it gives us a good indication of what is coming to the
consumer in the next year or so. It also hosts a program for the world’s
business leaders and pioneers of tech so they can address the world’s relevant
issues from a technology perspective.
As expected, AI was trending at CES. One of the products making a lot of noise
was the Rabbit R1. The Rabbit R1 is an AI-powered gadget that can use your apps
for you. The CEO of Rabbit said it is a universal controller for apps, and also
said he could see this replacing the smartphone in years to come, It looks
similar to those pocket TVs from the nineties with the 2.8-inch screen. Its OS
is based on a large action model similar to a large language model. It’s an
idea similar to Alexa or Google Assistant. Rabbit OS can control your music,
order a taxi, buy your groceries, send your messages, and more, all through a
single interface. This product was so popular it sold out all 10,000 products
on the first day and sold out all pre-orders expected in the spring. It has a
rotating camera and a slot for a SIM card. We wait with interest to see if it
has suitable accessibility options for people with Low vision as it does sound
good and is priced at a reasonable price of approximately $200. The other
selling point is no messing with apps and log-ins just ask for what you want
and watch the Rabbit R1 do it for you. The rabbit has a training mode where you
can train it to do something and then it can do it for you going forward.
Of course, other products created a lot of hype like transparent TVs from LG
and a flying car that I do not think will be coming to my driveway anytime
soon. We will give a quick summary of the products that we thought would
interest some people. Keep in mind there are thousands of products and some of
this information is subjective.
Clicks keyboard
Another product that spiked our interest was a Blackberry-style keyboard that
attaches to the iPhone 14 Pro and the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. The keyboard
is called Clicks for iPhone and is available in some countries from February
for approx. €150. But we were thinking it might suit blind and low-vision users
who find the touch screen difficult to master. It was described as a clicky
Blackberry-style keyboard case for iPhone.
Evie Ring
Evie Ring is a health tracker specifically designed with Women’s health in
mind, It is a stylish and affordable ring that fits on any finger. It
automatically tracks your health metrics, steps, menstrual cycle, sleep, and
activity tracking. It comes in three different colours, rose gold, gold, and
silver. It holds charges for four days and can hold ten charges in the charging
case. We think this is an interesting one especially if the app is accessible.
No screen so it could be a good solution for some instead of a smartwatch or
Fitbit.
The Y-Brush Electric Toothbrush
If you are into electric toothbrushes, this unique Y-shaped electric toothbrush
claims to clean your teeth in 20 seconds. You put the whole thing in your mouth
and press the button, then bite down on it and your teeth are cleaned. How good
a clean they give; we do not know but an interesting product all the same.
Lumen smart glasses
There was a lot of talk about smart Glasses at CES probably brought into the
norm by last year’s announcement of Apple’s Vision Pro smart glasses.
A Romanian start-up called Lumen Showcased smart glasses that they say could
replace guide dogs and white cains, We won’t entertain those kinds of comments,
but we were interested to hear what the technology had to offer. Using sensors,
the headset can guide you via trackers that sense if something is blocking your
path. A vibration in the headset on the right or left side will then guide you
to change direction. The headset uses the same technology as self-driving cars
and has six cameras and AI technology to detect if a surface is safe to walk or
not. Lumen is hoping to launch the glasses later this year.
An In-ear computer from a start-up called Breggz
A Dutch tech start-up called Breggz has showcased their luxury hearable device,
which is a wireless in-ear computer that has four speakers per ear, creating a
concert-like audio experience. It has a voice assistant so you can access open
AI or call a taxi. You can perform actions by shaking your head to answer
calls, move to the next track, or turn up and down the volume. Breggz said it
is a high-end product and plans to sell it at €1600 and offer a custom fit for
better comfort. Again, we think this is a product to watch because of its voice
assistant options and its Open AI and e-mail options without a screen.
But it also has a voice-activated personal assistant that allows you to have
your emails read out.
We enjoyed researching the future of Technology announced at the CES
conference. The speed of change and innovation in technology is spectacular
and does not show any signs of slowing down.
V I Labs Technology News.
