The Consumer Electronics Show curtain raiser, dubbed CES Unveiled, offered a glimpse of consumer market trends and how small and midsized companies are leveraging emerging technologies to create variations on current products.
One unmistakable trend is the proliferation of devices using wireless (WiFi and Bluetooth) and sensors, along with gadgets designed to work with apps running on smartphones and tablets.
Click on the image below to see some of the latest devices that just might catch on with consumers this year.
PURE, which initially built its reputation by developing Internet radio, has added wireless HiFi adapters to WiFi and Bluetooth (shown, front) along with wireless speakers. Plug in the HiFi adapter, and the company claims you can transform a HiFi system into a multi-room audio system. PURE also introduced portable wireless speakers (shown, rear) with WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity. The wireless speaker offers 360-degree sound (mono and stereo). WiFi can be used to stream synchronized audio to multiple wireless speakers in and outside the home.
Actually, Cabe, I hate to bring politics to an engineering discussion but we may be detecting the onset of Hyperinflation...needing a wheelbarrow full of money to buy a loaf of bread. The Wikipedia article on hyperinflation contains no less than 40 examples of hyperinflation all over the world. "Causes: Hyperinflation occurs when there is a continuing (and often accelerating) rapid increase in the amount of money that is not supported by a corresponding growth in the output of goods and services." The assumption that it cannot happen in the United States is an exercise in hubris.
CES announces the arrival of new goods before increased demand and economies of scale in production costs can kick in. $80 for a wireless stylus, $350 for the new LEGO Mindstorms. Early adopters feel it first. Hang onto your hat when hyperinflation hits fuel and food... =\
To be honest, everything at this year's CES that is available to buy is way too over-priced. $80 for a connected stylus, $30,000 for a 4k TV, $350 for the latest LEGO Mindstorm, it's just too much. It is as bad as buying a Pepsi on the CES showroom floor, $5 to $7 for a 20oz bottle.
Is this a result of the prior recession or a sign that people are will to shell out the cash for novelty?
Gigabit and PoE are two networking technologies moving ahead in tandem as industrial users power remote Ethernet devices such as IP security cameras at 1,000 Mbps over existing CAT5 cable.
New disc magnet motors fit into the design trend of stepping up to closed loop performance while maintaining the cost advantage of stepper motor technology.
At the Design News webinar on June 27, learn all about aluminum extrusion: designing the right shape so it costs the least, is simplest to manufacture, and best fits the application's structural requirements.
A new battery design, which replaces lithium with abundant and low-cost elemental sulfur, is still in its nascent stages but shows real promise for giving batteries more energy potential.
From Dell / Intel® New Paradigms in Design Work Scott Hamilton, vertical market strategist for Dell Precision workstations, 5/2/2013 5
Early in my career, I worked as a draftsman and remember the days of drawing on vellum with numbered pencils and Mylar with plastic lead. This was a fun experience in the sense that I ...
I've been using workstations for more than 10 years and love finding ways to get more performance from my system. With demanding professional applications that require more power each ...
A lasting memory from my first job as an engineer in an auto assembly plant is standing on hard concrete at six in the morning, vending-machine coffee clutched in hand, listening to ...
For industrial control applications, or even a simple assembly line, that machine can go almost 24/7 without a break. But what happens when the task is a little more complex? That’s where the “smart” machine would come in. The smart machine is one that has some simple (or complex in some cases) processing capability to be able to adapt to changing conditions. Such machines are suited for a host of applications, including automotive, aerospace, defense, medical, computers and electronics, telecommunications, consumer goods, and so on. This radio show will show what’s possible with smart machines, and what tradeoffs need to be made to implement such a solution.
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