CES 2019

At CES this year I was specifically researching all the emerging areas of Personal Mobility. First priority - Virtual Reality and 3D360º content capture, publishing, viewing and Storytelling. A category I call “Time/Place Shifted Reality”.Second area of emphasis for me this year is Digital Healthcare. Especially Devices, Apps, Data Collection and ecosystems that lay the basis for Technology Enabled, Consumer Led change in this emerging area. The possibility of Anticipatory (preventative) Medicine is in reach and people are taking on board their wellness in growing numbers, partly because of enabling technologies becoming available.

As always, I’m also looking for “Contextual Technology” innovations that “Catch My Eye” in the areas of Internet of Things, Internet of Me, Home, Car, etc, Big Data/My Data, Augmented Reality, APPcessory devices, Wearable Technology, Personal Cloud, 3D printing and the consumer mobility end of Infotainment and Transmedia propositions.

So my mission was simple...

...to find innovative stuff and update myself on the art of the possible in these sectors and possibly discover some new emerging market sectors of interest. My value add is to try to discover and explain the broader possibilities and benefits of the technologies. I also attended three Press only evening events, CES Unveiled, Showstoppers and Pepcom’s Digital Experiences on the 4th and 5th. There are always a lot of Innovative companies showing at these!

This is clearly the year of innovation and consumer market traction in most of the areas I am researching, and this could be the time for investors to start taking these categories serious. Especially the two I have highlighted above.

Royole’s FlexPai Smartphone – Flexible and Foldable!

The FlexPai Foldable Smartphone is interesting, but it’s the flexible screen technology from Royole that really Caught My Eye! Screens as “Thin as a Butterfly’s Wing” they claim. Their overview of Flexible Display Technology: “Flexible displays offer many advantages over conventional display technology. They are ultra-thin, light weight, bendable, portable, shatter-proof, unbreakable and low energy”. Flexibledisplays such as these could profoundly affect the next generation of personal, even wearable products. Potentially enabling technology for brand new form factors and applications. I will be watching this space.

Sound on the Go: Portable, Sleek Design, Sound Quality and Volume

Two that have Caught My Eye (so far) in terms of portability coupled with innovations that produce quality sound and party level volume when you want it. Libratone “TOO” and POW Audio “MO” Don’t let their size fool you, both can fill a room with big, reasonably rich, authentic sound. Both not exactly cheap, but affordable. My experience with both of these confirmed their claims. In their words: Libratone “TOO” is a wireless speaker made for adventure. You can take it with you wherever you go, indoors or out, and never compromise on sound quality with its 360 FullRoom® technology. The TOO comes ready for action, with 12+ hours of battery time, splash proof design and slim, yet sturdy, frame, meaning it can keep going long after the party stops. POW Audio “MO” is reimagining speaker construction with the ultra compact Mo, the first expression in a family of expandable, portable Bluetooth speakers. Using POW Audio’s patented WaveBloom™ technology, which expands to create a voluminous wave chamber, Mo brings listeners enhanced bass, loudness, and improved overall sound quality within a super portable, affordable package. When not in use, Mo folds down flat and listeners can pop up Mo and expand…