No whizz-bang invention, but plenty of ideas unveiled at CES

HUNDREDS of imaginative new gadgets were announced at the world’s biggest annual consumer electronics show held in Las Vegas.

HUNDREDS of imaginative new gadgets were announced last week at the world’s biggest annual consumer electronics show, held in Las Vegas.

These new gadgets were the work of companies big and small: from tech giants such as Samsung and Sony through to small start-ups. These devices were mostly kept under wraps in the lead-up to the Consumer Electronics Show. Many will now find their way to market.

This year’s CES wasn’t dominated by a single, whizz-bang invention. But there were plenty of great new ideas. New TVs, white goods, wearable devices, 3D printers, drones, and all types of sensors that connect to the internet, the so-called Internet of Things (IoT), were on show. Here is a handful of new offerings:

Garmin Epix

There has been several attempts at putting GPS on a smartwatch, with some people concluding that smartwatches are just too small for effective map navigation. That hasn’t deterred Garmin, which has produced a highly specced multisport watch with full colour mapping GPS. Maps are displayed on a 1.4-inch colour touch screen and the Epix has 8 Gigabytes of memory to store them. You can buy Garmin’s or install third party ones. The watch has an altimeter, barometer and three-axis compass, is waterproof and set up to comprehensively track training sessions. It is expensive though, at $US549 ($665).

Nixie

Nixie is an autonomous flying camera. It’s a small drone that takes selfies from above. It wraps around your arm like a plastic bracelet and, when you want to take a selfie, you signal a hand gesture. Nixie then takes off, climbs above you, takes a snap, and then returns to you like a boomerang. It also shoots 1080p high-definition video.

Nixie was grand prize winner at Intel’s Make It Wearable Challenge. The start-up’s team won $US500,000 for its efforts. (flynixie.com)

Wocket smart wallet

This is very different to most smart wallets. It consists of a small, rectangular device with a display and a generic, swipeable card that sits in it. You start by entering loyalty, credit and debit card details. At a store, you press a button to select the card you wish to pay by, and its details are transferred to the generic card’s magnetic strip. You then take the card and swipe to pay. Wocket saves carrying a mountain of different cards. Importantly, details should be readable as it’s a standard card. In contrast, many retail terminals cannot read smartphone wallets that simply display barcodes on the phone’s screen.

Wocket doesn’t need an internet connection in the store and details are protected by biometric voice ­security. (wocketwallet.com)

Samsung Portable SSD

A terabyte of data in the palm of your hand: that’s what Samsung promises with its new credit card-sized solid state drive. It attaches to a computer or tablet using USB 3.0 and Samsung is claiming sequential read/write speeds of up to 450 megabytes per second. There will be 250GB and 500GB versions as well as 1 terabyte.

Australian pricing and the date of availability is not confirmed but US pricing is $US600 for 1TB. Samsung manages to store so much data in such a small device by using “V-NAND” technology. It’s a way of stacking memory on the device to save space.

Big Ass ceiling fans

Ceiling fans are now hi-tech with Kentucky firm Big Ass Solutions producing a WiFi connected fan that promises power savings. The fan has built-in temperature and humidity sensors that tell it whether to speed up or slow down. It also has a learning mode that takes note of manual adjustments made to the fan speed in given conditions. It keeps track of whether there are people in the room and will switch off if no one is there, saving power.

The fan also can be controlled from a smartphone app. It can work in sync with a Jawbone Up activity tracker. When the Up detects you are going to sleep, the fan can be programmed to go into sleep mode, which you preconfigure. Sleep mode could be a single speed, variable speeds or having the fan progressively spin slower or faster overnight. (bigassfans.com)

Dell Venue 8 7000 tablet

This new tablet not only boasts a high-res 8.4-inch 2560x1600 OLED display. It’s also one of the thinnest tablets around, just 6mm thick. And it’s one of the first devices with Intel’s Real Sense Snapshot Depth Camera, which redefines the experience of viewing photos on a tablet.

Photos are snapped not by one but by three cameras. This results in images with increased depth and an enhanced ability to ­manipulate images. You can refocus the shot, easily alter colours and accurately measure distances between different parts of the shot. The device runs Android KitKat 4.4 (upgradable) and is expected to sell in Australia. US pricing is $US399.

Lenovo ThinkPad Stack

The stack is a set of matching rectangular devices with different functions that you connect together, as needed. It’s a DIY accessories station. Lenovo is selling four elements: a Bluetooth speaker ($US89), a 1TB hard drive and an access point ($US199 together) and a power bank ($US49). You can buy the lot for $US319.

Australian pricing is not known. Elements of the stack work together, so the access point will make hard drive contents available wirelessly, and you can charge the lot with a single ­charger.

Securam ProLogic Z01 safe lock

The old-fashion safe lock is going hi-tech. Securam has produced a safe lock that connects to the internet using z-wave technology. It means you can open your safe from anywhere in the world using a smartphone app. The app sends a notification whenever someone tries to open the lock.

The safe lock is part of a new range of Securam internet-connected security devices. You can define perimeter fencing to restrict access and even arm an alarm from afar.

EcoReco scooter

One of the interesting developments at CES is the appearance of new “last mile” transport solutions. These are small battery powered scooters and motorised skateboards designed for short-distance commuting, which is increasingly relevant with the rise in high density inner urban living.

The EcoReco is one such device. It looks the size of a scooter that children might ride, but has a 250-watt motor. It has a range of about 30km on a single charge, and takes two hours to recharge to 80 per cent. It has a top-speed of 30km/h.

The scooter weighs 15kg and can be folded up to reduce storage space. EcoReco says it’s small enough to fit in an aircraft’s overhead luggage bay. There are two models: the M3 costs $US1000 and the M5, with full suspension, costs $US1250. (ecorecoscooter.com)

Snowcookie

Snowcookie is a European-designed skiing coach that monitors a skier’s body position and technique using a series of sensors. It also keeps track of a skier’s fatigue level, muscle reaction time and movement dynamics.

It then provides live coaching through headphones. It also creates a detailed telemetry report that you can access from a smartphone at the end the day. The Snowcookie is powered by Intel’s Edison chip set. (snowcookie.au)

Chris Griffith travelled to CES in Las Vegas as a guest of Acer, Sony and Samsung.