The 2017 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas celebrated his 50th anniversary in style with a celebration of technology that spawned multiple locales throughout the city. Thousands of companies big and small descended on the city from all corners of the globe to tout their products to buyers, media, and other industry insiders as they attempt to stand out from their competition.
This year featured a huge increase in drone and virtual-reality technology as well as the usual audio, computer, gaming, home entertainment, appliances, and automotive technology that is long been staples of the show.
It would be impossible to recap the numerous devices and other innovations we saw due to the sheer immensity of the show and the vast number of companies that were on hand; however numerous companies stood out with their innovative new products such as the impressive virtual-reality capable graphic cards from EVGA, NVIDIA, and MSI. We were also extremely impressed with the high level of gaming peripherals that were on display from Logitech, Plantronics, RAZER, Cherry, and others which should a new emphasis on form and function while maintaining a competitive price point.
During an in-depth meeting with SanDisk we saw 256 gigabyte micro-SD cards for cameras as well as impressive line of hard drives and other storage media which emphasized their recent merger with Western Digital.
Samsung was extremely impressive during our meeting with them as they not only showed off an extremely diverse lineup of next-generation appliances for the home such as a smart refrigerator that allowed you to issue verbal commands to it as well as access several online features such as being able to order groceries, play music, videos, and more.
The Quantum Dot technology that the company talked up last year will be making its debut later this year and will allow an even greater range of visual clarity to televisions and monitors. As the push toward 4K really begins to take off, I got to sample a curved gaming monitor that emphasized the new technology and created a whole new level of immersion for gameplay.
Drones were all over the place and it was amazing to see how they varied in size and function with some being quite sizable and able to carry a passenger while others were content just to offer 4K video and other recording services.
One of my favorite was a series of Star Wars vehicles that allowed users not only to fly them but to engage in combat thanks to targeting lasers that are included in each vehicle.
With each step we took it was one amazing innovation after another. In one hall alone you could go from high-end massage chairs to Batman and Aerosmith themed pinball machines next to audio, visual, home, and other electronics. As I mentioned earlier; virtual-reality was a huge part of the show as several companies showed new versions of devices aimed at getting more and more people immersed in this emerging technology. Sony showed off their pending Farpoint game for the PlayStation VR along with some new music programs that allowed users to experience classical performers up close and a recording studio. During the preshow conferences Sony had commented how this technology will only continue to get better and better as the new generation of devices unfolds. I experienced a VR demonstration by Samsung on a S7 phone and I must say that it was considerably better than earlier mobile VR and was getting closer and closer to what is currently available on the much higher priced PC options.
Covering multiple halls and levels of the enormous convention center was only a part of the experience as they were also displays in the parking lot, private meetings at hotel suites, and exhibition space in the halls of the Venetian and the Sands which even with the shuttle buses between venues meant for an extreme amount of walking and coverage options.
With so many things to see and experience CES continues to become bigger and better than ever and emphasizes the significance of its place as the ultimate conference for technology and we cannot wait to see what comes next.
