2014 CES: Best of Show awards showcases emerging technology

The 2014 International Consumer Electronics Show is history now and probably all that's left behind are discarded name tags and freebies that nobody wanted.

But Engadet, a popular technology website, has released its "Best of CES 2014 Awards" winners with some real goodies on the list. These are the gadgets that we'll likely be hearing more about this year.

The finalist come from different categories, such as Best Startup, Best Digital Health & Fitness Product and Best Automotive Electronics Product. Some were prototypes, some were in the funding stage and some are expected on the shelves soon.

Some of the previous stars of technology didn't make the list, such as desktops, laptops and not even a tablet. The emerging smart watches were also absent and smartphones were not all the rage this year, except for the Sony Xperia Z1 Compact. According to Engadget, the Xperia Z1, a smaller version of the larger Xperia, features some of the same powerful components as its larger sibling.

We can expect to see a wave of Fitness Bands on our wrists in the wearable technology arena. They will monitor everything from heart rates to burning calories to swimming strokes. The JayBird Reign fitness device stood out to the Engadget judges. The Epson Pulsense and Atlas fitness bands were also at the electronics show.

There is even something for the kids in a wearable baby monitor, which will let parents monitor a baby's vital stats.

Then there is the mysterious 3D printer, for which this technology still has a ways to go before ending up in my office, but it's getting there, with the MakerBot Replicator 3D printer eating the way. For virtual reality and gaming fans, the Oculus Rift VR headset looks very promising. It is now in development as a Kickstarter project

So be sure and check out the full list of technology products that had the "wow factor" at the CES in Las Vegas. These are the gadgets that will be after our wallets this year.

Visit us on Facebook | Follow on Twitter | LifeFlicks' National and World news

Read More

2014 CES: Epson introduces Pulsense wearable fitness devices

It seems that the healthcare and fitness industry is on track to embrace wearable technology. Epson America, a leader in innovative products, and probably better known for their inkjet printers and projectors, is leading the way with the announcement of their continuous heart rate monitoring wearable device.

The Epson Pulsense smart watch, a bio-sensing wrist watch, and a lightweight Pulsense band was announced at the 2014 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. According to Epson, these devices, which are designed for daily wear and activity, can monitor and store your heart rate, activity level, calorie burn and sleep patterns.

The Pulsense band has a LED display that can be wirelessly connected to a smartphone to read and transfer the stored biometric data, while the watch features a LCD display for real-time viewing of heart rate, steps walked, calorie burn and date/time. These wearable devices will be pitched as ideal devices for staying fit, losing weight or training for a marathon.

This technology works by detecting a continuous heart rate directly from the wrist by measuring the amount of light reflected from red blood cells. A single heart beat is recorded when the amount of light reflected changes due to a drop in red blood cell count as the blood vessel contracts. There is no chest strap involved.

Since the Pulsense devices utilizes real-time heart rate data, it is able to determine calories burned based on personal biometrics. With the built-in memory, the Pulsense can store up to 480 hours of heart-rate data, which can be transferred to a smartphone or computer. For tracking your progress over a period of time, the data can transferred to an online health or fitness service using an iOS or Android mobile app, as well as from your personal computer.

You can look for these devices to hit the shelves this summer for around $130 for the band and $200 for the watch.

Epson also announced Moverio smart glasses with front-facing cameras and motion sensors and a Labelworks app-enabled label printer for printing QR and Bar codes.

It's still early in the week and more emerging technology will continue to flow from the 2014 CES at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Visit us on Facebook | Follow on Twitter

Read More

TechRadar editors select Best of the Best at the 2013 CES

The winners of the first annual TechRadar Best of CES Awards 2013 were announced today. TechRadar editors touched, played, used and reviewed the hottest and newest items the Consumer Electronics Show has to offer and named their top choices direct from the show floor at the convention center in Las Vegas.

Winners of the TechRadar Best of CES Awards 2013 include:

Best in Show: Sony Bravia 4K 65-inch Television

Peoples' Choice Award: Steam Console Concept – Valve

Best Cell Phone: Sony Xperia Z

Best Tablet: Razer Edge

Best Laptop: Lenovo ThinkPad Helix

Best GPS Device: Bad Elf GPS Pro

Best Digital Camera: Fuji X20

Best Audio Accessory: MUNITIO PRO40 High Performance Headphones

Best All-in-One Computer: Lenovo IdeaCentre Horizon Table PC

Most Unique Product: Panasonic 20-inch 4K Windows 8 Tablet

Best Car Tech: Lexus Self-Driving Car

Best Home Theater Product: Sony Bravia 4K Television 65-inch

TechRadar, owned by Future U.S. media group, is the United Kingdom's biggest technology website and launched a U.S. focused site in April 2012.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- You can stay abreast of the latest technology news using the following tools and links:

CES Conference tracks

CES TechZones

Keynote addresses locations

Get the official CES Mobile app
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Visit us on Facebook | Follow on Twitter | Send an email | View Photo Galleries

Read More

The 2013 CES is a haven for gadgets and technology enthusiasts

Members of the media enjoy a sneak peak of what's to come at this year's CES event.

The 2013 International Consumer Electronics Show is underway and Las Vegas is the place to be this week for gadget lovers.

The keynote addresses will kick things off today, with Kazuhiro Tsuga, president of Panasonic Corp. leading the way. Tsunga was to share to his vision for the future and elaborate on how Panasonic is engineering a better world for us all.

We'll also hear from Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of CEA, and Lowell McAdam, chairmen and CEO of Verizon.

As we know from previous years, Apple Inc. will not be in the house and Microsoft was on tap on a keynote appearance, but I hear that Chairman Steve Ballmer worked in a few comments on the new Windows RT and Windows Phone 8 devices.

It didn't take long for gadget news to start filtering out from the convention booths at the Las Vegas Convention Center/Hilton and The Venetian.

Huawei, a leading global information and communications technology company, has already primed the pump, with their announcement of the world's largest smartphone. It's called the Ascent Mate and sports a whooping 6.1-inch display, a 1.5 GHz quad-core display and a 4050 mAh battery under the hood. We'll learn more about this trend-setter in the coming months.

The Near Field Communication technology is also on the move, with early announcements coming Samsung on NFC Bluetooth speakers and Asus rolling out their 10.1-inch VivoTab Windows 8 tablet.

Sprint is also using CES to announce their Microsoft Windows Phone 8 plans. They'll have two WP8 devices coming this summer — one from Samsung and another from HTC. So get ready for Live Tiles and SkyDrive features from the guys in yellow.

Let's also not forget the auto makers, as Ford and USA Today have teamed up for an app and Ford SYNC integration to allow drivers to just tell their car to listen to sport stories or the latest news. I imagine we can expect similar technology from other auto manufacturers.

The fitness craze is continuing to spark innovation with the announcement of the Fitbit Flex, a Bluetooth wristband that help track the progress of your workouts to help meet your goals. According to the company, it'll also monitor your sleep quality.

Another early mover out of the gate is Coby Electronics Corporation, with their LED TVs, Bluetooth speakers, headphones and earbuds. This New York company has been making consumer electronics products since 1991 and continue to carve out a place in the industry.

This is just the first day of CES and the best is yet to come. It's going to be a good week for technology.

Visit us on Facebook | Follow on Twitter | Send an email | View Photo Galleries

Click to become a LifeFlicksTech member

Read More