CES Thursday

CES Rocks on for another full day of fun! 

Let's check out the show floor and the fun day we had!

Dancing on the show floor should have an award for this show. If there was an award we think it would go like this for 2013.

2013 Robot Dancers vs. Human Dancers

Runner-up TOSY's Dancing Robot

.....and the Winner Is....

That crazy guy on the exercise machines dancing to Gangnam Style

We saw some weird transparent display systems like this Hologram-looking thing called the Albedo Air Display

CES Product Giveaway of the Day, maybe the week!

The Trojan Vibrations Hot Dog Pleasure Cart....

...but the AVN conference was moved to next week you say? 
Well, they gave away 9,000 sample vibrators to conference goers in the first 2 days and ran out of product. I think there is a lot of BETA testing going on but you will never see the reviews. I asked if the majority of the recipients were women and the answer was "well a lot of guys are getting it for their wives"I forgot to ask which press members were given eval kits before the show..... you know who you are! lol Can't wait to see the reviews!

Mind Controlled everything is coming... from silly little ears that move with your mood to flying Jedi Knight Training orbs there seems to be a lot in the pipe concerning mind control products.

Some things here at CES you will never see again and this is most likely one of them. it is kind of a modern "Lawnmower Man" setup so that you are suspended while playing a game. (no one wants to look like this while playing anything, it is just not cool) 

We saw some pretty strange folks dressed up and walking around the show on Thursday

Even saw a few pro Dancers looking more normal

What was the coolest thing I have seen in 2013 CES, you ask?

This is a close second so far the Mondo Spider vehicle

Coolest So Far?????

Not much could possibly top this other beast from eatART a Canadian Based Engineering Art Group called TitanoBoa. This 50 foot long remote controlled snake is an amazing thing to see and feel the 2,000 pound art project crawl across the ground a couple of feet in front of you.  Credit to Lenovo for sponsoring this to come here.

Another incredible machine we saw this week was the Audi R-18 Hybrid Le Mans Prototype. This car is the next evolution in endurance racing according to Audi.  I worked at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca and have worked with Audi's race group many times.  Seeing this car here brings back many good memories.

Stay tuned, I have a lot of car related things in store for Friday (the last day of CES)......

Tweet House @ HYDE Bellagio

We had tickets to the Tweet House Party sponsored by Chevy which was held at the HYDE night club in the Bellagio Hotel. This place is famed for this view and the fact that the water show goes off every 15 minutes right in front of you!  Except tonight... we were sad after an hour of waiting we realized it was not operating.

The view was also a great backdrop for this image I took of CEO Michael McCord and his partner of LearnerNation.com here at their first CES and they needed a souvenir to remember this night.

During the evening I saw Robert Scoble making his entrance with a very merry group of friends. Margo and I had met Shel Isreal and Mr. Scoble earlier in the day as they were heading out of CES to take a break.

On the way out of the Bellagio we encountered this magnificent scene...

So on the way home we went by the Las Vegas Sign and tried to brave the 25 mph winds at 35 degrees but only got a couple of snaps like this.

The other side is cool too but it was just too cold to shoot it.

CES Wednesday

We walked around the PMA@CES in the Las Vegas Hilton convention center which is a short walk from the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC) where the main exhibitors are. PMA@CES is where the largest concentration of Photo/Imaging products and services are found, but the major camera manufacturers like Canon, Nikon and Sony are not there. This area seems to be getting smaller year to year which is also weird as photography seems to be growing.  I think that cameras are so different now and video cameras never really fit in the PMA area that this section needs to be re-branded and structured to match the current environment. That being said it is where we found our find of the day, the Image 363D TopShow 3D Compact.

This system produces 3D images as a single process, place the product in the sphere and start the imaging. A few minutes later you get a 3D image that can be rotated and viewed from almost any angle.  With online retail growing so fast this seems like a good product at a good time.

We also walked some of the south LVCC halls and saw more cell phone cases and water resistance methods. There are more 20 gallon aquariums here than at a tropical fish convention, and they all have phones in them. There must be a lot of business as there are more phone and tablet case booths than you could ever imagine here at CES. There are a lot of things you might not think about here at the show and would never see anywhere else like TabletMan.

After seeing TabletMan the rest of the day was filled with notable sightings like the Raiderettes

Barry Sanders formerly with the Detroit Lions was at the show...

After walking the show floor for several hours we headed out for the evening festivities directly from the LVCC.  We started our evening at Caesar's Palace for the Kingston 25 year anniversary party where they celebrated 10 years of HyperX technology with a Starcraft tournament.  

We watched two players from Korea battle for third and fourth place. and got a sweet Swag Bag of 25th anniversary stuff including a T-shirt, 8GB USB Drive, shot glass, playing cards, laser pointer, and a keychain.

After the Kingston party we went over to the Paris Hotel for a concert featuring Alicia Keys at the Paris Ballroom presented by Monster Cable.  The CEO of Monster Cable is a very pumped up guy during these shows and again this year provided CES with a great after party.  Guests there included Janet Jackson and Sheila E

Sheila E

The show had a family of talented dancing kids that Monster is helping out by hiring for 3 years to promote the brand, a fashion show of the Monster Headphones and then Alicia Keys took the stage.

We got to sit (most had to stand) and sit in comfort as we found a comfy red couch when we first got  there and sat on it through the whole show. It was even on a riser so I could stand up and get these shots.

 All in All a great day and night.  We do it all again tomorrow and tomorrow night.....

George Krieger

CES Tuesday (Day 2)

The show floor opened today and the embargoed stories that the press have been writing and cranking out over the last 2 days are now all online.  So many new products and announcements that most of the reporters and newsgroups are strained at this point to keep it all in check.  MobileGeeks.com's Sascha Pallenberg told me that they had produced and uploaded no less than 60 videos during CES so far, at 3pm this afternoon.  Robert Scoble posted that he was hitting the sack at 10:30pm, and the big newsgroups like Engadget, CNET and The Verge are cranking out endless hours of commentary and updates all day long and into the evenings.

The first thing today I ran into Paralympic Medalist, Blake Leeper. This kid is definitely an inspiration and he was so happy to be at the show.  We only chatted for a minute or two before he had to head off for an appearance at the Panasonic booth.

Blake Leeper 2012 Paralympic double medalist

I am a guest again this year in the very cool Samsung Smart Lounge. This is a special booth next the the Samsung primary display area for bloggers to post their stories get a drink and sit for a while during the show.  Samsung really knows how to treat their guests and I am honored to be a part of the lounge again this year. 

So what is on the floor? Too much for any one person to convey, but here is what I saw today. TV's are once again center stage with the largest, the highest definition, and the smartest ones in history all making appearances. Tablets are also everywhere and for every niche as well including a slew of kids android tablets. Cameras are also everywhere and they all look like either the Contour HD or are knockoffs of the industry leading GoPro Hero Cameras. Because of the wearable camera craze GoPro has become the fastest growing camera company in the world.  Home entertainment seems to be making a comeback, and I saw more record players than I have in over 30 years anywhere. YES Turntables with needles and vinyl discs playing scratchy sounding music just like when I was a kid!!!  

Samsung also had this transparent video box for a new way that retailers could display their wares which was very cool. Translucent video is played on the box sides while the product is visible inside.

The parties are plentiful and we have invites to the Kingston mixer, Monster Cable Concert, and the Entertainment Matters party at the very chic Lavo nightclub, all tomorrow night one after another. Thursday is even crazier after the show.

Here are some images from the show to this point

https://plus.google.com/photos/111194673422462858293/albums/5830328593045028113

CES Monday Day 1   

 The 2013 International Consumer Electronics Show began with the Qualcom keynote and a slew of embargoed media events,.  I have loved electronics since I was a kid and this spin-off of the COMDEX shows I used to  attend, is like a technical amusement park open a few days a year.  It could be considered a combination of Burning Man and SEMA focused on consumer electronics.  Tonight we heard the vision Qualcom has for the future of mobile computing, and there are dragons in our future.  Between their Snapdragon processor and mobile specific firmware advancements they sound like they will lead the charge to put mobile on par with laptops and desktops, adding a passion for mobile functionality and location combined with personal awareness.

Mobile, Social, and and completely connected to everything that is you, consumer electronics are moving at a lightning pace. When the convergence of these key elements combine seamlessly we get products that amaze us and inspire designers to do even better.  This show is all about the new the future and the ideas that might be.  Sure many of the products we see this week will never see the light outside of the show, but they will have an impact on the future of the industry anyway.  It is quite an achievement to bring a new device to market.  While devices have changed over the years and prototyping has gotten faster, you still have to manufacture it and sell it.  Any product that made it to the CES show deserves to have its chance to fail, and if it happens to hit it big and get good press then, well, CES has done its job.

Here are my images of the pre-show activities and some from around town. I will be posting every night so stay tuned and enjoy!

   a  walker

 a robotic snake

2013 Will be a Year of Change

Goodbye 2012

My wife Margo and I celebrated the new year in San Francisco and above is the scene just after the fireworks were over.  The dark cloud from the fireworks symbolizes the dark year 2012 was for most, and seeing it drift away and clear to show the city in its true glory was inspiring.

So 2013 will be a year of change and milestones.

In this year 

• I will attend the CES show in Las Vegas,
• I will find my next career in one of my passions,
• We will move to Seaside, California a few weeks after CES
• Margo will celebrate her 2nd full year being cured of Type I Diabetes,
• Margo will also celebrate 2 years with no rejection of any kind for her new Pancreas (very rare to not have an initial rejection in the first year),
• My son will graduate from the Monterey Academy of Oceanographic Science MAOS and be accepted into a University,
• My son Ian will move away to college
• I will celebrate or loath my 48th birthday
• I will celebrate and enjoy my 14th anniversary of marriage and 16th year with my wife Margo
• I will celebrate 8 years of extended time after my head-on collision

It will be an amazing year and I hope yours is too.

Starting off will be the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. I will post pictures and daily updates from the show here. The road-trip begins Friday morning January 4th 2013.  Maybe I will try to do some G+ hangouts from the show floor to share the experience.

Thanks to everyone who has helped and supported me in 2012 especially my Wife and family, 2013 will be a better year for us all.

George 

May 2013 be good to you and yours as well!!!

Check out my photography site and watch for some great CES images coming next week.  xarray.smugmug.com