A recap and insights from CES 2014 from the Cake Group and Havas Media: includes insights around wearable technology; 4K displays, robotics; the connected home the intersection of fashion & tech; connected cars; immersive entertainment and tech marketers.
3. 01
SOUND DESIGN
In recent years, entertainment experiences have been
focused solely on picture quality, but this year it became
apparent that audio technology has come to the forefront.
Leading this charge is Dolby, who wants to add a sense of
height to the at-home surround sound experience. Outside
of the at-home viewing experience, Dolby has also been
working with brands like Qualcomm’s Snapdragon to bring
this technology to mobile devices as well.
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5. 02
FASHION & TECHNOLOGY
Technology has become so ingrained in our daily lives
that many people would say that the technology they
use is a reflection of their identity. This has made the
aesthetics of tech devices even more important.
This has become apparent as more and more lifestyle and
fashion brands are coming out with tech accessory lines.
This trend has also given rise to a partnership between
Tory Burch and Fitbit, who are coming together to create
jewelry pieces that can accommodate the Fitbit tracker,
allowing consumers to stylishly capture their data.
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7. 03
ROBOTICS
Modern robotics has seen a surge within its most
practical applications, home cleaning. Innovations in this
space include Moneual’s light detection, which performs
concentrated cleaning in areas that don’t receive direct
light such as underneath furniture. Winbot is trying to
revolutionize the often-dreaded task of window cleaning;
their device scans and calculates the size of your windows,
and then creates a customized path to clean them.
But with Parrot releasing its’ affordable Minidrone,
2014 might also see more consumer adoption of
aviation-focused robotics as well.
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9. 04
CONNECTED HOME
The connected home is not a new idea, but companies now
seem more focused on making their devices more userfriendly. For instance, LG’s HomeChat is an SMS based
program that allows you to chat with your appliances using
natural, language commands. The GE Brillion App allows you
to control your heating devices remotely, whereas before, you
would have to be connected to your home wifi network.
But perhaps the most talked about innovation was from
Belkin, who unveiled their new connected crock-pot.
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11. 05
DATA
While connected cars and connected homes contribute
to the “Internet of Everything” trend, data is truly at the
core of this movement. Cisco is leading the data charge,
helping companies make sense of all this date and the
issues that come along with its collection.
Security, privacy, analytics; these are all factors
that brands need to consider when developing their
products. As consumers look for practical application to
connected devices, brands need help navigating
this complex landscape.
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13. 06
WEARABLES
Wearables have been a dominant trend in tech for the past
few years, but this year, the convention floor saw many
more applications beyond just fitness. Brands like Sony
unveiled life trackers that monitor your social behavior,
as well as your physical activity. Other devices monitor
time spent with your pets, your baby’s crying, and even
headbands that track your brainwaves.
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15. 07
CONNECTED CARS
The connected car has seen major innovations, the first
being mobile device integration rather than building the
technology into the car itself. This integration allows
brands to be more flexible and nimble with updates, as
mobile innovation happens so much faster than car model
development. There’s also been experimentation with
linking your connected home and car together, controlling
your home during your commute.
And the ability to interact with your vehicle might become
easier thanks to innovation in driverless car technology.
Several brands, such as BMW and Audi,
showed prototypes.
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17. 08
THE CURVE
The shape of CES 2014 was the curve. Samsung showed
off the world’s largest curved TV, while LG showed us
their curved “Flex” phone. Many are questioning the
practicality of having a curved TV in their homes, as the
shape lends itself more to large displays, combining
numerous TVs together.
Panasonic showed a prototype for a display consisting of
panels that are both concave and convex, opening up the
door for further shape innovation in coming years.
Curved mobile devices seem to be more practical for
creating a single-person, “cocoon” of entertainment.
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19. 09
IMMERSIVE ENTERTAINMENT
In recents years, manufacturers have become focused
on creating immersive entertainment experiences, from
4K picture to glasses free 3D; the battle for consumers’
attention is heating up. As your home entertainment starts
to mirror the all-encompassing environment of a movie
theatre, how does the distraction of your mobile device
start to hinder your experience vs. enhance it?
Brands like TiVo are making advancements in delivering
multiple forms of content onto a single device (i.e.
your television). Providing complimentary content and
experiences that relate to your entertainment choice are
more important than ever.
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21. 10
TECH MARKETERS
There were more marketing professionals at CES this year
than ever before. Technology companies are actively looking
for help in how to both market their products as well as
how their innovation can find practical applications in
consumers’ lives. As marketers become more interested in
technology, and technologists start to think like marketers,
the consumer will surely rise to the top.
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