ALL DIGITAL CES – Experiential Versus Informational

Well, I am IN.. and it is one hell of a resource, the CES Digital experience. Most of it, is of course going to be at times, with Keynotes and sessions of Q&A, that are at USA time zone hours, making me the utter early bird as far as their first thing being afternoon here, even if you start on the East coast where the least time zone difference exists.

It’s all about the digital offering and networking, but all the main reason for going, the EXPERIENCES, are of course not there.

Likewise, with changing era, I found that Alpine, JVCKenwood, MTX, Rockford Fosgate, Orion and Focal and similar searches came up with… nothing. Likewise the high end audio and HiFi was simply missing. You cannot hear it online.

That said, I found Cambridge Audio (who I bet are selling a digital product) and I found some weird and out there stuff.. like a mouse you control with your mind.. and that is Sci Fi! (or not… nowadays.)

The interface is sumptuous but I did feel the wind of sadness in the whole flavour – for it is by force and nature, all digits. And so far, there is little to feel.

One year, in the immediate entrance hall between the North Halls where all the car audio was, and the South Halls which are simply unending, there was a huge display of the Hoonigan Mustang of a Mr. Ken Block, sat at a rakish angle on display.

I saw a bloke in a suit at the display, taking pictures, like you do. And, just before he walked away, he reached out and touched the car, just with his finger tip, briefly. Our eyes caught as he turned away to walk off from the exhibit, towards me and I grinned. He grinned too, realising that a) I had seen him touch the car, and b) we both knew why and were grinning like small boys. I TOUCHED IT!

So no touchy, no feely and no hearing it…unless we get samples. But WOW there is some cool stuff coming.

Like a solar powered CAR, for real.

A blood glucose monitor that doesn’t need to make holes in the patient, which is a real 1st.

And stuff that drives itself is becoming a commercial need, with the modern world getting products delivered to their homes. That means self driving vehicles and drones. And for cars, the one really big thing is the laser beam radar or LIDAR. There is a breakthrough in price and size that is going to make driverless cars a big step closer to real.

Stick around..it’s going to get cool!