By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla
Las Vegas – CES 2015 has so far been all about connected cars, some interesting smart projectors and an assortment of internet of things devices.
Volkswagen made the biggest splash this year at CES when the first time exhibitor unveiled a new VW Golf R which integrates various multi-touch features found in tablets and smartphones, the gesture control of Microsoft’s Kinect plus the ability to work equally well with Google’s Android Car and Apple’s Car Play connected car technologies.
Using three large touchscreens for a fully switchless interface, the Golf R Touch has no knobs or switches and everything from the volume of music to interior mood lighting can be controlled with a gesture or a swipe. It’s impressive to see a giant car maker get into this space with such a polished product that seems to be coming to market soon.
Volkswagen also chose its most popular platform, the compact hatchback, to launch all these high-tech and connected features so many at the show expect pricing to be attainable by most car buyers.
Car makers are some of the big exhibitors this year and are expected to make big news by showing how technology and automotive features can be converged.
Mercedes-Benz is moving closer to a self-driving car, and other brands like Audi and Ford are pushing new technologies for entertainment, diagnostics and customization.
There were also various pico projectors launched here at CES yesterday. ZTE had one model which runs on Android and can run and project apps, movies and photos but which also doubles as a mobile 4G-LTE hotspot. Technology has made it possible for these projectors to last from three to five hours on a battery charge and project a respectable image or video provided users are in a suitably dark room.
As far as the connected home and Internet of Things launches, I saw many wireless cameras for monitoring home remotely. Products this year have diversified, one model by PetCube was designed just to monitor your pet cat or dog using your smarpthone or tablet. Features of the device allow owners to talk to their pets and even remotely play with them using a laser pointer which is controlled by swiping around on the screen.
There are also similar cameras that double as baby monitors which vary in shape and design to fit nicely in spaces without looking obtrusive.
These were just some of the items that stood out here at International CES 2015 on day one.
