New technology for your home and car debuts at Consumer Electronics Show preview event
BY ROBERT EVATT World Staff Writer
Monday, January 07, 2013
1/07/13 at 1:10 PM
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LAS VEGAS - The 2013 edition of the largest tech show in the world
kicked off with a teaser of the best to come.
Solar chargers, speakers, weather radios, wireless accessories,
medical devices, toys and much more were on display at the Consumer
Electronics Show’s Unveiled event, held Sunday night at the Mandalay
Bay casino in Las Vegas.
Every company invited to display at the relatively small event were
given awards for innovation by the Consumer Electronics Association,
the organizing entity for CES.
These companies, both gigantic and tiny, were chosen out of the
thousands that will display their wares during the main part of CES,
which begins Tuesday in the Las Vegas Convention Center.
George Sadler, a representative for the iGrip line of smartphone and
tablet grips and a 30-year veteran of the show, said winning an
innovation award from the CEA can be a huge boost for a small startup.
“There’s a lot of recognition and clout that comes with this,” he said.
Though the innovation awards were spread over a wide variety of
categories, two of the most notable new products were focused on cars.
Representatives of Chevrolet demonstrated their new MyLink system, a
touchscreen panel for controlling media functions that also connects
wirelessly with smartphones.
In addition to sporting a strong visual component for voice-activated
dialing and music controls, vehicles that will be equipped with MyLink
also have a button on the steering wheel dedicated to Siri, the
voice-activated assistant built into iPhones.
MyLink includes an app called TuneIn, which allows the vehicle to play
more than 70,000 radio stations from across the planet.
Also at the event, Delphi and Verizon wireless announced a partnership
on a device that adds smartphone controls and tracking to any vehicle.
Vehicle Diagnostics by Delphi will allow users to remotely lock,
unlock or start the car from nearby or remote locations.
It also uses GPS to locate the car, and can be set to send text alerts
if the car is detected to go over a certain speed or leave specified
locations.
Vehicle Diagnostics plugs into the diagnostics port of most cars that
have been manufactured in the last 16 years. A price hasn’t been
specified, though the service will also carry a monthly fee through
Verizon.
Associated Images:
That’s a smartphone running underwater — even the ports are open. It's a polymer coating from HzO. ROBERT EVATT/Tulsa World
"Reptar" will make its debut at the show. It's a robotic snake that is one of 17 possible creations available in the $350 Lego Mindstorms EV3 platform. AP Photo/LEGO
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