Techilicious by Rajiv Makhni: CES- Chaos Electronic Show 2020

Meet some of the best products in the best version of this tech show since its inception

Yes, yes, I know, it’s called the Consumer Electronic Show but ‘chaos’ and ‘confusion’ would be far more appropriate as descriptors. Sprawling, gigantic, strewn all over the city of Las Vegas, thousands of brands, millions of products. The feeling of dread that you’re missing something big remains with you all through your time there. Still, this year’s CES was the best since the dawn of this incredible tech event and drawing up a list of the best of the best has been a difficult task. But someone’s got to do it...

This year’s CES was the best since the dawn of this incredible tech event

The Y Brush

Looks like a mouthpiece but it’s actually a toothbrush. Built on the inner sides are bristles. Pop it into your mouth and it vibrates ultrasonically and cleans all your teeth in one go in 10 seconds.

Segway S-Pod

This has got to be every techie’s wet dream. Two wheels, self balancing, can hit speeds of 30 plus kmph, has a joystick for control, auto braking plus a battery life that can have you out and away all day.

Dell Alienware Concept UFO

Portable gaming is big and this one makes sure that it’s in your hands. Giving massive competition to the Nintendo Switch, the huge USP of this one is that it’s Windows 10 based and thus you can play all kinds of PC games on the go.

Impossible Pork

Between Impossible Burger 2.0 and now Impossible Pork, this may just save the world. It’s a plant-based meat substitute that almost always gets very high marks on taste. It’s all soy and other plant based ingredients and the meat is literally grown in a laboratory.

TCL Foldable phone

This year will be about foldable everything. And bringing in some much needed competition is the new foldable phone from TCL. It’s still a prototype but looks great and works well. They do need to slap on a front screen (a folding phone without a front screen is a disaster) and some more cameras. Expect it to be less than half the price of the other foldables.

Samsung Galaxy Note Lite

The Note has been the hallmark and flagship front runner for Samsung. And now that they have a Lite version, it could be a game changer. With almost all the functionality of the original, if this is priced at less than half of what its big brother sells at, it could lead to some serious problems for other brands.

Withings ScanWatch

I predicted that after the ECG feature on the Apple Watch, smart watches would become medical machines. The Scan does just that. It also has ECG, can detect atrial fibrillation and has blood oxygen sensors that can tell you how well you slept and detect true sleep apnea. Then it adds 30 days battery life.

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold

This one is the world’s first foldable screen laptop that does it all. Use it as a tablet, use it as a desktop display with its keyboard, use it as a laptop with its keyboard clicking back in magnetically, and use it as a two screen laptop.

LG ThinQ Washer with AI

Throw in a load of clothes, and the sensors and technology in the ThinQ washing machine will analyse the different fabrics, and recommend the best washing and drying mode for them. Now that makes me thinQ that I may just buy this one.

Lora DiCarlo Ose

At the CES Sex toys were upfront and pounding (!) the headlines. And taking top position (!) was the Ose, a microrobotic sex tech device. It mimics human movements and is completely hands-free to get to the Big O without a big bother.

Lenovo ThinkBook Plus

This 13-inch laptop has a 10.8-inch e-ink screen at the back, which is always on and uses almost no power. When your laptop is off it displays calendar, tasks, emails and notes. You can use it as an e-reader too!

That’s just a warm up. Much more from Chaos Central, i.e. CES 2020, next week, including the most wild and wacky tech and some cars that will blow your mind.

Rajiv Makhni is managing editor, Technology, NDTV, and the anchor of Gadget Guru, Cell Guru and Newsnet 3

Techilicious appears every fortnight

From HT Brunch, January 19, 2020

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