Osterhout Design Group, maker of military smart goggles, brought a pair of smart glasses to CES that look more fashionable than Google Glass and other competitors. Fashioned after the iconic Wayfarer sunglasses, ODG’s smart specs weigh in at four ounces and offer a virtual 720p screen floating a few feet in front of the user’s face. Controls are operated via a Bluetooth ring controller, a tiny touchpad and buttons. “Remember, though, that ODG’s Android specs are intended for a different purpose than Google Glass,” explains Mashable. “Where Glass brings you glanceable information to enhance the moment you’re in, augmented reality offers near-full immersion. Of course, it all depends on the app you’re running, but right now Android proper isn’t exactly a glance-oriented OS.”

In The New York Times today, David Carr writes of a different CES than what has generally been reported during the recent week. Carr describes an event that is no longer just about new tech, gadgets and services, but is growing into a major meeting place for deal-making between Hollywood, Madison Avenue, the tech community, and additional industries — an event that has become “a kind of Woodstock for marketers, brands, agencies and media companies.” According to Michael Kassan, founder of MediaLink: “There’s been a mash-up between chief technology officers and chief marketing officers as what they do becomes more interrelated. Now it has taken off, and it’s the place where Google talks with Unilever and Facebook gets together with Kraft.” (Thanks to community member Lee Lanselle for bringing this interesting article to our attention.)

A well-funded startup called Gogoro unveiled its electric Smartscooter at CES. The company plans to introduce the e-scooter and its battery stations to urban areas (according to the UN, the number of mega-cities with more than 10 million residents nearly tripled from 1990 to 2014). “The Smartscooter runs on two lithium-ion battery packs that the driver can easily retrieve from under the seat,” explains Smithsonian. “The impressive plan calls for battery charging and swapping stations the size of ATMs that allow drivers to replace in seconds a depleted battery with a charged one.” Co-founder and CEO Horace Luke, former chief innovation officer at HTC, has raised $50M in venture capital from Taiwanese investors and is working on raising a $100 million round. The goal is to provide city transportation that is convenient, clean and cost effective.

“This year’s CES had the feel of a World’s Fair,” writes Molly Wood for The New York Times. “There were futuristic BMWs zipping around the streets surrounding the Las Vegas Convention Center, drones buzzing through the air inside and outside the convention center, and just about everywhere you looked a vision of roboticized homes that take perfect, synchronized care of their inhabitants. There was even 3D-printed food.” Wood describes an energy in the desert that has been lacking in recent years, but also offers a compelling look at how much of the tech generating buzz this past week is based on “big ideas” introduced much earlier. A home automation system was demonstrated in 1934, GM imagined an automated highway system in 1939, Morton Heilig patented the Sensorama immersive viewing system (with head-mounted display) in 1962. Wood provides some fascinating context regarding what it takes for innovation to eventually impact our lives.

Speaking at CES, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler hinted that the agency could reclassify broadband as a public utility (telecommunications service). Those in opposition of such a move, fearing increased federal regulation, include the broadband industry as well as some Republican lawmakers and conservative groups. Wheeler also accused broadcasters of slowing plans for spectrum auctions. While he remains optimistic that auctions would still begin next year, he expressed disappointment “that the broadcasters have slowed things down by filing suit.” Continue reading FCC Chair Hints That Broadband is Likely To Be Reclassified

Several augmented reality devices debuted at CES this week, but Epson’s Moverio BT-200 offers one of the more complete experiences to-date. The glasses run Android 4.0 from a wired smartphone-like controller and provide a full-color image in the center of the user’s field of view. Sensors for the device include a camera, accelerometer, gyroscope, microphone and compass. The product is not consumer ready, but priced at less than half that of Google Glass ($699.99), it is a promising platform for developers to build an app library for AR. Continue reading Epson Moverio BT-200 Making Strides Toward Immersive AR

IK Multimedia is shipping its $100 iRig Mic Field — a tiny stereo condenser field microphone that faces two ways. The company says it is the first such ultra-compact solution for field recording on the iPhone, iPad or iPod touch. The iRig Mic Field is an easy way to record high quality interviews or video. It features a rotatable enclosure that works in landscape or portrait mode, especially useful for video with Lightning connector equipped devices. Additionally, the iRig Recorder app is available on the iTunes Store. Continue reading IK Multimedia Showcases iRig Mic Field for Audio and Video

ChargerLeash showed its smart charging cables at CES that sound off when you unplug your phone or tablet to remind you not to forget your charging device. They support a wide range of phones and tablets by measuring the specific high and low current states and alarm when they see the power use cease. Equipped with a sleep button for times that you want to leave the cable attached, it is easily possible to turn off the alarm with a simple touch. The company was promoting its Gen 2 Pro Series line. Continue reading ChargerLeash Demos Line of Smart Charging Cable at CES

Sony went all in on 4K this year, with compelling ways to watch and create UHD content. Its 55- and 65-inch XBR-X900C is its thinnest LCD TV to date with a unique design that makes it appear as if it is floating. To provide some context, the X900C has a miniscule depth of 7.1mm, which is thinner than LG’s 55-inch OLED TV — in fact, it’s thinner than the iPhone 6 (check it out via videos from Digital Trends and CNET). Sony also introduced some affordable 4K camcorders, scheduled for February availability, including the $500 FDR-X100V 4K Action Cam, a GoPro rival that shoots Ultra HD video at 30fps, 1080p at 120fps or 720p at 240fps. “Bigger — but not by much — is the new HDR-AX33 Handycam, which is the smallest handheld 4K camcorder Sony has released to date,” reports Wired. The $1,100 camera “shoots 3,840 x 2160 XAVC S video at 30p and 24p, and it has built-in Wi-Fi that enables it to live-stream footage to Ustream.”

While we have yet to see the killer VR product (or content/experience) that could help spark consumer interest, a number of devices demonstrated at CES are getting strong reviews. We already reported that Razer unveiled its own open source headset, which is tied to the new OSVR Consortium that plans to offer a new test bed for VR developers. Another headset that has been generating a lot of press is the Crescent Bay version of the Oculus Rift, which the company says is the closest it has come to a consumer-ready version. “It was impossible not to shift around to avoid debris thrown by explosions, and virtual bullets whizzing past,” explains TechCrunch. “The new immersive audio tech definitely helps with a sense of immersion, too, and changing the angle and orientation of your head really does change the soundscape in pretty much exactly the way you’d expect.”

3D Printing may have taken a back seat at this year’s CES to the Internet of Things, compelling TV news and a dizzying array of wearables, but the technology still had a strong presence of 50+ companies at the Sands Expo. The 2015 gathering saw more diverse and affordable printers, faster and more precise capabilities, a push into 3D-printed attire, 3D printing with paper and food, design applications for those who don’t want to learn CAD, and perhaps most interestingly, a new era of filaments with a shift from plastics to include wood, metal composite and carbon fiber options. CNET has posted a slideshow with details regarding a few dozen of the more interesting products – ranging in cost from a few hundred dollars to tens of thousands of dollars.

The 2nd Screen Society — formed to address the companion screen viewing of TV and home entertainment — hosted the 2nd Screen Summit on January 5 during CES. Television network, production and creative tech execs gathered at the Encore Las Vegas to discuss this year’s theme — It’s all about the data: “Data is going to be the currency that fuels the entertainment industry in the years ahead and 2nd screen will be the way that data is collected.” The event featured a series of thought-provoking keynote discussions and panels. Continue reading CES: Broadcasters and Execs Gather at 2nd Screen Summit

During the LG press conference at CES earlier this week, Netflix announced that it plans to introduce high dynamic range (HDR) to its 4K UHD streaming sometime this year. While a specific timeline was not revealed, it is expected that the HDR streaming will coincide with the launch of LG’s much talked about OLED TVs. Netflix support for HDR was also announced with Sony; the company’s X900C ultra-thin UHD TV showcased at CES will run on the new Android TV platform and provide access to Netflix 4K. Continue reading Netflix to Introduce High Dynamic Range to its 4K Streaming

In addition to a flood of UHD TVs on the CES show floor this week, and some noteworthy announcements regarding streaming content, physical media fans also have some interesting news. “The Blu-ray Disc Association has confirmed the name of its 4K format (Ultra HD Blu-ray) and many of its capabilities,” reports Engadget, “while the Secure Content Storage Association has its own demo for Ultra HD movies you can download and transfer (almost) at will, with backing from Fox, Warner Bros., Samsung and others.” Panasonic demonstrated its prototype Ultra HD Blu-ray player (we could see discs by the end of this year). And like the BDA, SCSA says its finalized spec is “coming soon.” When it’s ready, the spec will be used by Samsung and M-Go to launch a 4K movie download service.

Energous claims to have a solution to the often imperfect practice of wirelessly charging our mobile devices. The company’s WattUp technology — winner of this year’s Best Innovation from Engadget’s Best of CES — can charge up to 12 gadgets at once within a radius of 15 feet (the closer your device is to the $300 transmitter, the faster the charge). According to The Verge, “Energous’ vision is that your phone, wearables, and other devices will slowly charge throughout the day, preventing you from ever having to actually plug it in or worry about power level.” The tech may one day appear in smartphones and wireless speakers, but in the short term you’ll need to place your phone in a WattUp battery pack.