By Holland Cooke
Consultant
LAS VEGAS — They REALLY don’t want us calling this “The Consumer Electronics Show,” which harkens back to VCRs and other things-in-boxes, as so much of the now technology on display here is software that enables experiences.
Fine. But there still are acres and acres and acres of inventions here in nerd heaven:
- If you’re a new parent, First Ascent knows that you are exhausted. Their nursery lamp shines “morning light” to reset babies’ sleep cycles; has a white noise function that helps them fall asleep; and a “cry analyzer” uses Artificial Intelligence to discern emotions: Is the baby hungry? Or just cranky?
- As employers are asking wary workers back to the office, Air-Clenz Systems is showing-off technology for desktop computer monitors that captures viruses, pollutants, and contaminants.
- And to neutralize COVID and Influenza indoors, Serenio touts the only device tested with live virus in a Bio-Safety-Level 3 Lab.
- There are dozens of smart home hub devices here. But unlike the others, Homey Bridge and Homey App don’t gather and sell your customer data, or use personal information to create user profiles or targeted ads.
- Pozio is “the world’s first charging station that stops your phone from eavesdropping.”
- Delfast has an electric bike with longer range than the Tesla Model 3. It holds the Guinness world record for the greatest distance traveled by an electric bike on a single charge.
- And “music meets fashion” with the “powerful, portable, elegant” – ready for this? – Victrola Premiere. Yes, that legacy brand lives! Swank vinyl turntables power Bluetooth speakers, sound great, and are targeting customers too young to have owned 45s and LPs the first time around.
“Pandemic Pivots”
Many of the contraptions debuting here are responding to the New Normal we’re navigating…as radio must. New audio competitors and outmoded concepts like “Morning Drive” (with so much remote work now permanent) have changed our game.
In yesterday’s column, I suggested how Consumer Technology Association research we’re shown here points to sales opportunities for talk radio stations. ICYMI: Brainstorm with your reps.
Help yourself…
…to my radio reports. Click-to-download at HollandCooke.com, where you can also download my FREE E-book “Spot-On: Commercial Copy Points That Earned The Benjamins.”
Holland Cooke is author of the E-book “Multiply Your Podcast Subscribers, Without Buying Clicks,” available exclusively from Talkers books. HC is a consultant working at the intersection of broadcasting and the Internet. And he hosts “The Big Picture” TV show Friday nights at 7ET on RT America. Follow him on Twitter @HollandCooke