C.C. Chapman

View Original

What I'd Love to See Announced at CES

CES2016 This morning I was pondering ways that Verizon could improve their FiOS App by giving me the ability to download content I've recorded on my DVR to watch anytime I'm traveling.

They now allow you to stream DVR recorded shows, but I want to watch it without a WiFi connection.

If they really want to make it sweeter, they could make it a perk of being a Verizon Wireless customer or make it so that you could stream your recordings without it counting towards your data usage.

Yes, here in Boston as the first snow of the season falls (and sadly is now nothing but sleet) this is what I was pondering.

But, as I thought about that and found a handful of bad PR pitches for new products coming out at CES, I found myself thinking about what I'd love to see unveiled at CES 2016.

Smaller Full Feature Drones

Until I started flying one, I never thought about how big drones are.

Sure, there are small ones you can play with, but I'm focusing on ones for work. Drones that can shoot high quality video and photos.

I'm a minimalist traveler and thus size does matter to me. Drones are big and bulky and don't breakdown a whole lot.

On top of that the backpack selections to safely carry them are lacking. The Lowepro DroneGuard Cases seem to be the best out there, but even those won't fit mine and they have to improve before I'll buy one.

With high quality cameras getting smaller every year, I hope UAVs of all sorts begin to shrink for easier transportation.

Between the FAA requiring registration and Amazon's new drone page it is obvious this is a market segment that is going to continue to grow.

Samsung Full Frame Camera

Even though I'm an Imagelogger, we don't get any inside information so please don't take this as a scoop.

The Samsung NX1 has become my workhorse camera, but I do miss the full frame sensor of my much beloved Canon 5D Mark III from time to time.

Other mirrorless camera manufacturers have begun announcing full frame sensors, so I imagine it'll only be a matter of time before Samsung announces one.

They always unveil new goodies at CES, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Wireless Charging Standards

It bugs me that I can wirelessly charge my Droid Turbo, but that no one else in our house has that option with their phones.

I know there are competing standards at the moment, but I'm hoping someone wins so that we can start having smart counter tops, desks and other surfaces where setting down our devices will recharge and power them.

If we reach a standard, all manufacturers would begin to add this capability to their products. I long for that day.

Better Batteries

Everything we use doesn't have enough power to use it as often as we'd like without being recharged so why haven't better batteries been invented.

Tesla is moving things in the right direction, but I long for a phone that can be used as much as I use it for a full day without lusting for an outlet. I never want to worry about my laptop not having enough juice when I'm traveling.

Please someone make this happen.

Improved Smart Home Security

Smart home technology will continue to roll out and as people connect everything in their house to the Internet it opens them to a variety of security holes.

There needs to be protection being built at the same time. All of these electronic locks, thermostats connected to the cloud and video security cameras can be hacked into and with people plugging in devices from all sorts of manufacturers there is an opportunity for products that will protect all of them.

More Solar Power

As I was typing this the batteries in my mouse died. I hate changing batteries in products.

I bought a Logitech Wireless Solar Keyboard a while ago and love it. The sun coming in through my office windows mean I never have to worry about it working or finding batteries when I'm in the middle of using it.

I was given several Goal Zero products as gifts and even when I'm at home I'll pop open the solar panels to recharge things. Why pay for electricity when I don't have to?

Why do we have to change batteries in our television remotes, outside speakers or other devices. Ever since we had SolarCity solar panels installed on our house last winter, I'm constantly thinking about ways we could unplug and still have our technology. Hopefully manufacturers are thinking about this as well.

Smarter & Safer Cars

Texting and driving pisses me off. Ask any of my friends who I've caught doing it, how much tolerance I have for it. (the answer is none)

While the laws are doing very little to curb this from happening, I would love to see technology help out.

Our phones automatically connect to our cars via bluetooth. When this happens all cars and all phones should go into a driving mode where texts are read, screens are turned off to the touch and the two work in combination to keep humans from being stupid behind the wheel in whatever way they can.

I've talked before about how Motorola already does this with their phones, but I want to see it built into all cars and phones so that it becomes commonplace.

Tougher Wearables

I tried to use a fitness tracker. In fact, I've used them from Nike, FitBit and Jawbone.

All of them worked great in the beginning but over time broke for one reason or another.

I've finally given up on them because for an average dude like me, they are not worth the cost if I have to replace them every year.

The benefits of them were great and I loved them, but I'm holding out hope that there will be better ones coming soon.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Those are the things I'm hoping for from CES. What about you? Anything you are eager to have on your gadget lust list?