Vegas CES shows off lots of boomer-friendly tech

PRIME – February 2014 By Gary M. Kaye Editor, In the Boombox (www.intheboombox.tv) The annual gadget gathering in Las Vegas, the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is now history. According to the sponsors there were roughly 150,000 attendees to see tens of thousands of products from more than three thousand exhibitors strewn across the equivalent of 25 football fields. No one person can see it all. In looking for products I considered the best, frankly, I ignored some entire categories, such as gaming. I concentrated my efforts on areas I thought would be of interest to boomers. In some cases I found a single product was a standout; in others it was an entire category that was noteworthy. Note: while all these products should be on the shelves this year, many still have no announced prices. Tablet computers – Once again this category is showing huge growth, but the field is starting to stabilize. For boomers, I was impressed with the new Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12. This tablet has a stunning 4 megapixel display on a 12.2 inch screen. This is a great screen size for boomers and comes with the Samsung S Pen and software suite that makes it easier to use as a writing tablet than just about anything else I've seen. While the 10 inch version does two-screen multi-tasking, the new 12.2 inch version can handle four screens at one. Laptop computers – Lenovo has raised the bar with some improvements on the Lenovo ThinkPad X-1 Carbon touch, which is arguably the top end when it comes to business laptops based on the Ultrabook model. The new version is thinner, and comes with adaptive function keys. That means instead of having a relatively useless row of keys on the top line, you can now program those keys for whatever program you happen to be using. For productivity programs like Office, this opens a world of possibilities for time and stroke saving. The machine also has more ports, including a dedicated Ethernet port, and a docking port for Lenovo's OneLink docking system to connect your X-1 with peripherals. Convertible computers – Asus introduced a convertible computer that not only converts itself from a laptop to a tablet, but can also switch between Windows 8.1 and Android instantly. The Asus Transformer Book Duet TD300. The 13 inch machine uses an Intel core i7 chip to run both the Windows and Android operating system. Android All-In-One – The Android operating system, which we've all gotten used to on our mobile devices, is now coming to an all-in-one computer from Lenovo. The Lenovo N308 is a 19.5 inch all in one tablet and desktop computer that will allow you to run all the Android entertainment and productivity apps in a big way. It comes with a 720p high definition front facing camera, and runs on the Android 4.2 Jelly Bean mobile operating system. It's expected to be available in stores in February for a starting price of $450. Smartphones – I saw two new smartphones that I liked. The first is a big one from LG. The LG G-Flex is being billed as the world's first curved smartphone. It has a huge 6 inch screen. LG says one advantage of the design is that it lets you hear and be heard better because the phone follows the shape of your face. The other phone that caught my eye is the Sony Xperia Z 1 compact. This waterproof beauty is available in several colors. It features a camera with a 20.7 megapixel lens, comparable to some of Sony's best point and shoot cameras. And the Xperia Z1 compact has some custom software including Easy Transfer to make it simple to get your contacts and other information from your old phone. 4K Camcorder – Sony also introduced what it says it the world's most affordable 4K camcorder. The $2,000 Sony FDR AX 100 still isn't cheap, but it's half the price of Sony's first "consumer" 4K camcorder. It's a lot smaller, and looks like many other camcorders on the market, but uses a big, 1 inch sensor to deliver stunning true 4K video. Your kid's birthday party never looked so good! Streaming media – Lenovo introduced the Beacon, a stylish device with lots of smarts able to hold and stream an entire video library. The Lenovo Beacon will be going on sale at Best Buy for a starting price of $199 with no included storage, but with the capability of adding drives to hold up to 6 terabytes (TBs). By using two built-in Intel Atom processors, the device is capable of streaming different programs to two devices simultaneously. I watched a demo and never saw a hiccup. Curved televisions – Both LG and Samsung showed off huge, 105 inch curved 4K (ultra high definition, or UHD) televisions. They will have smaller models as well. Samsung will be introducing models that not only curve, but also will be bendable. The companies say the curved sets provide an immersive viewing experience. No argument. Samsung's is dubbed the UX9500 while the LG model is the 4K UltraHD 105UB9. The pictures on both these sets were absolutely breathtaking. But the curved screen is best viewed from dead center. It loses something as your viewing angle goes further out. And of course, my question – if you live in an apartment, how do you get it in your elevator? Smart TVs– Up until now, there's been very little native 4K (ultra high definition) content available for these gorgeous UHD televisions. But at CES Netflix announced that it will be producing 4K or UHD content, as will YouTube. So there's more reason than ever to connect your television to the web. Most of the major television makers have what they call "smart TV," ways of finding web content as well as content from your cable or satellite box. Two iterations caught my eye. The first is from LG, which has incorporated the Web OS operating system originally developed by Palm. It looks at all content the same way, so if you wanted to search for episodes of "Perry Mason," the system would look at all content across your video universe and let you start watching no matter what the source. Chinese television maker Hisense has also introduced a smart TV operating system called VIDAA. This is an Android based system that will also be on the latest Hisense version of its Pulse Pro set top box. Hi res audio – Here's a topic you'll be hearing lots more about from me. It's called High Resolution Audio, and it does for music what UHD does for video. If you remember back to the days of vinyl records, you may also remember the subtleties of those recordings. In the era of music compression, MP3 recordings squeezed out many of those subtleties that made those recordings so lifelike. Hi res audio brings them all back. Sony showed off several hi res systems at CES, but what really caught my ear was the portable hi-res music players from Astell&Kern. At the show, the company released its newest high-end player, the AK240. The $2,400 device has two separate chips for each stereo channel, and comes with almost all the bells and whistles you can imagine. Wearable tech: watches – Yes, this is the year that wearable tech came full force to the CES show floor. There were watches, glasses, fitness bands, fitness clips, even headgear and vests. Frankly I was overwhelmed at the numbers. But we did see a couple of smart watches that were worth noting. While none of these quite gave me Dick Tracy envy, all had their uses. In particular I think the Samsung Galaxy Gear ($299), the Sony SmartWatch 2 ($200), and the Pebble Steel Smartwatch ($250) are all pretty good looking with some great design features. The Samsung only works with a handful of other Samsung products, while the others all work with most Android phones to provide voice and email notifications. Only the Pebble works with the iPhone. Apps for the Galaxy Gear are limited, while the others can use apps from Google's Play Store. Besides notifications, they provide music controls and fitness functions. But the one I singled out is the Qualcomm Toq, selling at both Qualcomm and Amazon for just about $350. Unlike others in the space, the Toq uses wireless charging and has an optional set of high quality earphones that wirelessly connect with the smartwatch. Qualcomm, which usually shies away from consumer products, considers the Toq to be a reference design and only intends to make the watch in limited numbers. Wearable tech: fitness devices – The number of smartwatches at CES was dwarfed by the number of wearable fitness devices. Some are from manufacturers that have been in the space for a while, such as Withings, Polar, and Fitbit, which at the moment still has a commanding share of the market. But I saw two newcomers that caught my attention. The Mio Link follows on last year's Mio Alpha. It differs from some others in the category by offering continuing heart rate monitoring without a separate strap. It can communicate with other devices and fitness apps using either Bluetooth 4.0 or the Ant+ system. The price is expected to be about $100, that's half of the Mio Alpha. The other wristband that's been getting a lot of play is the Jaybird Reign from Jaybird Sports. Expected to be priced at just about $200, this uses the traditional wristband form factor but with some unusual functions. For one, the Jaybird lets you know when your body is ready to exercise by designating a "Go Zone." It also tells you when you need more rest. It can determine which activity you're doing, running, climbing, swimming or (with a foot strap) biking. The Jaybird has an easy-to-use app that puts all your information together, tracking your activities, your sleep and your heart rate. And while I've only looked at it, the Jaybird seems to be getting some of the best reviews among the new flood of fitness gadgets. Connected home – This was another category where there were a ton of new products. Among them: sensors to track what's going on in your home from Canary and Mother. Kwikset has a Bluetooth-enabled lock called the Kevo that is paired to your smartphone and opens the lock as you walk to your door. SkyBell lets you see who's at your front door no matter where you are. Alarm system maker ADT has introduced a wireless system to monitor your home, and teamed up with Healthy Life to keep track of your medical sensors. Competitor Alarm.com has teamed up with BeClose to provide sensors for medical and well being monitoring. And coming soon from Lighting Science, Bluetooth-enabled light bulbs that can be set to emit light that can either help you sleep or make you alert. Gary Kaye is the creator of In The Boombox (www.intheboombox.tv), the first website to cover technology from the Baby Boomer perspective. Kaye has been covering high tech for more than 30 years with outlets including NBC, ABC, CNN and Fox Business. He is a regular contributor to AARP and other websites on issues regarding the nexus of technology, seniors and baby boomers.>