Our Editor’s Favorite Products of CES 2024

 

(Image credit: Consumer Technology Association)

I’m still going through the huge amount of news from CES earlier this month, but I’ve found 10 items that really set the bar for new ideas. I’ve thought about getting these things because they look cool or solve a problem that interests me.

Finally, I’d like to talk about my Product of the Week, which is an app and emergency kit from Perci that might help you deal with the growing number of weather-related events that are making our lives harder because of global climate change.

Let’s start by talking about the most cutting-edge items from CES 2024. I’m not going to talk about robots because I already did that last week.

The revolutionary Nimo PC

(Image credit: Nimo)

New technologies like cloud computing, head-mounted displays, and Bluetooth have made it clear that the current generation of PCs has reached its end point. It’s time to take a step back and rethink personal computing.

The Nimo 1 Core is a PC the size of a mouse. It works with both the Nimo 1 and the Rokid Max glasses and uses the Qualcomm XR2 solution, which is made for spatial computing. This tiny computer costs $399 without the glasses.

Because it has a special operating system, I’d say this is the first desktop computer that was really made for cloud apps.

This option is almost as good as the Apple Vision Pro, but it costs a lot less.

When combined with the head-mounted display and a wireless computer that can be folded up, this PC can be used as a portable, virtual 50-inch screen that fits in your pocket.

This kind of PC is what I think the future will be like. Nimo is trying to make them present, but they aren’t yet.

Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid

If you’re like me, you move a lot and find it hard to carry both a laptop and a tablet. You bring both because you work on the PC and watch movies on the tablet, and you don’t want to run out of juice for work. Also, there isn’t much room in the coach for a laptop. Not only that, but you can still use a tablet during launch and landing, but not the laptop.

But with this two-device method, you have to take out one of the devices even if you have TSA Pre. This is because they can’t check two big devices very well when you go through security. This thing should be able to do both things.

Lenovo’s ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid PC can do both. The tablet is powered by Qualcomm, and the laptop is powered by Intel. Together, they make a flexible gadget that works well as an Android tablet and a good PC.

(Image credit: Lenovo)

You shouldn’t have to take it out when going through security because it’s all on one device. You can also use the table part of the device to watch material during takeoff and landing. This design could be the best way to make a device that has all the features of both a tablet and a PC without sacrificing any of them.

Clicks Creator Keyboard

When smartphones first came out, they didn’t have computers, so drivers weren’t as likely to be sidetracked. You could learn to type by feeling when you had keyboards.

During the launch of the iPhone, I was kicked off of “Today” because I said that kids with attention problems would get into accidents because they would try to use their iPhones while driving. It turned out that this was true for both kids and adults, leading to new laws and a lot of accidents.

When added to an iPhone, the Clicks creator keyboard makes the iPhone far safer because it turns the iPhone into a BlackBerry-like device with a keyboard.

By taking the place of the iPhone’s on-screen keyboard, the Clicks keyboard gives you up to 50% more screen room for apps and content. (Clicks Technology took the picture.)

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This makes it much faster to text, and you can also text by feel, so you don’t have to look at your phone screen while you text.

Even so, you shouldn’t do this while driving. If you do, though, you’ll probably be better off than if you used a regular-screen phone. We should never have switched from computers to screen phones in the first place, which is funny.

Current Dual-Zone Electric Grill

(Image credit: Current Backyard)

As I do, you have to rush out to buy propane for your grill every time you want to cook outside. Furthermore, aside from being an annoyance, the tanks have a propensity to roll around and cause damage to the trunk, rear of your vehicle, or SUV, in my case, while you are driving. When they’re full, they’re heavy, they can explode and cause fires, and it’s a pain to change them in the winter. But until now, electric grills couldn’t do what a gas grill could.

The Current outdoor grill was developed to have the advantages of a propane grill, but it’s electric and has smart features that help make you a better cook. It also looks cool, which is why I’m putting it on my short list of summer purchases. I can’t wait to get rid of my gas grill. It’s coming out in February, and I’m on the list to order it early because I’m tired of gas. The two-zone model with the cabinet is my favorite.

Barsys 360 Robotic Bartender

I have two robotic bartenders, one from Black and one from Decker, but the Barsys 360 robotic bartender is better looking than either of them, as well as being more compatible with a smartphone app.

You can put up to three things into it, and the app will tell you what kinds of drinks you can make based on what you put in. It doesn’t have a carbonator, but the artificial bartender I own did, and it was taken off the market because of problems with the system.

Here’s how the Barsys 360 was shown at CES:

It has a built-in mixer, which neither of my existing robotic staff have.

I’m on the list for one of these, but given that I already have two robotic bartenders, I’m not sure I want or need a third. I expect that if I got this one, I’d lose the two I already have, as it looks a ton better and is more advanced than the ones I currently own. It reminds me of a newer version of the “Star Trek” replicator.

Skyted Voice Silencer Mask

On some planes, you can make and receive calls if you know what you’re doing. But if you do that, you’ll make people around you mad. Someone was very mean to me after I did a radio interview on a plane while I was at the gate. My voice tends to carry.

The Skyted Silent Mask lets you talk on the phone without being heard, so you don’t bother people nearby and don’t let people who shouldn’t be listening in on what you’re saying. The price of this item on Kickstarter is $249 right now, but it will go up to $599 in the future.

It’s not a cheap date, but it’s also not as ugly as some other options I’ve seen. There’s a good chance you won’t get yelled at if you have to take a call in a meeting or somewhere else where talking on the phone would be rude. It seems to work really well.

Someone is ordering one for me, and I hope that the next time I have to meet on a plane, no one will want to punch me out (is it just me, or have plane customers become too violent?). This could be just as important as headphones today if they ever make it possible to make calls on planes.

Horwin Senmenti X Electric Motorcycle

It made me want to buy another motorbike when I saw the Horwin Senmenti X. I don’t ride anymore. People who like anime will know about this bike right away when it comes out in 2025. as a dead ringer for the bike in Akira.

Electric with twin swing arms (which is what the Yamaha I used to own was supposed to have) and a very low center of gravity, it should be able to corner and stop faster than any other bike on the road, electric or otherwise. This motorcycle has a futuristic appearance and would likely attract a lot of attention at motorcycle events and during rides. If you’re a motorcycle enthusiast looking to ride into the future, Horwin offers several cutting-edge designs, but the Senmenti X is the one that caught my attention. Now I feel like watching Akira again.

Pebble Flow Electric Car-Focused Camper Trailer

I’ve been watching the Pebble Flow camper trailer like a hawk even before CES, as it is an amazing trailer.

One issue with electric cars and trucks is that they experience a significant decrease in range when towing a trailer.

• What if that trailer was also powered and could not only push its weight but also recharge your car with its much larger potential for solar panels?
• What if it could make hooking up easier?
• What if it had every feature of far more expensive camper trailers but was more affordable than many of them?
• What if it was the most advanced camper trailer on the market?

That’s the Pebble Flow, which is made for electric cars. This is really cool!

It can power all of your tools, heat, and cool your home for up to seven days without being connected to the power grid. It also has three times the power capacity of a Tesla Powerwall. This is the first electric camping trailer with two motors in the world. It’s a sign of things to come. I really want to buy it.

Brelyon Ultra Reality Display

(Image credit: Brelyon)

I am a fan of head-mounted displays and use them frequently while traveling. However, I do not use them in my home office. I am interested in the idea of creating a monitor that uses technology to reduce its size to something more manageable. Currently, I use a Dell 49-inch monitor, but it is wider than my field of view when closed. Additionally, if I back away from it, everything on the screen gets smaller, which negates the advantage of its size. Moreover, it entirely blocks any view out of my office window.

The Brelyon Ultra Reality Display is utilizes high resolution to simulate a large-screen experience, eliminating the need for an actual large screen. With the equivalent of a 122-inch screen in a 32-inch form factor, it offers more screen real estate than a 49-inch screen. Priced at $12,000, it may be suitable for professionals such as traders, coders, animators, engineers, or anyone needing a large screen in a compact size. While it’s on my wishlist, I’ll wait for the price to decrease.

Rabbit R1

Finally, we have the Rabbit R1, The Rabbit R1 is a wearable device priced at $199, resembling a “Star Trek” communicator. It features a body camera for capturing events and a voice interface for smartphones. Currently in beta, the industrial design could be improved to reflect its serious functionality.

As AI technology advances, similar products are expected to become more common, offering advanced Siri-like capabilities and a natural language interface. While initially compatible with most smartphones, the Rabbit R1 has the potential to revolutionize phone design, similar to the impact of the iPhone.

This device represents the future of smartphones and is worth exploring, although an aesthetic update to resemble a “Star Trek” product rather than a children’s TV show would be preferable.

Wrapping Up

This year, CES was pricey because I saw 10 things I wanted and ended up getting a few of them. There were robots, PCs and monitors, smartphones, cooking, bikes, and voice interactions that I saw at the show. I can’t wait for next year, when I think things will get even more exciting and cost me even more.

 

 

Perci App and Vest Disaster Preparedness Kit

There are a lot of fires where I live. The way the weather is right now, there is a chance that it will flood. And there’s a big fault line close to our border. Plus, we just had a terrible winter that made it hard to get around.

Due to global warming, all of us need to improve our disaster preparedness efforts, and the Perci app and vest are an effective way to start.

The Perci app and vest disaster readiness kit have 25 important things in pockets that are easy to get to. It is the complete answer to any survival routine. (Image source: Invicta Ready)