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CES 2016 Brings Stuff, But Will The Stuff Bring Owners?

Farhad Manjoo makes an interesting point in his New York Times column on the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. He writes about how, having devolved into sound and fury signifying, if not nothing then not much, this year’s show seems downright desultory. 

Why? It’s a little like the late-‘90s Internet 1.0 bubble, during which VC money was everywhere and revenue models were fantasy. The issue then was, among other things, reach and bandwidth. 

But there’s something similar now, in that there is an embarrassment of technological riches, but there’s a sense that it’s out of the oven early, and that the consumer base isn’t ready yet. This is particularly true in connected devices, with the obvious example being Apple Watch (or maybe Fitbit Blaze, shown at CES). The issues, as in the late ’90s, are a sense of redundancy in some cases, and real market propositions for consumers in many cases. It’s “Prototype World,” Manjoo writes. “They are all pushing the limits of what machines can currently accomplish and working to come up with business models that consumers will stomach.”

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Big news came from Facebook’s Oculus, which is going to market with its Rift headgear. But, like web video products 15 years ago, it’s not going to be a sales-volume monster at $600 a pair for a device which may not be able to interface with your computer given the data requirements. And the Touch haptic handsets aren’t coming to market for another year. So, that kind of makes it a beta. 

Other car news is also a non-starter right now. After all kinds of speculation we saw the concept from the mysterious Farraday Future, funded by a Chinese gazillionaire. It’s a ridiculously conceptual electric supercar that looks like it was drawn by my hyperactive nephew after eating a box of Reese’s Pieces. But that’s subjective. Or how about a robotic aero-drone you can actually ride? I see a deal with Amazon somewhere — instead of your purchase being delivered to you, you get delivered to your purchase. 

On the opposite end of the “okay, cool, but” spectrum is Chevrolet’s new all-electric Bolt, which, coming in at $30,000 after subsidies, is real news. That’s maybe less because of the window sticker than the range: 200 miles.   

Technology interface and price point challenges, and the “beta” feel of some of the new gadgetry aside, the key in the near term is whether there’s a consumer market now, ever, for connected apparel; cars that let you lower your thermostat, or have groceries delivered to it; watches that let you check your blood sugar; virtual reality concerts from iHeart and Universal (helmet not included); and God knows how many drones. 

Under Armour would certainly not have done a joint venture with HTC for the  $400 HealthBox (it’s a biometric wearable-devices toolkit, that includes a smartband that tracks daily activity and sleep) if it hadn’t determined there’s a big potential market for it. Potential. Ditto its Heart Band that you wear around your chest (that will be fun) when you’re running those splits, and a special scale that reads both weight and body fat percentages. How about a $150 sneaker that tracks and stores things like time and date, distance, and all kinds of workout data. 

Yes, sure, there are always early adopters, some of whom suffer early adoption as a socio-pathology, who just have to take the tiger cruise with generation-one of anything, maybe even Ehang’s autonomous aerial drone that can carry someone up to 260 pounds, when they sell that thing. If they offer test flights at next year’s CES, I’ll go.

1 comment about "CES 2016 Brings Stuff, But Will The Stuff Bring Owners?".
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  1. Tom Siebert from BENEVOLENT PROPAGANDA, January 8, 2016 at 9:50 a.m.

    Here's the most interesting thing to come out of CES 2016: the CleverPet Hub, the first game console for dogs. And you don't have to take my word for it (since -- full disclosure -- they're paying me), because CES named it the top startup of this year's Showstoppers LaunchIt! event for startups. 


    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3387087/CleverPet-games-console-DOGS-200-Xbarks-device-rewards-canines-solving-puzzles-wins-award-CES.html

    In a year, everyone who reads this will know someone who owns the CleverPet Hub. Or own one themselves. Because, remember: "A dog with a job is a happy dog," and "Our user base literally has nothing better to do with their time."

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