Mel’s CES Roundup

These are a few of our favorite things…….

International CES, the ultimate gadget and geek gift extravaganza, is held every January in Las Vegas.  The future of consumer electronics is found here and we escape our day jobs to geek out for several days.

As a follow up to Planet Geekdom tweets from the floor at the 2014 International CES show, a roundup of my favorite things.

Look for John’s favorite things in his post.

Mel’s Top Five at #CES2014

5. Social marketing vending machine. How cool is it to send a tweet and get a free tshirt?

4. Scott Kelby from NAPP talking about his sports photography. I was fangirling.

3. 3D printing of sugar confections. The printing of chocolate cake toppers and little intricate balls of sugar was awesome.

2. Kid Robot in the Samsung booth. It was super cool to see art in progress from one of our favorite toy companies, especially considering that Kid Robot is very pop culture and not too main stream (yes we have Munnies on our keychains).

1.5 (ok, so I couldn’t pick just five). Sony QX-10 & QX-100 lens camera.  Ok, so I am a bit bias (I received the QX-10 as a Christmas gift).  But it was fun to use it  at #CES2014 and watch the envious stares from other geeks who wanted what I had. It was also cool to be able to talk about the device and know more about it than the Sony dude who was babysitting that area.

1. Smart watches,  particularly the Samsung Galaxy Gear (Rose Gold). I have since purchased one. If we were able to have attended Mobile World Congress this year I probably would have drooled over the new Gear 2 watches as well.

We make it a priority to stop by several booths every year, honorable mention to each of them.
Audi - their booth is a must stop each year. My favorite was actually 2012, with the light bar extravaganza overhead. Inside the booth is generally all bright white – like walking into the Apple Store at Fashion Show Mall in Las Vegas (if you ever get the opportunity to see the store you will totally understand), it’s like walking into the light the lady from Poltergeist tells you not to go into. 
The other car manufacturers usually have good stuff too, but Audi wins the prize for booth wowness.
Design Awards - the creme de la creme of what is hot, cool, wow and spectacular.  Note – does not always mean the product will sell.
3D Printing - as a Tech Zone really grew this year. There was a life size Stormtrooper and an entire rock band of playable instruments (with a live demonstration) printed on 3D printers. Can’t wait to see what happens next year.

Best non-CES specific find of the week – Red Velvet Pancakes at the Grand Luxe Cafe at The Venetian. Geek food. Yum.

We have an amazing (but exhausting) time at International CES each year and we can’t wait to do it again.