Graeme Thickins on Tech

Reflections & analysis about innovation, technology, startups, investing, healthcare, and more .... with a focus on Minnesota, Land of 10,000 Lakes. Blogging continuously since 2005.

Category: CES

I Crashed the Volkswagen Press Conference at #CES2015

January 5, 2015 / / 0 Comments

vwpavilioinWell, actually, I didn’t crash it (I had a press pass), but I did stumble in late… šŸ™ Would you believe, just as it was wrapping up? Damn long cab rides! But there were still lots of people milling about on stage, and both the vehicles were still there. So, I grabbed some photos, and the press kit on my way out.

The red car is the Golf R Touch, which was attracting the most attention, and the white car is an e-Golf, their electric car, which looked lonely in comparison. (But who needs that now with cheap gas, right?!) They showed a “Connected Golf” version of that car, which is a set of features that seems to be their major focus at CES.

As a big VW guy myself — I’ve owned or leased six or seven of them in my lifetime, and I’ve been driving them exclusively for 10 years now — I just had to find out what was new.

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My Snippets from Another CES — the 2014 Edition

January 26, 2014 / / 0 Comments

Following on from my previous post earlier today, here are some other cool things I saw of interest during  VegasMorning the latest CES show in Las Vegas — when I wasn't working, that is (which was 90% of the time):

ā€¢ Phantom 2 Vision: Your Flying (drone) Camera.

DJI_Phantom_II_Vision

 

 

 

 

 

ā€¢ An American auto entrepreneurā€™s vision comes to life

Elio_Motors

 

 

 

 

 

ā€¢ A BitCoin ATM

BitCoin_ATM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ā€¢ AirHDTV ā€¦ up to 186 channels (press release)

AirHDTV

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But the big Chinese company DJI, whose product is shown above, wasn't the only drone company at CES.  Minnesota-based QFO Labs (a client of mine) also was also there, though with a much smaller presence.

QFO-QuadFighter

The company showed its "Quad Fighter" product at the Nordic Semiconductor booth (one of its suppliers) in South Hall, and was a big hit there.  But the real excitement for QFO happened soon after it arrived back home, when it got a big surprise with its product being shown on national TV: Local toy-drone maker gets plug from U.S. Sen. Rand Paul (by Julio Ojeda-Zapata/St. Paul Pioneer Press).

Were you at CES 2014?  What was the coolest thing you saw?

 

A Minnesota Tech Company Goes Back to CES and Gets a Ton of Media Coverage (Again)

January 26, 2014 / / 0 Comments

CES2014-logoYou'll recall I wrote a couple of posts about this time last year recapping my experience at CES 2013, one concerning my work for a Minnesota-based startup client there, and another about a giant Minnesota company that also had a presence there.

Well, I attended CES again this year, in support of that same startup client, WelcomeToVegas Canopy Co., which was introducing a new model of its "app-enhancing" iPhone case, this time a pressure-sensitive version. It is a pretty amazing product! Once again, here's a rundown of the media coverage I helped the company attract from this year's CES appearance (to date):

Sensus_iPhone_case

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Local/MN Coverage:
ā€¢ St. Paul PioneerPress: Minneapolis iPhone case maker rolled with Apple's innovations
ā€¢ Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal: Canopyā€™s touch-sensitive iPhone case gets more sensitive … and Twin Cities tech featured at CES (with slide show)
ā€¢ Minneapolis StarTribune: Canopy tries again with pressure-sensitive iPhone case (also appearing in the print edition, top of page 1, Business Insider section 1/13/14: ā€œA New iPhone Case ā€“ Under Pressureā€)

National & International Coverage Appearing During CES Week:
ā€¢ The Verge: Sensus pressure-sensitive iPhone case hands on
ā€¢ The Verge: Sensus case gives your iPhone a rear touchpad like the PS Vita
ā€¢ HuffPost Tech: This Pressure-Sensitive Case May Change How You Use Your iPhone (story made their front page)
ā€¢ TechHive (PCWorld/Macworld): Pressure-detecting Sensus case turns your entire iPhone into a touchscreen
ā€¢ Engadget: Canopy's Sensus app enhancing case hands-on (article)  << reposted scores of times elsewhere)
ā€¢ Engadget: Canopy's Sensus App Enhancing Case Hands-on (5-min video)  << reposted scores of times elsewhere)
ā€¢ IDG News Service/Computerworld: Pressure-detecting Sensus case makes your entire iPhone a touchscreen
ā€¢ Daily Mail Online (UK): The case that turns your ENTIRE iPhone into a touchscreen
ā€¢ BBC News (mention within) – CES 2014: Phones morph into 'stun guns' and 'tricorders'
ā€¢ iPhone Life Magazine:  awarded the Sensus a "Best of CES"
ā€¢ Apple Insider: New 'Sensus' case adds pressure-sensitive touchpads to Apple's iPhone
ā€¢ Ubergizmo: Sensus Case Introduces Pressure-Sensitive Touchpads For The iPhone
ā€¢ Stuff Magazine & Stuff TV: Sensus case turns the back and sides of your iPhone into buttons
ā€¢ Dailymotion: Canopy's Sensus App Enhancing Case Hands-on – Video
ā€¢ TrendHunter: App-Enhancing Cases – Canopy's Sensus App Enhancing Case Draws Eyes at CES 2014
ā€¢ Apple Daily Report: CES: Canopy launches ā€˜variable pressureā€™ iPhone case
ā€¢ Gotta Be Mobile: Sensus iPhone Case Adds Touch to Back of iPhone 5s (Video)
ā€¢ Caseaholic: Canopy Shipping Sensusā„¢ Touch-Sensitive iPhone Case Developer Kits
ā€¢ Tech Investor News: Canopy's Sensus app enhancing case hands-on
ā€¢ Street Insider: Canopy Co. to Launch New ā€˜Variable Pressureā€™ Smartphone Interface Technology

It was an awesome experience at CES again — albeit a very, very busy one. Here's wishing all the best to my friends at Canopy as they gear up for a very big 2014!

 

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