by Joe Lonergan

What is the CES conference

Last week between January 9th and 12th, the CES conference took place, The CES conference is a Powerful tech event or trade show for people who participate in the trade of selling tech. It is organised by the Consumer Technology Association. It is not open to the public, but we like to keep a close look at this conference because it gives us a good indication of what is coming to the consumer in the next year or so. It also hosts a program for the world’s business leaders and pioneers of tech so they can address the world’s relevant issues from a technology perspective.

As expected, AI was trending at CES. One of the products making a lot of noise was the Rabbit R1. The Rabbit R1 is an AI-powered gadget that can use your apps for you. The CEO of Rabbit said it is a universal controller for apps, and also said he could see this replacing the smartphone in years to come, It looks similar to those pocket TVs from the nineties with the 2.8-inch screen. Its OS is based on a large action model similar to a large language model. It’s an idea similar to Alexa or Google Assistant. Rabbit OS can control your music, order a taxi, buy your groceries, send your messages, and more, all through a single interface. This product was so popular it sold out all 10,000 products on the first day and sold out all pre-orders expected in the spring. It has a rotating camera and a slot for a SIM card. We wait with interest to see if it has suitable accessibility options for people with Low vision as it does sound good and is priced at a reasonable price of approximately $200. The other selling point is no messing with apps and log-ins just ask for what you want and watch the Rabbit R1 do it for you. The rabbit has a training mode where you can train it to do something and then it can do it for you going forward.

Of course, other products created a lot of hype like transparent TVs from LG and a flying car that I do not think will be coming to my driveway anytime soon. We will give a quick summary of the products that we thought would interest some people. Keep in mind there are thousands of products and some of this information is subjective.

Clicks keyboard

Another product that spiked our interest was a Blackberry-style keyboard that attaches to the iPhone 14 Pro and the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. The keyboard is called Clicks for iPhone and is available in some countries from February for approx. €150. But we were thinking it might suit blind and low-vision users who find the touch screen difficult to master. It was described as a clicky Blackberry-style keyboard case for iPhone.

Evie Ring

Evie Ring is a health tracker specifically designed with Women’s health in mind, It is a stylish and affordable ring that fits on any finger. It automatically tracks your health metrics, steps, menstrual cycle, sleep, and activity tracking. It comes in three different colours, rose gold, gold, and silver. It holds charges for four days and can hold ten charges in the charging case. We think this is an interesting one especially if the app is accessible. No screen so it could be a good solution for some instead of a smartwatch or Fitbit.

The Y-Brush Electric Toothbrush

If you are into electric toothbrushes, this unique Y-shaped electric toothbrush claims to clean your teeth in 20 seconds. You put the whole thing in your mouth and press the button, then bite down on it and your teeth are cleaned. How good a clean they give; we do not know but an interesting product all the same.

Lumen smart glasses

There was a lot of talk about smart Glasses at CES probably brought into the norm by last year’s announcement of Apple’s Vision Pro smart glasses.

A Romanian start-up called Lumen Showcased smart glasses that they say could replace guide dogs and white cains, We won’t entertain those kinds of comments, but we were interested to hear what the technology had to offer. Using sensors, the headset can guide you via trackers that sense if something is blocking your path. A vibration in the headset on the right or left side will then guide you to change direction. The headset uses the same technology as self-driving cars and has six cameras and AI technology to detect if a surface is safe to walk or not. Lumen is hoping to launch the glasses later this year.

An In-ear computer from a start-up called Breggz

A Dutch tech start-up called Breggz has showcased their luxury hearable device, which is a wireless in-ear computer that has four speakers per ear, creating a concert-like audio experience.  It has a voice assistant so you can access open AI or call a taxi. You can perform actions by shaking your head to answer calls, move to the next track, or turn up and down the volume. Breggz said it is a high-end product and plans to sell it at €1600 and offer a custom fit for better comfort. Again, we think this is a product to watch because of its voice assistant options and its Open AI and e-mail options without a screen.

But it also has a voice-activated personal assistant that allows you to have your emails read out.

We enjoyed researching the future of Technology announced at the CES conference and would love to hear your thoughts. The speed of change and innovation in technology is spectacular and does not show any signs of slowing down.