Here are some of our favorite stories coming out of CES...
Because I'm a Girl Scout leader, this story really was impactful for me. It was recently announced that Girl Scout cookies will soon be available for sale online for the first time, and the organization is attending the 2015 Consumer Electronics Show to showcase Digital Cookie, the new program that will enable girls to sell cookies online while learning about business and tech. “Digital Cookie will introduce vital 21st-century lessons about online marketing, app usage, and ecommerce to more than one million excited Girl Scouts who will be in the driver’s seat of their own Digital Cookie businesses,” a Girl Scouts press release explains. All these changes are in an effort to keep up with the times and by attending CES, they're really upped the ante.
Sony's latest take on its classic music player, the ZX2, supports high resolution audio playback and is Wi-Fi-, Bluetooth- and NFC-enabled. The Walkman ZX2 looks more like an oddly shaped smartphone than a music player. The Android-powered device features a touchscreen, and supports Android apps. But its real power— and the reason for its $1,200 price tag — lies in its S-Master HX processor, which enables the high-resolution audio, though you'll need headphones or a speaker that supports high-res audio to enjoy it.
GM took journalists by surprise Sunday night when it offered a glimpse of its next-generation Chevrolet Volt plug-in electric vehicle ahead of its official unveiling at the Detroit auto show next week. The company offered no details about the car. GM officials just opened the curtains for a few minutes–enough to snap a couple photos–and closed them at a press event. While auto makers for years have flocked to the CES trade show to unveil the latest in-car tech, revealing an actual vehicle is unusual.
Nothing intrigues me more than the "Internet of Everything" concept and I would just die for a fully integrated "smart home" so to me, Sony hit a home run with the Life Space UX area of CES. The Life Space UX concept incorporates lights, speakers, projectors and more to create a highly interactive and beautifully designed take on the smart home. The highlight is easily the Symphonic Light, which combines lighting and sound into one of the most innovative connected gadgets we've seen.
Ford Unveils ‘Mobility Plan’ by The Detroit News
The International Consumer Electronics Show (International CES) showcases more than 3,600 exhibitors, including manufacturers, developers and suppliers of consumer technology hardware, content, technology delivery systems and more; a conference program with 250 sessions; and 150,000 to 160,000 attendees from more than 140 countries.
In an effort to be more innovative and address global transportation concerns, Ford Motor Company is testing everything from a car-swapping program for its Dearborn employees to an app that finds available parking spaces for London commuters. In his CES keynote, President and CEO Mark Fields unveiled Ford’s “Smart Mobility Plan,” including a series of 25 experiments around the world meant to test new ideas and address commuting issues in congested places like Los Angeles and India. “Even as we showcase connected cars and share our plans for autonomous vehicles, we are here at CES with a higher purpose,” Fields said. “We are driving innovation in every part of our business to be both a product and mobility company — and, ultimately, to change the way the world moves just as our founder Henry Ford did 111 years ago.”
CES is open to the public from January 6 to January 9.
