Wednesday, January 16, 2013

A Sampling from CES


CES is showcase for the new, so much it can get overwhelming. Here’s a glimpse of a few introductions, and coming technologies from this  tech-year’s kick-off event which should interest mobile real estate pros. 
Sony's Experia Z
You need some sort of multifunction mobile device for all you do in the field. Some prefer a smartphone, some a tablet, and some carry both. Maybe not for long: enter the phablet.
A new class of devices is emerging which fall,  screen size-wise, between these extremes without surrendering functionality. Variations include the Sony Experia Z with 5-inch screen; Samsung Galaxy Note, 5.3 inch; Lenovo K900, with 5.5 inch screen; Huwai Ascend Mate with  6.1-inch HD screen.
Larger screens don’t necessarily you’ll have a bigger brick in your pocket. Vendors also showed off flexible screen technologies for future devices. Samsung calls its “Youm,”(check out CNET’s Youm gallery from CES for an idea of the possibilities while Corning calls its variation Willow Glass

There's an iPhone within the foot.sosho case.
As many real estate agents already know, smartphone cameras are good enough for basic video or photo tours. Reinforcing that trend are a growing assortment of accessories to upgrade optics and make them more of a camera. For example, Olloclip  is a 3-in-1 adapter that snaps on the iPhone to equip it with a macro, fish eye and wide-angle lens. The foto.sosho case, offered in three versions, actually outfits an iPhone to look and function like a compact camera, with flash and lens options
       Serious shooters are migrating to cameras with interchangeable lens systems. The Polaroid name has been licensed for an innovative new approach, the iM1836 smart camera. It runs Android, is Wi Fi compatible and the image sensor is built into its interchangeable lens.. Incidentally, WiFi seems destined to become the next standard convenience in a true digital camera, as evident in Sony’s WX180, its smallest camera to boast this feature yet, and at $199, its cheapest.

      Mobile productivity can be totally dependent on battery life. ChargeDr  from Digital Innovations makes it possible to charge a tablet or smartphone in the field rom a laptop USB port. Fulton 
Tactus brings raised keys
to touch screens
Innovation, demonstrated its eCoupled technology  for sharing power between devices, wirelessly. Based on the Qi standard for wireless power transfer,  it will one day allow users to transfer stored power from one device to the other by placing two Qi-enabled devices back-to-back.
       While we’re talking upcoming cool, Tactus Technology( has a way to equip future touchscreen devices with tactile keyboards with raised keys.. Pull up the "keyboard" on your device, liquid inside it pools to produce raised keys. When through typing, the keyboard slips back into the screen.
What next?