Those whopping TVs and super-speedy PCs might have turned heads at CES. But there were plenty of futuristic flights of fancy helping us see just what life will be like in 2020, or even sooner. There was the official arrival of Sony Transferjet, the insanity of Asus Waveface and some nifty work with augmented reality. So, here’s our pick of the top five new technologies seen in Las Vegas.
Asus Waveface
The most unashamedly futuristic fun on show, Asus Waveface was pure concept. However, the fact it encompassed the likes of watchphones, dual screen laptops and interactive TVs, all products moving into the mainstream, showed it had at least some grounding in reality. The Waveface tablet, with a bendable screen, was without doubt the most bonkers invention we saw all week.
Sony Transferjet
Three years after it was first touted, Sony Transferjet was finally spotted in gadgets you’ll be able to nab in the near future. The wireless transfer tech can be seen in the Vaio F series and new Sony Cyber-shot HX5V and TX7 cameras, letting you move images just by placing the snapper on the laptop’s frame. We were even treated to file transfer from mobile-to-mobile and a digital movie bank snaffling flicks to your phone in seconds.
Slate PCsBilled as the ultimate next-gen gadget by Steve Ballmer, the CES showfloor was treated to a raft of ‘slates’, evidently taking their cue from an as-yet-unreleased Apple version. The HP model seen at the Microsoft keynote looked pretty vanilla, but the Dell Android tablet will seemingly offer more, with 5, 7 and 9-inch versions all in the pipeline for 2010. It was definitely a case of trying to kill off Cupertino’s hype.
Augmented reality
Sure, augmented reality’s been around for ages. But its implementation of the Parrot A.R. Drone is nothing short of awesome. Using your iPhone to control the Drone, your touchscreen blower will let you use your surroundings as an in-game setting. How exactly you’ll be able to fly a massive quadricopter and look at an iPhone for some gaming action remains a moot point.
OLED 3D
OLED was once the default CES concept, recently gazumped by 3D. So what better way to keep the thin-screen machines top of the agenda than by combining them with three-dimensional tech. The Sony 3D OLED was a stunner, with pics beautifully clear and the design a real peach too. It’s without doubt the ultimate way to watch 3D. Just don’t expect to see it on shelves for a few years yet.
