CES 2014: My First Hand Experience

To kick off 2014, I was given the opportunity to attend CES 2014 on January 9-10, 2014. (BIG THANK YOU TO SP!) Also known as the Consumer Electronic Show, CES is a giant annual event that takes place in Las Vegas, Nevada at the Las Vegas Convention Center for about a week where previews of the latest, greatest, and upcoming products and product announcements all come together in one place.

Unfortunately, CES is not open to the public, but no fear. I'm here! So sit back, relax, and let me take you on a journey with this little recap of what I saw, a few of my thoughts, and my overall "first time" experience at the biggest electronic show in the whole world. And if you're already thinking it, yes. It was pretty awesome. Imagine big displays and businessmen networking in just about any language you could possibly think of.

Welcome to CES 2014.

Upon entering one of the many buildings and halls after being conveniently shuttled from our hotel, we stopped by the New York Times booth where we had the opportunity to film a short clip that would be printed and made into your very own flip book.



One of the next stops was to the giant LG section of displays. Can you guess what's coming next?



Two words: curved TVs. Yup. Time to toss those flat screens and get ready for some real curves. Sure, these types of screens project movies great in the theaters, but I'm not too sure how I feel about having miniature versions at home. Does it really give off the same effect?



Appliances are another area of tech that is also being developed, like this LG "energy saving" fridge that has a front half section where one's most often used items would be placed. Yes. Definitely need me one of these. Society's all about going green, so why not? LG also has been developing the modes of communication between you and your appliances via LINE Chat. Get ready to cozy up with your friendly appliances like you've never done before! Did you forget about that last load of drying laundry? Not to worry because your phone will let you know when it's done! Yay...



The most visually appealing section of CES from the ones I did visit was the gigantic Samsung area. And of course, their version of the curved UHD TVs didn't fail to give an Ultimate High Definition welcome.



Like they always say, bigger is...better? Sure.





In one of the many sections of the Samsung area, cameras and phones were attached and displayed next to some of the cutest figure displays I've ever seen.

As you can probably tell from these following pictures, I was definitely more into the cute figures (like MUNNY pictured below) than the actual products themselves. Oops? Who's interested in NFC/Wifi connections anyways. (Kidding, kinda.)





I mean, how can you NOT stop and take a pictures. No gonna lie. I felt like I stepped into a miniature scene straight out of Springfield. D'oh!



I don't own any Samsung GALAXY products anymore since I've been an iPhone user for about a year now (and still going strong!) but this collaboration with kidrobot was one of my most favorite parts of the whole exhibit. Everything was so visually appealing and supa-kawaii!

And...we're back to more kidrobot displays. Seriously couldn't get enough of these.



They even had a Street Fighter setup. YATTA!





More exploring going around at CES 2014. Tips on any show or convention you plan on attending, always wear comfortable clothes and shoes. (You can thank me later.)



CES is known for giving free stuff away to visitors, so naturally, I was on the search for as many freebies as I could get my hands on. I mean, who doesn't like getting free stuff anyways? Free is free! The portable phone charger pictured below is sponsored by Duracell/Starbucks and I think the shirt is from Engadget.



Next, we headed to the hall with nothing but phone and tablet accessories. If you're into collecting cute and colorful cases for your phone, North Hall was the place to be! Ozaki was the most colorful section of this area and the most...interesting, "if you know what I mean." (And is it just me, or is the man drawing to the left kind of resembling Steve Jobs the more you look at him...)



There were a few car displays as well. BMW was featuring their "driverless" cars, but we skipped out of that. So in consolation for lack of car pictures, here's a new Audi.

On day two, I came across the "robotics" sections that were being demoed.



Another big and prominent section that I ventured to was for 3D printing. With the process and materials required for 3D printing, you can make just about ANYTHING from cute and colorful bunnies...

To the characters of "The Walking Dead." I see you, Daryl Dixon!



Even the Avengers!



And last but not least, Darth Maul from Star Wars. May the force be with you.



Oh, and we heard you like pigs...



Another cool feature about 3D printing is that it is not limited to manmade materials. 3D food printing is also possible. Ever had the urge to make art out of sugar? Urge no more!





This was the last robotics area that we stopped by and let me tell you, I was highly amused. These guys had controlled options that you could chose from a front panel to perform funny skits together at the push of a button. Let's just say, at my command, one robot sang to the Sound of the Music's "Climb Every Mountain" while the other wallowed in pain. I swear, these guys need to be the next feature at Disneyland's Innoventions or something.



And that just about concludes my little recap of the show.

Even though I visited the show twice during our stay in Vegas, I still didn't get to look at everything. CES is serious business, but I had a really great time and it was a really eye-opening experience being amongst the latest and greatest technologists out there. Were my expectations met? Yes. Lots and lots of TVs, free swag, and let's not forget all of the FREE reusable bags. So until next time!