CES 2015 – Technology for Travelers Day 4
A bittersweet moment, the final day of CES. Four long days walking the floors looking for products that will help travelers and still not enough time to visit every exhibitor’s booth. You can read about the previous days here at:
In the end, the time was well worth it as I found many new items – techie and otherwise – that will help everyone in their travels.
I spent a lot of time with a Sling marketing manager talking about their new arrangement with Dish. The good news, it is an outstanding lineup of live tv for
only $20 a month, available on your laptop, phone, or tablet when you are traveling. The bad news, it is available only in the U.S. That’s a downside for international travelers. Maybe worse, some will not be able to access it when traveling because it requires high speed bandwidth. In his words, if Netflix will work, Sling will work. Sadly, Netflix is not available at many hotel properties. Nevertheless, a deserved winner of CES Best of Show this year.
The Ericsson CEO had an interesting comment a couple days ago. Even though the 4G phone network is not fully built out, he sees a connected 5G Internet of Everything that will be available to us within five years. We certainly see more Bluetooth/NFC capability every year but a time where everything is connected? Sure hope he is right.
Have a dog and want to monitor its health? The answer may come from a company called FitBark. With a small 
attachment to a pet’s collar, you can monitor their activity and rest patterns, not much different than many human fitness trackers. While this is very valuable information for pet owners, I still would like to see an all-in-one attachment that includes a camera and voice activation so I can see what my dog is doing when I am away, as well as talk to him. Maybe in the next version.
Tired of getting hit with high phone charges when you travel? Strone may have the answer to your dilemma. This AU-based firm has a device to turn any GSM phone call into a data call anywhere in the world. Available for Android and iOS phones.
Everyone has moments they wish they could hold up their phone or tablet with just a few fingers. Thanks to lovehandleTM, this is very easy now. These gizmos attach to nearly every phone and tablet case, making holding them with one hand a snap. Check out their website for a video. Cost $5-10.
That’s a wrap for CES 2015. Every year brings new, exciting innovations that will help the travelers of the future. Not surprising, I am already looking forward to CES 2016.
