Viva Las Vegas: my hybrid CES (part 2)

My last post ?was about some of the stuff I saw at?CES ?last week, covering tech that will help to reduce carbon emissions and some of the bizarre new concepts that were on show. Today, it’s all about telco and what I think CEOs and leadership teams would do well to pay attention to this year.

First, with the entire physical event on a much smaller scale than before, new telco innovations were pretty thin on the ground in the exhibition space. Apart from Samsung’s stand (see more below), there were not many new smartphones on show. Of course, it wouldn’t be such a one-sided story if that “other” smartphone titan (beginning with A…) had come along, but there we go. In addition, new 5G end user kit was difficult to find, and few network equipment providers were on-site.

But I did manage to find some cool stuff across core categories.

1. Folding smartphones are in again

Overall, Samsung’s stand was impressive. As well as an always amazing TV portfolio, its?smartphone range ?looked super solid, including a new, mid-range folding Flip phone. Folding devices have been part of science fiction mythology since at least Star Trek days – the original TV show that is – and during the early 2000s they were quite the thing before full touchscreen technology pushed them into obscurity. But they’ve been making a comeback (for example the famous?Motorola Razr ?is now a?5G flip touchscreen ) and the Flip series certainly seems to be making its mark, achieving significant share of the high-end Galaxy range.

2. Accessories with a difference

RollingSquare , a crowdfunded startup from Ticino demonstrated a beautiful and quite unique set of mobile accessories “for tech minimalists, by tech minimalists”. In a saturated market, it’s refreshing to see a company taking a radically different approach to its design, ranging, and packaging, the last of which is all eco-friendly. From chargers to power banks, phone supports, wireless earphones, lighting for online meetings and, of course, phone cases, there’s something for anyone who appreciates functionality, quality and design.

3. The projector is back

Samsung also showcased the?Freestyle , a revolutionary ultra-portable mini projector that can turn your living room into a cinema or run a presentation anywhere you have enough blank wall space (so maybe not one for the train carriage). In my opinion, these are great products for bundled home packages and I’m surprised more telcos haven’t yet expressed serious interest in them.

4. There’s a new connected watch player in town

For years, I have been pushing for fitness watches to have mobile connectivity embedded, and the iWatch and Galaxy Watch broke the mould by introducing embedded LTE. This category has been fantastic for the industry, driving more connected devices per customer, and now – finally – another provider has got in on the LTE-based watch game. The?Garmin Forerunner 945 LTE ?isn’t fully connected, in that you can’t take calls or manage text messages on it – but it does track your performance and wellbeing with real-time progress sharing, crash detection, and the ability to request emergency assistance if you run (or swim) into trouble.

5. Smart glasses continue to wait in the wings

There was quite a commotion when Google famously dropped its smart glasses project a few years ago, but another brand, Vuzix, has kept going and I always visit their stand to see how things are progressing. Do I believe in it…? In short, yes – in B2B these products make total sense and for consumers, the company has now teamed up with?Verizon ?to focus on an AR experience for sports and gaming. I still think the design could be improved for consumer use, and so partnerships with brands like Oakley and Ray-Ban will be important as this category develops.

6. New, in-home connectivity options

For signal geeks – I know you’re out there – I saw a couple of new products.?Netgear has a nicely designed tri-band, WiFi 6 mesh in-home router, its latest?Orbi ?device, which can handle up to 1Gbps internet speed, while its new?Nighthawk RAXE300 ?is able to use the 6GHz band for faster connectivity, as well as looking like it could fight enemy droids in Star Wars. If those aren’t enough for you, how about the?Fusion4Home ?signal booster from SureCall, which won a CES innovation award and is compatible with all 4G and 5G devices – but only for the North American market.

7. Connected collars multiply

It’s been quite a few years now since I first saw the potential of the connected pet market. In Switzerland, where I live, there are just over half a million pet dogs, and regular readers will know all about my own dog, Deema, who we try to pretend isn’t the most important member of the household. So I’m always looking out for new innovations here and I liked this year’s selection, including the?Invoxia Smart Dog Collar , which uses miniaturized radar sensors to track your dog’s respiratory and heart rates, so it doesn’t matter how furry they are, the signal will still get through. But I have to say my favorite is the?Freedom Collar ?from Wagz. I could pretend it’s because it can safely contain your pet from roaming without using shocks, but let’s be honest, Wagz is also a great name.

Finally, I also spoke to a couple of interesting companies about their solutions for helping people who experience electromagnetic sensitivity, and failover routers that default to mobile if the fixed network goes down. These might be a bit niche for some readers, but if anyone is interested, you know where I am…

Here’s to a successful year in telco.

Photo credit:?Pixabay