Aftermath of CES 2014: The best products announced
By Dan Kricke
Wow, CES. You really outdid yourself this year. We’re still reeling from all of the cool sounding stuff announced at the show. From gigantic TVs to smart home gadgets and tech or apps for basically anything else you can come up with, there was so much to consider. While it would be nearly impossible to highlight every interesting product featured in this year’s show, we’ll dive deeper into three of our favorite below.
Oculus Rift ‘Crystal Cove’ Prototype
The Virtual Reality headset called the Oculus Rift has existed in some form or another since 2012 but the latest version of the hardware shown off at CES 2014 appears poised to take the product to the next level. The latest prototype, known as “Crystal Cove” features much approved positional-tracking capabilities. That means that that your head is no longer the only thing controlling movement of the Rift. Thanks to sensors placed around the end of the unit, movement can now be controlled when the user leans forward or backward and the environment seen in the headset display moves in kind. This helps to all but eliminate the seasick feeling that previous virtual headsets were known for. Unfortunately, this latest version of Oculus Rift still has no release date, but we’re sure to hear more about it in 2014.
Sony PlayStation Now
One of the biggest complaints in this latest generation of console gaming has been the lack of backwards compatibility. While it’s not quite a fix, Sony’s PlayStation Now service is going to change how we think of backwards compatibility and console gaming in a major way. PlayStation Now is a subscription and rental library filled with the best games from the PlayStation, PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3 libraries. It’s stored completely in the cloud and doesn’t even require special hardware to use. The Now will be accessible this summer via the PlayStation 3 and 4 and later in the year will arrive on the PlayStation Vita and aboard Sony’s 2014 line of Bravia TVs. In the long term it could be available on even more Sony branded smart devices.
Dish Virtual Joey
As DVRs get bigger and increase the ability to record multiple shows at once, the problem is less what to record but when to find the time to watch what you’ve recorded. Dish’s new Virtual Joey is attempting to solve that issue by letting users view their recordings anywhere in their home. Virtual Joey is an app for the Hopper line of Dish DVRs that can be accessed on Sony PlayStation consoles and newer LG smart TVs, giving customers the ability to watch their recordings on devices that aren’t connected directly to the Hopper. It’s not quite the ‘view anywhere’ solution that users could use, but it’s a big step in the right direction.
Read more articles about CES 2014 here.
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