Im back! CES is once again incredible this year. Electronics by day and electrically-charged networking by night. My theme for today: Products you wish you had back in college. Well hit the big stuff tomorrow (Sony, Panasonic, Microsoft, etc).
One really useful gadget they’re showing me here is the brand new GoGo Charger Power Pack, a portable recharger for your phone, iPod, and laptop. After finding my phone down to one power bar by 1pm yesterday, I was getting concerned. Then I met Jan Jenkins, founder of GoGo Chargers. The rest is history, as I plugged my phone in, kept walking around the exhibition floor, and had it back to full charge in two hours. Retailing at fifty bucks, you need this!
Heres the Mobeam. They say 340 billion coupons are distributed every year. Its a mini-scanner, which can store all the bar codes from couponsno more clipping! Just be sure retailers accept it.
Not having this is why you didnt get straight As. Wizcoms Info Scan works like a highlighter. Run it over your notes or textbook and it scans (almost flawlessly) all the words. A couple of the cool features: You can load the notes to your computer and print them or you can plug in head phones to the device and it will read the notes back to you.
After eight hours of electronics and other cool toys (I have a USB port rocket launcher that Ill be bringing to the office Monday), we hit the first reception. Here are Buzz Aldrin (second man to walk on moon) and our DC friend Dave Gardy, founder of TVWorldwide, which is out there webcasting the Emmys for Technology and Engineering. Buzz was kicking off his Lunar Renaissance tour, culminating later this year with a reunion of former astronauts.
Next party! Ciscos VIP top client reception. Forgive me if I put myself in with John Chambers, CEO of Ciscoyes, he’s the one on the right. When he started in 1995, the company was doing a little over $1 bilion in revenue; today its $35 billion. He told me Cisco is more focused than ever on the combination of video and social networking, which he thinks is poised to explode.
For their top business partners and senior employees, Microsoft rented out Pure nightclub at Caesars Palace, considered just about the top club in Vegas. Microsoft may not be as cool as Google, but with parties like this and what seems to be the largest exhibition at the entire show, it seems like as big a player as ever.
Tomorrow Ill hit the main convention center and well check out all the big name brands.