CES 2015

Gogoro made an impact at CES this year, with their electric scooter concept taking shape. But what is Gogoro? Is it a simple plug-in scooter you’ll be able to slip around the neighborhood in, or is it more? Attempting to set a precedent for what’s next for scooters, Gogoro follows the lad of auto manufacturers like Tesla, who are aiming to reduce our dependency on oil. Like Tesla, Gogoro depends on battery technology, and may need a little clarity added to the conversation surrounding it. Here are four points to keep in mind about Gogoro.

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NVIDIA's Tegra X1 processor paired with NVIDIA DRIVE CX studio technology had the company suggesting they'd be powering the smart consoles of the next generation of smart vehicles. But what good is a system like this without actual, real integration? Surprise - NVIDIA's been working with the Renovo group to bring a Tegra X1-powered smart console to their prototype EV Coupe over the past several weeks. It's not only impressive to see in action - it's a testament to the quick optimization and integration powers of NVIDIA's software system.

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We've seen a lot of product announcements over the week, but among TiVo's own CES 2015 revelations is one that does not involve hardware at all: TiVo OnePass. The new feature for certain TiVo DVRs is targeted at the binge-watchers among us -- those who consume shows several episodes at a time, and who hate having to hunt down that one wayward mid-season episode halfway through their binge-watching festivities. OnePass will be arriving to applicable TiVo users some time next month.

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Fitness wearables haven't been in short supply here at CES, but whether they're on your wrist as a watch or band, or clipped to your clothes, there's the hassle of always remembering to attach them. AmpStrip aims to bypass that by sticking to your skin, a digital, wireless Band-Aid that can track heart rate and movement and then funnel that data via Bluetooth to your phone. By opting for direct skin contact, AmpStrip says, not only are the biometric readings more accurate, but you can go several days without having to think about the sensor itself.

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“Phoneographers”. That’s who Beastgrip is for, according to their website. It’s clever, and oddly endearing for people like me who like taking photos with their phone, but sometimes want to take it a step further. After reviewing the original Beastgrip, I was pretty excited to get word of the Beastgrip Pro, the iterative progression from the original. Still in its beta stage, we caught up with the man behind Beastgrip while he hoofed through CES. What we found was another reason to get excited about smartphone photography.

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Polaroid's CES 2015 offerings have been notable, and include the iZone camera companion for smartphones and tablets, as well as some other gadgets. Also counted among them are two new tablets, the Polaroid L Series Android slates. They're essentially the same device offered in 7-inch and 10-inch sizes, and they have decidedly mid-tier specs, including quad-core processors and WiFi. Both are targeting budget-conscious users, set to come with a price tag that undercuts many competing slates when they launch this spring.

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For everyone who has begged for a larger Chromebook, there seems to be several others who can't get their heads around Chrome OS on a bigger than 13-inch display. Acer is wading into that argument head-on, launching the Chromebook 15 at CES this week, and in the process becoming the first manufacturer to offer Google's web-centric platform on a "traditionally" sized notebook. With many seeing Chromebooks as the spiritual successors of netbooks - ultraportable and super-affordable - you can understand the confusion around the Chromebook 15, but it turns out there are several good reasons for its existence.

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Gadgets for children aren't anything new, but they're commonly over-priced and poorly made, offering often comical features that have little practical use in everyday life. Fortunately, the trend toward more useful kids-centric devices is growing, and it is always a welcomed change to see a useful gadget for the younger people out there. One such device is the hereO smartwatch, a colorful and durable wearable bid as the "most advanced" cellular GPS smartwatch for children. The company behind hereO is showing its wearable off at CES 2015, and we've all the details on it.

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This week at CES 2015, Razer brought their first Android TV product to the masses. With a dedicated wireless gaming controller that doubles as a media remote (Razer Serval) as well as a wireless gaming keyboard (Razer Turret) made for the couch-surfing gamer, there's no mistaking the fact that Razer is aiming its cannons directly toward the living room this year. With the Forge TV, Razer is preparing to put the likes of Amazon Fire TV, Google's Nexus Player, and Apple TV on notice.

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Among Polaroid's CES 2015 wares is the iZone camera, a square-shaped compact point-and-shoot camera with optical zoom and the ability to work with your Android or iOS mobile device. The maker refers to iZone as a companion device for your smartphone or tablet, the latter of which works as a remote view finder and a storage base for taking/saving images with the Polaroid camera. The idea behind such a device is that the companion camera will (likely) be of a somewhat higher quality than your smartphone, but without the same sharing features and power as your handset.

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If you're a regular Netflix user, there's a good chance you've used a VPN at some point to get access to a different region's library -- Australians, for example, have long used VPNs to subscribe to the service in the absence of a local option (though that'll be changing soon), and others simply use VPNs to watch shows not offered in their own country. Over the weekend, rumbles surfaced stating Netflix was starting to crackdown on those users, but now the company has spoken up to say such claims are false.

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Braven has introduced its new BRV-PRO rugged Bluetooth speaker, something the company is bidding as a solid option for outdoorsy folks in need of a "tank-like" speaker. The BRV-PRO is both ultra-rugged and portable, and is being offered alongside accessories that improve its usefulness for certain users, including an extended battery pack to keep the tunes coming sans a convenient power outlet. The speaker is already available and the accessories will be coming soon, and we have all the details on what they have to offer.

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