More from CES 2017

By Robert Sanborn

CES has so much to choose from that you have to pick and choose and so I put together a list of companies that I want to see what is new from them that can help me in my work but also the many people that I talk to with questions about computers and technology.

I visit Monster Cable because they often have a lot of cool things to show off and you never know who they bring to their press conference; some people really cool and there are others that you wonder what are you doing here? In the latter category, I have to pick on Lance Stephenson. He played a number of years for the NBA Pacers in Indianapolis and people never had a neutral opinion about him or his on court antics. He was good. No doubt about it but the Sports Illustrated headline said it all: “From Pacers star to unwanted free agent”. Google it. He is now one of the many celebrities with Monster. And I also have to say, the concert they had for their Dealer Awards Dinner was spectacular. George Benson and Friends Play the American Songbook with the BBB Orchestra with Bernie Dressel was incredible.

Head Monster Noel Lee was as animated and entertaining as ever so for those kinds of reasons, that was a fun press conference and event to attend. Will do it again next year but unfortunately, this year they talked more about remaking Monster than they did about new products so from that perspective, it was kind of dull. The music was definitely worth it. What was new was a boom box, new head sets, and finally, an iSport head set for people on the move. Other than the intro video, not a word about cables but they are the gold standard for cables.

Panasonic Press event was more interesting for the automotive side than the consumer side. Panasonic is the worlds leader in lithium batteries for the Tesla automobiles. In fact, their automotive group is the largest of Panasonic in the USA. So what caught my eye was the Panasonic countertop induction oven. Panasonic is also reviving the Technics Brand by bringing out  a cordless direct drive Turntable, the SL-1200GR. Priced at $1,299 British Pounds or $1,627. Read the Review

You know how silly it seems to get when on one side, Monster brings out Lance Stephenson and Panasonic brings out Mickey Mouse.

On the other hand is Voxx International. This is the gobbler of companies and the brands in their stable is quite long from some budget conscious speakers from 808 Audio to top of the line audio from Klipsch to electronics for the home and auto. How about a $49 water proof speaker, the CAM H2O. They do have some cool stuff. Another one of theirs is Project Nursery with a wide range of baby monitoring devices that is a different take on how it is done.

Stay tuned, there's more to come!