CES 2017: Best of the Rest.

With CES over with for another year, here is my round up of some of the brilliant tech showcased this year in Las Vegas.

Motiv Ring

If you are not ready to make the jump from a mechanical to a smart watch, or don’t fancy wearing a sports tracker on one wrist and your normal time piece on the other, then Motiv have the answer.

Amazingly, Motiv, have managed to cram all of the tech into any wrist worn sports tracker on the market, in to a ring! At 8mm wide by 2.5mm thick that is some achievement!

The Motiv Ring is to go on sale in Spring 2017, and can be pre-ordered from their site at 9, although this is only open to US residents to begin with.  It is worth noting, at launch, it will only work with an iOS device, but Android support is due in the summer.

The Motiv Ring won the CES 2017 Best of Innovation for Wearable Technologies award!

Aluma Connect

I think all of us could identify at least one friend or family member who we would like to own this next device!  The Aluma Connect is a personal safety device that connects to the back of your smartphone, links to it via Bluetooth, and provides the user with a 2-fold personal security system, immediate visual/audio warning and distress signal to you social safety network.

The moment the owner feels threatened or is in a dire situation they can push the button or pull on the wristband.  The device emits a 135 decibel noise and triggers an LED strobe light.  The real smart tech, however, is in the app.

You can preset emergency contact groups of people. So once the button is pressed, that group are notified via text and email.  These contain a link, which when clicked, shows a map of the location from where the distress was sent from.  It shows you others in the group, if they are closer than you and if they can attend or not.  Those who can, the app then sets up a conference call.

The Aluma Connect will be released in spring for $100.  You can sign up for notifications on it’s release.

OlloClip for iPhone 7/7+

This year we will see a huge growth in smartphone add-ons and rigs to enable us to broadcast, record and capture our travels, our lives and those special moments.  For example, already I have upcoming reviews for iOgrapher, Rode Mics, Moondog Labs and Manfrotto products.

The new Olloclip for iPhone 7/7+ has improved optics on the previous versions for older iPhones, is as simple as clipping the frame on or off from your handset and supports both front and rear cameras.

With their CONNECT™ system you can also interchange the lenses quickly and easily.  No additional app is needed as they all work with any camera app.

The Core Lens set is £99 and is available now from the Olloclip store.

Sony’s New XB40 Portable Speaker

Despite the less than catchy name, Sony’s new Portable speaker has a nice twist to make it stand out in a sea of portable audio solutions.

With a built-in multicoloured line light, speaker lights and a flashing strobe, you’ll be able to see and hear the beat, claims Sony.

Coming in Red, Aqua or Black, Sonys new “modern day boombox” wants to be the centre of attention wherever you decide to use it.  The battery life, at 24 hours, seems a little low for a unit this size, but something has to fuel the lighting! The surface is water resistant in case you decide to move the party to the pool or beach.

Using the Fiestable app you can take charge of playback, speaker lights and DJ sound effects from your phone (iOS/Android).

At present there is no price or release date.