Every few years, I take the time to go visit the CES show in Vegas in order to be on top of what is new, hot, or coming our way from technological innovations and design trends. Although this year Apple did not attend the show, it felt like Apple products, design, and technology dominated the exhibits. The number of companies that make accessories for smart phones, especially iPhone and iPad products, is mind boggling. From simple protective cases, to water proof cases, and from easy-to-hold accessories to easy mounting and handling of iPads,. There were also car mounts, pool mounts, and toy ideas, all revolving around how to interact with or protect your "iProduct.".

Once you move to the car industry section, you once again see the trend of making all user interfaces feel and look like the iOS touch interface. From Audi to Mercedes and Kia, all are looking for better ways to integrate the iOS devices and smart phone feel in general, into the driving experience.

As far as the TV front, it was astounding to observe the advances in 3D TV technology. LG put together a very impressive booth with approximately a 30 feet tall by 60 feet wide 3D screen that was composed of individual TVs operating in sync with high quality 3D pictures in HD.

Samsung did not fall short as well; the qualities of Samsung's new Super OLED TVs are close to perfection, with extremely high levels of black, and all that, for a TV as thin as the iPhone.

Our Share:

We also had our share of pride at the CES when two products that we designed and engineered made their debuts at the show exhibited by our client. One of them is the iProDock Alumina which received the prestigious CES Innovation Award. This car mount cradle is specifically designed for the iPhone to provide a safe and secure mounting option as well as a permanent charging option while integrating the typical iPhone charging cable into the design of the cradle.

The other product displayed was the ProDock + which is a simpler smart phone cradle that can accommodate any type of smart phone with or without a casing.

Overall, not a bad show. I was hoping to see less iOS product accessories than were present, but as indicated above, we contributed to this trend by designing a few ourselves.