At Sparxoo, we stay ahead of the tech curve. That’s why we keep a close eye on the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), which has been the must-watch consumer tech show for five decades.

CES usually is good for multiple exciting revelations. For example, CES is where Sony often unveils its new PlayStations, or where companies like Mercedes-Benz reveal wild new concept designs for the next car of tomorrow.

This year’s batch of new toys took us on a journey of Connectivity that fell right in line with one of the 10 key Digital Marketing Trends we explored in our 2020 Digital Marketing Trends Report.

In the guide, we looked ahead to this year and envisioned expansive growth in the use of video based on a few relevant numbers such as this:

According to research by HubSpot, 68% of people prefer to learn about a product or service from a short video.

The question is not whether video remains the primary means of spreading information. That’s not going to change any time soon.

The question in the wake of this year’s CES is, how will users consume that video and other media? What CES revealed this year is that we can look forward in the near future to much more innovation in connectivity.

Here are a few CES products and breakthroughs that excited us about the weird, wild future of connectivity:

Ballie the Personal Assistant Robot

It’s round, it’s connected and it has a built-in camera. Technically, Ballie the robot is Samsung’s tennis-ball-sized personal Assistant.

In actual effect, it’s a cuter, mobile version of your Amazon Echo or Google assistant. The release date has not been announced, but come on … look at that little guy go!

As for practical applications, Ballie could evolve into a roving security droid – or it could simply be there when you need a friend.

Life in a Parallel Reality

The tech developer Misapplied Sciences has enabled a new way for airline passengers to avoid eye strain as they search for their flight information on the big boards along the concourses and terminals.

Say hello to Parallel Reality, a personalized view of the board made possible by splitting the light of each pixel emitted by the board, based on personal information. It means thousands of people will be able to look at the same screen and see entirely different things — in this case, flight info — simultaneously.

Delta Airlines plans to start using the technology this summer in Detroit.

The Cars of Tomorrow … Today!

Sony and Mercedes made splashes with their concept cars. Neither the electric Sony Vision-S nor the Mercedes-Benz Vision AVTR will be made available to the public any time soon, but they were cool to look at and the connectivity they demonstrated was insane.

For example, the Vision AVTR (inspired by the world of the movie Avatar) is designed to read the driver’s biometric data (pulse and breathing patterns). The idea, Sony said, was to merge the driver and car into a “symbiotic organism.”

Sony’s car is loaded with touchscreens and other gadgets (radar, ultrasonic sensors, etc.) that are designed to improve driver assistance.

Alexa … Play Singin’ in the Rain

Amazon unveiled its latest iteration of the Alexa personal assistants. As of this year, there is no need to be disconnected – ever – from the ability to place an order for next-day delivery.

There’s a new bicycle, the Cybic E-Legend, which comes with a color display as well as a far-field microphone array. Need directions? Just say, “Alexa, where’s the nearest bike shop?”

And then there’s the Kohler Moxie Showerhead: It comes with a detachable, waterproof Alexa assistant.

Feel like dancing while scrubbing away the day’s dirt? “Alexa, play my shower playlist.” Boom. Music in the shower. Run out of shampoo? “Alexa, order Panteen.”

Typing on Air

This one might be the biggest game-changer from CES this year for those of us who type a lot every day. Samsung’s Selfie-Type “keyboard” uses your phone’s camera machine vision and artificial intelligence to allow you to type without an actual hard keyboard on a smooth surface.

No more thumb typing on a tiny screen? We’re in!

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