CES 2014

Rapper 50 Cent signs autographs at the SMS Audio booth to promote his Street by 50 headphones. Available in black or silver, the $280 'phones have built-in noise canceling, powered by a lithium-ion battery said to last 70 hours when fully charged.

There’s been a lot of talk at the show about 4K – or Ultra High Definition, if you prefer – but no one is talking about how you’re going to move that signal from one side of your house to the other. Well, HDBaseT wants people to know that its technology is ready and waiting for the 4K revolution, and that it can send 4K video – along with full-resolution audio, control, Ethernet and power – over a single Category rated cable up to 328 feet!

"We knew this was a bunch of people who love music," said an appreciative Stevie Nicks about the Monstrous crowd at Fleetwood Mac's muscular 75-minute set, which capped Monster's 2014 Retailer Awards at the Paris Ballroom in the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas on January 8. The mighty Mac were the headliners for a night that saw Monster celebrate its 35th anniversary with style and class.

You wouldn’t think that an ultra-fast 3-port USB hub would be exciting enough to write about, but Innergie’s LifeHub is special because it looks fantastic and has multiple features that make the LifeHub one of the most convenient multi-port USB hubs on the market. The LifeHub has three 2.1-amp, ultra-fast charging USB ports plus s 4.5 meter (14.7 feet) power cord. It’s excellently thought out CableCradle Manager provides power cord storage as well as a stable, magnetized base on which the rounded LifeHub securely sits. The InnerShield Power Protection includes short circuit, over current, and over voltage protection; and the GreenSense Technology incorporates high-performance, energy-efficient, power-saving charging capability. The beautifully designed LifeHub is available now for $54.99.

Two new items from Digital Innovations caught my eye at CES2014. The first was the company’s new antimicrobial formulation for its line of ScreenDr. portable screen and device cleaner. The new cleaner includes antimicrobial ingredients that “stab” bacteria to kill them rather than employ a resistance-building antibiotic ingredient. The fluid in the Screen Dr. cleans the surface of your portable device or flat-screen TV and helps prevent the re-growth of bacteria and microorganisms on the treated surface. The patented all-in-one bottle/cap/cloth holder design is extremely convenient, too. Two ounce bottles are available for $9.99. Five ounce bottles are available for $14.99. Nine ounce bottles – ideally suited for use on large-screen displays – sell for $19.99. The Digital Innovations folks say that the best value is the combo pack containing a two-ounce and a five-ounce bottle for $19.99. Also available from Digital Innovations is the cleverly designed Nest Earbud Case that quickly stores earbud cables and allows them to be removed tangle-free with a single pull. The soft, flexible silicone case is available in blue, pink, and green for $9.99.

There are two problems with most motorized, smart locks. First, they’re usually big, bulky, and require removal of your current lock. Second, they’re expensive – almost always selling for well over $200. Danalock claims its smart lock is “the smallest, most revolutionary and affordable smart lock ever.” When Danalock says the company’s locks are the most “revolutionary”, it doesn’t mean that they turn more than any other company’s motorized locks. Instead, it refers to the fact that the Danalock installs over your existing lock hardware. In reality, the Danalock isn’t really a motorized lock but rather a motorized attachment for a door lock. There are two versions of the Danalock – a round, sleek, hockey puck-like model and a more traditional looking long, semi-rectangular one. Each style of lock is available with Bluetooth connectivity, Z-Wave connectivity, or both, enabling the locks to be easily integrated into home automation systems or more basic app-driven lock control. The locks are currently available with pricing starting at $99.95.

Of the three series of XBR Ultra HDTVs announced by Sony at CES, the X950B is the only one it’s calling a “reference standard.” (The one directly below it, the X900B Series, is merely a “statement in picture, sound and design.”) What makes an X950B Series set so good? For starters, it’s got a full-array LED backlight with Sony’s X-tended Dynamic Range Pro processing to dynamically deepen blacks and boost highlights. It also has the same Triluminos tech found in select Sony HDTVs and UHDTVs from 2013.