CES 2015

It seems that every single company is coming out with a new fitness product. Fit is in - who knew? Audio-Technica has had an impressive selection in the past, but these new SonicSport earphones are certainly up for a long day at the gym, track or in the saddle.

Samsung’s yet-to-be named new wireless speaker has a distinctive football-like shape. On second thought, it looks like a coffee percolator. Whatever—the important thing is that the design is a big improvement over the company’s first-generation wireless speakers.

4K TV? Old news. Japanese broadcaster NHK already has plans underway to start 8K broadcasts sometime in 2016. That date isn’t far off at all, so there are presumably plans in the works to make TVs that can actually receive those broadcasts.

The competition among smart speakers is heating up. In fact, it is already red hot. There are any number of choice products to choose from, with more pouring in. Another new entry is the Avy smart speaker from Zettaly. This is an Android-powered speaker with a couple of nice twists.

JBL launched a new lineup of speakers priced for the budget-seeker: the Arena range. Topping it off is the floor-standing Arena 180, at $699/pair (shown in the photo above)...

A number of new 4K Ultra HDTVs (in the Diamond line) and 1080p Full HD TVs (in the Emerald line) were announced at the show by Amtran/JVC. The DM65USRLCD is a 65-inch, 4K set favorably reviewed in our February/March 2015 issue (right in photo). There's also a 55-inch Diamond model at $899 and a new 85-incher (left), expected to hit stores later this month at the remarkable price of $7,500.

I spotted the Chinese TV make Changhong at last year’s CES. But their booth was modest with little traffic. This year they made a big show of it, with ladies in Chinese garb bringing in the crowds...