Every year the CES (Consumer Electronics Show) generates tons of hype and excitement (yes, those happen simultaneously — for all cool new gadgets there are also a number of half baked ones).
This year there are also some hype and some interesting new concepts and some not so new ones in the bicycle world. Of course – the delineation of "innovative" and "not so much" are purely mine…Some of the companies mentioned may have different opinions
- Samsung announced that they are partnering with TREK and displayed handlebars integrated docking station for their Galaxy 3 tablet. I do agree the idea is a good one. The tablets and smart phones alike pack significant amount of compute capabilties which could be used for series of health and bike monitoring tasks / applications. Well, but how new is this ? In my view — NOT so much… I have had a braket for my iPhone on my bike for about 2 years now and my iPhone with the assistance of several apps has been tracking my speed, exercise specifics..etc. Here is the Samsung one
- Samsung also announced the ability to charge the Galaxy 3 tablet while pedaling. Now that is cool!
- Schwin announced a simple navigation system which I think is a nice and low cost gadget for many bike enthusiasts. the product interfaces and works with any Android or Apple iPhone device; gives voice turn by turn directions; attaches to the handlebars with an included/provided mount; and uses a 10-hour rechargeable battery; The NAV system is available for US areas;
- Finally, (for now) Faraday announced a brand new electric bike for use around the city. The new model is Porteur 2014. at price tag of $3500. The company has been taking pre-orders at CES; The bike is really neat and stylish — key aspect – where are the batteries?