The Tradeshow Wrap-up

I'm back!  From tradeshows, that is -- I hit up CES in Las Vegas, and then immediately turned around and flew to Detroit to cover the North American International Auto Show.  And yes, I got back from Detroit a week ago, but it took me a week to recover from all the traveling/being sick/not sleeping/working.

As for why I didn't update you guys before the tradeshow circuit, I have no excuses.  Sorry 'bout that.

Anyway, CES.  CES this year was...hectic, as usual.  My beat for CES was mainly car tech, so I got to hang out in the North Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center and check out all of the sexy, high-tech cars (and the sexy, souped-up rides that the aftermarket companies brought in).  It was pretty sweet, not gonna lie, and since AVN stopped having its porn-a-palooza during CES week, thankfully free of porn stars.

Here's what I covered:

Cobra's under-the-hood radar detector is first of its kind -- Okay, so it's not the first under-the-hood radar detector, but it's the first one that uses your smartphone as a display (via Bluetooth).

Chevy adds Siri and TuneIn radio integration to its Spark and Sonic cars -- Yep...Siri in your car!  What you've all been waiting for!

Toyota and Lexus showcase autonomous research vehicle -- Apparently, Toyota and Lexus are finally ready to start testing self-driving cars.  That's so 2010, says Google.

Ford launches open mobile app developer program for SYNC AppLink -- Ford said it was the first automaker to open its app platform to third-party developers.

GM joins Ford on infotainment platform for app developers -- ...and then, three hours later, GM opened its platform.  Take that, Ford! (says GM)

Audiovox brings aftermarket Siri to your car -- Take that, Chevy! (says Audiovox)

Chrysler shows off connected Dodge Ram truck -- Take that...nobody.  Says Chrysler.  Chrysler's connected-truck is only like, the 11th of its kind.

The open-source car: automakers eagerly woo app developers -- Well, Ford and GM did it.  And there are other people doing it too.

Audi's car parks itself, takes baby steps toward vehicle automation -- This self-parking Audi was by far the coolest demo I saw at CES.

Ford inks deal with app makers to pipe content and navigation tools to drivers -- A quickie video we did on the last day to show off Ford's new apps.

I also did a couple of non-car-tech videos at CES: this one on Neurosky's brain-controlled cat ears and helicopter, and this one on a high-tech concept jacket.

The PCWorld/TechHive/Macworld trailer!

Woohoo!  CES was fun this year, mainly because we had a trailer and a dedicated video team.  What more could I ask for?

--

Okay...NAIAS. 

The Toyota Fun-Vii concept car, all decked out in TechHive

Unlike many people, I was actually pretty excited about heading over to Detroit for the auto show.  Mainly because I love cars, but also because I have family in the Detroit area.  We didn't have quite as many people as we had at CES (okay, we only had two people -- me, and my lovely colleague Melissa Riofrio), so there wasn't quite as much coverage.  But here's what we managed to check out:

Smart Forstars concept car has built-in movie projector -- Yeah...it's a concept car with built-in impressive, cutting-edge video projector technology!

Mercedes taps into technology to give drivers an assist -- A quick overview of Mercedes-Benz' safety tech.

Electric motors come to big trucks by way of VIA -- Is there anything more awesome than a hybrid Silverado?

Tesla's Model X crossover SUV looks to rock the suburbs -- My future mom-car :)

High-tech concept cars at the Detroit Auto Show -- They may not be practical or even totally feasible, but they are awesome.