CES 2013

The future of audio. That is a significant statement – the fact that audio actually has a future. There has been much handwringing by people (including me) wondering whether the awesomeness of screens big and small has forever eclipsed the coolness of audio. We feared that much like the tiny speakers in flat-screen TVs, audio would become something trivial. After walking the CES floor and taking to people, I can confidently state that rumors of audio’s demise are greatly exaggerated, and in fact they are not true.

Just when you finally found the perfect home dock, Apple went and changed things up by eliminating the ubiquitous 30-pin connector with the new Lightning connector. JBL was right there to scoop into the market with the OnBeat Rumble boombox with a Lightning connection and Harman’s TrueStream Bluetooth capabilities. It charges the iPhone 5 or iPad Mini or other Apple Lightning devices when docked, and with an adapter, can handle the legacy devices.

When you think of car audio, do you think of AM/FM radios and CD players? Think again. Today’s best head units are as connected and function-heavy as your phone or tablet. The big difference is that the head units offer dynamite A/V quality. Case in point, Kenwood’s new DNN990HD head unit marries Android with DVD playback.

While everyone’s been showing off their Bluetooth docks (and I’ve certainly covered a number of them) the folks at iLuv were showing off something slightly cooler at the International CES this year.  The MobiRock is a small wireless dock that features wireless charging for Qi-enabled devices. The MobiRock (iMM711) is currently compatible with the Nokia 920 and some HTC models.  An adapter will be available for other devices in the near future, and there is a USB charging port for non-Qi devices.

In one of the weird niche products LG showed at CES, the HECTO is a laser-based projector with a fixed throw distance. That distance? 22-inches from the lens.

As you can see in the photo, the HECTO is designed to nestle up nearly to the wall, and project a distortion-free 100-inch, 16x9 image.

A few more details after the jump.

We know Velodyne for their subwoofers, and lately, headphones. This isn’t all they do, though.

They also love robots.

Self-guided, thinking, driving, car-sized robots.

If one thing was clear at CES 2013, it was that Smart features on top-of-the line TVs had advanced substantially over those found on last year’s models.