The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) brings thousands of exhibitors to Las Vegas to showcase their latest innovations to more than 170,000 industry professionals. We put together a list of a few of the gadgets at the 2016 show that will make life a little easier for small business owners nationwide.
Translate into more sales. Have a diverse, multi-lingual customer base? Has a language barrier ever stopped you from closing a sale? The Ili Wearable Translator can help. The translator, worn as a necklace and only the size of a pack of gum, is an apparatus that, with the press of a button, translates verbal messages into English, Japanese and Chinese. It comes standard with a built-in 50,000-word dictionary. Plans are to expand the language offerings to include French, Thai, Korean, Spanish, Italian and Arabic.
Year of the Drone. More than 25 drones made their debut at this year’s show. New models promoted how lightweight they were so that the user could avoid any registration issues due to size and weight. Practical uses for small businesses include: making realtors property videos more engaging, giving wedding photographers different angles and making commercials look more professional.
Upgrade. We mean Upgrade. The experts at pcmag.com have declared the HP EliteBook Folio G1 to be the best business laptop at CES 2016. It was selected for its sleek metal body, 4K UHD display and USB-C ports with Thunderbolt 3.
Mcor ARKe — 3D printers have been around CES for years, and they continue to improve and amaze at the same time. The Mcor ARKe is aiming to bring full-color 3D printing right to your desk. Currently priced at $5,995 -, it might be an ambitious buy for the average consumer, but it gives a glimpse of what’s to come. The main selling point is this device’s ability to print on paper pieces while other 3D printers use resin and plastic to assemble their printed products..
Be a passenger. Self-driving cars aren’t new to CES, but the buzz in 2016 is these vehicles will soon become a reality. Consensus is these vehicles should be on the road by 2020, or soon after. Think Henry Ford meets Doc Brown when it comes to this forward thinking automation. Your transportation or delivery business will take productivity and profitability to the next level once these vehicles make it into production.
We can dream. Not business related at all, but the Seven Dreamers’ Laundroid is a real timesaver! This prototype takes a load of dirty clothes, washes and dries — and here’s the timesaving part — folds them for you! Still in the prototype stage, the Seven Dreamers’ company has a deal with Panasonic to include this technology in washers and dryers by 2018.
Click here for more information about the CES 2016 show and a sneak peek of what to expect in 2017.
