CES (International Consumer Electronics Show) 2009

[CTScott]

I just got back from CES 2009. The state of the ecomony was evident with less exhibitors than any of the past years and far fewer attendees. I spent some time in the automotive section and wanted to pass on some of the interesting things I saw.

By far, the highlight of the trip for me was attending Intel's private party featuring the Counting Crows.




I was hoping to see some tricked-out Yari, but the closest thing was a few Scions:








There were quite a few other show cars with this purple thing being the wildest:





Speaking of wild; Here's a 24" subwoofer (the cone has about a foot of travel):



Motevo was the only vender with a Yaris specific item. They had a replacement head unit for sedans with DVD/Nav (http://www.motevomobile.com/
)



FLIR demo-ed their forward looking Infra Red systems for cars and motorcycles. Their system is based around a true longwave IR imager, rather than and IR sensitive camera (http://www.flir.com/US/):






Microvision's PicoHUD was cool - Their heads up display using a pico projector (http://www.microvision.com/vehicle_displays/index.html):




Dynamat showed a new product called Dynamat Superlite which will cover an entire large sedan at 33 lbs. The rep I spoke to estimated that a Yaris LB could be covered at about 20 lbs. Dynamat Superlite will begin shipping in March. The rep said that if there's enough interest we should be able to arrange a discounted group buy (http://www.dynamat.com/products_car_...roduction.html):



Copilot was showing an iPhone running their voice cued navigation software (which, like TomTom they can not release because Apple won't allow any turn-by-turn navigation software, as it supposedly competes with the built-in google maps). On the second day of the show I brought one of my coworkers by, to check it out, and they took down the display because too many people were coming by and getting cheesed off that they can't have it:




Finally, Howard Keys makes replacement transponder keys that are fully compatible with the OEM engine immobilizer. The blank Toyota transponder keys are $7.95 each, which is cheaper than a non-transponder key from a dealer. Their primary target market is the remote starter market, where the key does not even need to be cut to be used in a key bypass module. (http://www.howardkeys.com/pages/transponder-keys.html ).

[cali yaris]

cool man thanks for the pics and descriptions.

I wonder what that 24" sub weighs? wow.

[Gideon]

Mmmmmm HUD.

[m911gt]

Great write-up, looks like it was a neat show.

[CTScott]

Originally Posted by cali yaris

cool man thanks for the pics and descriptions.

I wonder what that 24" sub weighs? wow.

I think they said about 370 lbs.

[The Architect]

hahahahaha 370 pounds omfg.

My 18" Square Kicker Diagonally Measured is 38lbs.

Thats MTX "Engineering" for ya.

[tk-421]

The FLIR camera and pico-hud kick-ass. I also liked the dynamat stuff. I'd be very interested in a GB if the price is right. Thanks for the writeup, CTScott!

[skigil]

+1 on Dynamat.

[talnlnky]

Wow... nearly a foot of travel on that MTX... rediculous... I can't believe a rep would actually say something like that. I'd love to see the motor on that, I doubt the thing can actually move more than 2" one way without sounding horribly distorted.

Google doesn't have anything on it yet... I also have issues with rumors of a sub weighing more than 100lbs. I understand its a 24" sub.. but still. Something that they produce, and nobody will buy because its not even realistic to use in anything other than a SPL van.


I really wonder what the benefit of that new dynamat product is. Thinner than the normal stuff? is it half foam half mat? You generally want to add MORE weight, not skimp on it.

[CTScott]

Originally Posted by talnlnky

Wow... nearly a foot of travel on that MTX... rediculous... I can't believe a rep would actually say something like that. I'd love to see the motor on that, I doubt the thing can actually move more than 2" one way without sounding horribly distorted.

Google doesn't have anything on it yet... I also have issues with rumors of a sub weighing more than 100lbs. I understand its a 24" sub.. but still. Something that they produce, and nobody will buy because its not even realistic to use in anything other than a SPL van.


I really wonder what the benefit of that new dynamat product is. Thinner than the normal stuff? is it half foam half mat? You generally want to add MORE weight, not skimp on it.

The sub was truly ridiculous - I think the premise is simply for them to maintain bragging rights of making the largest one out there.

As for the Dynamat Superlite, its purpose is to achieve a level of sound dampening without adding as much weight. It's all relative, as its 30% reduction in weight comes with about the same percentage reduction in dampening.

[SilverBack]

The bluish-purple "thing": Batman's son's car?

[talnlnky]

Originally Posted by CTScott

The sub was truly ridiculous - I think the premise is simply for them to maintain bragging rights of making the largest one out there.

As for the Dynamat Superlite, its purpose is to achieve a level of sound dampening without adding as much weight. It's all relative, as its 30% reduction in weight comes with about the same percentage reduction in dampening.

That makes a bit of sense.... marketing wise.
When it comes to the physics though, you don't need to mat every square inch in a car to get benefits. putting on 4oz of mat over a 1 sq ft area on a panel will net practically the same amount of dampening as putting 4oz of mat on a 4 sq ft area on that same sized panel (assuming the panel is at least 4sq ft in size).

It would be cool for places that are exposed and you want a nice even looking install (not patchwork quilt style looks), but how many places are there like that? trunk lid?....maybe bottom of hood.... gas cap? I can't think of any more.

[simarik]

Low purchase price,Super low ink costs,Excellent photo-paper prints,Slow at printing and copying,Meager manual-duplexing help for Mac users,Grainy-looking prints on plain paper.


Thanks & Regards
___________________________________

Wide Range of Wholesale Consumer Electronic

[sqcomp]

...of course Dynamat comes out with this $hit after I've pretty much done my entire car...

BISHES!