Skip to main content

Trends with Benefits from CES 2017 with David Cogen, all the latest tech

Each week, we gather a roundtable of tech experts from the Digital Trends staff, along with the occasional celebrity guest, to discuss all things tech. Topics range from the big tech stories of the week to predicting the future, all while maintaining a somewhat civil decorum.

badge_itunes-smallest   stitcher-smallest   rss-smallest

Our latest weekly episode of Trends with Benefits features David Cogen from TheUnlockr, and Digital Trends staffers Caleb Denison, Rick Stella, and Greg Nibler

Words of CES: Stella noted that with all the smart home stuff on display, the words for CES are “smart” and “connected.”

History of The Unlockr: Cogen gave a short version of The Unlockr story, how he started it as a blog in college to help sell cell phones and how it grew from there.

Press conferences at CES: Denison gave a rundown on how press conferences work and the purpose they serve. The bottom line is getting accurate information from manufacturers without hype and misdirection to enable Digital Trends writers and editors to explain how stuff works on the site in plain English.

Wallpaper TV: These are OLED panels without power supplies, tuners, speakers, or controls that fit flat on the wall, are only one-tenth of an inch thick and look extraordinary. There’s new competition now with LG no longer the only brand.

Who likes V/R?: Denison and Nibler are both fans of the move toward wireless virtual reality devices. Denison pointed out that making high-res video performance wireless is a huge step.

Alexa, Alexa, Alexa: Ford announced Alexa integration, and Stella noted that Alexa is in virtually everything at CES. The panel of experts discussed how Alexa has a lead now in the number of devices with which it works, but the only question is how long it will be before Google Home catches up.

Digital Trends is live all week at CES 2017 in Las Vegas. Check out our continuing coverage live on YouTube, Facebook, #DTces, and DigitalTrends.com/ces.”

Please subscribe and share Trends with Benefits, and send in your questions to podcast@digitaltrends.com. We also broadcast the show live on YouTube every Thursday at 2:30 p.m. PT.

Please don’t forget to check out our other live-streamed shows, Between the Streams and Close to the Metal.

Bruce Brown
Bruce Brown Contributing Editor   As a Contributing Editor to the Auto teams at Digital Trends and TheManual.com, Bruce…
TWB Podcast: SpaceX triumph, Spotify vs. Apple Music, Apple Watch health
trends with benefits spacex tesla spotify apple watch twb full

SpaceX has reinvigorated space exploration: There can be no doubt that putting a cherry red Tesla Roadster into space, as part of the Falcon Heavy X rocket launch on 2/ 5/18, captured the world's attention. It showcased what vision, ability, talent and a whole lot of money, can accomplish. The question now is what will Elon Musk do next? One would imagine that investors are clamoring to pour more money into future projects. This was also the world's greatest ad campaign for Tesla, for which there are some pretty bold plans in their own right. A letter was sent to shareholders stating that they are planning to send an autonomous Tesla car on a coast-to-coast trip in 2018.

Spotify vs. Apple: When it comes to overall users, there is no question that Spotify is the current leader in streaming music services. They have millions more subscribers (approximately 70 million total) than their closest rivals. However, Apple Music is now claiming to have 36 million of their own and according to the Wall Street Journal, is growing at nearly double the rate of Spotify. So, who do you use for streaming music and why?

Read more
Between the Streams: Venomless trailer, Game of Thrones Star Wars, ‘Solo’ time
between the streams

DT’s weekly entertainment show, Between the Streams, is your guide to all of the hottest, most important, and (of course) dumbest new developments in streaming and entertainment, providing a handy recap of the week that was and a preview for what's ahead. Follow us here at 2 p.m. PT every Friday, or add us via RSS, iTunes, or Stitcher at the links below to take BtS on the road!

      

Read more
How to photograph ghosts — get an iPhone (Samsung cameras won’t work)
how to photograph ghosts julie rieger crabman color circled

Forget selfies and sunsets, any ordinary iPhone can be used to take pictures of something far more intriguing: the spirit world.

Julie Rieger is the biggest of Hollywood bigwigs; she’s president, chief data strategist, and head of media at 20th Century Fox, where she’s worked on a few little films like Avatar, Deadpool, The Fault in Our Stars, and more. And in addition to being one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet, she’s an avid ghost photographer -- in fact, she wrote the book on it.

Read more