CES 2019 is well underway and there have been some incredible technology and gadget announcements in the fields of smart homes and devices, AI assisted living, and driverless cars. Everything from flying taxis, intelligent toilets, and solar powered watches to a rollable OLED TV and a liquid/fluid detecting sensor for diapers have been on display. Check out some of our picks for the most interesting technology announcements so far. 


Here's our list of the most interesting tech gear and gadgets from CES 2019 so far:

• LG Signature OLED TV R - a rollable OLED TV. 
• IBM Q System One - the world's first fully integrated, universal quantum system. 
• iTunes on Samsung Televisions- Samsung made a surprise announcement that Samsung TV owners will now be able to use Apple's iTunes service on their televisions.  
• Koler Numi 2.0 Intelligent Toliet - a connected toilet that brings Alexa, heated seats, speakers, and interactive lights to the bathroom.
• Royale Flexpai Folding Phone - the first foldable phone is being displayed by Royale. 
• Mercedes-Benz Vision Urbanetic Conecpt - an autonomous, modular concept vehicle from Mercedes. 
• Bell Nexus - a flying, hybrid electric air taxi. 
• Aftershokz Xtrainerz - bone conduction headphones with 4GB of storage that let swimmers listen to music underwater. $150
• Monit Smart Diaper Sensor - a sensor that attaches to the back of diapers and detects the presence of fluids or liquids. 
• Miracle Go Twelve - system that helps you grow indoor plants by sending you notifications about when water or other actions are required. $300  
• Harley-Davidson Livewire - the first electric motorcycle from the American company. ~$30,000
• Matrix PowerWatch 2 - a fitness watch that runs off of sunlight and body heat. The watch comes incredibly close to making a fitness device that never needs to be charged a reality. $200
• Y-Brush - a toothbrush that claims to let you brush your teeth in 10 seconds. $125

Click here and here to see more comprehensive lists of the gadgets on display. 

CES 2019 kicks off this week in Las Vegas, bringing together 4,400 companies, 1,000 speakers and more than 182,000 attendees as companies use CES's global stage to introduce the next wave of innovative gadgets and disruptive technology. Here are some of the biggest tech trends we expect to see at this year's show: 8K TVs and foldable screens, artificial intelligence for home and health, 5G, and some a slew of new automotive technology.  

Display Tech:

• CES will see TV and device manufacturers demonstrate new advancements in display technology including 8k TVs and smartphones/devices with foldable screens. 

AI:

• As the smart device market continues to heat up, it is expected that Google Home and Alexa will be front and center at CES 2019 as their partners demonstrate even more unique and clever applications of their AI assistants. 

5G: 

• Many of the world's leading telecommunications companies are expected to discuss what consumers can expect to see in the short run from 5G.

Automotive Tech:

• Automakers and technology companies are expected to unveil numerous technology improvements to the consumer transportation experience. 

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Hertz, the car rental company, will expand biometric checkouts during car rentals to 40 locations next year. The technology is powered by Clear, an airport security company, and uses fingerprint verification and facial recognition technology to provide speedier car rentals checkouts at airports. The biometric checkout will shorten the checkout process for renters to 30 seconds or less. The use of biometric security is spreading in airports all across the world as airlines and transportation security organizations experiment with biometric tech during bag drops, check-ins, boarding and security screening. 

The biometric check out lane is called "Hertz Fast Lane powered by Clear," and is already in use at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. The lane will only be available to Hertz Gold Plus Rewards program members, and these members must also enroll with the technology provider, Clear, separately. Although Hertz will not charge members for using the service, members will have to pay Clear to do so. 

British Airways and Delta have also experimented with biometric tech in airports and the TSA (Transportation Security Administration) announced a roadmap this year to roll out biometric security for domestic flights in the United States. 

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For the first time, adults in the USA now rely more on social media than print newspapers to get their news according to a new report from the Pew Research Center. Television is still the most popular source of news with 49% of respondents reporting they often get news from TV, followed by news websites with 33%, radio with 26%, social media with 20% and print newspaper with 16%. Although TV still tops the list, it has declined since 2016 when 57% of respondents identified it as a regular source of news and when online news sources are combined (social media and news websites), they are quickly catching TV as the top news source - 43% for online new sources and 47% for TV. 

As the graph above demonstrates, there are some dramatic differences in news sources between age groups. Social media is significantly more popular among the 18-29 age group, while TV dominates the older age groups. Interestingly, the 30-49 age group's most popular news source is news websites. 

Earlier in 2018, another report by the Pew Research Center showed that 89% of college students surveyed reported receiving some news through social media. Interestingly, college students identified Snapchat and Facebook as the top social media news sources.

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For the first time, Cubans will be able to buy 3G internet access for their mobile phones on Thursday as Cuba became one of the last nations to offer its citizens full internet access for their mobile phones. Previously, Cubans were only able to access state-run email accounts through their mobile phones unless they were connected to Wi-Fi connections at home or on a limited number of government sponsored Wi-Fi Spots. The Cuban government first authorized home internet for their citizens in 2017. 

The new 3G internet service will cost citizens 10 cents per megabyte, and available packages range from 600 megabytes for $7 to 4 gigabytes for $30. 


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General Motors recently announced that it would cut over 14,000 jobs in Canada and the United States. While the layoffs are reportedly due to business-cycle adjustments and possibly slowing demand in key markets, the layoffs are definitely a sign of the incoming disruption that the company's current transition from analog to digital will bring. The digitalization of the auto industry, which is also occurring in nearly every other industry, has resulted in a massive reorientation of the workforce needs of companies like GM. The layoffs and eventual future hirings are likely evidence of the acceleration of GM's response to the diffusion of technology driven changes in their industry and the need to adjust its labor force to it. 

Over the last 15 years, the digital content of work in the auto industry has soared as consumer electronics, battery and electric powered drivetrains, IT, and autonomy place new demands on auto companies and their workers. In fact, the fastest growing occupations in the auto sector as of 2016 have been software developers and computer network support specialists. The occupations which have seen the fastest decrease as of 2016 have been sheet metal workers and drilling and boring machine operators. Evidence of this can be seen in one of GM's statements last week which noted that their transformation "includes adding technology and engineering jobs to support the future of mobility, such as new jobs in electrification and autonomous vehicles." This shift in the layoff decisions and hiring needs of the auto industry is only likely to continue in the future as many jobs in auto-sector jobs are highly susceptible to automation over the next 10 to 15 years. 

It is vital that companies, industries and nations respond to the diffusion of digitalization by embracing the changes technology brings and increasing their investments in digitally focused training (re-training) and education in order to empower workers to be a part of the change. 


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Close to 41.4 million shoppers chose to shop only online from Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday, more than the 34.7 million who chose to shop exclusively in stores according to the National Retail Federation. Cyber Monday and Black Friday both saw double-digit sales growth compared to last year and broke online sales records in the United States. Interestingly, the Wednesday before Thanksgiving saw the highest increase from last year with online sales experiencing a growth of 31.8%. It is clear that each year, more and more customers make their holiday purchases online.

Here are the online sales figures for this year: 

• Single's Day: $30.8 billion in gross merchandise volume; up 27% compared to 2017
• Cyber Monday: $7.9 billion in online sales; up 19.3% compared to 2017
• Black Friday: $6.22 billion in online sales; up 23.6% compared to 2017
• Amazon Prime Day: $4.2 billion in online sales 
• Thanksgiving Day: $3.7 billion in online sales; up 28% compared to 2017
• Wednesday before Thanksgiving: $2.4 billion in online sales; up 31% compared to 2017 
• US Single's Day Sales: $1.82 billion on Singles Day; up 29.1% from 2017

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El Corte Inglés and the Alibaba Group have signed a cooperation agreement to explore business opportunities in numerous areas of interest including smart payments, digital innovation, cloud computing services, and global commerce and retail. The agreement should enable both companies to leverage digital innovation to accelerate their respective omnichannel plans. El Corte Inglés will use Alibaba's cloud computing solutions and their B2C marketplaces to enhance and personalize their digital offering while Alibaba will be able to open physical locations at El Corte Inglés' shopping centers and use El Corte Inglés' distribution centers as collection points for online purchases on AliExpress. Agreements between traditional retailers and technology companies who live and breath digital transformation and innovation are becoming common place as each look to explore the expertise of the other.

As part of the agreement, both companies will also cooperate with each other on logistics, and delivery & supply infrastructure. 

El Corte Inglés is Europe's largest shopping center, and the Alibaba Group is one of the world's leading technology companies. Combining the skills and expertise of each should bring incredible value to both companies as they both seek to create better customer experiences for their customers worldwide. 

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The United States Army will give Microsoft a $480 million contract to supply its augmented reality Hololens headset for use in training and even live combat missions. With the goal of increasing "lethality by enhancing the ability to detect, decide and engage before the enemy," the US Army is expected to buy up to 100,000 headsets. The US Army reportedly wanted a device that would be able to measure vital signs and breathing, monitor for signs of concussion and provide night vision. Non-traditional military suppliers such as Magic Leap and Microsoft were encouraged to bid for the contract. Microsoft's Hololens augmented reality headset is not available for consumers but has become increasingly popular with businesses for marketing, training, and manufacturing.  

With close to 50,000 units sold so far, the US Army's contract will practically triple Microsoft Hololens' sales. The headset is available to businesses for $5000 and $3,000 for developers. Microsoft released a statement to Bloomberg saying "augmented reality technology will provide troops with more and better information to make decisions. This new work extends our longstanding, trusted relationship with the Department of Defense to this new area." 


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