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Check Out the Coolest Tech from CES 2023

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At the beginning of each year, a group of global innovators meets. They introduce and show off breakthrough technologies. It’s done at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), which is typically held each January in the U.S.

This year, over 3,200 exhibitors from 173 countries showed off the future. Giving us a glimpse of what could show up in our homes offices, living rooms, or kitchens. The show includes both wacky and very sensible inventions. All designed to push the limits and expand how we use technology.

People love their gadgets, so it’s always exciting to see the new tech that CES showcases. It’s estimated that the global smart home household penetration was 14.2% in 2022. By 2027, it’s expected to more than double to 28.8%.

What new gadgets did innovators introduce at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show? Here’s a rundown of some standouts that you may want to check out.

Loona – Intelligent Petbot

Do you love the thought of having a pet, but not the mess? Can’t have one because of where you live? Loona might be your answer. The developer promotes this smart gadget as “the most intelligent petbot.” It’s currently gathering funding through a Kickstarter campaign.

Loona - Intelligent Petbot
Image from Loona’s Kickstarter page.

The cute little motorized pseudo pet can welcome you. It can also follow you when you walk around, sneeze, scratch, and much more. Just like a dog or cat, Loona investigates suspicious objects. Unlike most pets can beatbox, pose for pictures, and dance.

Ring Car Cam

Another consumer IoT device displayed at CES is already for sale on Amazon. It’s the Ring Car Cam, which takes the popular doorbell cam concept on the road with you.

This small internet-connected video cam has dual-facing cameras. It can capture images in the car and on the road. It includes two-way talk to connect with loved ones at home. It also has motion detection and real-time motion alerts.

AtmosGear Electronic Skates

If you’re feeling brave, you can soon strap on a pair of electric inline roller skates. AtmosGear introduced the skates at CES. It expects to begin shipping them starting in May of 2023.

The skates can get up to speeds of 25 km/H (15.5 MPH) and can reach a full charge in about an hour. The “skate” is actually a motorized frame that you can attach to “all roller boots.”

Tilt Five Augmented Reality Glasses

If you’ve been waiting to use augmented reality (AR) outside a video game, your chance may be here. Tilt Five introduced an AR glasses system that connects to a computer device. It can be used on board games as well as video games.

Ready to bring some holographic life to your tabletop play? The system includes the glasses and a board game. The glasses look somewhat like heavy-duty safety glasses. Both interact to bring an AR element into the real world.

Tilt Five
Image is from Tilt Five

Jabra Enhance™ Plus

This earbud/hearing aid combo can be very helpful to those with hearing loss. Jabra Enhance Plus are earbuds that offer a 3-in-1 experience. You can use them for listening to music, phone calls, and for hearing enhancement.

The small design makes them discrete, and they are also designed to be easy to use. They include state-of-the-art technology to provide superior audio clarity.

Hasbro Selfie Series Figures

Have you secretly wished to have your own action figure…of you! Hasbro has you covered with its new Selfie Series. You can use your phone’s camera to upload a pic and choose from figures based on several franchises.

Make a figure of yourself from these universes:

  • G.I. Joe
  • Ghostbusters
  • Power Rangers
  • Marvel
  • Star Wars

Use your smartphone and Habro’s app to customize your new digitized figure. Then all you have to do is buy it and wait for it to arrive.

Twinkly Squares

Twinkly Squares are like the Lite-Bright toy all grown up. The squares allow you to add panels of colored and automated lights to any wall. They’re great for a home office or to add a pop of color to any space.

Because these are IoT gadgets, you can also program and control them. Create digital artwork, have them sync with music, or use their voice feature.

Xebec Tri-Screen 2

Do you wish you had more screen space on your laptop? Don’t like the uneven feel of using a second monitor that is higher than your laptop screen? Then Xebec’s Tri-Screen 2 may be your answer.

Xebec Tri-Sceen 2
Image from Xebec site

This gadget enables you to expand your laptop screen on both sides. It sits behind the screen and expands the screen space both left and right.

Don’t Introduce Smart Tech Into Your Home without Security

New electronic gadgets and home tech can be great. They can also expose your network to security risks. Get help from a pro. Give us a call for a home security audit.

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This Article has been Republished with Permission from The Technology Press.

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7 Customer-Facing Technologies to Give You an Advantage

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Customers look for convenience. In today’s world that means technology that makes their life easier. From webforms to POS systems, you need to keep the customer experience in mind in all you do.

When people aren’t happy with their experience interacting with a company, they leave. And their experience might not have anything to do with your products or services. Maybe they found it hard to navigate your website. They may have a question, but no one was around to answer it.

Customers expect you to make it easy for them to do business with you. Companies that do that, reap the benefits. Customer-centric companies are 60% more profitable than those that aren’t.

Technology is key to converting website visitors into clients. It’s also key for keeping customers happy and returning to buy again.

Where should you focus? Below are several ideas for all business budgets.

Cloud Forms

Are you still emailing forms in Microsoft Word to your customers? Using cloud-based forms makes the experience much better. Your customer doesn’t need to save a form to their computer and remember to email it back. Instead, they can follow a link and fill out the info online from any device.

Moving your forms to the cloud makes it easier for you as well. The form data comes in automatically. These systems also collate forms and provide analytics.

If you use Microsoft 365, then you already have a cloud form tool. Look for Microsoft Forms in your available applications or visit Microsoft’s site.

Digital Signatures

Experts expect the use of eSignatures to grow by 69% by 2024. The ability to digitally sign documents means more contracts get signed. People don’t have to print out a form, sign it, then scan it back in. Any of those activities could mean a bump in the road.

Printers run out of ink. People have trouble with a scanner they rarely use. The list goes on. Any problem can mean a customer rethinks signing a document that you need.

Using digital signatures streamlines the process. You can handle the transaction online. You also ensure you have a legally binding signature.

Smart Chatbot

When someone makes a buying decision, they often have a question. If they don’t have a quick and easy way to get an answer, they may go elsewhere.

Chatbots are really smart these days. If you program them right, they can answer a large percentage of repeat questions. They’re there 24/7 on your website ready to help in a moment of need.

Many customers actually like them. About 68% of consumers are happy using helpful chatbots. They say they like that they get a fast answer from a bot. This isn’t always the case when customers send an email.

SMS Notifications

SMS notifications are another type of technology that can improve customer experience. Emails have become flooded with junk mail. When someone needs to know about a shipment or purchase, they often prefer it by text. This way the message isn’t missed.

Think about implementing SMS notifications for important customer alerts. Make sure you have an opt-in and opt-out method. It’s also a best practice to let the customer choose which alerts they want to receive. Such as payment notifications, sales, or shipping details.

Business Mobile App

People have been in a transition from websites to apps for a while. Of course, the internet isn’t going away, but apps are gaining ground. A big reason for this is the rise of smartphone use.

Smartphone searches are overtaking web searches. And when people are on a mobile device they prefer apps over websites. Studies show that mobile users spend 90% of their time using apps, and just 10% using an internet browser.

Think about implementing a mobile app for your business. This can make it easier for customers to do business with you. It also gives you more marketing and service capabilities, such as push notifications.

If you’re on a tight budget, you could start with a “wrapper” app. These are solutions that take your existing website and transform it into an app.

FAQ Kiosk

For retail stores, having an FAQ kiosk available can provide a positive experience. It can allow customers to get questions answered quickly. It could also help them look up sales and coupons.

Service businesses can also benefit by using this digital tool. They can use it for commonly asked questions. They can also use it to direct clients to staff offices.

VoIP Phone System

You might think of your phone system as an internal piece of IT. But it’s also one of your most customer-facing technologies. The experience people get when they call is a vital part of how they view your business.

VoIP phone systems give staff the flexibility to help customers anywhere. This is true even when away from their desks. They also enable things like group ring, auto-attendant, and voicemail to email. All these features make for better caller interaction with your business.

Get Help Planning Your Technology Roadmap

Which technology upgrades will benefit your bottom line the most? How should new systems integrate into existing solutions? These are some of the things we look at when helping you look ahead to the future. Give us a call today to schedule a chat.

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How Is the Metaverse Going to Change Business?

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The new buzzword around town is “metaverse.” But what does that actually mean for businesses? Is it just something that social media companies need to be concerned about?

According to people like Apple’s CEO Tim Cook, the metaverse is coming. He stated that “Life without AR will soon be unthinkable.” Whether that’s a short-term or long-off prediction, companies need to be ready.

First comes the understanding of what the metaverse is. Metaverse is a general term – hence why it’s not capitalized like a proper name. The metaverse refers to a collective upgrade of the internet to a 3D virtual environment. This would be a world interconnected between various sites. These sites would reflect the immersive games that you see today.

Did Facebook/Meta invent the metaverse? No.

The idea of connected 3D immersive worlds has been around for decades. Several online gaming companies have staked a territory in the metaverse. But their applications are less interconnected.

What’s one of the best representations of the early metaverse? It’s a short-lived software called Adobe Atmosphere. This 3D immersive experience included interconnected online worlds. It also gave people the ability to chat with others. It was a bit before its time but shows how the concept of the metaverse has been around for a while.

The metaverse is getting attention now because technology has advanced. It has begun to catch up to the needs of such a world. This includes fast internet connections and immense processing power. It also includes a delivery method for 3D that works on most PCs.

Are we there yet? Not quite. But the metaverse is picking up steam. Recently, Microsoft announced a partnership with Meta. This partnership is to bring Microsoft 365 apps into the metaverse. This means collaboration in an entirely new way. Microsoft notes that 50% of Gen Z and millennials expect to do some of their work in the metaverse in the next two years.

Microsoft Teams Meeting in VR
Image source: Microsoft

How Does the Metaverse Impact Your Company?

With companies like Microsoft looking at the future of AR/VR, it could be a reality soon. You can expect the metaverse to touch your own company in some way in the next few years. Here’s a preview of what it may impact.

Where to Advertise

When the internet was first introduced, companies didn’t immediately realize its potential. Now, most companies wouldn’t consider operating without a website. It’s a necessity for driving leads and converting sales.

If the metaverse takes off as a new 3D iteration of the internet, it could be just as important. This means exploring metaverse-type advertising in virtual worlds. Also, potentially creating your own VR site or showroom.

How to Service Customers

As the popularity of social media took off, companies realized customers used it to reach out. Seventy-nine percent of consumers expect companies to respond to a social media message. And they expect that response within a day.

To address that need, many businesses have a social media presence. They use this for marketing and to answer questions and inquiries from customers.

The metaverse may be the next step. If people begin hanging out there, they will expect to interact with businesses in that space. Just like they do now with social networks.

This means companies need to be aware of how customers may be using the metaverse as it grows. Adding a question about metaverse use to a year-end customer survey could be a way to be proactive on this topic.

Employee Training

One of the touted benefits of the metaverse is its ability to enable more immersive training. This could greatly increase training capabilities for everyone from doctors to forklift operators.

Imagine being able to replicate a task more closely in a virtual world. A person could safely make mistakes there. Then they could grow proficient before doing that thing in real life.

Start thinking about the types of training that your employees need. Then, look at ways that a VR world may make the training safer or more efficient. The metaverse may not have what you’re looking for now. But with the pace of technological advancement, it could in a year or two.

More Immersive Remote Team Collaboration

Virtual meetings skyrocketed out of necessity during the pandemic. Now, meeting by Teams or Zoom is commonplace. The next generation of online team meetings may end up being in a virtual world.

As we noted earlier, Microsoft is already working on bringing its apps into a virtual space. Add a few avatars and an immersive setting. Suddenly, you have a completely different meeting experience.

What’s one more way to enhance remote team collaboration in the metaverse? It has to do with building design and maintenance. Imagine being able to walk through a 3D recreation of a space before it’s built. Then fine-tuning the construction while inside that space.

Is Your Business Ready for the Next Digital Transformation?

What are your digital transformation plans for the next 12 months? The next three years? If you’re not sure where to begin, we can help. Contact us today to schedule a technology brainstorming session.

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This Article has been Republished with Permission from The Technology Press.