Video: First look at VW's Golf R Touch multi-touch smartcar at CES 2015

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

Las Vegas - Volkswagen is a first time exhibitor here at the International Consumer Elexctronics show and they certainly made a huge splash during their first keynote. The automotive giant talked about their eGolf electric vehicle as well as various technologies that are coming to their line of cars. The kicker was showing off a smart concept of their Golf R sports hatchback.

Named a Golf R Touch, the car has all the specs and performance expected of a modern day GTI but also features a wide range of multi-touch, haptic, and even motion control features a la Microsoft's Kinect. I was one of the first journalists who was able to get in the backseat and record a working demo of the car's interior, navigation, and even gesture based mood-lighting features. The Golf R Touch also features integration with Android devices as well as Apple's CarPlay for a truly cross platform solution coming to market this year. Aside from this, parking assist is onboard and the Golf R Touch will be able to talk to smartphones, tablets and even smartwatches easily. This migh just be the "People's Tesla."

CES 2015: HP banks on ultra-thin workstation class Ultrabooks

Las Vegas - Wearables and Internet of Things may permeate the massive show floor at CES but Ultrabooks and PCs are still worth some notice. Specially if they can merge the thin and light Ultrabook form factor, all-day battery life and workstation class computing power.

HP today introduced what they call 'the industry’s thinnest and lightest workstation Ultrabooks' the HP ZBook 14 and 15u. HP also announced its next generation virtual workstation and enhancements to its Remote Graphics Software.  

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SourceCode: CES 2015 kicks off various pivots and transitions in tech

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

Las Vegas: Heading into this year's International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), its becoming clearer that 2015 is going to be a big year for transitions in tech. Focus will be moving slightly away from desktops and notebooks and even smartphones and tablets towards peripheral ecosystems including wearables and connected cars.

There's already evidence that connected cars as well as wearables are going to dominate this year's CES. A CEA economist stated that smartwatch floor space is  up 400 % this year and car manufacturers are some of the most anticipated presenters this year while technology and mobile companies are seemingly keeping a lower profile this year.

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CES 2015: First Apple Watch accessory is the Bandstand Dock

The Apple Watch wont be making an appearance at CES 2015 but you can bet that its presence will be deeply felt as the industry as a whole reacts to Apple's next big product.

The Bandstand Dock from Standzout has been announced and includes integrated charging using Apple’s inductive charger, as well as additional ports to allow the user to simultaneously charge two other USB devices, including the iPad. It also features a pivoting watch platform, to adjust the angle of the watch for visibility from any angle. I'll definitely have to look this product up in the coming week as I make my way through CES.