CES 2017

I'm packing my bags in colder than usual Las Vegas to return to much colder Poland. The CES is (almost) over and has been somehow disappointing. The formula of a broad show from phone cases to self driving cars has been aging. Crowds lining up for a free beer at some stands and old diesel coaches stuck in jams between LVCC and Sands just add to the mixture. We need a new formula.

But having said that, there are some items worth mentioning.

DJI is becoming my hero company. A Shenzhen - based startup that conquered GoPro and took over Hasselblad - one of the most respected brands in professional photohraphy. Their new Mavic Pro is just incredeble and makes it to the top of my "I want it" list. It folds down to a size of a water bottle and has all drone goodies you can imagine, including 27-minute flight time, dual satellite connection, collision avoidance sensors and stabilized 4K camera with 7km streaming range.

Garmin continues to be the #1 pick in smart watches. The fēnix 5 platform is an evolution of the fēnix 3. It brings a number of welcome enhancements like smaller size and streamlined connector while keeping the existing unique advantages of a very rugged design, always on color display, 2-week battery life and the excellent companion app. A great example that you don't need to be Apple or Google to rule the smart watch market.

Smart homes remain extremely fragmented. Both Home Kit and Thread can be considered failures (none of the platforms reached any significant level of adoption and Thread products have problems talking to each other). One very good analogy came at one of my after-show discussions: Thread is like paper. It is very flexible and universal and anyone can use it to communicate. But that does not mean what one party writes the other would be able to read and understand. There is a great anticipation of Bluetooth Mesh and I do believe we are delivering the standard that will finally solve the IoT connectivity for good. In the meantime Amazon Echo has taken the stage, although a completely new line of problems and attack vectors are emerging when it starts listening to TV broadcasts and orders a doll house for everyone in San Diego...

Finally on the smart phone front, the Huawei Mate 9 Porsche Design is my absolute #1 pick. Yes it is expensive, but if it carried the iPhone brand, the AAPL stock would jump up significantly. Beautiful curved AMOLED, dual Leica cam, 2-day battery in an extremely slick package. With this one Huawei has clearly beaten Apple and Samsung. The ultimate phone by today's criteria.