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Trends with Benefits: CES 2016 behind-the-scenes preview and the best products of 2015


There were many exciting new products that came out in 2015 and deciding which ones were the best is a tough task. However, Digital Trends Best Products of the Year winners are out and there are some truly incredible devices.

In Cool Tech, Drew Prindle walks us through his department’s selection, which is DJI’s Matrice 100. It’s more than just a regular quadcopter drone. Although it has a bit an odd name, the Matrice 100 is basically a “blank canvas” that can be customized to whatever the user would like.

The Home Theater competition is always fiercely contested. If you’ve heard Caleb on this podcast before though, the winner probably comes as no surprise. LG’s flat 4K Ultra HD OLED TV is everything a television should be.

For Home tech, the Internet of Things took a great leap forward this past year. Jenny selected the Amazon Echo as Best of 2015. It started off as a Bluetooth speaker with a voice-control assistant named Alexa. Amazon then added in more and more capabilities, turning into a device ready to help you do everything from dim the lights, to teaching you how to hard boil an egg.

Switching to CES 2016, we then get a behind-the-scenes look at what it’s like to be at one of the largest trade shows in the world. Between the thousands of booths and industry parties (er … networking), sleeping goes to the bottom of the priority list.

Pete lets us know about the excitement he sees at Digital Trends from a marketing standpoint. The growth of the site has been incredible, as well as the reception from companies and other media outlets.

With so many companies and products vying for attention, companies go to great lengths to get journalists to visit their booths. Samsung’s C-Lab has a Smart Belt, there is a Drone Rodeo, and even a VR Porn demonstration. Plus, Drew and Jenny have a great plan to visit every booth that has free drinks. This will have to be broadcast on Periscope!

All of the in depth coverage of CES 2016 will be at www.digitaltrends.com and there is a great preview from DT’s Jeremy Kaplan up now!

Today’s episode features Jenny McGrath, Pete Jacobs, Drew Prindle, Caleb Denison, and Greg Nibler.

Please subscribe and share Trends with Benefits and send in your questions to podcast@digitaltrends.com. We also broadcast the show live on Periscope.

Greg Nibler
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Greg has worked as a Host, Producer, and Writer in radio and television since the early 2000s, working for such companies as…
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