While I mostly classify activity trackers as novelties, with limited actionable intelligence, CES is the absolute best place to put them through their paces (ha, punny). With my buddies Brad Linder of Liliputing and Kevin Tofel of GigaOm each stepping up to the plate. Kevin sports a Fitbit Force wristband and Brad rolls with a Withings Pulse puck – so the comparison isn’t entirely equivalent, but both shed light on the massive scale of CES – which covers multiple convention and expo centers across multiple Vegas venues. Each hiked over 35 miles in pursuit of gadgety goodness and we salute them for their efforts (and cardiovascular fitness).
Speaking of CES tracking, attendee badges (or at least press badges) were outfitted with NFC stickers this year. In my Vegas experience, the feature was used to check into press events and ensure we’re entitled to and received only a single boxed lunch (per day). Missing Remote dumped the Bcard Smartrac data – which wasn’t super revealing, but folks like us clearly enjoy tinkering.