LAS VEGAS — LeVar Burton is no stranger to CES. Although he's best known for his work in Star Trek: The Next Generation, Roots and Reading Rainbow, the actor, director and educator is also a huge tech fan.
We caught up with Burton at the 2014 International CES and talked about the newest version of Reading Rainbow. After PBS canceled the series in 2009, Burton relaunched it last June as a tablet app via RRKidz, an educational company he co-founded.
Eighteen months later, the app is a hit. It is the App Store's top-grossing education app and one of the top-grossing kids apps; it is also in the top 100 grossing apps in general.
Available for the iPad and Kindle Fire, Reading Rainbow operates on a subscription model ($29.99 for a six-month subscription or $9.99 a month). Kids get access to hundreds of full-length books and video field trips.
To date, over 10 million books have been read and video field trips watched through the app, with more content arriving every week, according to a release.
So what's next for the app? Burton says he aims to port the experience to the web, so educators can use it in the classroom on a variety of devices.
Image: Mashable, Lance Ulanoff
PointGrab's gesture-driven interfaces are at least as old as the Microsoft Kinect and Leap Motion, but PointGrab's software solution works with standard 2D cameras. In one demonstration, it used a Logitech webcam.
Witness this 3-foot long digital clock with a huge E Ink screen. It's powered by a tiny watch battery that should last about a year and is a lot lighter than it should be considering how large it is. More than anything, it's a great example of the goofy gadgets that populate CES- and it will only set you back $499.
A general view of the CES Showroom in Las Vegas, NV on January 7th, 2014.
Think of the $120 Grillbot as a Roomba for your grill. It’s got three motors, replaceable wire brushes and the wherewithal to change directions as it bumps into the sides of your grill.
Mio Global unveiled Mio LINK, a sleek band worn on the wrist designed to monitor continuous heart rate data. Now runners and cyclists can get all the benefits of heart training without needing to use an uncomfortable chest strap. Available beginning in March for only $99.
"Saturday Night Live" cast members Cecily Strong and Kenan Thompson made a surprise guest appearance during the Yahoo keynote presentation at the 2014 International CES on Tuesday, with a hilarious "Weekend Update" segment tailored specifically to the tech crowd.
Fugoo may offer that with their line of 360° waterproof speakers designed for the active user. The speakers meet the IP67 standard, and can be be fully submerged in up to 3ft of water for up to half an hour in addition to being snow proof, dust proof, and dirt proof as well. They’re also built around a concept that takes the core speaker and gives it interchangeable external jackets.
CEO Brian Krzanich shows off the new Einstein chip. The company hopes this SD-sized processor will push smart technology to new frontiers.
The Babolat Play ($399) is the world's first connected tennis racquet. Intended for both beginners and advanced players, sensors on the handle collect data about the player's swing, power, endurance, technique and ball impact.
Whirlpool is showing off an interactive cooktop concept at 2014 International CES that not only turns a typical kitchen surface into a stovetop, but also a place to check the weather, find recipes on Pinterest, research cooking tips and post pictures to Facebook.
If you're looking to produce real 4K video on the cheap, look no further than Sony's FDR-AX100 Handycam — a consumer 4K camcorder that costs a mere $1,999.
France-based robotics company Induct announced on Monday that its intelligent, electric and driverless vehicle is now available in the U.S.. The Navia shuttle will likely be used at public places such as airports, college campuses, theme parks or sports arenas to eliminate pollution and congestion, rather than at home.
The iRobot Scooba 450, the manufacturer claims, is three times as effective as its predecessor. However, the increase in power also comes with a price tag increased by $100.
A view of the Vegas Strip from CES 2014.
At CES 2014, Lacie introduced a new Christofle-designed hard drive- the 1TB LaCie Sphere. Plated in silver and polished to a shine, the sphere has a single USB 3.0 cable that connects and powers the hard drive, with a blue status light set into the base. The Sphere will launch later this quarter at $490.
Packing the same technology as its Z1 big brother, the Xperia Z1 Compact has a 4.3-inch display. It's powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor, sports a 20-megapixel camera and includes Sony's Triluminous display technology for a better picture for video playback.
Five new colors were introduced in the GUNNAR Optiks collection to go along with the Onyx that the original one came in. The colors are Cobalt, Fire, Kryptonite, Ghost and Ink. As with the other Optiks glasses, the lenses offer a slight magnification and help filter out harsh light.
Sony claims the α5000 is the lightest Wi-Fi mirrorless camera you can buy, with a body that weighs just 8 ounces. It has a 20.1-megapixel APS-C sensor, as well as Sony's BIONZ image-processing tech, which the company says can reduce noise in low-light photos.
Samsung is supercharging its tablet line with its new Galaxy NoteProand TabPro tablets. The new tablets, which go up to sizes as big as 12.2-inches, are designed to, in Samsung's words, "redefine what a tablet can do."
Samsung announced the Chef Collection suite of premium, "professional chef-level" kitchen appliances designed to meet the needs of even the most discerning home cook. Developed with the input of culinary experts through Samsung's Club Des Chefs initiative, these appliances promise to help consumers manage and master the entire cooking process in style.
The brick is a two-way device, meaning you can either pop your SIM card in it and use it as your regular cell, or you can connect to it via Bluetooth. The base model ($70) has a whole month of battery life and the bigger version ($100) has a whopping three months of power.
Samsung's U9000 UHD TVs feature a wider field of view and a balanced and uniform viewing distance across all areas of the screen. The company claims that a curved TV offers up to two times the enhanced contrast ratio of a flat TV in a normal viewing environment.
The Eyelock Myris takes biometric security to the next level. Plug this device into your device's USB port, and it will scan your eye to grant access.
LG G Flex, the first curved phone with a "flexible" display, is moving out of the lab and into U.S. markets in the first quarter of 2014.
Panasonic has dropped the production of plasma TVs, instead focus efforts on increased levels of interaction. The Life+ will come in both 4K and 1080p, but the real feature of note is facial recognition.
For CES 2014, Pebble is showing off its new Pebble 2.0 software, the Pebble app store and Pebble Steel, its premium smart watch. Like the original Pebble, the Pebble Steel is waterproof and has a battery life of 5 to 7 days. The e-paper display is the same, too — only now it's covered with Corning Gorilla Glass.
The Lenovo ThinkPad 8 is sized to compete with the iPad Mini, but the comparison is only skin deep. Lance Ulanoff wonders if Windows 8.1 can compete with Android and iOS.
Sharp's Aquos Quattron technology is capable of creating a picture that comes close to 4K, but from a 1080p set. The new TV's start at a decent price point – the SQ Q+ TVs start a $2,299.99 and the UQ models start at $2,999.99.
Philips' new PicoPix PPX3610
The SOL Republic Relays are designed to fill two niches: everyday wear and fitness wear. Mashable reporter Pete Pachal says they're some of the most comfortable he's worn.
Toshiba joins the list of Chromebook manufacturers with a 13.3-inch netbook. While it isn't the largest-resolution Chromebook on the market, Toshiba's Chromebook has an impressive $279 price tag.
This smart bracelet, from Neatatmo, measures sun exposure and connects to iOS devices to let users know if they've had too much (or too little) sun.
The Tao coaches you through 50 exercises related to isometrics — the science of applying pressure, which is the basis of many popular workouts such as pilates and plank exercising — and adds a gaming element.
At CES Unveiled, Sphero introduced the 2B model, the second model of the popular Orbotix toy.
Kolibree introduced a smart toothbrush that monitors user's brushing habits and let's them keep track of their routines on an app.