VR, Smart Gadgets, China Innovations Break Through All The Hype At CES 2017

The biggest debate going on this year at the Consumer Electronics Show is, what exactly was really new, inventive, breakthrough? Walking the floor of the show brought close-ups of a lot of connected gadgets for smart everything - homes, cities, cars, lights, weights, watches, clothes, appliances, energy, health and so on. The smartest of these Internet of things leveraged artificial intelligence to make them more useful. But while these and all the Alexi and Siri-powered gadgets sound like must haves in a new age for electronics, you have to wonder how many of these odd devices are really necessary, or just another digital nuisance or toy. Do we really need a digitally connected, data intensive toothbrush, lawn mower, cat pop scooper or dumbbell, just to name a few examples.