Cars on Twitter, showers on Facebook

LAS VEGAS — Social media is still at the forefront of the tech movement. Everything from cars to cameras are now linked to Twitter and Facebook. So now everything you do — from the obscene amount of money you dropped for gas or the burger you just gulped down but felt the need to document — is but a tap or click away from being shared with your closest acquaintances.

Everyone at the Consumer Electronics Show, which has grown exponentially since the convention began 44 years ago with this year’s considered the biggest ever (3,100 exhibitors, 1.861 million net square feet of exhibit space, 153,000 attendees, including more than 34,000 international attendees), converged on the latest in consumer electronics.

Cars Of Tomorrow

The future of driving at Hyundai

At Mercedes-Benz, I overheard an old gentleman from the Wall Street Journal wondering over a new feature of the S Class: Facebook and Twitter. “There’s Facebook on your car?” he says, scratching his head, as he perused the central dashboard which boasted a sleek touchscreen capable of taking you directly to your social network. “In case you don’t have your phone,” says some dude from the company, “you can tweet or update your status directly from your car.”

Sounds like the driver of tomorrow is kind of an a-hole: “So, I’m tweeting from my Benz right now. My life: More awesome than yours.”

Which came first: the egg or the new concept vehicles at Mercedes Benz?

Concept cars at Hyundai drew from the concerns of environmental vigilants: electric cars plugged in straight to a socket. Instead of a dashboard, vehicles made use of tablets and flashy screens. Futuristic automobiles mimicking the smooth lines of a boat, with nary a sharp edge in sight, caught the fancy of one particular man in a suit. He turned to a Hyundai rep and said, in greatly concerned tones, “But where will I put my golf clubs?”

A New Experience

For hospitals or nursing homes that are proponents of animal therapy but are concerned about allergens or infections, a company developed a robotic pet that mimics the movements and feel of a pet. This seal tilts its head to soulfully gaze at you, adjusts its behavior to suit your needs. Pet the seal and it will replicate behavior to engender validation. Spank or tap it on its head to reprimand and it will refrain from repeating whatever displeased you. Though it will hardly replace Smokey the Dog (it costs thousands of dollars and is currently shipping only to hospitals, nursing homes and the like), its warm, soothing character is proof that technology is pushing the boundaries of an industry known for producing cold, hard products.

Audi’s flashy new concept car looked part Batmobile, part golf cart.

The Bigger Picture

Though prosumer labels like Canon, which launched the G12’s newer, most improved sibling the G1X, a Powershot boasting a sensor six times larger than regular compact cameras, and Panasonic, which debuted the lovely Lumix Gx1, with its powerful micro four thirds sensor delivering higher resolution at 16 megapixels), Polaroid drew plenty of buzz, thanks to its homage to low-fi tech. The company played to its strength, building on novelty and standing as a vintage brand. Old Polaroid cameras were displayed next to its new merch in designs heavily referencing its old-school background. The Polaroid Z340 looks a lot like its older siblings, except it’s digital, retails for about $300 and it prints on zero-ink 3x4 paper called Zink. Powered by a lithium battery, it’s Polaroid for Gen Y or, most probably, nostalgic Gen X-ers.

3D Here To Stay

The 3D experience: Not just for home TVs. Sony’s immersive experience puts the screen right up to your eyes, offering a view that needs to be seen to be believed.

Perhaps what summed up the CES experience the most was one of the many oversized booths peddling 3D experiences: 3D televisions, 3D glasses, 3D players, etc. At Sony, they developed a headpiece, meant to be fitted over the eyes and ears, which displayed 3D screens inches from your eyes. Imagine: IMAX in a pair of large, unwieldy goggles.

While lining up to try it, I overheard (okay, eavesdropped) on two guys waiting excitedly behind me. Industry affiliates, their name tags declared.

Guy 1: “This is going to do amazing things… for my sex life.”

Guy 2, sounding awed: “I know exactly what you mean.”

Sometimes getting offline is a good thing.

Polaroid’s product development manager Alan Horowitz