In addition to the usual big-name suspects, a handful of other Minnesota companies will unveil revolutionary new offerings ranging from a first-of-its-kind content delivery platform to a smartphone case that only covers the phone’s four corners to foam earphones.
The 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show this week features some big names from Minnesota, including 3M, Best Buy, Imation, Polaroid, and UnitedHealth Group.
But in addition to the usual suspects, a handful of start-ups and other local companies will attempt to wow attendees with their potentially game-changing technologies.
Here’s a look at some of the Minnesota companies that will have a booth at the show:
• Bracketron (Edina): Provides universal mounting solutions and accessories for various mobile and handheld technologies, including GPS, smartphone, tablet, MP3, and satellite radio devices and players.
• Cram Worldwide, LLC (White Bear Lake): Developed Venu, a new content delivery platform featuring a device that stores movies, television shows, music, and educational programming; for $20 a month, users will be able to connect the device directly to a television or other electronic device and watch content directly through it—or they can stream content to gaming systems, computers, and other electronics within their home wireless networks.
• Corners4 (Chanhassen): Developed a smartphone case that covers the four corners with aluminum components that raise the phone off of a surface when it’s laid flat and thus protect the glass from scratches; the case shows off the look of the phone while still offering functional protection.
• Hearing Components, Inc. (Oakdale): Makes Comply Foam Tips, which are said to provide superior comfort and noise reduction compared to traditional earphones.
• Sanus, a division of Milestone AV Technologies (Roseville): Designs and builds a variety of audio/video mounts, furnishings, and accessories that are engineered to enhance audio/video systems; products include an iPad 2 mount adapter.
• Stimulus Brands, LLC (Burnsville): Offers MiracleLED-branded products, including the Un Edison bulb, an omni-directional LED bulb that replaces a traditional 60-watt incandescent bulb, and is said to save money, use less power, last 25 times longer, and produce virtually no heat.
• The Navvo Group, LLC (Minnetonka): Developed VOCO, billed as the “world’s first voice-controlled, wireless, multi-room music system”; it wirelessly streams music from multiple sources to different areas in the home using voice commands.
• Noetic, Inc. (Rochester): Offers products and accessories designed to seamlessly integrate computers and consumer electronics into users’ living rooms, cars, and on-the-go lifestyles; products include GPS components and software, and smartphone GPS accessories.
The International Consumer Electronics Show—which will take place from January 10 to 13 in Las Vegas—is the world’s largest consumer technology trade show. This year’s event is expected to be the second-largest one in history, with more than 2,700 companies showing products on 1.85 million net square feet of show floor. More than 20,000 new products are scheduled to debut at the show.
—Christa Meland
(cmeland@tcbmag.com)