New Technology

This past week saw technology buffs and professionals from around the world gathered in Las Vegas for the annual Consumer Electronics Show.  The CES hosts nearly 150,000 visitors yearly, and is often the event of choice for tech companies to unveil new products and partnerships.  This year's CES featured many new technologies and surprising developments.

Big developments include Microsoft's venture into ARM-chip technology, which has producer Nvidia poised to threated leader's like Intel and AMD; Intel's deal with major studios to stream movies as soon as they are released to DVD/Bluray; the Motorola Atrix smartphone, which docs to run as what is essentially a fully functional netbook; IoSafe's nearly indestructible hard drive; a robotic suit designed to aid in heavy lifting, physical therapy, and mobility for disabled individuals; a plethora of hot new tablets; wireless charging for mobile devices in GM vehicles; and some huge announcements for Vizio, a smaller, lower-end TV manufacturer.

These are just a few of the hundreds of new products and announcements showcased at this year's CES.

Although CCT did not attend the show, we'd also like to take the chance to tell you about some of our new products.

     TextSpeak is a perfect on-the-go AAC (AlternativeAugmentative Communication) solution.  This intelligent text generating speaker and keyboard combo creates speech anywhere, right at your fingertips, and paired with many of our Chester Creek keyboards, including our large-print and large-key keyboards, allows individuals with speech impairment to be heard.  Great for students who need unlimited vocabulary, TextSpeak works right out of the box, can be programmed to male or female voices, and has 30 programmable phrases.  Small, light, and portable, TextSpeak is also an item users can throw in a backpack or purse for use as needed in social or work situations, and works from both battery and AC power sources.  

Chester Creek is now offering a wireless keyboard.  Our Wireless VisionBoard offers greater mobility, flexibility, and convenience while decreasing the clutter of cords on and behind your desk.  We also offer the option of purchasing this new wireless keyboard with a matching mouse, also wireless.

        Children often struggle learning all the correct buttons needed for computer use.  For those still learning and those who prefer a mouse without it, we have eliminated the scroll wheel in our new LittleMouse.  With two buttons, the left “green for go” and the right “red for stop,” teaching use of a mouse is easier than ever.  Like the Chester and TinyMouse, this model is also child-sized.

        Another new learning tool being offered this year is the LessonBoard Pro.  With the same color-coding and layout as the original LessonBoard, the Pro is for more advanced students and lacks letter and number labels.  Perfect for the classroom, the Pro continues to teach students correct finger placement and also encourages memorization of letter and number placement.

        Additional new products include transparent braille stickers for our large-key keyboards and educational software bundles for preschool and early elementary students.