I did it.  I went to International CES for my first time.  I mean, after all, I live in Las Vegas, I should be taking advantage of some of these awesome shows that come to our city.  All I can say is wow.  Not being a techie or much of a gadget geek, it was definitely cool to see, but most likely a lot of it was lost on me.  Still, I was quite impressed, and it was really neat to see the steps which facilitate how items like a Smart Phone and Blue Ray player become must have instruments, and yesterdays news, all at the same time.  My top, numero uno, gotta have it electronic, believe it or not, was the 3D TV.  Samsung did an amazing job capturing the attention of the CES audience with their display area.  A football field length of 3D televisions greeted you at the entrance where they handed you a pair of glasses for your experience.  The pictures and video I have, obviously won’t do it justice.  So, I won’t waste your time this morning talking about it.  If you ever have the chance to see a 3D TV, maybe next time you’re at Best Buy, I would highly recommend taking a few minutes to do so.  It was awesome, and I know they’ve already been “out for a minute” as my girlfriend says, but I have a feeling we’ll all be sitting in our living rooms watching our 3D TVs in the near future.

So much to see, and two days was really so little time, but here are the three things that keep playing over and over in my mind as must-haves from International CES 2012 (besides, of course, the 3D TV!):

1. Smart Baby Monitor by Withings:  I have so many friends who are afraid to leave their kids with a sitter.  They obviously do not have 4 children.  Either way, even I was loving this new product.  A Smart Baby Monitor, along with an app and a smart phone, allows you to hire a sitter, turn on the monitor, and leave.  You can enjoy your date night or time at the office because you can check in with your sitter and kids using your app.  You can watch the baby sleep, kids play, they can wave, “Hi” to you, whatever.  See my video below to see what I mean.  The Withings company is based out of France, and also offer a Smart Blood Pressure Monitor as well as a Smart Baby Scale.  All items function with an app on your smart phone.  Absolutely Amazing.  I believe the Smart Baby Monitor is available through amazon.com this week.

CES Las Vegas Withings Smart Baby Monitor

2. GeoPalz: I’m not much of a stock market player, but there are two companies I told my husband to invest in a long time ago, one being the jibbitz company.  You know, that tiny independent, Colorado based husband and wife team who invented those cute little plugs for your kids’ Crocs? Well, after they sold that, they moved on to the next best thing, GeoPalz.  Talk about combating childhood obesity with games and rewards; it’s much more than that, but it’s definitely what caught my attention.  A cute little 2-D character sits upon a pedometer, which your child (ages 5 and up) can wear on the shoe or hip.  It tracks how many steps are taken throughout the day.  Here’s where the gaming part comes in.  As a family, you can all decide on your “Steps Goals”.  Then you decide, when you meet those goals, how you will be rewarded.  Now, it can be as basic as saying to my 7-year old son, “You have to have 500 steps recorded on your GeoPalz before you can play a video game or watch TV.”  Or, you can take it up a notch and register your GeoPalz through amazon.com, select the prize you want to earn based on your steps, and get rewarded through their program!  Rewards are fitness based (basketballs, bike helmets, Hacky Sacks) or can be cash rewards like gift cards. Parents and kids select the rewards, and then get walking.  When all points are earned, parents just pay shipping from the amazon.com site, and kids reap in the rewards!  Love this idea!  I love it so much I bought one, and was given one in lieu of a review.  I cannot wait to get my kids going on this.  They were already so excited to count their steps.  Earning the rewards is a total bonus!

3.  Samsung 28 cu. ft. 4-Door Refrigerator and 8″ LCD Digital Display with Apps:  I know.  You are totally thinking, “Why do I need a refrigerator with a tablet built into it?”.  Let me answer that question for you:

• It builds a shopping list for you.
• It tells you when food is about to expire.
• It can give you recipe recommendations based on what you have in your fridge.
• You can turn the middle compartment into a wine fridge, a holding fridge, or a soft freezer.

This was, by far, one of my most favorite appliances I have seen in a long time.  I thought I was in love with my LG front load washer/dryer with Steam Cycle over 5 years ago.  So passe now, I know.  I also thought my Maytag Stainless Steel French Door fridge was the bees knees- the first of it’s kind to have a built-in water dispenser and ice maker.  No.  Nope, none of that is cool anymore.  This Samsung fridge.  This is cool.  With a $3500 price tag, I can wait a bit.  But mark my words.  I will have a refridgerator like this.  It is awesome.

So that’s it.  My CES 2012 Las Vegas experience in a nut shell.  There were some other great things I found, too.  You can check them out on my Trend Tribe post.  Welcome to the 21st Century!

Have you been to CES?  What are some of the cool gadgets and tech trends you have discovered?