New Gadgets

For smaller firms, announcing a product now represents an opportunity to beat the crush. Start-ups that exhibited at CES's Eureka Park zone over the past four shows have collectively attracted more than $US1 billion in investment since 2012, according to the event's organiser, so it's about more than just titillating the public. But for the larger companies, revealing a product in advance might reflect the fact that it didn't quite make the cut to be spotlighted in one of the tightly-timed press conferences. Either way, there have already been a few interesting early announcements: Fitness tech looks like being one of the show's big themes, and Technogym is looking to update its range of high-end gear with a treadmill that plays a "personalised music soundtrack" based on the speed the user is running at.