CES Las Vegas 2019 Is Around The Corner!

The CES 2019 gadget show is revving up in Las Vegas. Below are the latest findings and observations from Associated Press reporters on the ground as technology's most significant trade event gets underway.

Tons of "smart" devices for their home, according to projections from a technology association. If that sounds a lot like last year, you're right, but earnings continue to be likely to grow again in 20-19.

The Consumer Technology Association anticipates nearly 37 million Amazon Echoes, Google Homes as well as other smart speakers to be sold this year in the U.S., just a 5-percent increase from a year ago. Meanwhile, a lot more than 29 million smart doorbells, thermostats and switches are required to be sold, a 23 percent increase from the prior year.

The amounts were published Sunday, two days before the CES 2019 gadget show opens to attendees in Las Vegas. CTA runs on the show, which is technology's largest trade gathering.

The group cautioned that its projections can vary significantly if your trade war with China escalates. Much of the world's electronics are assembled in China, and the CTA has said that steeper tariffs could hurt the industry by making smartphones or TVs more expensive for consumers.

Other gadgets expected to sell well in 20-19: wireless earbuds, smartwatches and drones. Fewer TVs are required to be sold, however 42 million units, a one-percent decline from 2018.

Complete U.S. tech revenue, which includes video and music streaming services such as Spotify, is forecast to rise 3.9 per cent to a record $398 billion this year, the CTA said. Ready for a smartphone-like touchscreen on your vehicle's steering wheel?

That's the future according to Chinese electric automobile maker Byton, that is planning to offer its initial vehicles in China this year and in the U.S. in 2020.

Byton CEO Carsten Breitfeld unveiled the new driver interface system Sunday at the CES 2019 gadget show in Las Vegas. He says the wheel-mounted touchscreen on the company's first version, called the M-Byte, "will stand still while the steering wheel rotates" The crossover SUV also features a long television display across its own dashboard.

Byton executives say they will have met with legal authorities in a variety of states to ensure the entertainment and control system meets safety standards. They say it's safer than dash touchscreens because the wheel in a driver's field of vision.

The vehicles are predicted to sell starting at $45,000. Even the world's largest tech conference is feeling the ramifications of the U.S. government shutdown.

Organizers of the CES gadget show said Saturday that some scheduled government speakers have canceled their travel plans. The sprawling consumer-electronics show opens to attendees on Tuesday in Las Vegas.

Canceled speakers include Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai and at nine other officials from agencies including the Federal Trade Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Homeland Security.

CES organizers state Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao is still planning to send a keynote talk Wednesday on national initiatives to progress drone technology and self-driving vehicles.

The tiniest shutdown began Dec. 22, but some national workers remain on the job if they perform important activities that "protect life and property" Apple stopped attending the CES consumer-electronics show years ago, but it's still making its presence known.

The greatest might be the huge sign it splashed over a high-rise hotel overlooking the Las Vegas conference center where other tech companies are gathering to show their wares this week.

The hint says, "What happens on your iPhone, remains on your iPhone." It's really a not-so-subtle dig at the looser privacy practices of data-hungry rivals such as Google and Amazon.

But Apple also offers news to share at CES. It's just letting some of its partners do the talking. Samsung announced Sunday that its TVs will begin offering Apple's iTunes movies and television shows beginning this spring. It has a shift for Apple, that typically hasn't allowed its services to run on non-Apple hardware. (The big exception: I tunes on Windows PCs.)