On CE - For Dealers, Distributors and OEMs of Consumer Electronics throughout EMEA

Caavo-- the startup founded by the developers of the Sling box-- is back with another stab at a universal remote-media hub combo. Dubbed the Control Center, it promises to manage all content across live TV, DVR, streaming services and the web.

Launched back in 2017, the first Caavo STB could control no less than 8 different devices at once, together with popular streaming services. The 2018 Control Center has similar, if somewhat stripped down, capabilities. For instance it lacks the IR-over-HDMI adapter for IR blasters, while the number of HDMI inputs is down from x8 to x4. Also gone is the wood paneling, replaced with a simple black facade.

You might not know who Brown Bear is, but the stoic ursine mascot of the Line instant messenger is a big name in Asia-- so much so Bang & Olufsen is making a limited edition of the P2 speaker themed after the character.

Line is a very popular chat app in several Asian markets, chief of which being its home Japan. As one might expect from anything Japanese, the app has a number of kawaii mascots (dubbed the Line Friends), who are so popular a merchandise line starring the characters is available in 108 countries. Goods featuring the characters even have a flagship store in Times Square, New York!

The Consumer Technology Association (CTA)-- the US trade association organizing CES in Las Vegas— held a tech event in Amsterdam bringing together top media, exhibitors and investors to celebrate European innovation and to experience a sneak peek of the trends expected at CES 2019. Owned and produced by CTA, CES 2019 will run from January 8th -11th in Las Vegas with 4500 exhibitors across 2.75M net square feet (260K net square meters).

Now in its second year, CES Unveiled Amsterdam brought together 634 attendees from 19 countries, including 64 exhibitors from the Netherlands and surrounding regions. It will be followed by a similar CES Unveiled event in Paris on Oct. 3rd.

With the US Ambassador to the Netherlands, Pete Hoekstra, and Royal Highness Prince Constantijn van Oranje-Nassau attending as speakers, CES Unveiled reflects the industry’s political importance. For CES 2019, CTA will again partner with StartupDelta, an independent public-private partnership where the main innovation hubs in the Netherlands work with the ministries of Economic Affairs and Education Culture and Science, the startup community, and other partners. Representing The Netherland’s commitment to innovation, Prince Constantijn presented 55 Dutch companies who will participate in The Netherlands pavilion at Eureka Park, the startup hub of CES, during CES 2019.

The Cooler Master MP860 is a mousepad with a twist-- as the first product in the Cooler Master M800 series, it is a dual-surface mousepad complete with RGB lighting.

The lighting comes through x19 LEDs embedded in the border of the mousepad. The company says the LEDs are capable of smooth animations and glitch-free transitions, and included Cooler Master software allows customers to choose from a set of presets (such as static, breathing, colour cycle, wave, stars, marquee) for customisation. The software also syncs lighting with other Cooler Master peripherals.