Last year there was a lot of controversy surrounding the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and their decision to rescind an innovation award to startup Lora Di Carlo. Some of the headlines: “Sex toy debacle reveals shameful double standard at CES,” “Sex Sells (Unless You’re a Woman at CES),” and “Is CES Afraid Of Sex or Women or Both?” CES was pretty much universally condemned. You can read more about the debacle in our coverage of last year’s CES. Sexism has long been a major complaint about CES, and year after year, they keep finding a way make things worse.
This year they opened things up for sex toys. In the past, it has been pretty random as to what adult products they would even allow on the show floor. Supposedly, by getting rid of the “booth babes” they were going to be less sexist. Then they went two years in a row without a single woman keynote speaker. Last year, they did better. This year, they did worse.
The big controversy this year was inviting the President’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, to be a keynote speaker. She has no experience in tech. She is not a highly respected businesswoman. Everything she has done in business is through nepotism. She was just their to push her Dad’s agenda, and agenda women overwhelmingly disapprove of. Women in general do not like her. A SurveyMonkey poll showed that 52 per cent of women between the age of 17 and 32 see the first daughter unfavourably while only 21 per cent see her in a favourable light. She is most popular with women over 65, with an approval rating of 45 percent. There are not many women over 65 at CES. Once again, women felt insulted by the people running CES.
At least there were sex toys, which last year was a 25 billion dollar industry. Ten adult toy makers participated this year in the sexual wellness category.
OhMiBod has been showing their products at CES for a decade now. I remember the first year they began showing when they became the first sex tech exhibitor. They have come quite a ways. This year they launched blueMotion NEX|3 — a Bluetooth enabled, vibrating couples ring. In a return to the company’s roots, the OhMiBod Remote App features new functionality that allows users to “feel the music” while listening to their favorite songs, inspiring a true dual-sensory experience. The wearable massager, unlike the classic version, ensures greater satisfaction for the receiving partner, providing more consistent body contact and increased stimulation thanks to OhMiBod’s new Extended Touch™ design with Velvet Wave™, a cushioned, ridged silicone that delivers both comfort and pleasure.
OhMiBod also showcased Rev, the latest addition to its award-winning Lovelife line and one of Refinery29’s “Most Innovative Sex Toys of The Decade.” Released in fall 2019, Rev is a compact, lightweight massager designed to meet the needs of adults of all ages and abilities, particularly those with dexterity challenges. It comes with a manual printed in larger font for improved readability.
Lora DiCarlo finally did get their innovation reward returned, and they were allowed on the show floor. They won the innovation award last year in the CES robotics and drone category for its hands-free “Osé” vibrator. It incorporates a ”micro-robotic technology that mimics all of the sensations of a human mouth, tongue, and fingers”, and was developed “in partnership with a top university robotics engineering laboratory” in Oregon.
They also introduced two new products, the Onda and Baci. Both won CES innovation awards. They are less-expensive, with less features than the the Osé, essentially splitting Osé between the two. The Onda is a “robotic g-spot massager,” and the Baci is a “robotic clitoral stimulator.”
Lioness showed their second generation smart vibrator. It offers AI-assisted guidance, based in part on machine learning and dozens of user studies. It has force sensors, accelerometer & gyroscopes, and temperature sensors and tracks how you use it.
I have long liked the Crave concept of merging jewelry and sex toys. Their pendant wearable vibrator, Vesper, joins function and beauty. The new product introduced at the expo in Las Vegas is a gold vibrator ring.
Satisfyer was there with the Satisfyer Pro 2. Read our review here.
Yo has an at home sperm test. Apparently you can view video of your sperm online. You don’t get to then pick your favorite and make them the father of your child, though.
Pulse introduced their Pulse personal lubricant dispenser. You swipe your hand under it and it dispenses warm lube into your palm. I would put this in the luxury catergory, as the price point is quite high (generally true for products exhibiting at the very expensive CES). I am not a fan of coffee pods, and this uses the pod concept for their brand of lubes. With so many really great lubes out there, I am not sure I would want to be so restricted. They need to offer a refillable pod. The pods are not cheap, costing about $1 a ml. It is not like a printer, though, where you get it cheap and pay heavily for the consumables. Here you are paying a lot up front (list price $200), and what happens if they go out of business? This is a great idea, I am sure I would love using it, but there are some negatives.
Womanizer, the company with a questionable name but innovative products, introduced a version of their clitoral sucking device that now also includes a vibrator.
XR Brands had their Ergo-Fit, which they define as the World’s 1st Remote Control Inflatable Strapless Strap-On. My wife is rather fond of strap-ons, but they vary a lot in their ability to stay secure and give the wearer full control. It has a vaginal bulb that inflates to hold it in place securely. While wearing it, you can use the remote control to adjust the dual motors that offer 3 speeds of buzzing and 7 patterns of pulsation for each partner.
