Cebu geared up for Sinulog this month, a different festival took place at the Las Vegas Convention Center, in the US, from January 6 to 9 - this year's international Consumer Electronics Show (CES).
Hailed as the "biggest consumer technology tradeshow in the world," the event has served as the launchpad for many of the world's game-changing devices since the mid-1960s. It has hosted the debuts of products like the VCR, the compact disc, the plasma TV, bendable LCD screens, 4K HD TVs and more.
This year a new set of prototypes, proof-of-concepts and novel gadgets were given their time to shine.
"Smart shoe" by Digitsole
It is a techy footwear that can be paired with a smartphone and companion app for shock absorption measurements, calorie counts, and functions as a pedometer.
Touted as "the world's first intelligent footwear," the wearer of the smart shoe - which looks like a cross between a sports car and running shoe - can tighten or loosen it using a smart device via its self-fastening feature. The wearable device also has a built-in heater and warmer. All of its functions and features are controllable via a smartphone and companion app.
A "smart belt" by Samsung's Creative Lab (C-Lab)
Dubbed the "WELT" (taken from "wellness belt"), this wearable device is designed to help individuals better manage their waistlines by keeping track of their daily habits. It can be paired with a smartphone and a companion app to keep records of a wearer's waistline, monitor instances of overeating and functions as a pedometer.
The "WELT" keeps track of personal health records in a more discrete way and is one of the three Samsung C-Lab projects showcased in this year's CES. C-Lab is a Samsung innovation that aims to help its own employees develop their own creative business and product ideas.
"Chipolo" - A Bluetooth item finder
Those who can't keep track of personal items like bags, keys or wallets, a Bluetooth item finder presented in this year's CES may be of help.
Named "Chipolo," the coin-sized device can be attached to a bag, wallet or function as a keychain. Should one misplace the item it is attached to, the owner can use the "Chipolo" companion smartphone app to "ring it," to locate the item. Conversely, a misplaced smartphone may also be located by simply shaking the "Chipolo" itself. This can work even if the smartphone the "Chipolo" is paired with is set on silent mode.
Ripple Maker for making latte art
The "Ripple Maker" coffee art machine can render a variety of latte art designs based on a digital image.
Using a companion app which is available in versions for Android and iOS, users of this machine can create images on a flat white coffee surface - from images accessible via an expanding content library or those taken from a smartdevice's camera roll or photo library.
"Smart washing machine" by Marathon Laundry
Described by its proponents as an "intelligent washing machine designed for real life," the combination washer-and-dryer product comes with its own CPU, a touch-screen control panel and provisions for internet access.
Made to address a variety of real-life washing machine concerns, the device touts features and functions covering checking on its active/standby status, making predefined settings, scheduling washing/drying, automatically detecting ideal washing times based on regular usage frequencies, and more.
Simply, the appliance allows users to just put their dirty laundry in and utilize a variety of cloud-based, data-driven solutions for its operation.
Portable 360-degree consumer camera by HumanEyes
Housing eight cameras, the compact Vuze camera, powered by HumanEyes, is a portable consumer-grade camera that can shoot videos in a 360-degree sphere at 4K resolutions.
The device is essentially a step-up variant of the "action cam" - a camera that combines 3D video recording, 4K-resolution video recording and 360-degree video recording capabilities.
Though it is still too early to tell if high-definition spherical videos will be a trend-setter in 2016, it does have an undeniable appeal since viewers of 360-degree videos have the option to view a scene from different perspectives.
The standard certainly lends new dimension to recording personal events and milestones, apart from potentially breaking new grounds in the art of cinema.
Mini-PC for gaming and graphics tasks by Intel
In this year's CES, Intel - a global leader in the production of processors, graphics processing units (GPU) and computer system peripherals - is releasing a high-end mini-PC by the 2nd quarter of the year.
Codenamed "Skull Canyon," the palm-sized computer hooks up with an external GPU dock - enabling it to draw graphics-intensive rendering power from an external hardware attachment.
Though powerful mini-PCs by other manufacturers have been in circulation in the past handful of years, the appeal in "Skull Canyon" lies in its provisions for GPU hardware customization or component upgrades.
The device could potentially draw more attention to the mini-PC platform, a well-configured "Skull Canyon" unit is comparably as robust as those sported by mid- to high-end gaming laptops.