How to attend CES 2018 in style: the TechRadar cross-country road trip liveblog

TechRadar is going to CES 2018, and that really isn't news. How we're doing it, however, is rather extraordinary: Nick Pino and I are taking an epic, week-long road trip to attend CES, and we're bringing a bunch of gadgets to test along the way.

Future's brand new New York City office is the official starting line. We won't be at the finish line for seven whole days, with stops in Washington D.C.; Knoxville, Tennessee; Memphis, Tennessee (it's a long state), Oklahoma (the middle of the country); a lunch-time pit-stop in Amarillo, Texas; Santa Fe, New Mexico; and Monument Valley, Arizona (which is in almost every Western you've ever seen).

The first leg of our adventure to get to CES in Las Vegas involved traveling from a hungover Manhattan, which just celebrated New Year's Eve 2018, to the the nation's capital, Washington, D.C.

Here's what we've experienced so far.

Going to CES 2018: Here's our gear list

• iPhone X (smartphone)
• Google Pixel 2 (smartphone)
• ZTE Axon M (smartphone)
• Garmin 65W (dash cam)
• iPhone 1 (smartphone – for comparisons)
• AT&T Netgear Nighthawk LTE (hotspot)
• DJI Mavic Pro Platinum (drone)
• Boosted Board 2 (electric skateboard)
• Astro A38 headphones (with the TechRadar branding on it)
• Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch (laptop)
• Razer Blade Stealth (laptop)
• Apple AirPods (earbuds)
• Sony RX100 Mark V (Camera)
• Snapchat Spectacles (sunglasses with a social media camera) 
• GoPro Hero 6 (action camera)
• GoPro Hero 5 Session (body camera)
• Nintendo Switch (video game system)
• Samsung Gear 360 (360-degree camera)

The car we're driving to CES 2018

This is the car we've driving to CES 2018. It's the latest Genesis G80 Sport courtesy of Genesis, and it's our amazing ride for the next seven days.

It's $57,750 (about £42,480, AU$73,946) and it drives like a dream. At first Nick and I were worried because it's the first time either of us drove in Manhattan (I just moved here, after all), and we've be doing it in a bigger car than we're used to. Well, the larger interior of the G80 Sport doesn't really translate to a "boat," like everyone has told us in the weeks prior to today. It's also filled with enough sensors and safety features to keep us free from dinging anyone in Manhattan.

Crisis adverted, right? Well...

The route to CES 2018

....It did snow in the days leading up to our Manhattan escape. Proof:

We still managed to make it out of a frigid Manhattan in one piece in a car that's not our own. Another crisis adverted. Our first big hurdles of attending CES 2018 via a cross-country road trip were over and done with.

Five hours later, we ended up in an equally frozen Washington, D.C. And, with a little sleep, we tested out some smartphone cameras (for a gallery coming soon) to take photos of the famous monuments.

Just how frozen was Day 1 of our road trip to CES 2018? Well, we were able to walk across the iconic Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.

Yes, we've began our road trip by literally walking on  water. We are that amazing, right?

Also, there was a sign that specifically told people the frozen block of us may be unsafe. Which, naturally, was an invitation to stand on said ice. We were told that it's about 18 inches (46 cm) deep along the perimeter, so we felt safe enough.

We got to take photos – with various smartphones – of Mr. Lincoln. We didn't get the same opportunity to take pictures with President Trump. Twitter said he was busy.

The first 24 hours on the road to CES ended with us headed further south, toward Knoxville, Tennessee. Time to break out the Chicken and Waffles. Las Vegas is in our sights.

TechRadar’s The Road to the Show 2018 is sponsored by ZTE, with car transportation provided by Genesis.

posted by Campus94