13 Hot New Gadgets You Should Know About from CES 2013
Every year, countless bloggers and journalists flock to the Nevada desert for the Consumer Electronics Show to try out new products and gadgets from thousands of companies, which set up elaborate, blinking displays in their quests for consumer eyeballs. Since 1967, CES has given attendees a unique prism into the future, sketching a roadmap not necessarily of where technology is, but where it's going. While critics continue to debate the trade show's relevance in a media landscape dominated by a 24/7 news cycle, and big players like Apple, Google, and Microsoft have either pulled out entirely or scaled back their presence, CES nonetheless remains technology's biggest, brightest week, where some of the smaller players are showcasing genuinely innovative stuff. Here, a compendium of products and the latent trends that are worth keeping an eye on.
Chipmaker Nvidia is aggressively invading the video game market with a flurry of new products ostensibly developed to compete with Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo. Front and center is the Nvidia Shield, a portable console replete with joysticks and but
Chipmaker Nvidia is aggressively invading the video game market with a flurry of new products ostensibly developed to compete with Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo. Front and center is the Nvidia Shield, a portable console replete with joysticks and buttons capable of running Android, Tegra, and PC games. Perhaps more awe-inspiring: The company pulled the curtains off a new graphics processing supercomputer called the Grid, which combines the horsepower of 700 (!!!) Xbox 360s into a single towering unit. The idea is to license the Grid's processing might to a handful of other companies to finally build a responsively smooth Netflix-like service for streaming video games, which companies like OnLive have tried to do, but failed. Nvidia hopes to launch the Shield sometime in Q2. Sources: CNET, Gizmodo
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Losing your luggage is a horrible, stressful experience — just ask any of the 26 million travelers whose belongings got misplaced by careless airlines last year. Los Angeles company Globaltrac is hoping to cut down on the number of travel-induced hea
Losing your luggage is a horrible, stressful experience — just ask any of the 26 million travelers whose belongings got misplaced by careless airlines last year. Los Angeles company Globaltrac is hoping to cut down on the number of travel-induced headaches with a tiny little GSM-powered device called the Trackdot, which you can throw into your checked baggage. "So if you're flying to Paris, and your luggage flies to London, you'll get a message on your phone saying where your bag is," says Paul Sloan at CNET. "Still a pain, of course, but at least you'll know." $49.99 starting in March.
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Something to keep your eye on: Vuzix, a company dedicated to developing wearable computers, is trying to beat Google's Project Glass to the punch with the M100 smartglasses. The Android-powered headset sits just under the eye and is controllable via
Something to keep your eye on: Vuzix, a company dedicated to developing wearable computers, is trying to beat Google's Project Glass to the punch with the M100 smartglasses. The Android-powered headset sits just under the eye and is controllable via Bluetooth from a companion smartphone app. Much like Google's smartglasses, the M100 doesn't look cool, but it lends credence to the idea that wearable computers are indeed inching their way toward legitimacy.
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Nike drummed up quite a bit of hype when it revealed the FuelBand, an unobtrusive little fitness device you wear on your wrist that tracks your daily physical activity and beams that data to your smartphone or computer. Now there's the FitBit, a new
Nike drummed up quite a bit of hype when it revealed the FuelBand, an unobtrusive little fitness device you wear on your wrist that tracks your daily physical activity and beams that data to your smartphone or computer. Now there's the FitBit, a new high-tech bracelet that one-ups the current version of the FuelBand by tracking your steps taken, distance covered, calories burned, and even your quality of sleep. It's iPhone/Android compatible, and it looks pretty slick to boot. On sale for $99.95 starting this spring.
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Tablets and laptops continue to converge in interesting ways. One of the more practical is the ThinkPad Helix from Lenovo, a Windows 8 notebook that lets you snap off the screen to use as a tablet. It's still a bit on the heavy side (just under 4 pou
Tablets and laptops continue to converge in interesting ways. One of the more practical is the ThinkPad Helix from Lenovo, a Windows 8 notebook that lets you snap off the screen to use as a tablet. It's still a bit on the heavy side (just under 4 pounds total), but let's hope other companies are taking note.
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"Thinner" is every tech blogger's favorite word, but this might be the end all. Researchers have created a 10.7-inch flexible e-ink display called the PaperTab that's — you guessed it — about as thin as a piece of paper. To navigate around you can be
"Thinner" is every tech blogger's favorite word, but this might be the end all. Researchers have created a 10.7-inch flexible e-ink display called the PaperTab that's — you guessed it — about as thin as a piece of paper. To navigate around you can bend and earmark the page in different ways rather than swipe your finger around through menus. With any luck, maybe they'll even make the thing waterproof.
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Smartphones are making point-and-shoot cameras more obsolete by the day, which is why it's fascinating that more companies — like Fujifilm and its X series — are refocusing their efforts to create cameras that are not just functional and full of spec
Smartphones are making point-and-shoot cameras more obsolete by the day, which is why it's fascinating that more companies — like Fujifilm and its X series — are refocusing their efforts to create cameras that are not just functional and full of specs, but also beautifully designed. Take Pentax's MX-1. It has a fast f/1.8-f/2.5 lens for low-light shooting and a 12 megapixel CMOS sensor — standard stuff. But the company is housing all the guts in a handsome, retro-inspired body with a textured grip that at first glance might even be mistaken for a Leica. On sale for $499.95 starting in February.
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"OLED" stands for organic light-emitting diode, which in a nutshell allows for much thinner screens with super-sharp image quality. At CES this year, a whole bunch of companies are pulling the curtains off really expensive sets aimed at early adopter
"OLED" stands for organic light-emitting diode, which in a nutshell allows for much thinner screens with super-sharp image quality. At CES this year, a whole bunch of companies are pulling the curtains off really expensive sets aimed at early adopters and 1-percenters. LG kicked things off with a razor-thin, 55-inch OLED TV set that starts at $12,000. Meanwhile, Samsung revealed its own television that allows two users to watch different programs at the same time using special glasses and imaging principles similar to 3D films. And Sony spotlighted a 4K (read: Ultra HD) TV set with a huge 56-inch screen. The price tag, while not yet available, is presumed to be about the same as it would be for one of your non-vital organs. Sources: IGN, NBC News, Mashable
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Panasonic revealed a new set of wireless headphones that don't need speakers, or even your ears, for you to use them. Instead, they transmit sound waves directly through your skull — kind of like a hearing aid. The idea is to noiselessly watch TV or
Panasonic revealed a new set of wireless headphones that don't need speakers, or even your ears, for you to use them. Instead, they transmit sound waves directly through your skull — kind of like a hearing aid. The idea is to noiselessly watch TV or listen to music while the rest of your family sleeps quietly. Source: Associated Press
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That wireless mouse you're touching? Primitive. Intel wants to take controlling your computer into the Star Trek age with something it calls "perceptual computing." The basic idea is to use gesture controls, face recognition, voice recognition, and e
That wireless mouse you're touching? Primitive. Intel wants to take controlling your computer into the Star Trek age with something it calls "perceptual computing." The basic idea is to use gesture controls, face recognition, voice recognition, and eye controls to dictate everything on your computer screen. Pretty soon, you'll be able to play games like Portal 2 by waving your hands in front of your machine like a magician. (Or a crazy person, depending on who you ask.) Source: VentureBeat
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Yesterday we talked about camera bodies getting retro and pretty, but companies are also giving cameras' brains an upgrade, too. Samsung revealed a line of HD Smart Cameras that come with WiFi and built-in photo editing tools, negating the need for m
Yesterday we talked about camera bodies getting retro and pretty, but companies are also giving cameras' brains an upgrade, too. Samsung revealed a line of HD Smart Cameras that come with WiFi and built-in photo editing tools, negating the need for messy wires — or, you know, actual computers — to get your photos where they need to be: Online. Expect these features on most modern cameras from this point on. Source: Geeksugar
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Google's self-driving cars tend to steal all the headlines. But now, major carmakers like Lexus are using the same equipment — forward- and side-facing radar, a 360-degree Lidar laser on the roof, and high-definition cameras — to make your regular co
Google's self-driving cars tend to steal all the headlines. But now, major carmakers like Lexus are using the same equipment — forward- and side-facing radar, a 360-degree Lidar laser on the roof, and high-definition cameras — to make your regular commute even safer. For instance: Expect more cars to come equipped with collision-avoidance systems that can sense an impending crash and apply the breaks. Or maybe they'll be able to sense when a sleepy driver is veering across the lane and adjust accordingly. Source: The New York Times
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Sony's flagship phone for 2013, the Xperia Z, comes with a 5-inch HD display, runs a glitzy version of Android, and is only 7.9mm thick — stuff we've come to expect from most high-end phones. What makes this one special is that its connection ports (
Sony's flagship phone for 2013, the Xperia Z, comes with a 5-inch HD display, runs a glitzy version of Android, and is only 7.9mm thick — stuff we've come to expect from most high-end phones. What makes this one special is that its connection ports (Micro USB, micro-SD, and its SIM card) are all hidden under little panels to make the Z water resistant — you can dunk the thing in up to a meter of water for 30 minutes at a time. You're probably not the type to bring your phone into the tub — or are you? Either way, this sort of water-resistant technology will hopefully become common enough that we don't have to worry about our phones on rainy days or on trips to the beach. Source: The Verge
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