The Consumer Electronics Show held in Las Vegas yearly is the best place to go for new gadgets and devices being unveiled for consumers. With almost all the big names in computing, gaming, smart homes and more showing up to display their newest offerings the sheer amount can be overwhelming to keep track of and get a peek at. We have compiled our favorite tech and gadgets that made us stand up and take notice.
Laptops
Asus ZenBook 3 Deluxe – While not as flashy as some of the other offerings at CES, the Asus ZenBook 3 Deluxe is an ultra-slim laptop only 0.5-inch thick and weighing just 2.42 pounds. The look of it really pops with an aluminum and glass chassis with royal blue with gray and gold accents or in all silver. A nice 14-inch display along with a Core i7 processor and up to a 1TB SSD makes it a solid portable laptop.
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga – The Yoga is a laptop that aims to grab the newest technology into one device that is very attractive to those looking for the latest and greatest in portable computing technology. The 360-degree hinge is invaluable when traveling on a plane or in tight spaces while a stylus that is able to dock within the unit is an invaluable addition for any of us always losing styluses. The built in LTE connectivity, 802.11 WiGig and wired gigabit Ethernet provides a wealth of connection options. Additionally you can add an OLED screen, Iris Plus graphics, a fingerprint reader as well as an IR camera to support facial recognition and NFC. The features may not be as flashy as the bloated gaming machines but the Yoga really sets the bar high for its wealth of connectivity and capabilities using the latest technology to do so.
Desktops
HP Sprout Pro – HP’s newest Sprout Pro is cool. It looks cool and it justified its cool the moment you took a look at all the features. It projects a 21.3-inch full HD digital mat down onto the desk. The really cool part is that the new Spout can perform 2D and 3D scanning, taking a real object and turning it into a 3D model in seconds after rotation to capture on the camera. You can further enhance the capture by taking HD pictures of each side making the textures that much more high resolution. Its a simple and quick process that has unlimited potential in multiple fields from schools to doctors offices. The Sprout Pro also functions as a standard desktop if you just wanted something that cool just for yourself.
Gaming Tech
HTC Vive’s TPCast – The HTC Vive is currently the high end VR device that is really becoming a favorite for gamers everywhere but one thing that almost all that have used the Vive can admit is that the large cords tethering you to the PC can become cumbersome when you are moving around and lost in the VR world. The TPCast is promising to take the Vive wireless by streaming video and audio to the headset from a PC. If you are looking for a truly un-tethered VR experience the TPCast could be for you given you are willing to shell out the $250 price tag and handle the two-hour battery life.
Innex Super Retro Boy – As proven over the holiday by the NES Clasic Edition, retro gaming is a white hot market right now. Innex showed off several ways to play retro games at CES but the highlight was clearly the Super Retro Boy. The Game Boy-like device can play Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advanced cartridges, with a backlit color screen and 10-hour battery life. For those looking to relive those long car rides with your parents or just enjoy the retro craze a little longer this is a fantastic device.
SmartWatch
Misfit Vapor – The smartwatch market may be hitting a bit of a bump but by taking a look at the Vapor you think it still may have some life in it yet. The Vapor features a comprehensive fitness tracker without an obnoxious design. The AMOLED display is bright and vibrant and the circular bezel solves the problem of constantly having to clean your fingerprints off of your watch. Coming in at only $199 it offers a fantastic device for a much more affordable price than the leaders on the market.
TV
LG Signature W OLED – LG is taking OLED technology and really pushing it to the max with its Signature W series televisions. The TV eliminates the bezel and body of the screen, the result is only a 0.1 inch thick screen that sits on the wall like a piece of art rather than a television. All the processing and connections are offloaded to a connected soundbar via a single ribbon cable. The soundbar adds Dolby Atmos audio compatibility. Although I am sure the price will be fairly steep, the design is something amazing that I really hope catches on.
Audio
Lenovo Smart Assistant – The Lenovo product is basically the Amazon Echo that has a nicer visual design, better sound quality and comes with a smaller price tag. The Smart Assistant can do all the same features that the Echo can do including answering questions, making to-do lists and of course Amazon ordering. The speaker comes with a 5-watt tweeter and a 10-watt woofer all for the very affordable $129.99 price.
Impressive but Never Going to Happen
Razer Project Valerie – The crazy looking three screen, 12K laptop was turning heads left and right at the show, but it will probably never make it to the consumer market, but it is none the less impressive. Two 4K displays swing out from the main screen and fold inward behind the primary display when not in use. The laptop itself is surprising only about as thick as two of the already thin Razer Blade Pros stacked on top of each other. The laptop was able to run a game at full resolution across all three screens which was impressive. While the specs are kept from release it looks fantastic and just a little bit crazy, but when you go to CES you have to make a splash, and this definitely made the biggest splash of the show.
