CES 2014: Our top 10 moments
Smart wearables, Oculus Rift, Project Christine and oh so much more
CES 2014 is underway in Las Vegas!
We touched down on January 4, and already have seen a whirlwind of new tech - from Nvidia's 192-core Tegra K1 mobile processor to cars with laser eyes.
Check out the pre-show madness below and keep an eye out for more news and hands ons.
Valve
What a CES for Valve. Though it only held a small press event Monday night, it managed to out 13 Steam Machine partners. Ranging in price and specs, the various manufacturing partners showed off their wares.
Among them was Alienware, who we got to chat with about the new tech, the new PC gaming in the living room space, and a how their machine compares to the Xbox One and PS4.
- We also went hands on with the Steam Controller, and you can read our review right here.
Intel
CES is all about wearable tech for Intel. The company's pre-show keynote was full of talk about future concepts put-ons like fitness tracking earbuds and a wireless charging bowl. Yeah, we don't know what that means either, but it's something Intel has apparently spend plenty of time thinking about.
The company did announce Edison, Intel's equivalent of the Raspberry Pi.
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Sony
Sony too got in the wearable craze here at CES, introducing what it said may be the tiniest thing it's ever created.
Called Core, it's a small chip that can be worn in a variety of ways and is small enough to slip into a Smartband also announced by Sony.
Sharp
Sharp showed off a slew of new TVs at a press conference on the day before the official start of CES 2014, pronouncing itself the top TV maker, with "the most comprehensive line" of HD big-screens.
That line includes the newly announced Sharp Aquos Quattron (or Q series) Plus, "the highest resolution [full] HD television available," Sharp Marketing President John Herrington said on stage.
In addition to the Quattron Plus series that plays 4K content at "half the price," Sharp unveiled two new actual 4K Ultra HD Aquos sets, at 60 and 70 inches. Sharps' 4K TVs will launch this summer, with more sizes coming later in the year.
Razer
Razer isn't just about gaming and computers anymore.
The Razer Nabu has arrived to challenge Samsung and Sony's smartwatches and the fitness bands to boot, with the gaming firm's smartband offering dual notification OLED screens.
Offering both an easily visible notifications screen and a more private message screen, the Nabu tracks a wealth of personal data including steps walked, distance travelled and sleep quality as well as location information.
LG
The Korean company announced in December that a gigantic 105-inch LED TV will be on show for the convention, and then added that five new OLED units will also be showcased, including the curved 77-incher we saw at IFA 2013.
But LG is bringing more than just TVs to Las Vegas. The company jumped the gun on its Monday keynote and let loose on the Lifeband Touch, a fitness wristband that will offer exercise goals, calorie output, take incoming calls and play music. It is compatible with Android and iOS, and we expect to go hands ... er ... wrist on with it at the show.
Samsung
Samsung hasn't officially made any CES 2014 announcements during the show yet, but all signs are pointing to the company revealing two larger-and-in-charge tablets here in LV.
In fact, on January 6 Samsung pulled the sheet off one of it's more impressive, albeit impractical, TVs - the 105-inch curved Ultra HD 4K TV.
According to our hands on review of the device: the screen is so lovely it's almost heartbreaking, and its unusual properties give it the exotic air that only truly new technology can have. What's more, the possible viewing angles are phenomenal.
It seems Samsung is going with a curved theme this CES - it also unveiled a bendable TV. Yes, bendable.
A bendable or curved TV screen may be a bit disconcerting to the everyday consumer but according to our hands on "the bendy TV screen itself is just gorgeous. And there's no discernible dip in quality as it changes shape. It's very seamless."
The Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 and the Galaxy Tab Pro 12.2 should both ring in at 12.2-inches each, making them, and look for both to sport Android 4.4 KitKat.
It definitely won't be all tablets for Sammy though; we're sure to hear plenty about its UHD TV plans as well.
Lenovo
The the 5.5-inch Vibe Z, Lenovo's flagship handset, is also the first LTE-capable smartphone from Lenovo. The Vibe Z along with three other Android handsets will splash onto the scene in Vegas.
Equipped with Qualcomm's quad-core Snapdragon 800 CPU clocked at 22.GHz, the Vibe Z is capable of upload speeds up to 50Mbps and up to 150Mbps downloads, Lenovo promises.
Lenovo's S Series of phones, the S930 and S650 (both running Android 4.2), are aimed at media junkies on a budget, and the ultra-affordable, so-so-specced A859.
- Check out our hands on review of the Lenovo Vibe Z!
The company has also outed a number of notebooks and tablets to whet your whistle, including the Lenovo Yoga 2, ThinkPad X1 Carbon, Lenovo ThinkPad 8 and Lenovo Miix 2.
Nvidia
"Shock and awe" may have been Nvidia's M.O. during its January 5 press conference. The company dropped a bomb in the form of the Tegra K1, a 192-core mobile processor. Not only does it boast a ridiculous amount of cores, it comes in two versions - a 32-bit ARM A15 flavor and a 64-bit Dual Denver dish.
The company also touched on its auto obsession and initiatives in the car-tech spaces as well as revealing several manufacturers are prepping 27-inch monitors equipped with its display-enhancing G-Sync display enhancing modules.
Oculus Rift
It's official: The new, won't-make-you-want-to-hurl Oculus Rift is making it's way to Las Vegas.
"We're showing the latest Rift kit at CES," tweeted Oculus team member Tom Forsyth. "Should be pretty interesting. I'm looking forward to the feedback."
We can't wait to put the new lenses on.
Alcatel
Sure, it's not the biggest name in the business, but Alcatel isn't sitting silently as its competitors bask in Vegas' sun rays.
The company has announced the One Touch Idol X+, a phone with 8-cores and 5-inch full HD display, and a phablet with a mouthful of a name.
The One Touch Pop C9 houses a 5.5-inch, 1.3GHz quad-core processor, 8MP rear camera, , Android 4.2 and 4GB of RAM. It's not the sexiest machine on the strip, but it sure is colorful.
Toshiba
What's this? A 13.3-inch Chromebook from Toshiba! Long heard of, never seen, we finally have Tosh's entry in the Chrome OS notebook space with a laptop that touts a screen larger than most.
Though the machine lacks touch, the company is looking to steal a little display wow factor with its newest 4K UHD TVs. Not only that, but the Japanese firm has also announced a new 4K Blu-ray player and soundbar, covering just about every media need in a nice neat package.
Acer
Acer has revealed its 2014 line up of tablets that will be on the CES show floor - refreshes of the Iconia A1 and B1 series.
The Iconia A1-830, a 7.9-inch slate in a new silver, aluminum back cover sports a 1024 x 768 IPS touchscreen. Inside the A1 is a 1.6GHz Intel Atom Z2560 processor and 1GB of DDR2 RAM. Despite that being a Clover Trail+ chip rather than the shiny new Bay Trail, Acer still promises 7.5 hours of battery life. The asking price: $149 (about £90.78, AU$165.91) when it lands this quarter.
The Iconia B1-720, a 7-inch tablet in a new, slimmer profile that's aimed at entry-level tablet users or children with its $129 (about £78.59, AU$143.64) price tag.
Netflix goes 4K
Netflix continued to lead the next-gen streaming charge by announcing on December 18 that it plans to produce House of Cards season 2 in 4K.
How does it plan to do this exactly? By teaming up with TV makers, of course. Netflix Chief Product Officer Neil Hunt said December 18 that the company has partnered with "major TV vendors" that will announce their 4K-Netflix-capable wares at CES.
This is 4K Netflix built into smart TVs, folks, and it's all coming in January.
YouTube also in the 4K ring
In a bid to kickstart Google's new open-source VP9 video format, YouTube will also be on hand to demonstrate 4K streaming technology.
The company's UltraHD videos will be on display on televisions at the Sony, LG and Panasonic booths using the VP9 codec Google has developed in-house.
Archos
Archos has announced that it will be making a splurge of "connected home" devices at CES 2014, and it'll be throwing its own range of smartwatches and tablets into the mix too.
Also in the mix is an Archos fitness band - named the "Archos Activity Monitor" - that'll record your daily steps, calories burned, and will display the time in the style of the Fitbit Force.
Archos will also show off another first with its entry into the 4G smartphone market with the Archos 45 Helium 4G and 50 Helium 4G.
ZTE
After much speculation, ZTE has confirmed that it will indeed bring its ZTE Grand S II, the follow up to the Grand S, to the show.
The other handsets also making an appearance are the Nubia 5S, Nubia 5S mini and the Sonata 4G.
ZTE is also set to debut its very first Iconic Phablet, a 5.7-inch device listed to come equipped with a dual-core processor, Dolby Digital Sound and a wireless charging feature.
But that's not all! The company has a seriously full roster and plans on displaying "ZTE BlueWatch" the Chinese phone maker's inaugural smartwatch and a hybrid Wi-Fi hotspot. Lastly, ZTE said it is working in tandem with AT&T to develop the US carrier's Wireless Home Base - a device that allows users to connect their home telephone to AT&T's wireless network instead of a telephone jack.
Dreamworks
Animation giant Dreamworks has announced that it is teaming up with Fuhu to make a 'DreamTab' tablet built especially for its core young audience.
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Prev Page CES 2014: Day one Next Page CES 2014: Show floor speculationMichelle was previously a news editor at TechRadar, leading consumer tech news and reviews. Michelle is now a Content Strategist at Facebook. A versatile, highly effective content writer and skilled editor with a keen eye for detail, Michelle is a collaborative problem solver and covered everything from smartwatches and microprocessors to VR and self-driving cars.