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The curious, the lavish, and the best, most pointless news of CES 2017
CES, the most extravagant and important tech trade event of the year, is going down in Las Vegas. As you can imagine, there is an awful lot of news coming out of the convention.
Fear not, though, here’s the breakdown of the biggest news out of CES 2017.
DAY 1
Acer debuts a 21-inch curved screen gaming laptop for $9,000
Above: The Acer Predator 21 X is $9,000, with a 21-inch curved screen.
Image Credit: Acer
Acer is debuting two new gaming laptops, the Acer Predator 21 X Notebook and the Acer Predator 17 X.
With a curved screen, the 21-inch Predator 21 X gaming laptop will sell for $9,000 and will be available in February.
Lenovo launches new computer lineup
Above: Lenovo’s 2017 ThinkPad X1 Yoga.
Image Credit: Lenovo
Center stage of CES’ first day, Lenovo unveiled new devices in its ThinkPad X1 line — an ultrabook, a convertible laptop, and a tablet, all of which run Windows 10.
The second-generation ThinkPad X1 Yoga will retail at $1,500, while the new fifth-generation ThinkPad X1 Carbon starts at $1,350.
Lenovo launches Smart Assistant
Above: Lenovo Smart Assistant.
Image Credit: Lenovo
Lenovo also got itself involved in the smart assistant game. At $130, the device cleverly called Smart Assistant is Lenovo’s response to the Amazon Echo — and it also runs Alexa. The speaker will hit the stores in May.
3dRudder Wireless lets you control VR games — with your feet
Above: 3dRudder Wireless lets you control your games and apps with your feet.
Image Credit: 3dRudder Wireless
3dRudder, a New York-based startup, launched its foot-powered controller for PC games, mobile apps, and VR headsets. VB’s very own Dean Takahashi says this “may be the strangest product at CES 2017.”
Hubblo portable 360-degree camera enables personal VR broadcasting
Above: Hubblo has unveiled a 360-degree VR camera.
Image Credit: Hubblo
Hong Kong-based Hubblo is announcing the Hubblo VR camera — a 3D livestreaming device that can stream at 4K. The all-in-one camera will shoot 4K video and debut for $1,000.
Mayfield Robotics launches $700 home robot Kuri
Above: Mayfield Robotics’s first robot is called Kuri, and it has a personality.
Image Credit: Mayfield Robotics
Mayfield Robotics introduced Kuri, a $700 machine available for preorder in the U.S. with a $100 deposit. Kuri is touted as not only being “aware and mobile, but also having a personality designed to brighten up your home.”
Keyshare Technology debuts Kimon selfie drone
Above: Keyshare’s Kimon selfie drone.Drones can do a lot of things, but perhaps we have finally discovered their true purpose: as a new way to take selfies. Keyshare Technology has announced its Kimon “selfie drone” at CES 2017.
Image Credit: Keyshare
The Kimon is easy to use, portable, has a replaceable battery and is capable of taking quality photos. All its features are tailored to provide a great selfie-taking experience, including a 16 megapixel camera that supports 4K 25 frames per second video recording.
Polar unveils connected sports shirt with built-in heart-rate monitor
Above: Polar Connected Shirt
Image Credit: Polar
Polar, a company known for a range of sports training computers, such as activity-trackers and Wi-Fi scales, has announced a new connected sports shirt with built-in health-tracking smarts. The Polar Team Pro Shirt builds on the company’s existing athlete-focused heart-rate monitoring hardware, which includes the Polar Team Pro chest strap and serves to give coaches real-time data on their athletes’ performance, including effort expended and speed of recovery.
DAY 2
Samsung to invest $150 million in early-stage emerging tech startups
Samsung on Wednesday announced its intentions to support early-stage startups focused on emerging technologies. The company, through its global innovation group, has established a $150 million fund targeting businesses specializing in virtual reality, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, and “other new frontier technologies.”
Nvidia partners with Audi to build AI cars
Above: Nvidia has partnered with Audi on AI cars.
Image Credit: Dean Takahashi
Nvidia is partnering with Audi to develop artificial intelligence for a new generation of self-driving cars. The companies are looking to commercialize Nvdia’s latest technology for advanced automotive applications.
Toyota’s latest concept car uses AI to understand your driving habits
Above: A rendering of Toyota’s newest concept car, the Concept-i.
Image Credit: Toyota
Jumping into the autonomous vehicle space, Toyota envisions not just a system to let you get to your destination hands-free, but one that knows your route, your driving patterns, schedules, emotion, and other data points.
Don’t get too excited about this futuristic-looking car, though — it’s going to be a while before something like it comes to the market for you to own.
HoloLamp brings you augmented reality without glasses
Above: HoloLamp pico projector in action
Image Credit: HoloLamp
HoloLamp debuted its augmented reality projector system at CES 2017. The projector makes it possible for augmented reality to interact with real objects, and no special glasses or smartphone are required to see its animated images.
The HoloLamp projector will ship with an animated chess game akin to the 3D chess seen in Star Wars: A New Hope and will be available for purchase in the first quarter of this year, the company said.
Lego Boost robot teaches younger kids to code and bring their own creations to life
Above: All five of the Lego Boost robots.
Image Credit: Dean Takahashi
Lego Mindstorms has taught hordes of teens to learn how to program robots. Now Lego Group is launching Lego Boost, a series of toy robots that can teach younger kids how to code.
Whistle 3 helps you keep track of your wandering pet
Above: Whistle 3 can track your lost pet.
Image Credit: Whistle
Whistle, the maker of pet-tracking and monitoring devices, announced its Whistle 3 product at CES 2017. It can quickly locate a lost pet and can track your pet’s daily exercise. The newest product combines continuous location tracking with upgraded activity monitoring.
DAY 3
ChargePoint claims it can speed up electric car charging by 800%
Above: ChargePoint promises 8x faster charging for electric cars.
Image Credit: ChargePoint
ChargePoint is launching its ChargePoint Express Plus platform for charging electric cars, promising to make charging as much as eight times faster. The company says it will be able to add hundreds of miles of range with just 10 to 15 minutes of charging
Ford to bring Amazon’s Alexa to millions of cars already on the road
Ford is working to incorporate Amazon’s Alexa into cars with its Ford Sync 3 service, giving drivers the ability to control their car and smart home devices.
Lumus unveils AR displays for smartglasses with wide field of view
Above: This Lumus prototype has a 55-degree wide field of view.
Image Credit: Lumus
Lumus, an Israeli startup that just raised a $45 million funding round, is unveiling new augmented reality displays for smartglasses that offer a wider field of view.
Coros debuts its Linx smart cycling helmet with bone conduction audio
Above: Coros Wearables shows off its Linx Smart Cycling Helmet.
Image Credit: Coros Wearables
Coros Wearables is introducing its Linx Smart Cycling Helmet, which has an interesting new technology called “open-ear bone conduction.”
The helmet uses vibration through the bones on the side of your head to play music, conduct phone calls, and communicate with other bikers.
With Kodakit, Kodak wants to create the ‘photography ecosystem of the future’
Above: Kodakit
Former camera giant Kodak is setting out to create what it calls “the photography ecosystem of the future,” with the global launch of a new on-demand photography service that connects photographers with brands.
Kodakit is now available in 37 countries, covering major conurbations like New York, San Francisco, Paris, London, and Delhi.
