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The Consumer Electronics Fair (CES) is probably the biggest event in the technology calendar, giving companies from around the world the chance to show off their latest wares to (sometimes) eager and (sometimes) bored journalists.
Perhaps because the larger companies tend to organise their own events to announce new products, CES has become the domain of the hustlers and the dreamers, with this year’s proceedings stuffed full of small companies and never-before-seen gadgets.
Wearable and connected devices are major trends this year, although more traditional fare (larger and larger TVs; new phones and tablets) will also be present. However, some of the weirder gadgets on display may never see the light of day after this mayfly-like jaunt in the spotlight, so let’s have a look at some of the most interesting technology so far:
Show all 12 1 /12CES 2014: The best gadgets from Las Vegas so far CES 2014: The best gadgets from Las Vegas so far With a pair of robotic toys named Bo and Yana (that's Bo playing the xylophone on the left) Play-i are hoping they can teach children how to code. Whilst there's plenty of similiar initiatives, Play-i are hoping they can reach young children, offering the mobile bots alongside a visual programming language that can be used by kids as young as 5. They fit together simple instructions (such as 'when blocked, turn right', or 'when shaken, play sound X') to teach Bo and Yana to respond to their environments, learning the blocks and mechanics of coding along the way.
CES 2014: The best gadgets from Las Vegas so far The Pebble is one of the most venerable smartwatches out there but consumers have often complained that the device feels somewhat cheap and flimsy. The answer is the new Pebble Steel, an up-market model made from quality materials that comes with either a leather or steel-link strap. The e-ink interface remains identical but has now been covered with scratch-resistant Gorilla Glass. Expect increasingly attractive devices like the Steel as wearables become less of an oddity and more of a fashion statement.
CES 2014: The best gadgets from Las Vegas so far Continuing to prove that drones can be fun for all as well as weapons of war, French company Parrot have released the MiniDrone - a compact version of their popular AR Drone quadrocopter. Portable enough to fit into a backpack with ease (the wheels on the side are detachable), the MiniDrone is controlled by a paired smartphone app over Bluetooth and has internal gyroscopes to keep it stable even when your hands are off the controls. Prices aren't yet known but it could be a perfect gift for the budding drone-pilot in your family.
CES 2014: The best gadgets from Las Vegas so far Panasonic made its name with its high-quality TVs, but at CES it has also showed off a high-tech blowdryer with a flashy name to match. The "Nanoe" will actually wet your hair as it dries it. Pansonic claim that the device takes "mositure from your hair and in the air, and uses it to create tiny, moisture-rich particles that are small enough to penetrate the shafts of your hair".
CES 2014: The best gadgets from Las Vegas so far The theme of 'everyday household object + smartphone app' is becoming an overly-familiar formula, especially when the the app in question can chivvy you into healthier habits. The Kolibree toothbrush (left) does exactly this for your dental hygiene, monitoring how long your brush and even where in the mouth you've covered. A connected app will time your daily routine and provide you with charts and data to compare with friends and family.
CES 2014: The best gadgets from Las Vegas so far Whether you think the gadget in this picture looks creepy or caring will probably be a good prediction of how you'd feel about it tracking you round the house. It's the disturbingly named Mother from Sen.se, a company that specializes in connected devices. Each Mother comes with a number of senors the size of coin that can detect temperature, location and movement. They all feed info back to the Mother (which then reports to your smartphone) and can be used to record anything from how much you walk in a day to whether your plants need watering. Sen.se claims that Mother "offers the knowledge and comfort you want, when and how you want it, all while remaining discreet."
CES 2014: The best gadgets from Las Vegas so far Typing on smartphones and other mobile devices is never convenient but a company named TrewGrip think they have a solution: 'rear typing'. Their eponymous gadget (left) wraps around your phone or tablet, repositioning a traditional qwerty keyboard into a vaugely steering wheel-like grip. A built in accelerometer lets you control an on-screen mouse by tiling the device around and the company promises a learning curve of 8-10 hours.
CES 2014: The best gadgets from Las Vegas so far The little wheeled cylinder at the bottom of this picture might not look like much, but its makers - Orbotix - promise that the Sphero 2B is the best smartphone-connected toy on the market. Controlled by both iOS and Android handsets, the $99 device is rugged and programmable, with the makers hoping that users will learn how to think like a coder whilst they use it. Augmented reality games where the graphics pop up on mobile devices are available or you can simply engage in some traditional bumper car style fun with a pair of Spheros.
CES 2014: The best gadgets from Las Vegas so far The new Aura from Withings (left) wants to help you wake up and fall asleep as gently as possible. Consisting of a soft pillow-sized pad that you slip under your sheet and a bedside lamp and speaker, the Aura monitors your sleeping patterns (including breathing and heart rates) before waking you at the right point in your sleep cycle with a gentle combination of light and sound. Coming to the UK in spring from £200, the Aura will connect to your smartphone, log your sleeping patterns and give you the best advice to catch 40 winks every night.
CES 2014: The best gadgets from Las Vegas so far Curved screen displays for smartphones looks set to continue as a trend into 2014, with the LG G Flex (left) attracting plenty of attention. LG claim that the hand set (which curves from top to bottom) will better fit the contours of your face and offer users a more 'immersive' viewing experience. Whether or not it fits in your pocket quite so easily remains to be seen.
CES 2014: The best gadgets from Las Vegas so far There's nothing that gets geeks more excited than the prospect of a smart oven (this wasn't even the only example from CES this year). With the new Discovery IQ Dual-Fuel (left) you get 10 different cooking modes that can be controlled remotely from your smartphone; you get cooking tutorials that you can download straight to the Android touchscreen on the hob itself; and - the clincher on the whole thing - you even get slow-closing doors.
CES 2014: The best gadgets from Las Vegas so far The PrioVR (left) wants to take the idea of gamers using their body as a controller (as seem with the likes of the Kinect and the Nintendo Wii) and make it as accurate as possible with a full-body motion-capturing suit. Currently only the upper-body portion is available but the makers, Yei Technology, promise that the legs are on the way. Gamers use a pair of nunchuck controllers to move about, whilst the arm and head trackers capture where you're looking and aiming.
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