The annual consumer electronics mega-show in Las Vegas is a reliable source of strange-looking gear
Can you see that little thing in his hand? Intel CEO Brian Krzanich is holding Intel's Edison, a new personal computer in the size of an SD card. Based on Intel's Quark technology, it has built-in wireless capabilities and supports multiple operating systems. And it is tiny.ROBERT GALBRAITH/Reuters
Induct demonstrates their new Navia driverless electric shuttle at the Consumer Electronics Show, Monday, Jan. 6, 2014, in Las Vegas. DRIVERLESS.Jack Dempsey/The Associated Press
THIS CAR HAS FRICKIN’ LASERS FOR HEADLIGHTS! Rupert Stadler, chairman of the board at Audi AG, unveils the Audi Sport Quattro laserlight concept car during the Audi keynote at the International Consumer Electronics Show, Monday, Jan. 6, 2014, in Las Vegas.Jack Dempsey/The Associated Press
The deadbolt Goji Smart Lock can photograph and send real-time picture alerts to the homeowner of anyone who is activating the lock. (As seen at Pepcom's "Digital Experience", a consumer electronics showcase, in Las Vegas, Nevada, January 6, 2014. )STEVE MARCUS/Reuters
No really, this tablet is allegedly a smartphone. The Huawei Ascend Mate 2 is enormous.Julie Jacobson/The Associated Press
Speaking of enormous, Panasonic calls this the Toughpad 4K tablet. It looks like a TV that fell off a wall.STEVE MARCUS/Reuters
Well, there you go, LG G Flex curved smartphone the phone, already available in some foreign markets, will debut in the United States (and hopefully Canada) in the Spring.Julie Jacobson/The Associated Press
Sony unveils the new Smartband and Core during the Sony news conference at the International Consumer Electronics Show Monday, Jan. 6, 2014, in Las Vegas. The Smartband and Core track your daily life on your smartphone.Jack Dempsey/The Associated Press
This appliance was made by Belkin, a company formerly known for iPad cases and now building home automation stuff like its Crock-Pot WeMo Smart Slow Cooker ($99.99). It can be controlled remotely using a smartphone (available in March apparently). We would forgive you if you stopped reading right now, it’s not going to get much stranger than a remote-controlled slow-cooker.STEVE MARCUS/Reuters
Well, actually, the TREWGrip keyboard is pretty strange, too. Do not adjust your screen, it’s a QWERTY keyboard that has been turned backwards and split in half and which “allows people to type and enter data into a tablet while standing up.” Should be easy to completely remap your brain on how you type, right?STEVE MARCUS/Reuters
All of this stuff is from "CES Unveiled," a media preview event to the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES), in Las Vegas, Nevada, January 5, 2014. The show starts Monday, but on Sunday journalists get to see devices like the Schwinn CycleNav, which links with a smartphone to give visible (see those big blinking green arrow lights) and audio directions to the rider. Turn-by-turn directions for your bike!STEVE MARCUS/Reuters
There will be a lot of fitness and other wearable tech items at CES this year, but this class of device might someday become fairly useful to sports junkies. The Zepp sensor, the yellow bauble on the golf glove, analyzes 1,000 data points per second to create 3D representations of a player's swing. But it’s not just for putters, it supports baseball and tennis swings too. The sensors retail for $149.99.STEVE MARCUS/Reuters
Hey, the Sphero 2.0 and 2B by Orbotix! The first Sphero (little rolling ball “robots” controlled with smartphones) had a little traction problem, but it looks like they’ve strapped some offroad rubber to the 2B version (foreground). The updated no-rubber Sphero 2.0 is already available, the 2B is expected to ship in the fall of 2014.STEVE MARCUS/Reuters
Why have a mopping robot and a vaccum robot when you can have one that does both? That’s what the Moneual Rydis H68 Pro Hybrid Robot Vacuum promises, but based on our reviews of previous cleaning robots, its likely this is just another device that you can video animals riding on for the Internet’s pleasure.STEVE MARCUS/Reuters
Another trend we’ve seen develop over the last year is sure to get a lot of floor space: AR and VR gaming rigs. Here, YEI Technology's Chris George plays a computer game with PrioVR, a virtual reality gaming accessory in which sensors on the player translate movement into the game (and possibly gives him Elysium-like robot super powers?). A full-body system retails for $400.STEVE MARCUS/Reuters
Also, there will be a lot of smartphone cases at CES. More than you can imagine. Some will even sortof make sense, like this one with solar photovoltaic cells by EnerPlex (the cases retail for $89.99-$99.99 depending on the model).STEVE MARCUS/Reuters