The best of CES 2013

Home/
Lifestyle/
News/
The best of CES 2013

The best of CES 2013

The tech industry's annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas offers a glimpse at the gadgets and gear that will shape the next year and beyond. So what was big in 2013?

January 16, 2013
Dan Gardiner

Sony Xperia Z

The Japanese tech giant has had mixed fortunes in the smartphone market, but it's hoping 2013 will be the year it can turn them around, starting with its new flagship 5in Android model. With similar core specs to Google's powerful Nexus 4, plus a bigger battery, 1080p screen, 13MP camera and more storage options, it certainly looks great on paper. Its chassis' is also water and dust-resistant. The Xperia Z is set to launch in Australia in March, with pricing to be confirmed.
Razer Edge

Gaming peripheral maker Razer has ventured well out of its comfort zone with the Edge, a 10.1in Windows 8-powered tablet running on Intel notebook hardware and an Nvidia graphics chip. That unique dock/gamepad combo should lend a more console-like experience, and it's designed to gel perfectly with gaming-platform Steam's new gamepad-centric Big Picture mode. In theory the Edge promises a seamless merging of tablet, PC and console gaming. Pricing ranges from US$999 for the base model, stretching to $1,499 for the gruntier Pro option with dock.
Panasonic's super-sized tablet

And here we were thinking Toshiba's 13-inch Android tablet from 2012 was big. Panasonic showed off this gargantuan 20in prototype, packing a 4K-resolution (3840 x 2560-pixels) and running Windows 8 Pro. It's got grunty notebook hardware under the hood to run that screen, but battery life is low - estimated to be around two hours. No word yet on release date or pricing.

Image source: David Becker/Getty Images
The return of the virtual-reality headset

VR glasses generated a lot of buzz in the early 90s and even spawned some real products (Nintendo's Virtual Boy) and the so-bad-it's-good sci-fi flick The Lawnmower Man. With high headset prices and, perhaps more critically, no must-have games or apps to drive the tech, interest had waned by the time the millennium rolled around. The Oculus Rift has been reviving enthusiasm for VR however; it promises to be a low-cost headset designed for PC use, with two 640 x 800 displays (one for each eye) promising incredibly immersive gaming experiences. The device is still at prototype stage, with no firm release date or price.
Curvy 4K-resolution TVs

Move over 1080p - 4K is redefining what 'high-def' means. Both LG and Samsung announced new organic LED (OLED) TVs running at 4K resolution, which quadruples the pixel count of previous 1080p models. OLED can theoretically deliver much greater contrast and more vibrant colours than LCD (many of Samsung's phones have OLED screens). LG and Samsung both demonstrated unusual curved-screen models too, said to provide wider viewing angles. Pricing and availability were both TBA by LG; Samsung's model should be available in late 2013.
Nvidia's Project Shield

Razer wasn't the only company with a unique take on the future of PC gaming - graphics card maker Nvidia also displayed a left-of-center hybrid device pitched at PC gamers. This one basically slaps a 7-inch fold-down display onto a gamepad. It's powered by Nvidia's own Tegra 4 smartphone/tablet hardware and will run Android, but it's also capable of stream games from a PC -- reportedly without any noticeable lag.
Valve's Steam Box

PC gaming kingpin Valve has long been rumoured to have a PC gaming box for the lounge room in development and at CES company co-founder Gabe Newell confirmed that they are indeed working on such a device, code-named the Steam Box. Unfortunately those plans look to be a little more longer-term -- we likely won't learn any more until after 2013, according to Valve Engineer Ben Krasnow. In the meantime however, Valve's also teaming up with third-party PC makers to help them build their own units, including the compact Xi3 Piston above.
Trakdot Luggage Tracker

Lost luggage is one of the worst nightmares of frequent travellers, but the Trakdot hopes to make it a thing of the past. This little AA-powered device works worldwide. It's dormant when in the air, but upon landing will connect to the local mobile-phone network, checking its location and sending you a text to inform you of such. Australian availability hasn't yet been announced, but it will be available in the US from April for US$49.99 (plus an annual fee of US$12.99).