Day one is winding down at CES, and we’re already starting to see some trends emerge. Like, everyone seems to have the flu. And, wow, those are some big-ass TVs. But we’ve been picking up on a few themes that seem to be emerging after this first official day of CES. Here are the highlights, lowlights, and ultralights that made the biggest impression:
The Revenge of Television
Tablets? What tablets? Televisions, televisions everywhere! Big televisions. Bigger televisions. Transparent televisions. (What?) Talkable Televisions. (Double what?) OLED televisions. Ultradefinition televisions. Display manufacturers in Taiwan and South Korea are losing money faster than LSU fans at the sports book. Nobody in Europe is buying. But TVs are everywhere at CES.
Eyes On Sony’s Insane Crystal LED Prototype Display
LG’s Massive 84-Inch Ultradefinition TV Won’t Fit In My Anything
I Talked to Samsung’s Voice-and-Face-Recognizing Smart TVs and It Kind of Sucked
Transparent TV: Insanely Cool, But Also Why Is This a Thing?
https://gizmodo.com/eyes-on-sonys-insane-crystal-led-prototype-display-5874638
https://gizmodo.com/the-most-and-least-amazing-things-we-saw-at-ces-day-o-5874979
Ultrabooksbores
Yeah. There are a skunk-ton of Ultrabooks. Some are really great. Some are incredibly innovative. Most are incredibly boring. I almost fell asleep while I was writing this paragraph. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Dell XPS 13: A Carbon Fiber Ass Makes This Ultrabook Light and Sturdy
HP’s Ultrabook Is Made Out of Glass (Update: Hands On with Video)
Putting My Hands On Vizio’s New Machines Gave Me Computer Envy
https://gizmodo.com/dell-xps-13-a-carbon-fiber-ass-makes-this-ultrabook-li-5874980/
Hello, China
Chinese companies have some really big presences here. Massive booths, loaded with gleaming electronics. And these aren’t just manufacturers. You’re starting to see more and more Chinese companies designing products to be sold direct to the consumer. Like Haier, which bills itself as the #1 brand in the world. Or TCL, which also had a booth approximately the size of a New England state. A lot of the coolest things we’ve seen here have notes that say “coming to China only.” But don’t worry. It’ll be all over the USA soon enough.
Here Comes Windows 8
It’s out there! Lurking! Waiting! And it’s going to be pretty fantastic. Microsoft may be abandoning CES but nobody is abandoning Microsoft.
Lenovo Yoga: This Windows 8 Ultrabook Moonlights as a Tablet
This Nvidia Tablet Is Why Windows 8 Will be Awesome
https://gizmodo.com/lenovo-yoga-this-windows-8-ultrabook-moonlights-as-a-t-5874506
Budget Devices
Cheap tablets. Less-expensive scales. The global economy has been hit by a poopship destroyer (howdy, mang) which means we’re seeing a lot of devices whose chief innovation seems to be: it’s cheap.
Is There Any Way ViewSonic’s $170 Ice Cream Sandwich Tablet Isn’t Terrible?
https://gizmodo.com/is-there-any-way-viewsonics-170-ice-cream-sandwich-tab-5874903
Pandas
Okay, maybe pandas aren’t a trend, but I saw this one and it’s just adorable. Adorable! Who could possibly not love a panda? No one but a real jerk, I tell you.
https://gizmodo.com/should-we-just-let-pandas-die-off-already-5841175
