What mattered at CES 2014 -- Day 1
The biggest consumer electronics show of the year has officially kicked off, and we've got dozens of editors walking the miles of show floor so you don't have to. Here's the best stuff we found Tuesday.
LAS VEGAS -- The biggest consumer electronics show of the year officially kicked off today, and we've got dozens of editors walking the miles of showfloor so you don't have to. Here's the most interesting stuff we found today.
Sony
Sony kicked off the day by announcing PlayStation Now, a new gaming service coming this summer that people can use to stream PS3 games to the PS4, PS3, Vita, and 2014 Bravia TVs. Very few details were revealed at the press conference, but we got more information from Sony later. Here's everything we know about PlayStation Now so far.
Sony also (sort of) unveiled an upcoming cloud-based video service, through which customers will be able to watch TV and movies whenever they want and on whatever device they want, including, yes, game consoles, but also devices such as the iPad and smartphones. No name or launch date were given.
Sony also piqued our interest with the promise of a futuristic device called LifeSpace UX, a short-range 4K projector that can project a 147-inch image at extremely close range. CEO Kaz Hirai conjured visions of a surfer instantly projecting live streams of surf spots around the world on his wall, or a group of people getting together to live-stream a rock show at home.
CNET was one of a small group of journalists who got the chance to sit down with Hirai after the event. See what he had to say about the company's online TV service, 4K TV, and wearable tech here.
Yahoo
Yahoo also had a pretty newsy press conference today. CEO Marissa Mayer introduced News Digest, a service that essentially delivers twice-daily summaries of current events to readers wherever they are. She also introduced a highly visual revamp to Yahoo's original news content. Yahoo digital magazines will launch with sections focused on food and tech.
Mayer announced that Yahoo has acquired Aviate, a smartphone launcher that automatically organizes your apps based on usage data and locations. And no doubt to the chagrin of some Tumblr diehards, she brought Tumblr founder David Karp out to talk about ads on Tumblr, which will now be powered by Yahoo ad tech. The keynote also unveiled a new smart guide for Yahoo's Smart TV efforts.
TV tech
3D was all the rage for TV manufacturers over the last couple of years. That trend is clearly waning, but we did see a concept 4K-resolution 3D TV in Samsung's booth, which created the illusion of a third dimension better than before. Even better: it doesn't require you to watch from a particular seating position. (Watch video of that demo below.)
If 4K just isn't quite sharp enough for you, check out Samsung's 8K demo TV. It's huge and higher-res, but won't be a real product anytime soon.
But, as CNET writer Joan Solsman points out in her article, some TV makers are getting big props for a TV innovation -- simplicity -- that feels out of fashion at a confab that breathlessly idolizes bells and whistles.
The Next Big Thing
CNET's Next Big Thing SuperSession is always one of the hottest tickets at CES. This year, we focused on the evolution of consumer tech hardware. Sensors are now being embedded in everything from cars to baby onesies (as shown in Intel's press conference yesterday). But what are we actually doing with all that data? And where will the next breakthrough be? We sat down with a panel of tech luminaries today to get their thoughts.We saw more new wearable devices today now that the show floor is open. One of the more interesting products is the Casio Sports Gear STB-1000, a Bluetooth-enabled watch that's capable of syncing with several fitness apps.
Here we've rounded up pictures of all the wearable tech we've seen so far.
Torture tests
This year we brought back our extremely popular torture tests from CES 2013, in which we put innocent everyday gadgets through ridiculously extreme scenarios. In one, CNET's Jeff Bakalar visited the High Roller observation wheel in Las Vegas to torture-test the gold iPhone 5S. Check it out in the video below to see if this smartphone can stand up to the force of the largest wheel in the world.
Must See
Once again, we've added some fun new things to our Must See list. Check out what's on the list today.