CES 2014: What to Expect From the Biggest Tech Show of the Year

CES 2014

CES 2014: What to Expect From the Biggest Tech Show of the Year

With an eye on upcoming crazy days in January, we’re steeling ourselves for a glut of phones, tablets, laptops, gaming tech, TVs, wearables, refrigerators and whatever other home appliances companies can stick a computer into.

Las Vegas: From January 7 to January 10, CES 2014 will invade the Las Vegas Convention Center per usual, and we’re gearing up to see everything from “must have” to “please, get that away from me.”

Listed below are the confirmed pieces of tech we’ll of course, get our hands on during the show. For more on what we think will pop up, check out the next page for a full roster of juicy rumors.

LG: The Korean company announced in December that a gigantic 105-inch LED TV will be on show for the convention, and recently added that five new OLED units will also be showcased, including the curved 77-incher we saw at IFA 2013.

Lenovo: The 5.5-inch Vibe Z, Lenovo’s flagship handset, is also the first LTE-capable smartphone from Lenovo. The Vibe Z along with three other Android handsets will splash onto the scene in Vegas.

Acer: Acer has revealed its 2014 line up of tablets that will be on the CES show floor - refreshes of the Iconia A1 and B1 series.

Netflix goes 4K: Netflix continued to lead the next-gen streaming charge by announcing on December 18 that it plans to produce House of Cards season 2 in 4K. This is 4K Netflix built into smart TVs, folks, and it’s all coming in January.

YouTube also in the 4K ring: In a bid to kick start Google’s new open-source VP9 video format, YouTube will also be on hand to demonstrate 4K streaming technology. The company’s UltraHD videos will be on display on televisions at the Sony, LG and Panasonic booths using the VP9 codec Google has developed in-house.

Archos: Archos will be throwing its own range of smartwatches and tablets into the mix too. Also, Archos fitness band - named the “Archos Activity Monitor” - that’ll record your daily steps, calories burned, and will display the time in the style of the Fitbit Force. Archos will also show off the Archos 45 Helium 4G and 50 Helium 4G.

ZTE: ZTE has confirmed that it will indeed bring its ZTE Grand S II, the follow up to the Grand S, to the show along with other handsets, Nubia 5S, Nubia 5S mini and the Sonata 4G and its very first Iconic Phablet. But that’s not all! The company plans on displaying “ZTE BlueWatch” the Chinese phone maker’s inaugural smartwatch and a hybrid Wi-Fi hotspot.