Skip to main content

Best of CES 2013: Awesome

Giant televisions and impressive cameras are great and everything, but it’s not why your intrepid CES Awesome correspondents got into the tech journalism game. No, we were lured away from all those other, sensible career paths by an obsession with the intersection of science and gadgetry. We like pretending we live in a science fiction movie, and nowhere on the planet provides as many opportunities for that feeling as CES. Here are a few of the things that blew our minds while also harnessing our brainwaves to move cursors across screens.

Check out more top picks from CES 2013.

Lego Mindstorms EV3

Remember when you used to play with Legos and think, man, it would be so cool if this robot that I just made was actually a robot? With their new Mindstorms EV3, they are. And, yes, this means that while you think your kids are happily snapping away with a cool new toy that teaches them some basic computer programming skills, what they’re actually doing is building a herd of dinosaur robot monsters to completely take over your house.
Here’s more on the Lego Mindstorms EV3.
Lego Mindstorms EV3 Spik3r spider scorpion

Leonar3Do

Many companies are hopping onto the 3D printing trend, but Leonar3Do is one of the few that addressed how to create items to 3D print in the first place. With its latest software and tools, anyone can learn to sculpt, model, and create designs that talk to 3D printers, without learning a single programming code. Basically, if you know how to use a pen, you can make an iPhone case and manufacture it yourself.
Read on to learn about the Leonar3Do virtual modeling tool.
Leonar3do-fl

Qi Wireless

It’s 2013. Why do we still need to carry five different wires every time we go on a business trip? With the Qi Wireless technology, cellphones, computers, and tablets will soon sport energy conductive coils that will charge power into the device without ever hooking up a cord. Simply place the items on a charging pad and watch as the battery level go from red to green. This is the kind of gear we can definitely embrace and set as the new standard of mobile technology.
Here’s the full coverage on Qi Wireless.
Qi Wireless charging music dock

Sifteo Cubes

The proliferation of gaming devices and platforms is great, but it inadvertently distracts from the original mission of games in the first place: bring people together to have fun with each other. Sifteo Cubes bring the interactivity back by allowing multiple people to play together on a modular gaming system – all while taking up very little physical space or gobbling up your hard drive. They’re also great for kids to hone their logic and puzzle skills.

Continue here for more on Sifteo Cubes.

Sifteo-cube

Displair

One of the best and worst parts of CES is that there’s too much to see. Between the various conference halls, keynotes, ballrooms, and show floors, the event is bursting at the seams with all the new electronics and gadgets that we’ll see in the near future (and some we won’t).

Enter, Displair. Hidden in the depths of the Venetian, it’s a touch display made of nothing but mist — and guess what, it’s not just a concept! The Russian startup plans to bring the Displair to market later this year for the incredibly affordable price of $12,000. Too steep? You’re in luck: You can rent it for $1,000 a day.

We know, for that price, if you’re considering the Displair you’re probably a prince living in Dubai. WIth your own island. With five islands. And a pet tiger. Anyway, the point is, you can play Fruit Ninja on mist-made touch display and nothing else matters.

Read more about Displair.

Displair

Editors' Recommendations

Natt Garun
Former Digital Trends Contributor
An avid gadgets and Internet culture enthusiast, Natt Garun spends her days bringing you the funniest, coolest, and strangest…
The Anker Solix F3800 power station is one of the most powerful on display at CES 2024
The Anker Solix F3800 charging an EV.

Anker showed off several products at CES 2024, but few were as compelling as the Solix F3800 Portable Power Station. With a staggering 6,000W output (and the option to chain two together for 12,000W), it's shaping up to be a portable power station that can tackle every task around your home, garage, or campsite.

The Solix F3800 is designed as an all-encompassing solution for portable power. Its output allows it to power RVs, directly charge EVs, and run home appliances like your microwave and refrigerator. Along with its 6,000W output, it benefits from up to a 53.8kwh capacity; in other words, it should have more than enough juice to run your gadgets before it needs to recharge itself.

Read more
Samsung SmartThings learns a bunch of useful new tricks at CES 2024
A person sitting on a couch with SmartThings products in the foreground.

Samsung SmartThings -- an application designed to connect and control your smart home devices -- doesn't quite get the same attention as platforms like Google Home or Apple HomeKit. However, it made some big announcements at CES 2024, and it's shaping up to be a big year for Samsung's first-party platform. Along with enhanced support for TVs and new uses for QR codes, SmartThings is rolling out a brilliant Map View feature, which creates a digital map of your home and shows you exactly where all your connected devices are located.

Here's how it works. Instead of scrolling through a list of all your devices or jumping between groups in your smartphone app, Map View lets you see a 3D representation of your home on your smartphone. Inside this map, you'll find icons for all your smart home gadgets corresponding to their actual physical location. That means you can quickly find exactly which device you want to control without needing to scroll through a long list.

Read more
Samsung goes all-in with AI, reveals several new smart home appliances at CES 2024
The Samsung Bespoke AI Fridge from CES 2024.

Samsung unleashed a flurry of announcements at CES 2024, including several upcoming smart home appliances powered by AI. The lineup features an induction cooktop, washer and dryer combo, slide-in range, and refrigerator, all of which use new A.I. features to streamline your daily chores.

The Samsung Bespoke 4-Door Flex Refrigerator was among the first reveals, debuting ahead of CES 2024. Featuring the premium AI Family Hub+ and AI Vision Inside, the futuristic fridge can scan and identify 33 different types of food items and send you alerts before they expire.

Read more