Skip to main content

DT Daily: CES 2017 highlights include robotic wheels, chip injections, and 5G

Welcome to the second day of the CES 2017 edition of DT Daily. We’re here to get you up to speed on some of the biggest tech we’ve seen in Las Vegas this week.

Watch Digital Trends’ experts Steph Stricklen and Greg Nibler and special guest David Cogen from TheUnlockr share their reactions to the hottest categories and devices at CES. Hear their comments, excitement, and what they think you would like to know about a motorhome with a helicopter on the roof, tech for pets, levitating speakers, injected chips to control smart home devices, smartphone video in hotel rooms, fast-charging 5G chips, and the Digital Trends Best of CES 2017 Awards.

Tech to soak and roll in

Sticklen started off by asking Cogen and Nibler about the most interesting things they had seen so far at CES. Nibler jumped in, talking about a motorhome with both a helicopter and a hot tub on the roof. Cogen saw that, too and said the inside walls are lined with LED screens. Nibler claims it for his own. Both also exclaimed about Furrion Robotics‘ rolling transformer robot. Called the Prosthesis, Nibler said it looks like a giant PCV ball you sit in as you are preparing for world domination.

Robots for your pets

All three experts observed CES has loads of pet tech this year. Stricklen mentioned tracking collars and a ball with a camera inside so you can get video of your dog slobbering. Nibler showed images of Swagtron‘s robot for pets that can play catch, give treats, and scare cats from under the bed.

Chip injections

Injectable diodes were appealing at first to Stricklen. She was fascinated by the idea of a chip injection that you could use to control devices in your smart home — until she learned how it’s injected.

Car shame

Stricklen mentioned a car that can read your emotions and adjust your speed if you’re in the dumps. She is not a fan of that idea. Nibler doesn’t want his car shaming him, either.

Video on smartphones

Cogen, Nibler, and Stricklen all talked about how people are more and more just using phones and laptops for video. Stricklen said when she stays in hotels, she doesn’t turn on the television but just watches everything on her phone.

5G cell phone charging

Stricklen noted a new Qualcomm chip for 5G phones the company claims can charge for five hours use in five minutes. All agreed that will be a game changer.

Who’s having the most fun at CES

Nibler talked about the Digital Trends’ staffer who is having the most fun, Cool Tech editor Drew Prindle. Stricklen agreed, saying she saw him last night and asked what he was doing and he said, “I’m going have a couple beers and go see some drones!”

Digital Trends Best of CES 2017 Awards

Nibler and Stricklen both talked about the Digital Trends Best of CES 2017 Awards, which they called the Cyber Stag awards. Stricklen said she was on the DT bus when they were deciding which companies were the winners and was impressed by how seriously the writers and editors were in their deliberations. Stricklen also mentioned that one of the awards was going to be given live during a broadcast in the booth.

That is it for our DT Daily CES report. Stick with us as Digital Trends takes its biggest army of reporters yet to cover every corner of the show, bringing you the coolest and most meaningful tech innovations to be found. We can’t wait to tell you about it!

Digital Trends is live all week at CES 2017 in Las Vegas. Check out our continuing coverage live on YouTube, Facebook, #DTces, and DigitalTrends.com/ces/.

Bruce Brown
Digital Trends Contributing Editor Bruce Brown is a member of the Smart Homes and Commerce teams. Bruce uses smart devices…
Vivo’s V23 5G looks quite a lot like the iPhone 13
Vivo V23 held in hand.

Vivo liked what Apple did with the iPhone 13’s squared-off body so much, it decided to have a go itself, and the result is the Vivo V23 5G. There aren’t many phones with flat sides, making it hard not to compare the V23’s design with the iPhone 13 (and iPhone 4 and iPhone 5 before it), but is there anything more to the phone?

The Vivo V23 5G launches alongside the Vivo V23 Pro, a higher specification device that doesn’t share the same flat-sided design, and instead goes for a super thin and light case. The V23 is similarly lightweight at just 179 grams, and also very thin at 7.39mm. However, the glossy, square sides make it slippery and quite uncomfortable to grip, accusations also raised against the iPhone 13.

Read more
AT&T’s Fusion 5G is the carrier’s newest affordable 5G smartphone
The front view of the AT&T Fusion 5G smartphone.

Note: A previous version of this article mentioned support for mmWave connections for the Fusion 5G. The phone does not support mmWave connections. It does support Sub-6 5G. This was due to an oversight on the part of AT&T in the preparation of this announcement's materials.

AT&T on Monday introduced the AT&T Fusion 5G -- an AT&T-branded 5G device that slots comfortably into the carrier's existing range of affordable 5G smartphones. The phone finds itself positioned well above AT&T's cheapest 5G offering -- the Radiant Max 5G -- and distinguishes itself from the latter by offering much better hardware and support for sub-6 5G connections. Let us take a closer look at the rest of the features the Fusion 5G has to offer.

Read more
TCL 30XE 5G And 30 V 5G are the latest additions to TCL’s 5G phone lineup
A press image showing the front and rear sides of the TCL 20 V 5G smartphone.

TCL today introduced its new 30-series devices in the U.S. with the launch of two budget 5G smartphones -- the TCL 30XE 5G and 30 V 5G. These confusingly-named smartphones are the first among the eight smartphones TCL intends to launch in the country this year. While the 30XE 5G will be first available via T-Mobile before launching on other carriers, the TCL 30V 5G is a Verizon exclusive. Pricing isn't known yet but should be revealed closer to launch.
TCL 30 XE 5G

The TCL 30XE 5G is a budget smartphone that uses the octa-core MediaTek Dimensity 700 chipset that clocks up to 2.2 GHz. The device comes in a single 4GB +64GB option -- with support for a microSD card. The TCL 30XE 5G is also a fairly large phone with a 6.52-inch HD+ display that supports a 90Hz refresh rate and 180Hz touch sampling. In addition, the display gets a V-shaped notch for the front-facing camera.

Read more