CES 2013: 10 Products You Don't Want To Miss

1. HP Envy IPS Monitor

Hewlett-Packard will be MIA on the CES show floor, but the PC maker did make an appearance at Pepcom's Digital Experience event to flaunt some of  its latest and greatest.

One piece of eye candy in HP's lineup was the new Envy 27-inch IPS Monitor, a display claimed by the company to be the "world's first" with integrated Beats by Dr. Dre speakers. The built-in speakers are tilted at a slight upward angle, a design detail HP said delivers top-notch frequencies and a booming bass.
The "IPS" tag in the display's name stands for "In-Plane Switching" technology, which lets the monitor be tilted horizontally or vertically at a 178-degree angle. HP's new Envy IPS, which will starting shipping Feb. 3 for $500, is also complete with edge-to-edge glass, and a thin, 0.5-inch frame.

2. Samsung Series 7 Chronos Laptop

Samsung seriously set up shop at Monday's Pepcom event, showcasing three tables' worth of new products, including its new Series 7 Chronos notebook.

Aimed largely at enterprise users, the new Series 7 Chronos is a touch-enabled notebook, equipped with Windows 8 and a full 1,920 x 1,080 HD display. It packs an Intel quad-core processor, up to 16 GB of memory, and up to 1 TB of storage.

Business-specific features include RAMaccelerator, a new software solution Samsung said provides up to a 150 percent increase in Web browsing and runtime speeds, along with an impressive 11.5-hour battery life, ideal for those longer-than-expected work days. Pricing and availability details for the new Series 7 Chronos are still under wraps.

3. Acer Iconia B1

Surprisingly, Acer was one the few Pepcom-goers to tout a stand-alone tablet, showcasing its new entry-level Iconia B1.

With a compact, 7-inch screen, the Iconia B1 can be used easily with one hand, allowing users to comfortably peruse its Andriod Jelly Bean 4.1 OS. Under the hood is a Mediatek dual-core 1.2GHz processor and 8 GB of internal memory, with USB 2.0 and micro-USB ports also intact. The Iconia B1 touts a unique design composed of triangular corners and bright blue accents.

Acer's latest tablet is also pretty svelte, weighing just 0.7 pounds and measuring 0.4 inches thick. No official word on pricing or availability yet, but Acer did tease that the Iconia B1 would boast a price tag of $150 or less.

 4. Sony Xperia Z

Slated to launch globally sometime during the first quarter, the new Xperia Z is fueled by a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 quad-core processor, includes a 13-megapixel camera, and supports the latest 4G LTE networks. According to Sony, it has "all the specifications expected from a premium smartphone.

5. Samsung F8000 Smart TV

Soon to be available in display sizes up to 75 inches, Samsung's new F8000 is an LED Smart TV that provides a Full HD resolution, along with support for 3-D use. It's said by Samsung to be one of the world's first LED TVs with a quad-core processor, a distinction that lets the F8000 provide faster Web browsing and app-to-app toggling than its competitors

6. Asus Qube

Asus has cooked up a slick way to make your dumb TV smart. The Qube is a set-top box that effectively turns the connected tv into a Google TV. That gives users access to more than 100,000 shows on Amazon, Google Play, Netflix, YouTube, HBO Go and others. The Qube comes with a QWERTY remote that will also accept gesture and voice commands.  

7. Asus Transformer All-in-One

This is a huge leap for Asus's Transformer line of computers. This all-in-one has an 18.4-inch 1,080p IPS display and a huge trick up its sleeve. The monitor detaches, effectively becoming a monstrous slate equipped with its own battery, a Tegra 3 processor and Android Jelly Bean. When docked, it gains access to the Core i5 (or i7) processor in the dock and utilizes Windows 8. Even better, using Splashtop software, the tablet can still use Windows 8 when in Wi-Fi range of the dock itself. Prices will start at $1,299

8. Synaptics ThinTouch 

Synaptics has been working on the ThinTouch keyboard for quite some time now, but going hands-on with it was a treat. The new keyboard, destined for laptops, is even thinner than that of the MacBook Air. Synaptics achieves this through a rather ingenuous mechanical move. Think of tapping a key on your keyboard, it moves straight down. That's the travel of your key. The ThinTouch travels diagonally, shaving the distance it must travel and resulting in a thinner keyboard.

9. Toshiba Mini 3D Sound Bar

Toshiba has had a quality line of audio products for some years now. It's now expanding the line downward with Mini 3D Sound Bar. This Bluetooth speaker looks to compete with products such as the Jawbone Jambox and other popular and diminutive speakers. One way it will compete is with connectivity. Toshiba's offering has analog and digital inputs alongside the Bluetooth option. In a pleasant surprise, the speaker slots in at $179, $20 below Jawbone's category-leading option

 10. HP U160

 Despite the utterly lame name, the U160 will act as a practical and portable solution for those looking for a dual-monitor solution on the go. The U160 is a USB-powered, 15.6-inch monitor. The resolution is nothing to write home about at 1,366 x 768, but for the purpose of a second monitor, it would get the job done. Conveniently, the device has a folding solution that is reminiscent of an iPad Smart Cover. The U160 will launch this month at the rather attractive price of $179.


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