The stars of CES 2013 CANON POWERSHOT N

The Las Vegas-based Consumer Electronics Show (CES), the world’s biggest annual tech trade show, got the tech ball rolling for 2013 last week when it unleashed a neverending parade of smartphones, tablets, “phablets” (phone-tablet hybrids), and humungous TV sets one after another.

We sifted through product after product to see which of them are the genuine articles and are set to make their mark in the global tech world this 2013 and which ones are merely trending for the moment. Here they are in no particular order:

The Canon PowerShot N doesn’t look like any camera we’ve seen in a while. The 12-megapixel PowerShot N is a tiny square (at about three inches by two and a half inches) and resembles the Instagram logo—which may or may not be a coincidence. It was created for onehanded use with most functions accessible via its touch-screen-based, 90¡ tiltable LCD (it can even select filters for you). It also gives you creative control with shutter and zoom manual ring controls on the lens. And yes, it has Wi-Fi that can connect you to the CameraWindow app for iOS and Android.

HP PAVILION TOUCHSMART SLEEKBOOK

The Pavilion TouchSmart Sleekbook joins the ranks of the AMDpowered portable laptops. This 15.6-incher will make your Windows 8 experience an easier one with its touch-enabled screen and trackpad that supports Windows 8 gestures. It runs on AMD’s A8 chip and comes with 6GB of RAM and 750GB of space.

SONY XPERIA Z

Borrowing advanced technologies from its TV and digital camera arms, Sony endowed its ßagship smartphone with a 5-inch full-HD 1080p Reality Display and a stunning 13MP camera. What makes the Xperia Z unique is that its ports (Micro USB, micro SD, SIM card) are all hidden to make the handset water-resistant up to a meter of water for 30 minutes.

Boasting a Snapdragon S4 Pro quad-core processor and 2GB of RAM, the Xperia Z is the first smartphone to integrate a full highdefinition 1080 x 1920p five-inch display and can capture High Dynamic Range video.

The 7.9mm-thin Xperia Z is NFC-capable to enable wireless sharing between other Sony devices including Smart TVs, wireless speakers, and tablets. It also o¿ers 4G LTE connectivity. The handset will launch globally this quarter and will run Android 4.1 with an update to 4.2 Jelly Bean to follow soon after.

LENOVO IDEACENTRE HORIZON TABLE PC

Fancy a game of Monopoly? On a tablet? You can with Lenovo’s huge 27- inch IdeaCentre Horizon Table PC. As a Table PC, Horizon can lie flat on any surface, lets two or more people use the screen at the same time, supports interactive physical gaming accessories, and is designed for touch- screen gameplay among several players.

Horizon takes advantage of Windows 8 touch functionality to bring customized games to life in a way players have never before seen. Horizon can also easily transform into a 27-inch high-performance desktop to handle whatever productivity tasks users need to do.

SAMSUNG SERIES 7 CHRONOS

Delivering pro performance in a slimmer and lighter package, Samsung’s new Series 7 Chronos provides enhanced processing power. Ten-finger multi-touch capabilities enhance the overall experience, allowing people to interact directly with the screen as well as the touchpad and keyboard.

With a full-aluminum body, the Series 7 Chronos follows the design DNA of its predecessor while packing a powerful Intel quadcore processor with up to 16GB of memory, up to 1TB of storage and dedicated 2GB external graphics into a slim chassis that measures just 20.9mm. The computer wakes up in just two seconds and boots up in 12.

HUAWEI ASCEND MATE

Who doesn’t dream of having a smartphone that lasts more than a day on a single charge? With the Huawei Ascend Mate phablet, you can supposedly squeeze out 48 hours of juice from its 4,050mAh battery. Things seem to be larger than life with this superphone as it carries a whopping 6.1-inch HD display (with a 720p HD display); runs on a 1.5GHz Hi-Silicon quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM, and Android 4.1 Jelly Bean; and has an 8-megapixel camera with HDR and front-facing camera. The pocket-busting screen size makes it the largest smartphone to date. Huawei plans to commercially launch the Ascend Mate in China next month.

SAMSUNG NX300

Hot on the heels of its game-changing Galaxy Camera, Samsung went smart camera crazy at CES 2013, unveiling a brace of new models which can share photos via Wi-Fi. The Smart Camera app for Android and iOS devices has been given improved Remote Viewfinder and Mobile Link capabilities as well as the new Autoshare function that enables photos to be shared automatically and immediately with a connected smartphone.

The camera that grabbed the spotlight, however, is the NX300. Besides Wi-Fi, the NX300 features an optional lens that can flip from 2D to 3D capture in both still and video format. It has a 20.3MP CMOS sensor, a tilting 3.3-inch AMOLED display, and a sticker price of US$749.99. (The 45 mm 3D lens option is priced at $499.99.)

ACER ICONIA TAB B1-A71

This is a fairly unassuming device, hardware-wise—7-inch 1024 x 600 display, 512MB RAM, 1.2GHz processor— but the “sub-$ 150” price should help it stand out in the cutthroat small-tablet market. (The well-known Acer name doesn’t hurt.) The Jelly Bean-powered B1A71 is perfect for new tablet users or families that need a second tablet for the kids.

ASUS QUBE

Prepare to turn your HDTV into a Google TV with the Asus Qube. This device offers both motion control and voice search and integrates Google Play Store, Chrome, and YouTube in one media content hub. The Qube’s quirky user interface displays functions via a rotating on-screen cube shape. Its remote supports motion sensing for gaming and other apps. And as an Android device, you can use your smartphones and tablets to control the Qube using the downloadable Mobile Remote app. Need extra cloud storage space? Asus added 50GB of WebStorage space for every Qube.

With the Qube, users get more than 100,000 TV shows and movies, which include Amazon, Netflix, YouTube, HBO Go, and many more. Needless to say, there are loads of games and apps as well. The Qube also comes with a remote with a QWERTY keyboard that can perform gesture controls and voice commands.

ZTE GRAND S

The S in the ZTE Grand S might just stand for slim, svelte, and sexy as it is considered the slimmest 5-inch phone at 5.59 x 2.71 x 0.27 inches. Sure, it’s still going to be quite a handful with its “phablet” dimensions but at least there’s less heft to it. It’s a powerful device with 1.7GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro processor, 2GB RAM, and Android 4.1.2 (Jelly Bean) operating system. This ZTE flagship phone packs in a 13-megapixel rear camera and a 2MP front-facing camera that can record 1080p video. It has 16GB built-in storage with expansion option via microSD.

NVIDIA PROJECT SHIELD

Here’s the cure for those nagging “Are we there yet?” questions. Nvidia’s Project Shield is a handheld gaming device dedicated for those long road trips.

Project Shield resembles an oversized gaming controller with a foldup flat-panel display on top and works in combination with software in a client device. The device promises high-quality computer graphics and gaming on devices with relatively modest graphics processing ability.

KINGSTON DATATRAVELER HYPERX PREDATOR

If you’re still left wanting by the 16GB flash drive you carry around with you, what about getting a 1TB flash drive? The 1TB DataTraveler HyperX Predator USB 3.0 drive gives you read and write speeds of 240MB/s and 160MB/ s , respectively. It’s not flimsy either as it is made with zinc alloy metal. Too much? You can opt for the 512GB model, if you want. Be careful not to lose it!

SAMSUNG S9 UHD TV

At 85 inches, the Samsung S9 might just manage to kill all your desire to watch movies on the silver screen. It boasts the next-generation Ultra High- Definition ( Ultra HD) 4k resolution.

What’s a bit less interesting is this giant HDTV’s new “Timeless Gallery” frame design. The frame is simple, yet elegant— and removable in case you want to mount this movie-screen wannabe to a wall. This might just be the Ultra HD ( 4K) resolution TV that will redefine TV

viewing as we know it.

LG ET83

The barrage of Windows 8-optimized peripherals keeps coming. Korean electronics brand LG showed off at CES the 23-inch ET83 Touch 10 monitor. This touch-enabled screen has a 1920 x 1080-pixel IPS display and has a 10-point touch capability—meaning you can use all 10 digits to interact with the screen simultaneously.

SONY TD30V

Want to shoot your own Avatar? Now anyone can be a 3D movie maker with the US$ 1,000 Sony Handycam TD30V. It’s much smaller and more affordable than previous years’ 3D camcorders. You can view 3D directly on this camcorder’s 3.5-inch LCD—without the need for 3D glasses.

LENOVO YOGA 11S

Highly praised for its unique hinge design that folds the screen over 360°, Lenovo builds on the original Yoga and comes out with a full Windows 8 PC experience to an upgraded 11.6-inch model (which previously only ran on Windows RT). The Yoga 11S is powered by one of Intel’s new low-powered Intel Core i5 processors and supports gesture controls that used to be limited to the Yoga 13. It’s slim at 0.7 inches and comes in silver or orange finish.

COBY MID1077-8

The MID1077-8 is Coby’s new high-end tablet. This one sports a 10.1-inch HD display, a 1.2GHz quad-core processor, 1GB of RAM and Android 4.2. It comes with either 8GB or 16GB of internal storage— expandable via microSD card. Coby lined the outside of this solidly built tablet with ach romelike material which gives it a premium feel.

LG EA93 ULTRAWIDE MONITOR

LG’s EA93 UltraWide monitor is the world’s first monitor to boast a 21:9 aspect ratio, making its screen closer in proportion to that of a movie screen. At 29 inches, it offers an expansive display and superb multitasking and multimedia capabilities. It’s also great for watching films and other wide screen-format content. It comes equipped with LG’s immersive, thin-bezel CINEMA SCREEN Design. The UltraWide was designed for maximum productivity. It’s ideal for analyzing documents in their entirety, as its extra screen width means more spreadsheet columns are viewable at any one time. Bean counters, your monitors are ready.

NIKON 1 J3

A follow-up to the Nikon 1 J2 shooter, the J3 is one of two new mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras (ILC) from the Japanese brand. It comes with the same 14.2 - megapixel CMOS sensor as the 1 V2 and supposedly offers faster shooting performance because of its improved hybrid autofocus system and new image processor. An Advanced Movie option has been added to the mode dial so you can tinker with P,A,S,M settings when shooting videos. Wireless sharing to your smartphone or tablet is possible with the optional accessory, the WU-1b Wireless Mobile Adapter.