CES 2018 kicks off with some impressive tech products on display

After much anticipation and much to every tech company's delight, Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2018 was kicked off on Tuesday at Las Vegas, during which many companies unveiled numerous amazing technologies including smartphones, Samsung’s 146-inch TV and electric cars.

CES is an annual trade show and the gathering place for all who thrive on the business of consumer technologies. This year, the four-day long CES will end on January 12. A number of eye-catching products were displayed on day-one, while there are many more to come in the upcoming days.

Here are few of the technologies that were revealed during the first day of CES on January 9:

Selfly

Selfly is a flying smartphone-case drone made mainly for selfies. The phone-case-turned-drone is built by AEE, a camera and recording company. It folds back into the back of the phone case and features a camera that helps recording, live streaming, and taking pictures even in panorama in 1080p.

Compatible with both Android and iOS, the drone can be controlled by virtual joysticks and even with point-and-fly method where the user can point to an area of the screen and the drone will reach there, pinching to zoom will fly the drone farther with a range of almost 45 feet.

The smartphone drone will be available by spring for $130 along with two batteries and a separate charging hub for $30.

Sunflower

Looks like beach umbrellas are old news now. At CES, Shadecraft revealed a robotic sun shade umbrella named ‘Sunflower’. It is not just any umbrella, as the Sunflower is a smart umbrella that is solar powered and moves with the sun’s position, keeping the person in shade at all times. It also connects to your home network through Wi-Fi allowing the person to use smart-home devices like Google Assistant.

You can also monitor your home through its built-in camera in the pole. Not only that, the umbrella also has built-in speakers helping you to listen to music at any time. By activating its cellular service, you can also connect to Wi-Fi hotspot and charge your phone. Sunflower has already started to presale costing $5,220 till January 15 after which it will cost $8,000.

Byton electric car

Another company Byton revealed its SUV electric car filled with smart technology. When in autonomous mode, the car’s front seats can turn to the back ones. The rear part has large displays attached to the back of front seats. The car can reach up to 60mph in just five seconds and also contains touch, voice and gesture controls. The $45,000 Byton electric car is expected to hit the road by later 2019.

Project Linda

Razer, the company best known for its gaming laptop, unveiled a concept that can turn a smartphone into a laptop, which it called ‘Project Linda’. The laptop has a dock for Razer’s smartphone, when the phone is inserted; it becomes a touchpad that the usual laptops have. The smartphone-turned-laptop has a big screen, full keyboard, touchpad as the phone and runs on Android. However, the Razer didn’t reveal any launch date or price for the Project Linda.

Samsung smart fridge

Apart from revealing TVs and phones, Samsung also unveiled the 2018 version of Family Hub smart refrigerator that has 21,5-inch LED touchscreen, deeper support for Samsung’s Bixby voice assistant, and AKG speakers for deep bass and sound that is rich in mid-range. Through ‘SmartThings’ the fridge can connect to lights, control thermostats, watch what’s going on the front door or the other room through home video camera, and more.

There is also a camera inside the fridge that lets you to take a look inside without opening it, and even when you’re not at home. It can recognize individual voices and provide personalized results. Also through ‘Meal Planner’ the fridge provides recipes and ‘Deals’ app can help find bargains and save them to the ‘Shopping List’. Through the price has not been disclosed, the smart refrigerator will release this spring.