Summary: The biggest tech expo of the year is drawing to an end. Here's the very best tech we've seen -- including virtual reality, wearable tech, PCs-on-a-stick, and next-generation chips.
Oculus Rift DK2 offers better positional tracking, display tech
The latest development kid for Oculus Rift, one of the most popular and breakthrough virtual reality kits, adds better positional tracking and display technology. The new DK2 prototype includes a 1080p high-resolution display, and keeps the price under $350.
LG introduces webOS-powered televisions
If you thought webOS was dead, think again. The Korean electronics giant bought the rights from HP, and now includes the former smartphone software in its next-generation televisions. It has a simpler user interface, and now supports 4K streaming for the next-generation in high-resolution content. webOS comes to devices as part of the company's 2015 line-up, and not existing devices.
Intel's RealSense makes drones spatially aware
Imagine drones that know how to move around obstacles. The crashes would go down, and confidence would go up. Intel's new RealSense technology makes that happen, as well as other tech, like jackets that help the visually-impaired, and gesture and facial recognition and controls. The voice and gesture control system can be embedded almost everywhere -- laptops, cars, smartphones, and Internet of Things devices.
LG's dedication to the curve, meet the G Flex 2
LG's second-generation curved smartphone features a vastly-improved 5.5-inch display with a 23-degree arc. It also sports a faster Snapdragon 810 processor. And, like its predecessor, it comes with "self-healing" capabilities. Scratch or scuff the back of the device, and it "bleeds" back into health. The front is just as protected, with the latest Gorilla Glass, which LG says it improves in-house to make it even stronger.
Hypr-3 bolsters mobile payments with three-factor security
Mobile payments became more popular last year with the introduction of Apple Pay. Hyper-3 aims to make it mobile payments more widespread with a small, thin, and light Bluetooth-powered gadget that affixes to your smartphone. At just $20, it integrates with your phone software to offer significantly stronger three-factor authentication, designed to make anyone trying to make an unauthorized transaction nigh-on impossible
Intel's new Curie chip changes the game on wearables
Curie, Intel's latest creation, is a computer about the size of a suit button. It's part of the chipmaker's wider wearable device strategy. It's just made it out of the company's labs and will land later this year. The analytics and big data opportunities are said to be huge and have near-limitless potential
Nvida's Tegra X1 superchip will connect cars to the world
Described as a "superchip," the latest Nvidia chip, the Tegra X1, balances a 256-core graphics processor with an 8-core 64-bit central processor. It's one of the most powerful chips on the market for its size, and it uses a fraction of the energy consumption to that of its rivals. Touted as the "world's first teraflop mobile processor," it could go in smartphones -- sure -- but Nvidia aims to have this for cars, making them the "most advanced computers in the world."
Intel introduces a Windows PC-on-a-stick
The chipmaker took the inspiration of Amazon's Fire TV Stick and Google's Chromecast, and added much more to what could've just been a content streaming device -- by making it a fully-fledged computer. The Windows PC-on-a-stick comes with 2GB of RAM and 32GB of flash storage. It also include Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and you can even add more storage through a microSD slot. At a fraction of the size, it's also a fraction of the cost -- and just $149, and $89 for the Linux version.
iHome plug works with Apple's Siri
Apple's HomeKit is about to get a much welcome guest. iHome's smart plug allows you to control almost anything you can plug into the wall by talking to Siri. Priced at just $40 for its cheapest version, you'll soon be able to turn off an entire room's lamps off with a touch of a button -- or with Siri, of course -- and micromanage your power consumption throughout your house.
Lenovo, NEC show off the world's lightest 13-inch laptop
The Chinese electronics giant has built what it claims to be the lightest 13-inch laptop, putting the Windows PC side-by-side with the MacBook Air as its biggest rival. It's even lighter than the Air, at 2.6 pounds. Lenovo says the devices are still strong, thanks to a magnesium-lithium chassis, which the company says is half the weight of aluminum.
3D printing made easier with Fuel3D three-dimensional scanner
3D printing just got a boost with Scanify's 3D-scanner, dubbed the Scanify. The company claims it can take a 3D scan in one-tenth of a second, by combining precalibrated stereo cameras with photometric imaging. Once the file is processed, it can be exported into one of three common file types (.STL, .OBJ, and .PLY), which are commonly used for 3D printing software.
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