Top tech to look for at CES 2014

CES 2014, or Consumer Electronics Show, officially begins in just two days. CES comes only once a year and is one of the biggest demonstration events of the year when it comes to electronics. It's a huge event within mobile and it's one of the events that we most look forward to each year, and it couldn't come at a better time as it normally starts within the first week or two of the new year - and what's better than ringing in the new year with some great new tech? Psh, nothing. 

If you've never heard of or been involved with CES before, there's a ton of new stuff to look out for. You know how some weeks there seems to be nothing new to really read up on? Thankfully, the week of CES is never a boring one. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if you spent the next two weeks at least reading up on new articles regarding all of the tech that will be displayed this week. Not only are consumers geared and pumped for CES, but so are manufacturers; after all, it's their first chance to show off what they've got lined up for the new year, and a first impression is always the most lasting impression. 

So what kind of tech are we talking about seeing, exactly? While there's a ton of stuff to see at CES, when it comes to what matters most here at PhoneDog there are a couple of key areas of interest that we'll be keeping our sights on. Sure, we have the smartphone side of things to look forward to, but there's a lot more than that going on that we're going to be reporting on over the next several weeks. Let's take a look at some of the rumored tech we'll be looking out for during CES!

Smartphones

Bet you didn't see that one coming thirty thousand feet away. Yes, smartphones will definitely be the first key area of interest here at PhoneDog. While not all manufacturers set up demonstrations during CES, there are a few names that stick out that might be of interest to you.

Samsung is probably the most important name on that list no matter where you live in the world. Although Samsung probably won't be showing off any flagship devices, what they are rumored to display is a new Exynos chip with 64-bit processing power, as well as a new chip they call Exynos S. What exactly does this mean for you? It means that Samsung's next set of flagship phones are going to be even faster than the fast flagships they have now. Reportedly, these chips run about 1.43 times faster than the processor currently being used in their latest flagship, the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 (which uses the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor). 

Since we're mostly focused on products here in the U.S., it might seem strange to hear that we'll also be keeping our sights on Chinese manufacturer Meizu, which plans to enter the U.S. market this year. They're well-known in other parts of the world for their Meizu MX3, which is a device that uses an octa-core processor and has a whopping 128GB of internal storage - which is enough to shut me up about how little internal storage I always seem to have no matter how many times I upgrade the amount of internal storage I have in my phone. Rumor has it that we can expect to see this device, along with one or two others. 

We can also expect to see device displays from manufacturers like ZTE, Sony, Lenovo, and Asus. 

Tablets

Tablets and smartphones pretty much go hand-in-hand, so it also probably comes as no surprise that we'll be keeping our eye on the tablet side of CES as well. Most notably, we're pretty excited about the Asus tablet that dual-boots both Android and Windows operating systems, which is something that's up for debate whether such a device is something that a general consumerbase would want. Regardless whether consumers will want the tablet or not, it will still be interesting to see exactly how the tablet will work. 

Samsung is also expected to unveil an interesting tablet, the Galaxy Note Pro. This tablet is said to feature a 12.2-inch screen, 2.4GHz processor, 3GB of RAM and have a 9500mAh battery. 

In addition to the high-end stuff, we can also expect to see some budget tablets that are running on Androids latest update, 4.4 KitKat as well. 

Wearable Tech

Wearable tech has slowly been inching its way into the market over the past year and a half or so, and this year it's trying to gain an even bigger influence in the market through CES. For the most part, we know to expect smartwatches. Pebble, the company that seemed to really kick off high interest in smartwatches, seems to have something special in store for CES. Archos also plans to debut some smartwatches with what they call a "Pebble-like design", and Sony also has plans to announce a new smartwatch. Will this be the year that wearable tech really makes its influence known? Only time will tell!

Car Tech

Last but not least, car tech is also one of the top things we'll be watching out for. If you've been keeping up with our The Tech Inside series, you know that mobile tech and cars (among other machines) are actually getting along rather swimmingly lately, and CES is another great way to see how this blooming pair will continue to flourish and work off of each other to create a safer, high-tech experience. 

There's plenty more up-and-coming tech to watch for during CES, and we'll be paying attention to all of it, but these are some of the top things we'll be researching, reporting and doing write-ups on. I encourage readers to keep up with current CES events and learn about all of the new stuff that we'll be seeing hit shelves and devices here soon - it's exciting stuff for sure! I know I'm pumped to see what exciting things come out of this week. 

What excites you most about CES, readers? Is there something in particular you've got your sights set on, or are you like me and just excited for all of it? Let us know your thoughts and opinions in the comments below! 

PhoneDog