15 Top Gadgets Launched This Week

CES 2015 is already underway and as always, it's the most exciting platform for new product announcements, innovations and tech startups. Here are some of the most exciting new launches and announments from the world's largest tech show.

1. Alcatel OneTouch Watch

Sporting a 1.22-inch circular touchscreen display, Alcatel's stylish and affordable (just US$180 onwards) smartwatches have a heart rate sensor, stainless steel chassis and 210mAh battery. It's IP67 certified for dustwater resistance & works using an iOSAndroid app. Note that this is not Android wear, but Alcatel's proprietary OS.

2. HP Stream Mini

Inside this cute and compact box is a 1.4Ghz Celeron processor, 2GB RAM, 32GB SSD and built-in WiFi Bluetooth connectivity. The US$180 you spend on it gets you dual display (DisplayPort + HDMI), 4 x USB 3.0 ports, Ethernet and headphone. The price includes keyboard, mouse & Windows 8.1.

3. Lenovo LaVie Z550

At a mere 700 grams, the Z550 (priced at US$1,299 onwards) is touted as the world's lightest 13.3 inch laptop. It has a sturdy magnesium lithium chassis, the latest 5th gen Intel Core i5 processor, 4GB RAM, 128GB SSD and a battery life of up to 8 hours. In addition to the ultra lightweight design, the laptop has a hinge that lets the screen open up a 180 degrees.

4. Toshiba Portege Z20t

This sleek Windows 8.1 tablet has a 12.5-inch touchscreen and comes with a keyboard dock.Powered by an Intel Core M processor, up to 8GB RAM and up to 512GB SSD storage, it rivals Microsoft's Surface 3. Toshiba says that it has a battery life of up to 9 hours, which increases to up to 17 hours with the keyboard dock.

5. Asus Zenfone 2 & Zenfone Zoom

An update to the brilliantly priced & popular Zenfone series, Zenfone 2 features a 5.5-inch 1080p display, 64-bit quad core Intel Atom processor, 3,000mAh battery & a neat brushed aluminium finish. The Zoom will interest photo buffs: it has a 13MP rear camera with 3x optical zoom (internal mechanism) and optical image stabilisation.

6. Canon CS100 Media Station

This US$299 device has a built-in 1 TB hard drive, SD and CF card slots, Ethernet port, HDMI as well as WiFi and NFC connectivity. You can use it to transfer store photos and videos from a camera (directly or wirelessly) and then connect it to a TV or projector for viewing using the remote for convenience.

7. Sony ZX2

When you first hear the price for Sony's new ZX2 Walkman, you'll think it's a typo! But this US$ 1,200 Android-powered media player is aimed at audiophiles and includes support for almost every lossless music format, a HX digital amplifier and high-resolution audio playback.

It runs Android 4.2 and comes with a 4-inch display (854 x 480 pixels), 128GB built in storage, a microSD slot for further expansion, Bluetooth, NFC, WiFi and a claimed battery life of up to 60 hours (audio playback).

8. Lenovo Vibe Band VB10

Lenovo's new US$89 band features an always on e-ink display in a metal body and rubberized strap. It can monitor the number of steps you take, distance, calories, sleep and can even display notifications from your smartphone. Thanks to the e-ink display, Lenovo claims a battery life of up to 7 days.

9. Android Car Stereo

Parrot's RNB6 is a dual DIN car infotainment system with 7-inch IPS HD touchscreen, wide-angle dash cam and a customized version of Android 5.0. It has preloaded navigation, Bluetooth handsfree calling, voice controls and also connects to your car's OBD port for vehicle diagnostics.

The highlight is that you can connect it to an IOS or Android device for added functionality (like screen mirroring) and Android Auto or Apple CarPlay.

10. Lamborghini Tonino 88 Tauri

Much like Vertu's super premium phones, this Lamborghini branded Android phone is hand-made to exacting standards using the most premium materials.

Although, at an estimated price of over `4,00,000, it will re main the reserve of the most elite few. main the reserve of the most elite few.Lenovo P90 & Lenovo Vibe X2 Pro Lenovo's Vibe X2 Pro features a layered design, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 610 processor, 2GB RAM, 32GB storage (expandable), dual 13MP cameras and a 5.3-inch 1080p LCD.

The P90 is the budget 4G offering with quad core CPU, 5.5-inch 1080p LCD, 2GB RAM, 32GB storage & 4,000mAh battery.

11. Garmin VivoFit 2

Garmin's updated fitness band (priced at US$ 130 onwards) looks almost identical to its predecessor -- an OLED display in a silicone band and 1 year battery life however, you can now get it in various bands including stainless steel and leather.

12. Samsung Tizen TV

Samsung Electronics has introduced its new range of SUHD 4K TVs. Powered by the Tizen operating system, the three new TVs - JS9500, JS9000 and JS8500, will be available in nine screen sizes from 48-inch to 88-inch sizes.

According to Samsung, TVs leverage proprietary, nano-crystal technology and intelligent SUHD re-mastering picture quality engine, offering enhanced contrast, brightness, colour reproduction and detail.

SUHD re-mastering engine automatically analyzes the brightness of images to minimize additional power consumption while expressing better contrast levels, producing images with darker blacks and an elevated brightness up to 2.5 times brighter than conventional TVs, and twice the colour adjustment points for accurate colour reproduction, as per Samsung.

13. Samsung SSD

Samsung has introduced Portable SSD T1, an external portable solid state drive (SSD) that sports a slim and compact design, is smaller than an average business card and weighs about 28.35gram.

The drive has sequential read/write speeds of up to 450MB per second with a USB 3.0 super speed interface and random read/write speeds of up to 8,000 inputs/outputs per second (IOPS) and 21,000 IOPS respectively.

Available in 250GB, 500GB and 1TB storage capacities, the Portable SSD T1 will launch globally in 15 countries across the United States, European and Asian markets later this month.

14. Kodak IM5

Built in collaboration with British firm Bullitt, IM5 is camera legend Kodak’s first smartphone. The smartphone sports a 5-inch screen with 720x1280p display resolution. It has 13MP rear camera (with LED flash) that comes with unique image management software and 5MP front camera. It comes with 8GB internal storage which is expandable up to 32GB via microSD card; 1GB RAM and is powered by a 1.7GHz octa-core processor. 

The device runs on Android 4.4 KitKat, but is soon to receive an upgrade to Android Lollipop 5.0.

15. Poloroid Zip

Poloroid Zip is an instant photo printer. With a size similar to that of a phablet, it connects to both Android and iOS devices via Bluetooth. Poloroid lets users print 2×3 inch color photos from any image found on their mobile device.

Polaroid Zip uses Zink zero ink printing technology and promises to print 25 images on a single charge. The device is expected to launch in spring.