The cool and the weird: CES 2014 so far

It’s January. Time for electronics enthusiasts from around the world to gather in the Nevada desert to get a sneak preview of tomorrow’s technology—today.

So far, we’ve seen everything from bendable TVs to personal drones to smart toothbrushes. The future is going to be friggin’ nuts!

Here are just a few of the highlights from this year’s CES. Of couse, we’ll have to wait and see if they actually reach stores and dealers anytime soon.

First up, the HDTV of your dreams.

Vizio’s 120-inch “Ultra HD TV” is 10 feet across. 10. Feet.

If Hasheem Thabeet, the current tallest player in the NBA laid down diagonal on this monster TV, he’d still have about three feet of clearance.

Remember the Nexus Q? Google’s great streaming shame from a few years back? Well future techno-balls live on in the form of the LeCie Sphere.

Starting at a mere $490, this silver-plated ball doesn’t only ooze sophistication; it’s a 1TB external hard drive. It’s the Kanye West of external hard drives.

Those wacky Frenchie droidists at Parrot aren’t just trying to take over the skies, but also the ground.

Check out this jumping (yes, jumping) “toy” dubbed Sumo from Parrot, which can be controlled from your connected device to roam, monitor, and leap at will.

Want to monitor what’s going on in your backyard, but don’t want to actually get off your couch and walk to the window? Well then, France-based Parrot has you covered.

Buzz the company’s new mini-drone quadcopter (the Parrot Quadcopter Mini Drone) outside and it will stream real-time video directly to your phone or tablet, which you can also use as a control device.

We’ve all thought to ourselves at one time or another: “They should make a TV that bends.” Well, now LG has you covered.

The company unveiled a Flexible OLED TV that users can adjust to the proper shape as they see fit. If Gumby could afford a cutting edge 77-inch TV, this would surely be it.

Activity trackers are the hot new thing. But there’s one activity that has been sorely ignored: Brushing your teeth.

Now you can receive a full breakdown of your dental hygiene routine on your phone and instantly know which nooks and crannies in your pie hole you have been ignoring.

One of the biggest concerns among racing fans has to be about their sport’s effects on the environment. Thankfully, we have to look forward to the new Formula-E racing series featuring all electronic vehicles.

One of the first to make its debut is the zero emission Spark-Renault SRT_01E, which can go from 0 to 60 in three seconds, gas-free.

Sphero’s remote-controlled 2B-bot is a roving toy tube on wheels you can control with your smartphone and can reach top speeds of 14 mph.

Cats of the world, I apologize in advance.

Each time you take your Corvette on the racetrack, you will get a little bit better thanks to the Performance Data Recorder app that will debut in the 2015 Corvette Stingray. (And I’m sure most of you do take your ‘Vette to the track most weekends, right?)

This app quantifies your driving experience (complete with video) and stores it on an SD card for later use.

While this technology brings out the anxious Luddite in us, we may finally be beginning to break away from the centuries-old physical lock-and-key technology.

To that end, Goji has created a lock that will automatically open when it senses a recognized Bluetooth device within range. But it can also snap a pic of any visitor or allow you to open the door from anywhere in the house.

If you’re too old to be within the comforting oversight of your mother, don’t fret! The new Mother connected doll from Sense will allow you to set up your own personal nagging network.

You can get different activities monitored, and push alerts will reach you based on various real-world activities—anything from making sure you are exercising to drinking enough water to notifying you when your child gets home.

Obey your Mother!

Have you ever dreamt of riding in a teeny tiny Tron car? Of course you have! Well, Toyota may soon give you a chance via their people-sized three-wheeled electric-powered iRoad.

The half-a-Mr.-Bean-mobile is already being tested in ride-sharing programs in Japan and France.

Sometimes all you want to do is turn on your PS4 and shoot a zombie with a cool movie hero move–like firing behind your back. But your average console controller makes this simple dream impossible.

Thankfully, the full body harness from PrioVR can bring immersive real-time natural movements into gameplay.

Now you can control your crockpot directly from your smartphone like a GOD!

As we expected, there are many many wearable devices and smartwatches making their debut at CES 2014.

One of the coolest-looking ones has been the Lifeband from LG, which does all the things a fitness tracker will do, but also has a touch-sensitive display.

It’s not a new technology, but just an amazing thing that happened. Perhaps the most entertaining CEO in telecommunication history, T-Mobile’s John Legere (a noted AT&T antagonizer) crashed an AT&T shindig wearing his magenta T-Mobile shirt.

Legere was escorted out by security. Officials for AT&, who claimed he was harassing partygoers. Just awesome.