Technology's Best, Brightest and Coolest from CES 2017

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This year's CES conference closed yesterday in Las Vegas, Nevada after several days of insane tech. Companies debuted a ton of hot gadgets, sleek cars and innovative new processors. We've managed to narrow down some of our absolute favorites from the week.

The Era of the Driverless Car

From horseless carriages to driverless cars, automotive innovations continue to astound at CES. Chrysler's millennial minivan might be one of the most connected systems ever created. The intercom system allows the driver to talk to those in the back without having to take their eyes off the road. It even includes a selfie cam just in case a moment needs to be captured.

Computing for a New Age

Computers fell into one of two camps at CES this year: gaming computers or two-in-one systems. Granted, most of the major desktop announcements happened prior to CES (especially with Microsoft's Surface Desktop Pro still making considerable waves).

Some of the biggest gaming consoles included Nvidia's GeForce 1050 GPUs. Even traditional laptop producers branched out into the gaming platform. Lenovo introduced the Legion gaming subset (named after Roman Legions). Acer's Predator VX 15 will run roughly $800. Samsung debuted its first-ever gaming line called Odyssey.

Technology's Best, Brightest and Coolest from CES 2017 [Image Source: Lenovo]

Conversely, some companies didn't want their laptop to strictly be a laptop. Lenovo, Dell, Samsung and HP all presented stunning new two-in-one systems that blurred the line between tablet and laptop.

Over overall favorite comes from Samsung. Samsung's Chromebook Plus's sleek design comes with all Android apps, a surprise for Android fans (and disappointment for iOS users). The laptop comes with a stylus, full accelerometer support, and menus that combine apps designed for mobile and apps designed for laptops. The laptop only weighs 2.5 pounds and costs roughly $449.

Technology's Best, Brightest and Coolest from CES 2017 [Image Source: Samsung]

It's All About the Visuals

Just when you thought TVs couldn't get any smaller, they manage to shave off a few more millimeters of space. LG's W-series takes astounding 4K resolution and thins it to just 2.6mm. No, there are no imports, but honestly, any sort of port would ruin the sleek, clean look. A thin cable connects companion soundbars, and those bars include your necessary HDMI, USB and optical ports.

Honorable Mentions

Amber Agriculture impressed with its smart farm-inspired technology. The Agtech startup created a sensor and monitoring system to track grain silo content. It also notifies farmers of moisture in crop storage facilities.

The Sure Shot HD arcade console impressed us with its sheer fun element. Fans of classic shooting games will love the simplicity of the system. It connects to your TV through HDMI. A wireless gun controller hooks into your Wi-Fi for aim.