The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) will run from January 5 to 8 this year in its usual location of Las Vegas. Although the show isn’t slated to officially open until tomorrow, a number of important tech stories have already begun to emerge.
Here are two things you need to know.
Car tech
Vehicle technology will continue to be a huge story in 2017.
Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) hopes that its new line of 5G chips will power future self-driving cars. The company is convinced that the new wireless technology -- which could end up being 20 or 25 times faster than current 4G networks -- will be needed for the vast amount of data driverless cars will have to pass between each other.
Fiat Chrysler (NYSE:FCAU) also unveiled its new Chrysler Portal concept car, which features a full electric engine, more interior space, and technology built in that will automatically allow for car-sharing and ride-hailing services. Essentially, it’s a car built by millennials for millennials.
New Blackberry phone
There’s a new BlackBerry Ltd. (TSX:BB)(NASDAQ:BBRY) phone that could make a splash at CES. But didn’t the Waterloo-based company announce in 2016 that it was getting out of the handset business?
The phone is being made by TCL, a Chinese firm best known for making discount Android models.
Few details are known about the new model so far, but it is expected to have a physical keyboard. Users will also be able to control the screen by swiping across the keyboard, and it will have a fingerprint scanner.
TCL will likely focus more on wowing wireless carriers than consumers.
