The 10 Best Things At CES Asia

Jamie Carter reports on some eye-catching tech from the global electronics show.

- Jamie Carter

WHY SHOULD LAS Vegas get all the attention? January's CES in Sin City sets the tone for the home entertainment industry for the rest of the year, with a slew of new products unveiled that are mostly made – and increasingly conceived and designed – in China. So why not go straight to source?

Now in its third year, CES Asia in Shanghai this Summer lacked the really big global brands (there was no Sony, Samsung or LG), but Microsoft, Huawei and Hisense all took part alongside 450 exhibitors from 22 countries. And among the drones, self-driving cars and endless earphones were some alluring home entertainment and cinema products that jostled for attention in the mighty Shanghai New International Expo Center (SNIEC).

Inovel Edge HV700 laser TV

Will so-called ‘screenless TVs’ catch on in home cinema? Some think so; analysts at Futuresource predict that ultra-short-throw projectors like this one from Chinese brand Inovel will account for a whopping three-quarters of global projector sales for home cinemas by 2021 – and China is where they’re being born. When placed just 25cm away from the wall, Inovel's DLP-powered, Android OS-based one-box pumps out a Full HD image in laser-delivered 3,500 Lumens brightness, with the makers claiming that it can easily reproduce the REC.709 colour gamut standard. Sensibly building in a JBL Cinema soundbar and shipping with a 100in Fresnel microcrystalline hard screen, it's on sale in China for a bargain £2,300.

Konka T98 LED TV