My favorite tech choices

The Consumer Electronics Show, an annual technology exhibition held every January in Las Vegas, concluded last week and tons of really good stuff were put on display. 

Here are my top five favorites that were announced during the event, listed not in any particular order.

LG G Flex 2. LG is attempting a second stab at curved displays for their smartphone and the  G Flex 2 is the new successor on the plate. Sporting an ultra-powerful Snapdragon 810 octa-core processor with up to 3GB of RAM and ultra-fast LTE modem, the G Flex 2 comes with a 5.5-inch full HD polymer OLED display.

Asus Zenfone 2. The Zenfone 5 was a huge hit in the Philippines in 2014. With over 100,000 units of the various models shipped into the country, stocks were still not enough to meet demand.

Last week, Asus announced its successor, the Zenfone 2. The name is a bit ironic because Asus also had the Zenfone 4 and Zenfone 6 last year.

Nevertheless, don’t be fooled by the nomenclature as the Zenfone 2 sports a 5.5-inch full HD display, Intel Atom Z3580 2.33GHz quad-core processor, 64GB of internal storage and a whopping 4GB of RAM. The phone is also dual-SIM capable with dual-LTE features and 3,000mAh of battery running Android 5.0 Lollipop right out of the box.

The starting price – just $199 for the 2GB RAM and 16GB storage.

Asus Transformer Book Chi. Last year, Asus introduced a single prototype of its ultra-lightweight laptop during Computex 2014. At CES 2015 this year, they showcased three.

The flagship model is the Transformer Book Chi T300 with a 12.5-inch WQHD (2560x1440) resolution running Intel Core M, up to 8GB of RAM and 128GB of SSD. All those in a 7.6mm thin body weighing 720 grams.

The smaller one, the Transformer Book Chi T100, has a 10-inch full HD display running an Intel Atom quad-core processor with 2GB of RAM and 64GB storage while the much smaller Transformer Book Chi T90 is just 8.9 inches with the same configuration.

The prices range from $299 for the T90, $399 for the T100 and $799 for the T300, respectively.

Samsung Portable SSD T1. It’s one terabyte of storage (1,000GB) at the palm of your hands but no larger than a regular credit card. This is the promise of Samsung’s new portable T1 SSD, a small-size external storage you can bring around anywhere you go. It’s small, slim, fast and lightweight but can carry over 250 full HD or Bluray-quality movies inside your pocket.

It comes with a hefty price, though — up to P20,000 for the full 1TB.

Lenovo Vibe Xtension Flash. This might be a trivial announcement for many but in the Selfie Capital of the World, Lenovo’s Vibe Xtension Flash will certainly be a huge hit.

The Selfie Flash attaches to the 3.5mm jack of the smartphone and provides a continuous light rather than just a flash. Eight LED lights power the module and are diffused to give off a soft touch of light on the face. It could also be rotated to make it a light source for the rear camera.

The LEDs are housed in a metal body with a button at the back that can act as a shutter button. Lenovo claims that the Selfie Flash has a rechargeable battery that lasts 100 selfies.

And for only P1,300, who would not want one?