Samsung

Tech companies will be heating up the Las Vegas strip all week long at the Consumer Electronics Show 2013 — and we've got our eye fixed on six in particular. Whispers of flexible screens, invincible smartphones, and the highest-definition projection ever released have us thinking that these are the companies to watch. Follow our coverage on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Tumblr, and check out what we're looking forward to at this year's CES.

Samsung

• We kicked off our CES coverage with a preview of Samsung's latest multitouch, 10-point display for Windows 8 and 2013 Smart TV Evolution Kit, which brings 2012 Samsung TVs up to date with the newest hardware, voice-, and motion-control enhancements.
• Samsung Display, a spin-off of Samsung Electronics, is getting bendy. A flexible screen is expected to make an appearance in a five-inch design intended for smartphones and a larger 55-inch format for TVs.
• The company's Tomorrow blog hinted at an "unprecedented TV shape and timeless gallery design," but we're not yet sure what the mystery TV exactly entails.
• Rumor has it that Samsung might introduce the Galaxy S4 at this year's CES, with a large five-inch display and a high-definition 13MP rear camera.

Polaroid

• Images of an Android-powered, interchangeable lens camera from Polaroid have surfaced on a Russian social media site, and Polaroid's CEO later confirmed that the camera will be introduced at this year's CES.

Tobii

• The REX Eye Tracking device, which can perform actions like scrolling by detecting how a user is looking at the screen, is set to make a splash in 2013. It's only available to developers right now (for a whopping $995), but the small, lean bar formatted for Windows 8 computers is currently in production for consumers at an unknown price.

What we're looking forward to from LG, Sony, and Gorilla Glass after the break.

What's the one item mamas reach for most in their diaper bags? No, not wipes, and not burp clothes, but their smartphone, so they can snap pictures of their tot making a funny face or doing something for the first time and then share the picture with family, friends, or Instagram followers. The problem is, those photos aren't always crisp and clear, and if you swap out your smartphone for a DSLR camera, you get great images but can't share them immediately.

That's where the new Samsung Galaxy camera (starting at $599) enters the picture. A cross between an Android tablet and a point-and-shoot camera, the Samsung Galaxy may be the smartest camera on the market. As a Facebooking, Instagramming, and otherwise social mom, who lugs her DSLR camera around town and then has to run home to download and share photos, is it for me? Samsung sent me a Galaxy to test and I spent most of my Winter break trying it out. Here's what I thought:

Who is this product designed for? People who love to take high-quality photos and share them with friends and family — instantly. While the Galaxy looks like a regular camera from the front, from the back, it is a handheld tablet powered by Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) with a 4.8-inch HD Super Clear Touch display. With built-in WiFi and the option to connect via 3G/4G to Verizon and AT&T networks (for an additional data plan), you can surf the web, download apps, and instantly share pictures on all of your social networks in an instant.

What sets it apart? As the first combined tablet and camera, the Samsung Galaxy offers more than either individual device on its own. As a photo-loving mom, my favorite features include:

• The Android operating system. I love my iPhone, but the Droid operating system is easy to use and offers access to Google's Play store with more than 600,000 apps to be downloaded — including photo-editing apps to make the pictures even better.
• The 16.3-megapixel camera. While most DSLR cameras offers large megapixel photos, most smartphones are lacking in this department (the current iPhone 5 only has an 8-megapixel camera). The difference can be easily detected in the photos.
• The 21x optical zoom. Try to zoom in on a subject with most smartphones and not only are your images distorted, they don't even zoom much. For the parent trying to capture their kid on the soccer field or on stage for the school play, the Galaxy's 21x zoom is truly an added benefit.
• Best Face. The Galaxy's "Smart Mode" offers 15 settings for taking photos in special situations (e.g., night, waterfalls, etc.). The "Best Face" appears to have been created specifically for parents. Simply select the mode and hold down the button, and the camera takes five shots in a row and presents you with a final photo featuring the best faces in the picture. Just tap each face, and you'll be presented with the five images so you can manually select the smile you like for each person. Then hit "done" and the composite is saved. For any parent that's ever tried to take a group shot, or capture siblings smiling, this feature is a godsend.

Keep reading to see what could be better and my final verdict on the device.

The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) goes down next week in Las Vegas, and since tech companies can't contain their excitement a moment longer, the product announcements are already making noise. Samsung's leading the pack with news of the 2013 edition Smart TV Evolution Kit.

It's a sad reality of gadget enthusiasts, that just about as soon as you finish unboxing the latest shiny new toy, it's already out of date. The Evolution Kit was created to change that, meaning consumers who purchased a 2012 Samsung Smart TV can have the product evolve (oh, got it!) into the company's 2013 technology.

Attach the kit to the back of a 2012 Samsung Smart TV, and it gets updated to the hardware enhancements, as well as voice- and motion-control updates as the new 2013 TVs. Easy as that? We'll be at CES to see the Evolution Kit's world debut, and report back then.

Samsung may be all about the screen this year, with a tease of "unprecedented" TV and touch-screen monitors.

Welcome back, laptop! Despite reports that people use tablets more than laptops for everyday needs, this week, Samsung announced a new line of Chromebook computers that use Google's Chrome operating system and start at the bargain-basement price of $249.

Pushing users toward the cloud, Chromebooks are light on hardware. Similar in size (11-inch HD display, under three pounds, and ultra thin) and appearance (silver exterior, black chiclet keyboard, and touchpad mouse) to the MacBook Air, the Chromebook, however, relies on Google cloud products like Gmail, Drive, Google+ Hangouts, etc., rather than the desktop-based storage and software of typical laptops.

But if you opt for the $329 Samsung Chromebook 3G and download these five key Chrome apps (remember, your Google account is already linked to Drive's word processing and spreadsheets), Chromebook will have you working like a pro and finding your pricier software-based laptop a distant memory.

• PicMonkey — Free photo editing that gets results comparable to costly photo software? Yes, please! Do the basics like crop and rotate or get creative with effects — we're making lots of vampires with the Halloween filters.

Keep reading for more must-have Chromebook apps.

Looking to clear an extra $17,000 out of your bank account? Allow Samsung to help. Though announced in January at CES, the electronics company finally released the giant 75-inch (diagonal) ES9000 OLED smart TV this week.

Touted as the world's largest OLED TV, the ES9000 measures in with a slim 7.9mm bezel. It also features a built-in retractable web camera, intended for video conferencing and Kinect-style gesture controls. Ready to bring a piece of the future to your at-home screening room? Better board the next flight to South Korea, the only country where the ES9000 is currently available for the equivalent of about $17,450.

The biggest smartphone (or tiniest tablet?) we've ever seen, the Samsung Galaxy Note has finally received a price and release date: it's headed to AT&T on Feb. 19 for $300. Whether you're looking for a powerful smartphone or portable tablet, the Galaxy Note has you covered. Coming with a 5.3-inch HD Super AMOLED screen, 1.4GHz dual-core processor, HSPA＋ and LTE connectivity for fast upload and download speeds, an included stylus (called the S Pen), and dual cameras (8MP rear facing and 2MP forward facing), it's got everything you might need from either device.

The Galaxy Note could also be your BFF when it comes to organizing your life. Included software integrates with your calendars, to-do lists, and schedule, and the S Memo app allows you to use the stylus to write notes and draw pictures, then converts them into a memo for later use.

You can preorder the Galaxy Note starting on Feb. 5 in two colors — carbon blue and ceramic white.