Here at CES 2013 the company announced the Rex, a computer accessory about the length of a straw that attaches to any computer display. It then brings eye-tracking to that computer, allowing you to open a document by just looking at it or scroll down the page just by looking down. It’s pretty amazing stuff. After a short calibration process, look at a slide in a PowerPoint, press the spacebar as you are looking at it and it opens. Look at a location on Google Maps, use your mouse to zoom and it will zoom right in on that location — not somewhere to the east or west, which happens more often than not.

MORE CES? CHECK OUR CES 2013 IN PHOTOS

Tobii’s technology is groundbreaking, but not new. The company has been showing this functionality off for a while. In fact, ABC News took at look at the company last year at this very time.

Image: Sony.

LAS VEGAS — You’re not surprised, are you? Sony took the stage this evening at its press conference at CES 2013 to unveil a whole array of electronics, including, yes, a 4K TV. But not just one or two 4K TVs — there’s a host of 4K products and services the company is working on.

Lets start with the TVs, though, since that really is what everyone is talking about here at the consumer Electronics Show. Sony came out with an 85-inch 4K, Ultra HD TV last year that is on the market now for $25,000. There will now be smaller sizes — 55- and 65-inch models — which will bring down the price, Sony says. These sets, it promises, will offer the same sound and picture quality as the current model.

“The screen sizes are smaller, which will mean a more reasonable, consumer friendly price tag. However, we will not be talking about price right now,” Sony’s Rob Manfredo told ABC News.

But you know what won’t be cheaper? The OLED 4K set Sony is showing here. The 56-inch set is just a demo or a prototype for now, so don’t expect to see it in stores yet. But basically it is a sight to be seen — it blends an OLED with 4 times the resolution of current 1080p HDTVs.  (OLED, short for Organic Light Emitting Diode, is a technology that delivers an especially bright, crisp picture.)

Sony’s also addressing the 4K issue of content. As when HD first rolled out, the best picture what is made for it — in this case, native 4K-resolution video. Many TVs can “upscale” lower-resolution video, but it isn’t the same experience. However, Sony will be rolling out a 4K service this summer.

Click for Full Coverage: CES 2013

“We will be launching a digital download service in the summer which will bring 4K content to the home,” Manfredo said. The 4K media player will have Sony Pictures Entertainment (no details on what specifically) available for download right through the set. Additionally, it will be showing the first lineup of 4K-mastered Blu-ray discs.

There’s another way to get 4K content: make it yourself. The company is showing off the first 4K consumer camcorder. It is just a prototype at the moment.

Lots of prototypes and promises from Sony, but you can bet on one thing: this 4K thing is, well, the next Ultra HD.

Video: CES in 60: 4K

Samsung's Kevin Packingham at the CES 2012 press conference. (Getty)

LAS VEGAS – Today is the day before the first official first day of CES 2013. It’s called press day. That means that thousands of journalists from around the world pile into large ballrooms to see companies from Netgear to Intel to Sony to Panasonic announce their biggest products.

Yes, there are a lot of news conferences here in Vegas today, but Samsung has notoriously held some of the most memorable events at the annual show. One year, it had circus dancers. Another it had a young child-creature named Zoll announce the products.

What does 2013 hold? We will only know for sure when the event starts at 2 p.m. PT/5 p.m. ET. You can tune in to our live blog below to get all the updates as they are happening. See you then!

Note: The updates in the CoverItLive module below will come through automatically when the event begins; no need to refresh the page. Just keep it locked here!

SpareOne is an emergency phone that runs on a single AA battery. Joanna Stern/ABC News.

Sure, CES 2013 is full of groundbreaking smartphone technology — the newest screens, processors and connectivity for our powerful phones — but sometimes all those fancy features can fail you, especially if they drain your batteries.

That’s why SpareOne decided it was time to make a really low-powered cellphone that runs on a single AA cell. Just put one in the back of the dumbphone and you can make calls for up to 10 hours. You can also pop your SIM card in to use your regular phone’s number. It’s really that simple.

SpareOne says the idea really isn’t to replace your more complicated and powerful smartphone. “This is meant to be an emergency and secondary phone for outdoor use or travel use,” Christian Scheder, the president of SpareOne, told ABC News. “The battery life of phones s getting worse and worse. We know there are a lot of times and people who cannot charge their phone.” Scheder cited Hurricane Sandy and other natural disasters as proof that it’s good to have a spare phone around to make emergency calls.

MORE CES: Photos from the Technology Show

The phone comes with a waterproof bag, and SpareOne says a dry cell, unused, can keep its charge for years. There is a large emergency button on the phone for calling 911 — no SIM is required to make those calls. And there is a flashlight on the top, which provides 24 hours of continuous light.

SpareOne also makes an app that lets you use your smartphone to track people’s locations during emergencies.  The SpareOne is available now for $99.99.

LAS VEGAS — How badly have you wanted to turn your iPad or, better yet, touchscreen all-in-one PC into a table?

OK, so maybe you haven’t thought of it. But don’t worry, Lenovo has. At CES 2013 the company unveiled its IdeaCentre Horizon, a 27-inch desktop all-in-one that transforms into a table.

The all-in-one can actually be purchased with a separate table stand with wheels. But… why would you want to do that? It’s all about the software you can run on the desktop. Yes, it is a normal Windows 8 PC, but when you push the screen back so it lies flat, it automatically launches Lenovo’s own Aura software.

The software brings up a circular widget with shortcuts to photos, videos, games, music, etc. Tap on the video or photos widget and you can move things around and pinch to zoom. Then flick four fingers on the screen and you can send all those open photos and videos off the screen. The display supports up to 10 fingers, and you might actually care about that spec with this one, especially when you hear about the games.

MORE: Photos from CES 2013

The highlight of the machine is the game play. You can launch a series of tabletop games, including air hockey, Monopoly and even roulette, and the whole family can gather round to play. Lenovo will also sell physical game accessories, including e-dice, joysticks and strikers. We got a chance to play air hockey, and while there’s no excuse for our bad eye-hand coordination, the screen and computer were very responsive and kept up.

That’s because inside there’s a quad-core Core i7 processor and Nvidia’s GeForce graphics. There’s also a giant battery inside the table/tablet, so you can roll it around without being tied to the wall. Unfortunately, the battery isn’t going to last too long in this one, but it should get you through a couple of rounds of air hockey.

Of course, all of that is going to cost you more than the average all-in-one. The Horizon will cost $1,699 when it goes on sale this summer.

Want more CES News? Check out abcnews.com/tech.

                  Apple's App Store tops 40 billion downloads with almost half in 2012                  Image credit: Chhin Sothy/AFP/Getty Images

Apple marks another highlight and first for the global tech company.

Apple announced that iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch users have downloaded over 40 billion apps, with almost 20 billion in 2012 alone. In March, Apple reported that it had seen 25 billion downloads.

With over 500 million active accounts, Apple’s App Store saw a record-breaking December with over 2 billion downloads during the month. Apple isn’t announcing how many devices it sold that month, but with lots of people opening brand new iPhone 5s, iPad Minis and regular iPads during the holiday season sales likely spurred downloads. The App Store saw continued success within its app development community as 775,000 new apps were created and featured in the App Store for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch users. As a result,  app developers pulled in over $7 million by Apple.

MORE: 50 Best Apps for Your iPad 

“It has been an incredible year for the iOS developer community,” Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services, said in a statement. “We continue to invest in providing them with the best ecosystem so they can create the most innovative apps in the world.”

According to Flurry, the holiday season saw huge growth in app downloads across all platforms.  From Dec. 25 through Dec.  31,  1.76 billion iOS and Android apps were download.  Just on Christmas Day, 328 million applications were downloaded on both platforms.

Breakdown Apple’s App Store and users will see no shortage of areas and interests to browse from including 23 categories of news, sports, travel, entertainment and fitness apps.

Image credit: FitBit

LAS VEGAS – And you thought the fitness gadget war had hit its peak. Nope, here at CES 2013 there’s lots of talk of how to use gadgets that pair with your phone to track your steps and fitness activity. And the first two products actually come from companies that have some serious experience in the space.

FitBit, which recently came out with its new Zip and One fitness trackers, has announced a new version that you can wear on your wrist. Similar to the Jawbone Up or the Nike Fuelband, the Flex looks like a high-tech bracelet; it comes in different sizes and five colors. Its Zip and One clipped on to your pants or a pocket and were easier to conceal.

MORE CES: CES 2013 in PHOTOS

Like those, however, it tracks your steps, distance, calories burned and sleep quality and then pairs with your iPhone or Android wirelessly via Bluetooth 4.0. You just download the app for the iPhone and now select Android phones (Samsung Galaxy S 3 and Note) and you can see all the data on the fly.

The Jawbone Up has to be plugged into the phone and the FuelBand uses Bluetooth 2.0, which drains the battery faster. There are LEDs on the band to tell you how close you are to your goal, but there is no display to show more details like the other FitBits or the new Withings Smart Activity Tracker.

Withings’ new tracker, which looks a lot like FitBit’s One, tracks many of the same things: steps taken, distance covered, calories burned and quality of sleep. But it also now adds pulse measurement and strides run. Similar to the Flex, it pairs with your phone via Bluetooth Smart to the Withings Health Mate App to give you all the data, though you can see some of it on the small LED screen. The app is available for iPhone and Android.

The FitBit Flex costs $99.95 and will be available  this spring. The Withings says it plans to announce pricing and availability at a later date.

Image credit: Acer

LAS VEGAS — “This is a product for new users.” That’s how Acer President Jim Wong described the company’s new $130 Acer Iconia B1 tablet, which will be sold in some areas of the world for as low as $99.

“Some places will have a special promotion for $99 but most of the channels will have it for $129 to $149,” Wong explained during an interview with ABC News Sunday at CES 2013.

The Android 4.0 tablet, which will launch first in Asia and in South America this month, is obviously going after the lower-end $199, 7-inch tablets, like the Kindle Fire and the Nexus 7. However, the $70 to $100 gap does take a hit on the specs and user experience.

Unlike the Nexus and Kindle Fire, which have higher quality displays, the B1 has a TN 1024 x 600 resolution screen. It also doesn’t have higher end dual- or quad-core processors  from Nvidia or Qualcomm. Instead, it has a MediaTek processor and just 512MB of RAM.

MORE FROM CES: Toshiba Kicks Off the Ultra HD Flood 

“Performance is very similar [to competing tablets], especially from the point of view of applications users use. You don’t tell the difference unless you are a gameaholic,” Wong said.

We got a look at the tablet here at CES and it’s very clear that this is a lower cost tablet than the Nexus 7 or the Kindle Fire. The plastic back is thin and the screen quality suffers when you hold it at different angles. The performance also seemed noticeably slower than the Nexus, browsing was certainly functional, but taps on the keyboard didn’t instantly register.

Acer is also introducing its AcerCloud apps for the iPhone at the show. The apps let you sync your music, files and documents across your Android, Windows 8 and now iOS devices. Cleverly, you can instantly access any document on your computer; you don’t have to drag the file to a folder like with Dropbox or Google Drive. Wong says he hopes the software will build awareness for the brand as a mobile company in the U.S.

Speaking of the U.S., he didn’t say when the tablet would be available to Americans, but did say he plans for it to be sold worldwide.

You can find all of our CES 2013 coverage at ABCNews.com/tech. 

(Toshiba)

LAS VEGAS — Get ready for it! The UltraHD TVs are coming by the droves here at CES 2013, and the first company to formally announce theirs is Toshiba with its L93000 Series Ultra HD 4K LED TVs.

For those new to this 4K or Ultra HD phenomenon, these new TVs have four times the resolution of the current 1080p TVs. That crazy high resolution makes content look even crisper and brighter than what your eyes are used to now with the current generation of HDTVs on the market.

Toshiba plans to release its 4K TVs in three sizes — there will be  58-, 65- and 84-inch versions of the L9300. All of them will have an “ultra-slim” bezel and gun metal trim and stand. Powering the ultra-high resolution video is Toshiba’s CEVO 4K quad and dual core processor, which also helps upscale the content. It also has Toshiba’s ClearScan 240Hz refresh rate for smoother fast motion video.

MORE CES: Five Things to Expect at CES 2013 

But with lots more 4K TVs being announced this week, what will set Toshiba’s apart?  Toshiba’s VP of product marketing and development, Scott Ramirez, says it’s Toshiba’s image quality.

“What Toshiba brings is experience in image processing,” Ramirez said. “We’re taking a 1080p image, restoring it up to an Ultra HD level as well as upscaling it all the same time using our proprietary CEVO 4K Quad+Dual Core Processor — a quad core processor with two extra cores.”

Toshiba isn’t commenting on the pricing of the L9300 series, but says it will be on sale this summer. Its new LED TVs — the L2300, L7300, L4300 series — with its Cloud TV services, which includes stream services and other news content, will be available in March.

Toshiba also released a new 14-inch Windows ultrabook, 17.3-inch Qosmio X875 gaming notebook  and other mainstream laptops at the show.

Stay tuned for much more as CES begins Monday. You can find all our coverage at ABCNews.com/tech. 

                                                                                                               (Image Credit: Facebook)

Rusty Foster discovered he was dead last week, at least according to Facebook. He had been locked out of his account, which had been turned into a “memorial page,” because someone had reported the Maine man as deceased to the social media site.

He tweeted Thursday, “Facebook thinks I’m dead. I’m tempted to just let it,” then “Did you know that you can report any of your Facebook friends dead & Facebook will lock them out of their account with no evidence needed?”

As one of Foster’s friends discovered, it doesn’t take much to convince Facebook that somebody is dead. By simply going to the “Memorialization Request” page and filling out a form, including a link to an obituary, anybody can take someone else off Facebook.

                                                                                                               (Image Credit: Facebook)

The obituary needs to have the same name (or at least a close name), but doesn’t need to match any other details on the profile. The obituary Foster’s friend used to prove Foster’s death was for a man who was born in 1924 and died in 2011 in a different state than the one Foster lists on Facebook as his home state.

Foster, 36, said he never got any notification his account was going to be locked, and only discovered it when he attempted to log in. He filled out a form to report the error, and received a response that began with “We are very sorry to hear about your loss.”

More than a full day later, Foster’s account still hadn’t been unlocked. Buzzfeed, tipped off by Foster, posted an article in which one editor “killed” another editor, John Herrman, on Facebook. According to the article, about an hour after Herrman reported the error to Facebook, his profile was reactivated. About an hour after that, 27 hours after Foster first reported his erroneous death, he was “resurrected” by Facebook and allowed back into his account.

Foster does not know the total amount of time he was “Facebook dead.” He told ABC that nothing was different with his account when he logged back in, only that some of his friends had a little fun with his status.

“The only thing that happened was some of my friends posted little mock-eulogies for me, because word got around that I was locked out, due to a temporary case of death,” Foster wrote in an email with the subject line, “Rusty, the Facebook zombie.”

When pages are memorialized, they are removed from sidebars, timelines and friend suggestions and searches. This is likely to prevent people from seeing their friends who have died pop up on their newsfeed, and to prevent people from hacking into the accounts of dead people.

Foster said he understands the position Facebook is in when it comes to the death of one of its users, but believes there are better options for the social media site.

“There ought to be an email sent to the account’s email address informing it that the account has been reported dead and providing a link or something to dispute the report before any action is taken,” Foster wrote.

Foster said the most frustrating part was not being able to get into his account to “click the ‘I’m not dead’ button that should also be there.”

This has apparently been the same “memorialization” process since at least 2009, when another user took to his personal blog to write about his experience of being “Facebook dead.” In his case, the obituary his friend used to have him declared dead wasn’t even close to his real name. Instead, the man who performed the funeral services had a similar name.

In a statement to ABC News, Facebook said the system is in place in order to respect the privacy of the deceased.

“We have designed the memorialization process to be effective for grieving families and friends, while still providing precautions to protect against either erroneous or malicious efforts to memorialize the account of someone who is not deceased,” the statement reads. “We also provide an appeals process for the rare instances in which  accounts  are mistakenly reported or inadvertently memorialized.”