CES press day is over, but there's a lot more to come over the next three days, including keynotes from General Motors, Microsoft and AMD, as well as a presentation by graphics chip specialist Nvidia.

The BBC Click team are also hard at work on some hands-on videos, after getting some of the start-ups taking part in CES to send over their prototypes.

We leave you for now with Chris Fox's first look at a pair of tuneable glasses, which he thinks resemble a pair of jam jars on his face.

Leo Kelion
Technology desk editor

Image source, Verizon

By becoming a digital event, CES presented the opportunity to rethink its keynote speeches.

The only thing holding companies back was their imagination and budgets.

What we got with Verizon's hour-long event was a series of Zoom-like video calls, typical corporate press videos and abstract backdrop graphics behind the telecoms firm's chief executive Hans Vestberg.

What I was hoping for was that it would present new compelling uses for 5G - the theme of the event.

Instead the examples presented - streamed VR graphics, augmented reality objects based on museum scans - could just as well have been delivered by wi-fi with a decent broadband connection.

Yes - a wi-fi connection might not always be available when out, but most of these weren't activities you'd engage in while wandering about.

There were cases given that would benefit from 5G - robot dogs for emergency responders and package-delivering drones - but these aren't things that most members of the public need to upgrade their own handsets for at this time.

Things weren't helped by the fact the event culminated in an awkward, obviously pre-scripted conversation between Mr Vestberg and members of the band Black Pumas about how 5G will let music-lovers watch performances via their phones with the ability to pick between camera angles "to focus on their favourite band members".

Image source, Verizon

To be fair, with so many people stuck indoors, this is a tough time to sell the public on the need for faster mobile data. And there were fans of the presentation on social media.

But after a long day, this felt like a pretty underwhelming way to end what had been an entertaining start to CES 2021.

Image source, Samsung

Robots and televisions aside, the CES tech show is also known for new laptops and other PC (personal computer) tech announcements.

Many of the these, including prices, will be announced in the coming days - but we already know there are new models from LG, HP and Samsung, among many others.

It's a good time to be in the business. Analyst firm Canalys has just reported that shipments within the global PC market shot up 25% in 2020.

That might not be surprising, with so many people buying extra work machines - but there was a big shortage of PC parts earlier this year, making the growth even more notable.

Canalys says the numbers mark the sector's biggest annual growth since 2010, and it was "singlehandedly driven by notebooks and mobile workstations".

"It is going to be extremely difficult to write off the PC as some of us did a few years ago. PCs are here to stay,” analyst Rushabh Doshi said.

There was one exception: desktop shipments fell by 20% - perhaps because business customers stopped buying new PCs for offices.

Nvidia, a titan, external in the graphics card and artificial intelligence world, has a gaming event scheduled for Tuesday evening, where industry watchers expect its latest mobile graphics cards to be shown off.

The desktop versions of those cards have been in tight supply since they launched last year.

Leo Kelion
Technology desk editor

Image source, Sony

Sony's slick CES presentation didn't unveil many new products.

But it delivered a fascinating look behind the scenes at two cutting-edge ways the firm is creating video content.

The first involved the use of a giant screen which is matched with movement-sensors on a camera to create a fake backdrop that shifts in turn with the lens.

A similar technique was pioneered by Industrial Light & Magic and used in the Star Wars spin-off series The Mandalorian, but this opens the door to other filmmakers.

The screens involved use Sony's Crystal LED technology, which the firm first unveiled at CES in 2012, but has been unable to bring low down enough in price to take mainstream.

In effect, this is its version of micro-LED tech, using millions of tiny light emitting diodes (LEDs) to match the number of pixels. The result is much greater brightness and contrast than a normal LCD or OLED display would be capable of.

Image source, Sony

Until now, the firm has marketed the tech at building owners wanting the ultimate video walls. But this has the potential to help film and advert-makers place actors within environments they can see, rather than relying on greenscreen effects.

The second innovation was the creation of an "immersive reality" performance, which uses body sensors to create a highly-detailed animated version of an artist.

Image source, Sony

It was demoed by the singer-songwriter Madison Beer.

Motion capture has been used for years to add special effects to characters in movies and to place real-world actors into video games.

But the aim here is to create a lifelike representation of a performer on stage at a concert.

The footage shown didn't quite escape the "uncanny valley" - there's still some way to go before we can't tell the difference between a real person and even a highly detailed avatar.

But it's easy to imagine that the tech being more impressive when viewed in virtual reality, where users can move about and choose their view.

Image source, Sony

Until now, VR apps of concerts have either offered a pick of different static camera locations or involved much lower-resolution characters.

With Covid meaning it's impossible for artists to tour, this second-best experience could be very timely when it's offered to PlayStation VR headsets and other devices soon.

Image source, CES

Sony has formally unveiled Airpeak, its own drone.

The product was first teased back in November.

Now, the company has shown it in flight, chasing a speeding car. It revealed that it will be compatible with Sony's Alpha camera series.

But we've get to get a price, specs or other release details.

Other drones can use Sony cameras with the right fittings - but Sony's pairing may indicate it is marketing to owners of its existing cameras, which are popular with photographers and video creators.

Image source, CES

Sony's bid for the drone market comes at an opportune time.

The dominant force in the industry, DJI, has found itself subject to US sanctions.

DJI was added to a US trade blacklist along with other Chinese firms in December.

Leo Kelion
Technology desk editor

Image source, Toto

For the second time in about two hours there's news of a fresh development in toilet tech.

Japanese firm Toto has announced a lavatory, external that checks each user's health every time they make use of it.

The company says the device uses a range of sensors to scan each person's body and its "key outputs" to provide a status update.

In case there's any doubt, the press release makes clear this is a polite reference to poo.

"A wealth of wellness data can be collected from faecal matter," it says.

In addition, readings are taken from users' skin, where it comes into contact with the seat.

An accompanying app promises to help owners track their mental and physical status and recommend lifestyle changes.

Image source, Toto

Although it remains a concept for the time being, the firm says it intends to start offering an internet-connected version of the appliance "in the next several years".

It may sound amusing, but there's potentially huge benefits in finding a way to track people's health without making them put on a smartwatch or other wearable.

The question is whether such devices could make their way into the workplace.

Some companies already make staff carry out urine tests for illegal drugs, and the Covid-19 pandemic has encouraged the use of proximity sensors in the office to ensure employees stay far enough apart.

Governments have also analysed wastewater to detect signs of local coronavirus outbreaks, external, albeit by taking samples from city sewage rather than toilets.

And it's not inconceivable that in the future we could be asked to use smart toilets to check for signs of infection - or to help reduce companies' health insurance bills.

Image source, Getty Images

CES press day has a couple of big name events left to go.

At 22:00GMT Sony will unveil its latest line of televisions and possibly new camera tech. Last year it also had a car - will there be further surprises this time round?

And then closing off the day at 23:30, US mobile network Verizon - which owns Yahoo among other subsidiaries - will host the first of the tech expo's keynote addresses. Chief executive Hans Vestberg is promising to focus his speech on 5G - hopefully he'll have some new uses for the tech beyond faster downloads.

Leo Kelion
Technology desk editor

Image source, Getty Images

One of the oddities of this year's CES is that all the sessions are starting and finishing on time, and there are no queues involved.

For those who have suffered CES press days in the past, they involved long snaking lines of journalists and industry analysts winding their ways along hotel conference hall corridors - and then there's a crush once the doors opened at the next space.

Then once an event is over, you have to run off to the next unveiling and do it all again.

The downside is the lack of buzz and lost conversations after each presentation when we got to compare notes - Twitter posts don't really cut it.

And with things running so smoothly, there are no Hollywood directors having meltdowns after a teleprompter gets stuck, or robots malfunctioning on stage.

Marketing chiefs may find that reassuring, but one of the appeals of covering CES is the danger of prototype tech being put to the test. When you know there won't be any hitches, the temptation is to pay less attention to what's going on.

Image source, MyQ

One of the more unusual gadgets unveiled to coincide with CES is the Chamberlain myQ Pet Portal: a smart, Bluetooth-enabled doggie door with a price tag of $2,999 (£2,217).

It's much nicer than most human-sized ones.

Instead of being a two-way flap that lets wind and uninvited visitors into your home, this device is designed to replace an entire door.

The product is a door-within-a-door, which opens when it detects a special collar worn by a four-legged friend.

Or it can be manually controlled by an app when you're away - so you decide when to let Rover outside. And it locks once he's back in.

The hefty asking price will make it an instant no for many - but the makers optimistically note in a press release that it's "less than half of what many pet owners spend annually on a dog-walker".

Tech site The Verge has done an extensive interview with the creators, external, who have won one of CES' innovation awards.

Image source, Kohler

CES isn't just about screens and robots.

After unveiling a shower head with a built-in smart assistant last year, the US bathroom specialist Kohler is back at CES with another "smart" way to wash that costs $16,000 (£11,720).

The Stillness bath features an "infinity overflow" facility, whereby water pours over the side to be reheated and then recirculated back to the tub.

It also creates a fog effect as well as pumping out scents and soothing sounds.

Plus - of course - it's internet-connected, so you can control all the features via an app. Or if you're worried about getting your smartphone wet, you can shout at Google Assistant or Amazon's Alexa to do your bidding.

Just be careful about which family members have access to the same account - or you run the risk of someone switching on the cold tap remotely.

Kohler also unveiled both a toilet you can flush and a bathroom tap that turns on at the wave of a hand - which might be hygienic, but they also risk making the bathroom feel a bit like going to a public lavatory.

Image source, LG

The pandemic hasn't just changed how CES is delivered - it's changed what's being pushed by some of the firms.

Earlier, we saw Samsung's exercise app for TVs and robot vacuum cleaner - but hygiene in particular has been an odd focus for many.

LG, for example, spent the top of its main press conference not on its flagship TVs - but on "making your life better and cleaner". It heavily featured its portable air purifiers called Puricare, including a version that can be worn on the face like a mask.

Image source, CES

The product was announced in August last year, but it still made a top spot on the tech firm's main annual showcase.

And then there's the AirPop Active+ Halo, a $150 mask with a smart sensor in it. The sensor - which the company calls a "halo", connects to smartphone app to monitor breathing, air quality, and whether the filter needs to be replaced. It's due to be released in North America soon.

But these companies aren't making a direct claim that their products protect against coronavirus - because evidence about whether or not it does is patchy.

Which? magazine took a look at the topic in March 2020, external, as the global outbreak saw sellers advertise air purification as a way to fight the virus.

Viruses are extremely small, but a top-quality air filter can in fact capture some of them. But Which? concluded: "Crucially, though, none of this has been scientifically proven yet, and, in the real world, a lot depends on factors".

The US Environmental Protection Agency says pretty much the same thing, external.

"When used properly", some filters can "help reduce airborne contaminants including viruses", it says.

But it's only an aid, and "by itself, air cleaning or filtration is not enough to protect people from exposure to the virus that causes Covid-19."

Image source, Google

While the new PlayStation and Xbox consoles dominated the gaming news towards the end of 2020, another force is on the rise.

Cloud gaming - where titles run on remote computer servers and are streamed via the internet to the player - is (very) slowly catching on.

The downside is it requires a fast internet connection, and there can be a little lag. The upside is you don't need powerful hardware at home to play games in their full glory.

Google is one of the major players involved, thanks to its Stadia service. And it has just announced a tie-up with LG, which will see Stadia run within the South Korean firm's TVs.

LG is the second biggest-selling TV brand after Samsung.

Effectively, it means households will be able to play more than 100 titles - including Cyberpunk 2077 and Assassin's Creed: Valhalla - by downloading an app to their television instead of needing an additional set-top box or dongle, although they will still need a controller.

This isn't the first time something like this has been tried - at one point LG and Samsung were set to build in Gaikai's cloud gaming service into their TVs – until Sony bought it to form the basis of its PlayStation Now service.

The move could give Stadia a leg up against rivals such as Amazon's Luna and Nvidia's GeForce Now - assuming further tie-ups aren't announced later at CES.

Meanwhile, LG Display - the division of the South Korean firm that makes screens for a number of companies - has shown off some of its latest screen tech, including a display that bends to become curved for gaming and then straightens up again for watching TV.

While we wait for the next big announcements, here's what CES usually looks like.

In 2020, before the first lockdown in the US, the BBC's Zoe Kleinman was there to roam the halls and meet some people - with not a socially distanced interview in sight.

Chris Fox
Technology reporter

CES is not just about the tech giants. Every year there are hundreds of start-ups showcasing their gadgets too.

On a typical walk through CES’s Eureka Park, you can spot a dozen interesting and intriguing products or prototypes.

This year, it's been more of a trawl through a hefty spreadsheet – although it has yielded the usual mix of the odd and ingenious.

US start-up Hudway has produced a head-up display that can stick on any car dashboard.

Image source, Hudway

You pop your smartphone underneath and the angled glass reflects the information as though it is overlaid on the road ahead.

Into-See has created ornate furniture with a black glass panel that turns semi-transparent, so you can see what is inside.

Image source, Into-See

LG showed off a similar feature on one of its fridges last year, which is now a product you can buy - though ultimately it strikes me as something that has niche appeal.

One practical idea is a pair of glasses by Voy, which have adjustable lenses to suit a variety of prescriptions. The specs worked well – although they were much, much chunkier than my regular glasses.

Going through the spreadsheet, it definitely felt as though there were fewer gems to be discovered than usual.

Many exhibitors had not provided any information about their products or even a link to their website – while others did not have their prototypes ready in time for the show.

Perhaps with the move online, companies have taken a more relaxed approach towards deadlines. But after the year we have all had, I can’t say I blame them.

Image source, TCL

TV and phone maker TCL showed off its own bendable display technology at CES, with a 17in (43.2cm) printed OLED scrolling display.

Unlike anything we've seen in the phone or tablet market, the product looked like an old-world written paper scroll.

The company says the display is just 0.18mm deep - about twice as thick as general-use office paper.

Unfortunately, there was no mention of commercial availability or any prices - making this a concept display only.

It was announced by TCL's CSOT division rather than the part of the company that makes smartphones.

Image source, TCL

The firm also showed off smaller rolling display, which it said could be used to expand a phone's display from 6.7in to 7.8in "at the touch of a button".

Rollable displays could be the next big thing for the smartphone market after the appearance of foldable displays in the past few years.

LG's press conference earlier today also teased a device using the tech.

But concerns over their durability and price - not to mention the hassle factor of having to open the screen before using an app - may prove obstacles to widespread adoption.

Opening the online show earlier, host Justine Ezarik - better known on YouTube as iJustine - talked about how bad the queues for taxis are in Vegas at CES every year.

But she still misses them, she said - because of the people she'd met in those line.

And Vegas is missing the CES attendees, too.

Usually, getting a hotel in the city at this time of the year is tricky, with hotels heavily booked and rooms costing hundreds of dollars - but now, they can be had for knock-down prices.

Of course, the Covid pandemic has reduced the number of visitor to the city beyond CES, external, but the contrast is still marked.

Local ABC affiliate KTNV reports that the big Las Vegas resorts on the strip are broadcasting messages of support for the event, hoping it will be back in 2022.

Starting tonight, about two dozen major resorts will use their displays to show the message: "We miss you and can't wait to welcome you back in 2022."

Image source, CES

Mercedes-Benz has announced what it's calling a "hyperscreen", which will replace the entire front dashboard on its cars with a smartscreen.

The 141cm-wide (55in) display can be much more flexible than existing solutions, it claims.

For example, it has a system where the passenger can watch a movie on the car's screen - with Bluetooth headphone support - while the driver isn't distracted by anything on the centre panel.

Another feature, titled "travel knowledge", will offer interesting information about nearby landmarks when asked - or identify a restaurant as you pass by if you miss the sign.

It is actually made out of three screens, but Mercedes says they have made it to look "apparently seamlessly merged".

The "hyperscreen" will come first to the car maker's upcoming all-electric EQS models, and be rolled out to other vehicles later.

Gigantic displays are a theme in the car world - Tesla led the way with its 17in (43cm) tablet dashboards.

And in past years at CES, the Chinese start-up Byton has shown off plans to build a model with a 48in (121cm) curved display, while Sony unveiled a concept car with an ultra-wide panoramic infotainment screen of its own.

The challenge is to ensure all those illuminated pixels don't create a distraction to what's on the road ahead - at least until fully autonomous vehicles come of age.

Image source, CES

Buried among Samsung's other announcements was an idea with what to do with your old phones - transform them into smart home devices.

Galaxy Upcycling at Home, due to be released later this year, will let owners turn an old handset into a sound sensor or a light sensor, for example.

As examples, the company showed phones being used as a baby monitor and a long-distance remote control to activate lights for pets at home alone.

“This is a vision of a better, more inclusive and sustainable future, and we’re working toward it every day," said Sandeep Rana, the firm's sustainability specialist.

A lot of the carbon impact of devices is sunk into their manufacturing.

Phone owners are already using their devices for longer before replacing them, but this initiative could prolong the life of devices even further.

So far, the social media reaction to the initiative has been pretty positive.

It seems like every press release and announcement made after March last year had to remind us that the coronavirus existed (in case you forgot). So far, that trend is strong at CES 2021.

So far, we've had:

• HiSense started the day pitching its big TVs as the centre of the home office, or for online lectures
• LG kicked off with a note about how the bedroom was the new place for "creative side-hustles" - and then focused heavily on air filters, a vacuum cleaner, and a self-cleaning water spout on its fridge
• Bosch presented an air sensor that can detect aerosols and highlighted its security cameras that can read body temperatures
• And Samsung titled its session "better normal for all" - with a pitch to improve our homes with smart devices because, well, we're spending a lot more time there these days

Expect more of this throughout the day.

Image source, Samsung

Samsung's press conference announced fridges, TVs, and more - but nothing for one of the firm's biggest sellers - smartphones.

That's not an oversight - it's because the handsets are coming later this week.

The Samsung Unpacked event is scheduled for 14 January at 15:00 GMT. According to the holding page, it will be about the Galaxy brand of smartphones.

The promo image for Thursday's event features an obscured smartphone with what looks like three circles on it - but we'll have to wait until Thursday to learn more.