Las Vegas is a tech geek’s paradise this week as it hosts "the most important consumer electronics show in the world," as Time magazine puts it. The four-day Consumer Electronics Show, starting Tuesday, is where companies introduce new phones, tablets, game consoles, "smart watches," cameras, music players, TVs and apps for users of all ages.

In the gaming sector, a Linux-based console named the Steam Machine is creating buzz as a challenger to Sony’s PS4 and Microsoft’s Xbox One. Its open-source operating system can run hundreds of existing games, as well as upcoming titles from other developers. The devices can be freely modified and upgraded by users, similar to PCs. Attention also focuses on "two-in-one" computers that can serve as a tablet or a laptop. About 50 new models are being launched at the show, including one from Intel, Microsoft and most PC makers.

One expanding display area at CES, as the yearly event is called, is for makers of digital fitness gadgets such as wearable sensors to track heart rate, calories burned, comparisons to earlier workouts and other exercise measurements. Nike has one called the Fuelband SE. Social media connections let a wearers' fitness statistics be compared to their friends or family members by integrating the devices with phone and tablet apps.

In a related area called the Fashion Zone, businesses will demonstrate "smart clothing," such as a sweater that adjusts its thickness based on the outside temperature. Another company has "smart jewelry" that displays new photos from the wearer’s Facebook and Instagram feeds.

New TVs: Bigger, costlier models include giant curved-screen designs.

Tech site says: "Tablets are shifting from convenient luxury to practical necessity, and they're getting better at a spectacular pace." – Post at TheVerge.com

Tech executive says: "Curved TVs will be a big deal at the show as TV makers strive to differentiate themselves in a very crowded market." – Tim Bajarin, president of Creative Strategies Inc. in San Jose, Calif.