BEST GADGETS AND GIZMOS FROM CES 2017Vacuums shoes let you 'shoe-ver' the carpet | 0:45
Jennifer Jolly reviews the first vacuum shoe designed by the automotive company Denso. Jennifer Jolly Special for USA Today
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BEST GADGETS AND GIZMOS FROM CES 20174 gadgets from CES that we'd actually buy | 2:52
A lot of gadgets are announced at CES, but many of them are too impractical or expensive for most consumers. Here are four new products we found that we'd actually consider purchasing. Reviewed.com
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BEST GADGETS AND GIZMOS FROM CES 201710 coolest things I've tried at CES | 0:00
Columnist Jennifer Jolly tries out Alexa on the Ford, peers at TVs held to walls by magnets, and tests a 'smart bike'. JENNIFER JOLLY/USA TODAY
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BEST GADGETS AND GIZMOS FROM CES 2017Artificial intelligence displayed at CES | 1:45
Products that have chips that allow connectivity to the internet and that learn user’s habits grab attention at CES in Las Vegas. (Jan. 5) AP
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BEST GADGETS AND GIZMOS FROM CES 2017Hyundai unveils its self-driving car at CES | 1:09
At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, South Korean automaker Hyundai shows off its self-driving car. Video provided by AFP Newslook
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BEST GADGETS AND GIZMOS FROM CES 2017Mophie co-founder's electric scooter | 1:05
Daniel Huang, the co-founder of Mophie, previews his new GO electric scooter with swappable batteries at CES 2017.
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BEST GADGETS AND GIZMOS FROM CES 2017CES 2017: What can a $9,000 laptop do for you? | 1:16
At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Acer unveiled the Predator 21 X, which they say is the first notebook computer with a curved screen. But forget about the features: the real jaw dropper here is its price when it launches: $8,999. USA TODAY
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BEST GADGETS AND GIZMOS FROM CES 20175 CES Showstoppers | 1:57
A man takes a hammer to a smartphone screen protector, and it survives. Jefferson Graham shows off 5 showstoppers from CES, including the Invisible Shield screen protector and video glasses for seeing your drone on #TalkingTech
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BEST GADGETS AND GIZMOS FROM CES 2017Panasonic's best TV isn't available in the U.S. | 0:40
Panasonic unveiled its second-generation 4K OLED TV at CES this year, but it's currently only available in Canada and Europe. Reviewed.com
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BEST GADGETS AND GIZMOS FROM CES 2017This VR simulator lets you fly through the air like a superhero | 0:37
The device is called the Hypersuit, and it's compatible with VR headsets like the HTC Vive and the Oculus Rift. Reviewed.com
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BEST GADGETS AND GIZMOS FROM CES 2017Samsung's new QLED TV could be the company's best yet | 0:52
Announced at CES 2017, Samsung's QLED TVs are the company's latest top-of-the-line options. Reviewed.com
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BEST GADGETS AND GIZMOS FROM CES 2017LG's new wallpaper TV hangs on your wall like a picture | 0:55
LG's 2017 TV lineup is stuffed with TVs suited to every price point, but the star of the show is—hands down—the flagship W7 model. Reviewed.com
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BEST GADGETS AND GIZMOS FROM CES 2017Five coolest gadgets seen @CES Unveiled | 1:51
Jefferson Graham shows the 5 coolest gadgets on display at the CES Unveiled event, a press preview in Las Vegas. USA TODAY
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BEST GADGETS AND GIZMOS FROM CES 2017CES 2017 innovation award winners | 0:54
Jefferson Graham previews the best of the best--winners of the coveted CES Innovation Awards, on the dawn of the annual CES in Las Vegas. A #TalkingTech video
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BEST GADGETS AND GIZMOS FROM CES 2017This Carnival wearable will replace your keys, wallet on cruise ships | 2:21
Tech expert Jennifer Jolly tries out the Carnival medallion aboard a virtual cruise ship during the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show.
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BEST GADGETS AND GIZMOS FROM CES 2017CES 2017- Meet Kuri a new kind of personal robot | 1:23
New at CES 2017 - a new kind of personal robot, Kuri, from Mayfield Robotics. Jefferson Graham previews on #TalkingTech.
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BEST GADGETS AND GIZMOS FROM CES 20175 tech experts on what they're most excited to see at this year's CES | 1:17
Reviewed.com has been covering CES for over a decade, and these are what our tech experts are most excited to see at this year's show. Reviewed.com
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BEST GADGETS AND GIZMOS FROM CES 2017WeMo introduces smaller home automation socket | 0:41
WeMo, a smart switch for controlling home products via an app, introduces a smaller, stackable version for Consumer Electronics Show.
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BEST GADGETS AND GIZMOS FROM CES 2017CES 2017 - a router Alexa can command | 0:53
Linksys introduces Velop, a new router system Alexa can command, at the Consumer Electronics Show
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BEST GADGETS AND GIZMOS FROM CES 2017Unpacking Peak Design Everyday 30L backpack | 2:31
Jefferson Graham has stuffed pounds of tech gear into the Peak Design Everyday 30L backpack to bring to CES--will it be too heavy? He shows off just how much stuff is in the bag on a #TalkingTech video.
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BEST GADGETS AND GIZMOS FROM CES 2017LG brings levitating speaker to market | 1:07
LG is planning to bring its PJ9 levitating speaker to CES 2017. Keri Lumm (@thekerilumm) reports on this impressive tech. Buzz60
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BEST GADGETS AND GIZMOS FROM CES 2017CES 2017 - Whatever happened to the hits of CES 2016? | 0:58
Jefferson Graham looks back at some of the hits from CES 2016--whatever happened to the Lily and Sengled music lightbulb? He reports on a #TalkingTech video. Video by Robert Hanashiro
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BEST GADGETS AND GIZMOS FROM CES 2017What to expect at CES 2017 | 1:14
Jefferson Graham previews what to look for at the world's biggest trade show, with robots, drones, connected cars and virtual reality gear leading the pack. A #TalkingTech video. Video by Robert Hanashiro
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Last VideoNext VideoVacuums shoes let you 'shoe-ver' the carpet
4 gadgets from CES that we'd actually buy
10 coolest things I've tried at CES
Artificial intelligence displayed at CES
Hyundai unveils its self-driving car at CES
Mophie co-founder's electric scooter
CES 2017: What can a $9,000 laptop do for you?
5 CES Showstoppers
Panasonic's best TV isn't available in the U.S.
This VR simulator lets you fly through the air like a superhero
Samsung's new QLED TV could be the company's best yet
LG's new wallpaper TV hangs on your wall like a picture
Five coolest gadgets seen @CES Unveiled
CES 2017 innovation award winners
This Carnival wearable will replace your keys, wallet on cruise ships
CES 2017- Meet Kuri a new kind of personal robot
5 tech experts on what they're most excited to see at this year's CES
WeMo introduces smaller home automation socket
CES 2017 - a router Alexa can command
Unpacking Peak Design Everyday 30L backpack
LG brings levitating speaker to market
CES 2017 - Whatever happened to the hits of CES 2016?
What to expect at CES 2017
LAS VEGAS — Have you examined your cellphone bill lately? You’re on a monthly rate plan of say $40 a month per line for service, but after the requisite taxes, surcharges and fees are piled on, you’re paying a lot more.
T-Mobile US President and CEO John Legere during the Un-carrier Next event at CES on Thursday, Jan. 5, 2017, in Las Vegas. (Photo: Bizuayehu Tesfaye/AP Images for T-Mobile)
At CES, T-Mobile said it is eliminating such excess fees under an “all-in” T-Mobile One plan that is supposed to remove sticker shock at the end of the month.
No, the government isn’t suddenly given you a free pass on taxes. It’s just that T-Mobile says it will absorb them, along with other fees. So if your plan says you’ll pay $70 for service, your bill will amount to seven-zero.
Exceptions to the rule: You’ll still be saddled with late fees. And new customers still pay for a SIM starter kit.
“Taxes and fees aren’t going away, we’re investing in our customers,” insists T-Mobile CEO John Legere, who says wireless customers now fork over $17.2 billion in such fees yearly.
T-Mobile also promised to never change the price you pay under T-Mobile One, unless you choose to change it yourself for some future plan. And it said that when you use 2 GB or less in a given month, you’ll get a $10 credit on your next month’s bill per line. This “Kickback” piece as it is called is roughly similar to Google’s Project Fi, which credits you back for data you don’t use.
The current T-Mobile One starts at $70 for a single line, and amounts to $40 per line for a family of four.
More from CES:
It’ll be interesting to see how or if T-Mobile’s rivals react to this notion of removing the various fees.
T-Mobile claims the $110 family plan rival Verizon advertises on its web site adds up to $210.70 for a family of four on average, because carriers could slap you with up to 75 other surcharges, bogus fees and assorted taxes that it says jacks up the price by more than $100 monthly.
As an added enticement to get customers from other carriers to defect, T-Mobile said that starting Friday customers can get $150 per line up to 12 lines for every line that switches.
Legere made the announcements at CES, ripping on his competitors in his typical fashion, four years after he appeared at the trade show to unleash the first of a series of “Un-carrier” moves such as eliminating wireless contracts, that proved disruptive in the industry. It has helped fuel growth at a company that Legere said back then was “being sold for parts.”
Today, T-Mobile announced that it will have added more than 8 million new customers for the third year in the row, bringing its total customer count to 71.5 million at the end of 2016.
Back-patting aside, Legere's talk after the press conference threatened to overshadow the carrier's latest strategy to hive off customers from its rivals.
In a Q&A, he said in the future structure of the industry — presumably one where Donald Trump is appointing regulators — a Sprint-T-Mobile merger isn't off the table.
Email: ebaig@usatoday.com; Follow USA TODAY Personal Tech Columnist @edbaig on Twitter
