A year ago, pundits were declaring the personal computer dead. Smartphones and tablets were cannibalising sales, and the once-revolutionary PC seemed unnecessary - and boring.
A smartphone is great for checking emails, snapping photos and playing games, and tablets are perfect for watching videos and shopping online.
But do not count the PC out just yet. Manufacturers are crafting high-resolution, curved screens for desktops and other new features you cannot get in a hand-held device, while trying new laptop designs that mimic the tablet's appeal.
"For the last couple of years, mobile devices have been the hot commodity," acknowledges Dell executive Neil Hand. "But we're seeing a re-emergence of innovation in the PC space."
For years, PC innovation consisted mostly of putting faster processors or a bigger hard-drive inside the same basic box.
That did not really matter when the personal computer was a mostly unchallenged commodity. Global PC shipments peaked at more than 365 million units in 2011.
But then sales fell off dramatically as tablets stole hearts and wallets. PC sales plunged 10% in 2013 alone, according to research firm Gartner, marking the worst annual decline in the industry's history.
They slipped a little further last year, to about 314 million units. PC makers say they understand the need to evolve, and at CES this week are showing off many new features aimed at wooing back consumers.
Depth-sensing cameras, for example, are popping up in high-end desktops and laptops. Intel vice president Navin Shenoy said his company's "RealSense" camera can recognise its owner's face and unlock a PC without requiring a typed password. Intel is also promoting software that uses the camera in games that respond to a player's head or hand movements.
PC makers are borrowing ideas from tablets, with laptops that are increasingly thin and lightweight, with longer battery life. Dell's new XPS 13 notebook has a screen that extends nearly to the edge of the frame, like the screen on many tablets. By eliminating wider borders, Dell says it can fit a larger screen into a smaller frame.
Several companies have hybrid or convertible devices that resemble a tablet with a physical keyboard attached. Lenovo, the Chinese company that has become the world's biggest seller of PCs, is rolling out several new models of its Yoga hybrid, first introduced last year, with a keyboard that fully folds back so you can hold the display like a tablet.
Lenovo chief executive Yang Yuanqing said the new "convertible" hybrids will eventually replace the laptop computer for most people, because they are lighter and have longer battery life.
"Now it's only a cost issue," he said. Many of the new hybrids are priced well above $500 dollars, while cheaper laptops are available. "We definitely should bring the cost down," he added.
ASUS announced a new series called the Transformer Book Chi, with lightweight keyboards that can detach completely by unsnapping a magnetic hinge.
"Our Chi is thinner than Air," quipped ASUS chief executive Jonney Shih, boasting that at 1.65cm, the Chi T300 is slimmer than a MacBook Air laptop. The Transformer uses efficient new Intel processors that do not require a cooling fan, which allows for a skinnier profile.
And manufacturers are experimenting with new shapes. Samsung is showing off a new all-in-one model, the ATIV One 7, with a slightly concaved, 27-inch screen that is designed to produce a more immersive experience for watching videos or playing games. Dell and HP are introducing new curved display monitors for desktops, too.
Of course, fancy features do not come cheap. Apple's new iMac, unveiled last autumn, comes with a huge, ultra-high resolution, 27-inch Retina screen and equally big $2,500 price tag, for example.
For about $1,900, you can control Hewlett-Packard's specialised machine Sprout with a touch-sensitive mat instead of a keyboard and use its sophisticated camera to scan physical objects and project the resulting image back onto the mat to incorporate into 3D printing designs.
"We don't think of it as a desktop. We think of it as a purely new category," said HP executive Ron Coughlin.
Analysts say both the new iMac and the Sprout are probably best suited for artists and designers, but that some high-end features could find their way into mass-market PCs eventually.
To attract consumers at other price points, manufacturers are even trying different software. While Microsoft promises to release an improved version of its ubiquitous Windows operating system this summer, several leading PC makers are selling low-cost laptops that run Google's Chrome instead.