Game time

CES 2009

Viewsonic's square-shaped PC to mount your monitor

I guess I can thank Viewsonic for ensuring that I'm not writing about monitors and monitors only for CES 2009. The company has made a few attempts to diversify its product line, and I for one appreciate it, if for no other reason than you can say only so much about HDMI connections and screen sizes before you're driven batty. Take it from one whose been there (and maybe is still there).

The LinkPC or ViePC (Viewsonic's press material claims two different names) is Viewsonic's most unique offering at CES. The LinkPC is a small, square-shaped … Read more

Viewsonic's all-in-one PC perfect for call centers, not so much high-end gaming

I'm starting to notice a trend among monitor vendors. Simply selling monitors just isn't enough anymore. We already covered BenQ's foray into the all-in-one PC market and now Viewsonic is following suit.

During CES, Viewsonic announced the VPC100 all-in-one PC. The VPC100 is 35mm thin, and following the monitor trend of CES 2009, has a 18.5-inch 16:9 LCD screen.

Powered by an Intel Atom 1.6GHz CPU and 1GB RAM, the system also has a 160GB hard drive, Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11b/g Wi-Fi, a 1.3-megapixel Webcam, DVD +/- RW drive, integrated stereo speakers, … Read more

Had enough of Netbooks yet? Viewsonic hopes not

Seems like you can't swing a dead thumb drive on a string around at CES without it hitting some vendor's new Netbook. Many are stepping into the Netbook ring--even vendors that have never tried anything like one before; Viewsonic is an example.

During CES, the company announced its first ever Netbook, called the Viebook. The Viebook weighs 2.6 pounds, has a 10.2-inch screen and is powered by a Intel Atom 1.6GHz CPU and 1GB of RAM.

The Netbook also features a 160GB hard drive, 10/100 Ethernet, 802.11b/g Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 1.3 megapixel … Read more

Westinghouse gets on the 'Full HD' train

Along with pretty much every other monitor vendor, Westinghouse is moving to a 16:9, "Full HD" format for its monitors. This means that these new displays will be able to display 720p or 1080p HD content without stretching the image.

Other than "Full HD," not much is new about the new lineup.

Here are the specifications on the three new unreleased models.

L2031NW (20-inch class LCD monitor) Available: Second half 2009; Price: TBD

20-inch TFT LCD monitor, 20.0-inch diagonal viewable True HD 16:9 aspect ratio, 1,600x900-pixel resolution 0.277x0.277mm pixel pitch … Read more

ViewSonic stoops low (in price) for this 24-incher

It wasn't all stereoscopic screens and crazy 3D glasses at ViewSonic's showing at CES. The company also introduced a new 24-inch monitor, the VX2433.

In keeping with what seems to be a trend with monitors at this year's CES, the new 24-inch display has a 16:9 aspect ratio and includes a "Full HD" 1,920x1,080-pixel resolution. However, connection options are limited to HDMI, so I hope that ViewSonic includes at least a DVI-to-HDMI cable.

The display has a 2ms pixel response time and an aspect ratio adjustment that, according to the company, ensures … Read more

Samsung still adding 'Touch of Color' to monitors

Samsung has been doing the whole "Touch of Color" (ToC) thing for a few years now. Samsung injects a bit subtle color in monitor bezels, enhancing (depending on your tastes) the aesthetics of the monitor and brands it "Touch of Color."

I don't mind ToC, but I still prefer jet black. My own tastes not withstanding, Samsung is still pushing ToC and it had three monitors at CES 2009 to show it off: the P2070, P2270, and P2370.

Each of the three displays has a transparent bezel with gray shading that gives the edges a … Read more

Cell phones on the CES show floor--photos

Cell phones and smartphones are just a small part of CES, but that doesn't stop the various manufacturers from making their presence felt. The largest companies like Nokia, Motorola, and Samsung build impressive, glitzy booths that are larger than most homes. Inside you'll find their latest models on display, from the basic and functional to the hot and high end. For a peek at all the cell phone action on the CES show floor, check out our slide show.

Acoustic Research shows off Internet Radios with recording functionality

While Internet Radios have been popular in Europe for a while, 2008 was the first year the products really gained some traction in the U.S. market. Acoustic Research showed off two new Internet Radios, the ARIR200 and the ARIR600i, which offer some unique features like the ability to record Internet Radio streams to their internal memories and access to the Slacker service. Here are the details.

Key features of the Acoustic Research ARIR200:

Access to 12,000 Internet Radio stations Ability to add your own stations using a URL Can record up to 10 hours of Internet Radio using … Read more

The 404 256: Where we celebrate good juju, bad juju

If you were wondering why our past two shows have been so squeaky clean, rest assured that our third day broadcasting live from the CNET stage at CES 2009 is definitely when we get back into the nasty groove. Today's show is filled with more goofy and perverted gadgets from the showroom floor, Watchmen movie news, idiots bandits, and another appearance from Ms. Heavenly Tech! Spicyyyyy

Be sure to catch us live again tomorrow from the CNET stage at 5 p.m. Pacific Time.

EPISODE 256 Download today's podcast

Memorex unveils a $200 Profile 2.0 Blu-ray player

Blu-ray ran into plenty of consumer confusion regarding the differing Blu-ray profiles, but the good news is that almost all (excluding a few Philips players) of the new players we saw announced at CES 2009 are Profile 2.0 compatible. Memorex's new MVBD-2520 doesn't have any of the extra bells and whistles seen on LG's BD390 or Samsung's BD-P4600, but it does look to have the minimum specs to be a solid budget player. Here are the details.

Key features of the Memorex MVBD-2520:

Profile 2.0 compatible Onboard Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD High Resolution decoding … Read more