CES 2010

Sony integrates 3D, Wi-Fi in flagship LED-based LCD

Updated June 9, 2010 with pricing, availability and other information. Despite announcing smaller sizes of this series at CES, Sony has only confirmed the 52- and 60-inch models for now.

Sony has announced a trio of 3D-capable HDTV series this year, but only the flagship XBR-LX900 actually includes the glasses--2 pair !--you'll need to enjoy 3D content. Of course, other family members beyond the first two will have to get their own pairs, sold separately ($150 each), but at least with this model Sony builds the emitter into the TV (the others make you purchase the $50 emitter separately). more

Sony XBR goes over edge with full-array local dimming

Updated June 9, 2010 with new model number--HX900 became HX909--as well as pricing, availability and other information.

Among the numerous permutations of LED backlighting, we've consistently experienced the best results with the variety known as local dimming, which typically uses a full array of LEDs arranged behind the screen, not just along the edge. Those LEDs can dim or illuminate as necessary depending on program content, and as a result can achieve excellent contrast, black levels, and overall picture quality.

The superb Sony KDL-XBR8 series from 2008 was the company's last attempt at the technology. Sony skipped LED more

NFL, here's your 2010 tech resolution: Make games easier to access on the Internet

On my way back from Vegas and the remains of CES 2010, I put my faith in JetBlue. As one of the few airlines with a nearly complete collection of TV networks viewable in midair, I knew back when I booked my flights months ago that, in the unlikely event of a Jets playoff game, a seat-back TV would be my only recourse in case the game fell on a Saturday. Of course, the impossible happened and I ended up watching the Jets-Bengals showdown on my miniature seat-mounted screen.

It was a great experience, especially with a flight full of cheering Jets fans (and a few disgruntled Giants/Bengals fans), but I wouldn't have been so lucky on Virgin America. Their spotty in-flight TV service had channels like MSNBC, but no NBC, and in-flight Wi-Fi would have been useless, since the NFL doesn't properly support Internet game-viewing.

At CES, when I saw Flo TV demonstrate its upcoming and very exciting collaboration with Mophie to bring live TV programming to the iPhone via a slip-on case, the representatives tried to entice me with promises of live sports. I knew better: the NBA, NHL, MLB, PGA, and NCAA football were all represented in some fashion, but not the NFL. No, not America's most popular sport: it's been locked up for years, and it doesn't make any sense. more

FlipSync keeps iPod cable in reach

Call it an occupational hazard, but as CNET's senior editor for MP3 player reviews, I'm constantly being called on to loan out iPod/iPhone cables to co-workers. I'm not complaining--in fact, it's sorta nice to feel like I can save someone's day with an iPod cable. If anything, I wish I could carry an extra iPod cable with me at all times, poised and ready to bail out a friend's dying iPhone or transfer music to my iPod.

That's why I freaked when I saw the $20 FlipSync cable on display at the more

Transformers memory sticks, mice--so corny they're cool

Of course, CES is full of oddball, goofball, and just plain cheesy products; but amid the sea of plastic this year a little tidbit caught my eye from a Toshiba booth, of all places. After eyeballing a variety of Satellite laptops, a Toshiba representative insisted I take a look at a corner of the table that I had ignored, because I thought the little plastic tchotchkes were party favors.

Official Transformers-brand USB memory sticks and mice, which on closer inspection completely mirrored the type of toys I used to obsessively collect in my childhood, are coming soon. If they're

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Indoor skeet shooting: Target practice, broken vases

Skeet shooting has always been something of an English gentleman's recreational sport, although there's also Olympic skeet if you're gunning for more competitive shooting. The target is to break clay discs flung into the air at high speed from a variety of angles. It's definitely not something you'd want to try right smack in your living room. That, however, hasn't stopped Interative Toy Concepts from developing a skeet shooter game designed to be an indoor toy. It showed the game off at CES 2010.

To play, the device launches three plastic discs which the

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Take wireless charging on the go

WildCharger's products have always left us a bit divided. Though the wireless charging pads certainly work as promised, we haven't rushed out to buy them. Sure the ability to charge several gadgets at once is convenient, and the technology certainly is novel, but we can be content with powering our handset the normal way.

WildCharge, however, is busily expanding its product line, and at CES 2010 the company (now called Pure Energy Solutions) showed the a new Portable WildCharge Pad. At 5.24 inches long by 2.7 inches wide by 0.47 inch deep, the pad can more

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