2010 CES

Philips' new PET749 portable DVD player with built-in DTV ups the resolution

LAS VEGAS--Last year we reviewed a few new portable DTV units from no-name manufacturers that did OK in our tests, but fell short in terms of battery life and resolution. That's why we're intrigued with Philips' upcoming PET749, which combines a portable DVD player and DTV in a $179.99 (list) unit with a higher resolution 800x480 display.

While that's not HDTV resolution, it is a notch up from the 480x234-pixel resolution you see on many of the generic portable DTVs cropping up on Amazon and other sites (we reviewed the Envizen Digital Duo Box Pro ED8850A). … Read more

YoGen acts like a yo-yo to generate power for phones (podcast)

There are all sorts of devices that provide a quick charge for a cell phone or other gadget when you can't get to an electrical outlet. Most, like the Energizer Energi To Go products, require you to insert AA batteries that transfer energy from the AA battery to the device's internal battery. But Easy Energy has a battery-free solution.

Spokeswoman Allison Morrison told me about the company's YoGen product, which is like a yo-yo that generates power. It's a handheld device with a cord. Pull the cord a few times and it generates enough power to … Read more

Sennheiser, Adidas collaborate on sports headphones (podcast)

Sennheiser and Adidas worked together to create sports headphones. Sennheiser product manager Eric Palonen showed off some earbuds that include an "ear fin," saying that "we took a lot of the weaknesses of a typical headphone and made them a strength for the sports community." The ear fin, a small rubber extension near the ear pieces, keeps the phone from falling out of your ear. They also have water resistant cables that you can wash when dirty.

They range in price from $80 to $120. While these weren't 't the most exciting technology at the … Read more

The coolest laptops of 2010's show

LAS VEGAS--We saw dozens of new laptop models at CES this year, and though the vast majority of them were next-step upgrades of existing models, there were a handful that really grabbed our attention, either because they brought something new to the game, or because they were excellent examples of their category.

We've already rounded up the various slate/tablet devices, so we'll concentrate on traditional laptop-shaped systems (although we'll make an exception for the Lenovo U1 Hybrid, which docks its tablet screen to become a standard Windows 7 machine).

Check out the gallery below for shots and details … Read more

Is MSI dual-screen mini-laptop the way to go for future ultraportables?

LAS VEGAS--Amid the tablet, smartbook, and smartphone wars, a new conceptual spin on the old screen-and-keyboard-connected-by-a-hinge way of doing things has us wondering if the idea is so crazy, it just might work.

MSI showed off a concept 7-inch mini-laptop/e-reader at CES, and its most notable feature was the swapping out of the keyboard with a second screen. The device could generate a virtual keyboard in the lower space, or another sort of interface--and, of course, the device could be turned on its side like a book, allowing two-page reading in a more book-like format than single-screen e-readers. It'… Read more

What, exactly, is a smartbook? Highlights from the show floor

LAS VEGAS--Before CES, one of our predictions as to what would be a big story on the show floor was the emergence of smartbooks, or mini-notebooks as they're sometimes called. The term was coined by Qualcomm in referring to tiny laptop-like devices using processors that are derived from smartphone-level CPUs, but are in many cases even more powerful. The two most common CPUs seem to be the Snapdragon from Qualcomm and the Tegra/Tegra 2 from Nvidia, both using ARM-based processors.

Consider the concept, ideally, as a device somewhere between a smartphone and a Netbook--hence "smartbook." Unfortunately, … Read more

ViewSonic says new PCs are smarter, greener

LAS VEGAS--ViewSonic says its new PCs are smarter and greener. Let's just see about this.

First, the 13.3-inch VNB131 ViewBook Pro, a notebook featuring a ULV SU7300 Intel Core 2 Duo processor that comes with Windows 7 Home Premium OS installed. With a purported 1-inch thickness, the system also includes a 320GB hard drive, 2GB internal memory, and a removable DVD RW Super Multi ODD into an aluminum alloy chassis.

Other features include:

Integrated 802.11b/g/n wireless Two USB 2.0 ports HDMI and VGA connections A 7-in-1 card reader Six-cell battery and extra three-cell

The … Read more

ViewSonic's HDTV lineup

LAS VEGAS--You can't swing a CES badge around without knocking over a LED TV this week, it seems. ViewSonic isn't doing much to help the situation as the debuted four new LED HDTVs during the show.

First up are the 18.5-inch VT1900LED and 32-inch VT3200LED. Both are 720p, Energy Star 5.0 compliant and offer a response time of 5ms.

The 42-inch VT4200LED and 23-inch VT2300LED feature full HD 1080p panel resolution, delivering the ultimate visual experience for HD movies and Internet content. In addition, the VT4200LED delivers 120Hz operation, fast 4ms response time, and a 100,… Read more

ViewSonic's sleek, new projector

LAS VEGAS--Can't have a corporate presentation or a movie-in-the-driveway night without a projector, right? Well, I guess you could, but it would probably not be worth the trouble. Luckily for us, companies continue to push projector technology forward.

Case in point, the ViewSonic PJD6531. A wide-screen 120Hz and 3D-ready DLP projector that uses BrilliantColor tech?nology to purportedly produce more vibrant colors.

According to the specs, the projector delivers 3,000 lumens with a 1,280x800 WXGA, 16:9 native wide resolution. So, given that resolution, no quite ideal for projecting Avatar on Blu-ray several months from now, which … Read more