CES 2012

LAS VEGAS--While much of the focus on pointing devices went to Microsoft this year for its Touch Mouse, the less profiled accessory company Genius is also here at the show unveiling its own unique mousing solution: the Ring Mouse.

As the name implies, the ring mouse slips right onto your finger. It features a wireless 2.4GHz receiver inside. Using just your thumb, you can control slideshows, PowerPoint slides, and more using two small buttons that act as the left and right clickers on a traditional mouse. For the actual mousing, you simply use the small optical trackpad on top … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Built-in Wi-Fi is becoming less and less of a premium feature in Blu-ray players, but most manufacturers are still producing one budget Ethernet-only model. Along with its line of Wi-Fi Blu-ray players and the flagship, hard-drive packing BD690, LG has announced the entry-level BD630.

Like the BD640, the BD630 offers a stripped-down set of streaming media features (Netflix, Vudu, CinemaNow, and YouTube streaming), rather than the more extensive Smart Apps platform that is available on high-end players. You also won't find other step-up features, such as 3D Blu-ray compatibility or DLNA personal media streaming. Unlike the BD640, there'… Read more

Nyko has had a strong showing at CES over the past few years by introducing innovative third-party accessories for game consoles. Last year the company beat Nintendo to the punch by releasing the Wand+, the first Wii controller to feature MotionPlus built in.

We've gotten a look at the 2011 lineup, and this year Nyko has shifted its focus to target support for PlayStation Move. While we've already seen the two- and four-port Charge Stations for Move, also available in March will be a rifle-shaped Move accessory that should make first-person-shooter games a lot more realistic. Also coming … Read more

Clicky mechanical keyboards, with their Cherry MX switches and robust base units, can be considered a form of keyboard fetishism, but Datamancer's Richard Nagy takes "paraphrenalic technofetishism" to new heights with his custom Victorian computer mods with a steampunk twist.

Check out this Von Slatt revisionist wonder on display at CES 2011. It's a one-off design made specifically for a customer who requested the classic Das Keyboard mechanical peripheral as its core and is built entirely by Nagy's hands. According to the receiver, "the steampunk theme recalls an age when technology was as much 'love and wonder' as 'labor.'"

The artist would not disclose the pricing since each piece is made to order, but Nagy will gladly sell you a DI(mostly)Y keyboard kit to build your own Steampunk/Victorian device!

Click through for more photos of Richard Nagy's Von Slatt keyboard.… Read more

LAS VEGAS--B&W's series of Zeppelin iPod speakers have always been known for their striking design and better-than-average sound quality and at CES 2011 the company announced the Zeppelin Air, now compatible with Apple's new Airplay streaming audio platform.

AirPlay compatibility means you'll be able to stream music wirelessly directly from iOS devices (iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch), either from apps or your own music collection. You'll also able to stream music directly from iTunes on a networked computer. The Zeppelin Air still includes a dock, which is handy in case you want to charge your … Read more

Editor's note: This live event has concluded. For a brief rundown of what was announced, including new electric versions of the Ford Focus and an improved version of the MyFord Touch console, check out our summary post here. You can also replay our live blog in the Cover It Live module below.

LAS VEGAS--Ford CEO Alan Mulally will be delivering a keynote address here Friday morning at 11 a.m. Along with talking about past Ford cabin tech innovations such as Sync and MyFord Touch, we expect him to introduce the Ford Focus electric car.

Ford has maintained a … Read more

Oh, how I've missed you, Chumby. I remember back when you were just a wee little beanbag. I remember your awkward phase as the Chumby One. Then your identity crisis when you morphed into the Sony Dash and the Insignia Infocast. Now, you're all grown up and hanging out at CES with a friggin' 8-inch screen. The time just flies by, doesn't it?

All reminiscing aside, the Chumby 8 looks to be the company's reclaiming of its hardware roots. It's rocking all the same widgets and functions as the original Chumby (news feeds, alarm clock, … Read more

The glory days of the digital camera market are coming to an end.

So concludes analyst firm iSuppli, which forecasts modest growth in coming years followed by decline as camera phones take over.

It'll still be a huge market, with tens of millions of units sold annually--just not as big as it once was after it peaks in 2013, the firm forecast.

"During [2014], shipments are expected to decline by 0.6 percent to 135.4 million units, with low-end DSC [digital still camera] models expected to encounter stiff opposition from the cameras in cell phones, which increasingly … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Recently Orb has been jumping into the hardware business with the Orb MP-1 music streamer and Orb TV video streamer, but the company's announcement today is back on the software side.

Orb is releasing its media-streaming software on a disc designed to be used by Blu-ray players. Simply pop the disc into the Blu-ray player and you'll gain access to the Orb software. The disc is compatible with virtually every Blu-ray player that has a network connection, as it uses the BD-Java standard.

As with other Orb products, you'll need a smartphone and a computer running … Read more