CES 2012: Computers and Hardware

Intel today said that as many as 60 thin and sleek ultrabooks will be available this year based on its latest mobile processors.

During a press conference at CES today, the chip giant today at CES talked up the performance and convenience of ultrabooks. Inspired by the MacBook Air, ultrabooks are thin and light laptops with a full keyboard that promise a quick boot-up and longer battery life.

Last year, tablets dominated CES hardware demos but this year many ultrabooks are on display. Intel estimates there are 15 models are already available and its processor roadmap will bring the third … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Ultrabooks, those super-thin laptops aiming to compete with Apple's MacBook Air, are among the most talked up gadgets at this year's Consumer Electronics Show, and no company is hyping the devices more than Intel.

The chipmaker got its first opportunity at this morning's press conference, where Intel Vice President Mooly Eden provided an update on the company's ultrabook efforts, touting an ever-evolving "ecosystem" with future ultrabooks featuring touch, NFC, and gesture-based gaming. Among other things, Eden introduced a Nikiski clamshell concept that, when closed, offers a touchpad showing a tile-based interface.

You can … Read more

Thunderbolt, the high-speed port technology from Intel that so far appears only on Apple computers, just got a shot in the arm from Elgato with new portable solid-state drives.

At the CES show today, Elgato announced two models of its new Thunderbolt SSD. The $429.95 120GB model and the $699.95 240GB model will ship in February, the company said.

The drives can transfer data at 270MBps and will work with both Macs and Windows machines. They draw power from a computer over the Thunderbolt cable itself, with no need or ability to get power on their own.

SSDs … Read more

The Consumer Electronics Show has barely kicked off and the outlook is decidedly cloudy.

First Acer outlined its cloud plan, which revolves around basically copying other services. Sync your documents and pictures across devices—as long as they’re Acer. Sound familiar? You bet. Acer cribbed everything that Apple, Amazon, Google, and others do.

Right after Acer’s move, Lenovo launched its “personal cloud” vision. Lenovo’s pitch: Bridge four screens including TVs, smartphones, tablets, and PCs. Of course, your mileage will vary. For instance, Lenovo’s smartphone footprint is limited to China.

In Lenovo’s statement, the company pretty … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Dropcam, which has made a name for itself for providing a user-friendly, easy-to-setup video-monitoring camera and service, has taken the wraps off its new video-monitoring camera, the Dropcam HD.

While Dropcam has just announced the product--and is shipping it later this month for $149--I've been playing around with an early sample for the past week. It has an interesting design and is fairly tiny. The camera can be removed from its stand (when you hook it up to your computer, you take it out of its stand), but most people will leave it in its stand and either set it up on a flat surface or mount it on a wall.

You can't swivel the camera remotely, but you can manually tilt and swivel the camera into almost any position. It's a fixed lens, which means there's no optical zoom, but Dropcam is now offering a digital-zoom feature. … Read more

Marvell Semiconductor is trying to get in on the ground floor of the smart home.

Today at the Consumer Electronics Show, the company announced a chipset that can add wireless networking to home appliances and LED light fixtures. The gear is designed to make it relatively cheap for manufacturers to make connected versions of common goods, such as thermostats and dishwashers.

A smart home that lets people remotely monitor and control appliances and electronics is likely to be a theme at CES this year as it was last year.

One of the technical challenges with making household items network-aware is … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Expect Microsoft, in its last ever Consumer Electronics Show, to end its long run with more of a whimper than a bang.

No doubt, there will be some pizzazz to tonight's keynote address from CEO Steve Ballmer. The opening keynote address at the world's largest consumer technology tradeshow is a marketing opportunity like few others. The company will showcase its key consumer products, demonstrating them with some flair and perhaps a celebrity or two.

But Microsoft doesn't plan to unveil any new major products at the show. That may seem odd in a year that promises … Read more

LAS VEGAS--It's always frustrating to find a dead spot in your wireless networking. Fortunately there's now an easy and affordable fix, the new 300Mbps Easy-N Range Extender, model TEW-736RE from Trendnet.

The company introduced the new device at CES 2012 and claims that it will help extend the range of your wireless network within minutes.

According to Trendnet, all you have to do is place the TEW-736RE in an area of low wireless coverage, then simply press the Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) button on your router or access point, then on the TEW-736RE and you're done: the … Read more