Now with the dust settling on CES 2012, the home video landscape looks surprisingly like it did before CES, albeit with a few bright spots. But any streaming-video lover (i.e. me) who was hoping for some major progress (and maybe even a few surprises) at this year's show was likely more disappointed than otherwise.… Read more
LAS VEGAS--Sound bars have gotten cheaper, and they sound better and have more connectivity than ever before. Now, apparently you can snap them in half, even if you never wanted to.
Panasonic and Samsung both had "splittable" sound bars here at CES 2012 and I felt like I saw more of them on the show floor. The idea is you can split the bar into two speakers, place them on a stand, and create a more traditional 2.1 speaker system.
It's a nifty-looking feature, but it doesn't solve a problem anybody has ever had with a sound bar. I get plenty of reader mail about sound bars, but nobody has ever asked about a sound bar that can transform into separate speakers, probably because when they bought a sound bar, they wanted a sound bar.… Read more
LAS VEGAS--Verisonix's e-Speaker appears to contain technology so advanced it looks like magic. The speaker consists of two flat rectangular objects covered in a black material that are not only really thin and flexible, but emit a crisp sound comparable with larger speakers.
The secret apparently lies with electrets--a sheet of metal that has electrostatic qualities similar to a magnet and serves as the diaphragm. This is unlike a normal electrostatic speaker, which uses graphite as the diaphragm.
The main advantage of this technology is its very low power consumption. How low? As low as 0.1W. … Read more
LAS VEGAS--Quality audio speakers aren't usually about fashion. But that's exactly what PerSuede Audio is trying to change.
A couple of Southern Californian audio freaks with years of experience in the industry have spent more than three years and $250,000 in savings to develop this speaker system.
They're showing them off at the startup area of CES and working the rooms with representatives from Apple and elsewhere with hopes of bringing them to market.
The speaker market is obviously competitive--CES, for one, is packed with speakers that play music from iPhones and other devices--but the team … Read more
LAS VEGAS--The miniscule theKube2 MP3 player has been a runaway hit sold through 7-Eleven stores in Singapore. Now its maker is hoping it goes big in the U.S. after a CES launch.
The main selling point for the wee little music box is its wee little size. Bluetree Electronics calls it the "smallest touch MP3 player in the world."
You could lose it in the depths of a big pocket. It's so small, a pet rat could use it. A very technically advanced pet rat, that is.
Despite its size, theKube2 is pretty sturdy. The body … Read more
LAS VEGAS--It's easy to get caught up playing with the AR.Drone WiFi quadracopter at the Parrot booth here at CES and almost almost miss one of the smartest pairs of headphones around.
Most products by French designer Philippe Starck come with a simple yet elegant appeal, and the Parrot Zik by Starck headphones are no exception.
However, what captured our attention about the Zik is really all the underlying technology it incorporates. Besides supporting active noise-cancellation technology, it also sports a touch-sensitive panel for tasks such as volume control. The Zik can be connected to devices via Bluetooth or a 3.5mm analogue line-in. It even comes with compatible apps on iOS and Android smartphones. … Read more
When CNET first covered Samsung's DA-E750 based on the pre-CES press release, it was easy to be skeptical.
The built-in tube preamp can seem a bit gimmicky and it's hard to not grin at the coincidence that the dock can support both iOS and Samsung Galaxy S devices.
But the DA-E750 fares much better in a real hands-on scenario. I had a chance to listen to the DA-E750 in a private listening room in the Samsung booth, where they had it matched it up to the Bose SoundDock. Listening conditions were less than ideal with the anarchy of CES just outside the room's wafer thin walls, but to my ears the Samsung DA-E750 sounded a notch or two better than the Bose. It's never a good idea to judge sound quality based on canned manufacturer demos, but I'll be interested in spending some time listening to the DA-E750 when it's released.… Read more
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