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Hands-on with Unity home theater

During CES, I got a chance to hook up with Engage, the company behind Unity, a well-built home theater system.

Unity is the brainchild of Todd Beauchamp, an ex-Apple audio engineer (he worked closely on iPhone acoustics, for example) and Mike Fidler, an individual with a strong marketing and engineering background in Sony.

The sound system looks familiar because it has a design similar to the many sound bar and subwoofer combos out there, but stacked on top of each other. Unlike most sound bars, Unity's modular design has a depth to it that can support a 60-inch TV.

I quickly learned that the idea is a "system that can be set up in little as 15 minutes," Beauchamp said enthusiastically. You can tell that a lot of time and dedication went into the first version of the home theater and future versions could be compelling as the design evolves. … Read more

The future of home video limps forward at CES 2012

LAS VEGAS--The idea of bringing the Web to your TV has been around since the mid-'90s and it seems like every CES in the past few years has been "the" year for Smart TV.

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

SmartDock for Sony Xperia Ion gives an extra jolt

LAS VEGAS--The 4G LTE-equipped Sony Xperia Ion is a nice handset, but what makes it truly powerful is the little known SmartDock accessory.

Aside from the usual role of charging the Ion, it also has several features worth looking at.

For example, like with several other Android smartphone docks out there, an HDMI port mirrors your phone's display on the TV. You can see in our hands-on picture that there's a simple interface for browsing among content and features. Certain TV remotes will also be able to control media playback, presumably through HDMI-CEC.

Perhaps what's most interesting … Read more

New dumb trend at CES: Splittable sound bars

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

Lanchiya's iPhone/iPod speakers are crazy cool

LAS VEGAS--These are not your typical iPhone/iPod speakers, and that's the way Lanchiya, a Chinese digital audio company, likes it.

We're guessing you've probably never heard of Lanchiya, but you might already be familiar with one of its products, the iPig stereo dock. The cute pig-shaped iPod speaker is just one of those novelty products that make for fun gifts.

Lanchiya's whole goal is to make high-quality, great-sounding speakers at a fraction of the prices set by some of the other high-end home audio companies, such as Bose. And it's doing it with flair. … Read more

Boston Acoustics' ultrasmall SoundWare XS speakers star in minimalist 2.1 system

LAS VEGAS--Boston Acoustics' SoundWare XS 5.1 system is about as small as you can make a 5.1 speaker system. Unless of course you ditched three of the speakers and the need for a separate AV receiver.

That's the thinking behind the new SoundWare XS Digital Cinema Surround Sound Speaker system, which features just two tiny SoundWare XS speakers, a compact subwoofer, and built-in amplification. It comes with a credit card-style remote and brackets for wall-mounting the front speakers.

The 100-watt system features both optical and analog inputs, as well as Bluetooth connectivity, allowing you to stream … Read more

Polk revives the I-Sonic tabletop radio with the ES3

LAS VEGAS--When CNET reviewed Polk's I-Sonic ES2 almost four years (!) ago, we knocked it for lacking then-cutting-edge features like a CD/DVD player, satellite radio, USB port, and network audio functionality.

Fast-forward to 2012 and the story is the same, but the details have changed, with Polk's recently announced I-Sonic ES3 lacking many of the cutting-edge features we've seen on competing iPhone speakers, such as AirPlay and Bluetooth. Even the USB-looking port on the back, but close inspection reveals it's for service-use only.

Still, the I-Sonic's real claim-to-fame was always performance, not features, which is … Read more

LP 2 GO is the iPod of vinyl record players

LAS VEGAS--Having hauled my record collection from state to state, I know that vinyl is pretty much the antithesis of portability. Ion Audio's LP 2 GO is making me think differently about my stash of Dylan and Stones records.

Ion has been spinning around in the digital turntable market for a while. The LP 2 GO takes that same tech and shrinks it down to something you can toss into a backpack. You'll still have to pack those big record platters around, though.

LP 2 GO has a built-in speaker and headphone output. You can blast your tunes or convert them to MP3 format via USB with the bundled software. It plays both 33s and 45s.… Read more

Low Latency No. 5: It's like 3D-printing 'Inception!'

LAS VEGAS--We've seen some pretty wacky and innovative technology here at CES, but 3D printers have really caught our attention.

These plastic weaving machines are finally coming down in price and flirting with affordability, but we thought it'd be fun to propose a 3D printer which, well, can print another 3D printer. … Read more

TheKube2: A mini-MP3 player hit from Singapore

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