CES - Computers and hardware

CES 2009 wrap-up: What to expect from networking

The main networking themes at CES 2009 were faster, greener, and more diverse.

The nicest surprise, however, was not a product but the return of Buffalo. After two years of court sanctions, Buffalo now has regained the right to sell networking products in North America. It's interesting that in the Chinese calendar, 2009 is also the year of the Ox.

The company offers a few sleek-looking routers, both Wireless-N and Wireless-G. In my experience, Buffalo offers great budget routers, which are affordable and yet reliable at the same time. This is good news for consumers.

While Buffalo's portfolio doesn't contain anything revolutionary, Trendnet D-Link showed off new Wireless-N routers that offer speeds up to 450Mbps, a 50 percent boost from its cap of 300Mbps. This is achieved by adding more single streams to an antenna, much like adding more garden hoses to better the watering. The new technology uses three signal streams per antenna.

The new speed is based on a common standard, and therefore, once certified by the Wi-Fi Alliance, routers and adapters from different vendors will interoperate at the new high speed.

Speaking of the Wi-Fi Alliance, the organization, together with In-Stat, released a report CES at saying that the consumption of Wi-Fi chips increased by 26 percent in 2008. The group expects this momentum to continue into 2009.… Read more

Podcast: Kensington's trackball mouse the 'first of its kind'

LAS VEGAS--Trackballs, keyboards, and Bluetooth car adapters may not be as exciting as many of the products shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, but they are practical and a lot of people buy them. Kensington has been building products like these for years and continues to innovate in these pedestrian but very important categories. Kensington's Leonard Tsang manages to keep podcast host Larry Magid awake and interested as he describes his company's latest products.

Listen now: Download today's podcast

See our complete news coverage from CES here

Intel unveils tablet Classmate PC design

Intel has revealed the design for a tablet version of its Classmate PC, a low-powered Netbook designed for use in primary schools.

The tablet-format Classmate, which was unveiled Friday at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, will let manufacturers build Classmate PCs that can be used either as a standard clamshell laptop or--with a 180-degree swivel of the display--as a touch-screen tablet. As with most Netbooks, it will run on Intel's Atom processor.

"Education is one of the best ways to improve the future for individuals, villages or nations," Lila Ibrahim, the general manager of Intel's emerging-markets platform group, said in a statement Friday. "There are 1.3 billion school-age children around the world and of those only five percent have access to a PC or the internet. The IT industry has a huge opportunity to contribute to how technology can improve students' learning and students' lives."

Ibrahim's division developed the reference design for the convertible Classmate PC based on ethnographic research. Child-friendly features include a water-resistant keyboard and a sturdy frame. Another feature is dubbed "palm rejection"--in tablet mode, the user can rest their palm on the touchscreen while writing, without the screen registering the palm's pressure as input. … Read more

Small TVs are ideal for tailgating...according to Westinghouse

In Westinghouse's press materials it states that either of the following monitors would be an ideal solution for a tailgating party. Finally, vendors are starting to give tailgaters the respect they deserve. No word yet if these TVs/monitors include beer holders.

During CES Westinghouse announced three new LCD HDTVs. The 19-inch PT-19H340S, the 22-inch PT-22H340S, and the 22-inch 1080p PT-22F380S. Each display includes support for 720p (1,366x768) resolution, a 16:9 aspect ratio and a purported 5ms pixel response time.

In addition, each display includes connections and support for ATSC/NTSC/CATV/ClearQAM tuner, which allow for … Read more

Viewsonic's square-shaped PC to mount your monitor

I guess I can thank Viewsonic for ensuring that I'm not writing about monitors and monitors only for CES 2009. The company has made a few attempts to diversify its product line, and I for one appreciate it, if for no other reason than you can say only so much about HDMI connections and screen sizes before you're driven batty. Take it from one whose been there (and maybe is still there).

The LinkPC or ViePC (Viewsonic's press material claims two different names) is Viewsonic's most unique offering at CES. The LinkPC is a small, square-shaped … Read more

Viewsonic's all-in-one PC perfect for call centers, not so much high-end gaming

I'm starting to notice a trend among monitor vendors. Simply selling monitors just isn't enough anymore. We already covered BenQ's foray into the all-in-one PC market and now Viewsonic is following suit.

During CES, Viewsonic announced the VPC100 all-in-one PC. The VPC100 is 35mm thin, and following the monitor trend of CES 2009, has a 18.5-inch 16:9 LCD screen.

Powered by an Intel Atom 1.6GHz CPU and 1GB RAM, the system also has a 160GB hard drive, Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11b/g Wi-Fi, a 1.3-megapixel Webcam, DVD +/- RW drive, integrated stereo speakers, … Read more

Had enough of Netbooks yet? Viewsonic hopes not

Seems like you can't swing a dead thumb drive on a string around at CES without it hitting some vendor's new Netbook. Many are stepping into the Netbook ring--even vendors that have never tried anything like one before; Viewsonic is an example.

During CES, the company announced its first ever Netbook, called the Viebook. The Viebook weighs 2.6 pounds, has a 10.2-inch screen and is powered by a Intel Atom 1.6GHz CPU and 1GB of RAM.

The Netbook also features a 160GB hard drive, 10/100 Ethernet, 802.11b/g Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 1.3 megapixel … Read more

Westinghouse gets on the 'Full HD' train

Along with pretty much every other monitor vendor, Westinghouse is moving to a 16:9, "Full HD" format for its monitors. This means that these new displays will be able to display 720p or 1080p HD content without stretching the image.

Other than "Full HD," not much is new about the new lineup.

Here are the specifications on the three new unreleased models.

L2031NW (20-inch class LCD monitor) Available: Second half 2009; Price: TBD

20-inch TFT LCD monitor, 20.0-inch diagonal viewable True HD 16:9 aspect ratio, 1,600x900-pixel resolution 0.277x0.277mm pixel pitch … Read more

ViewSonic stoops low (in price) for this 24-incher

It wasn't all stereoscopic screens and crazy 3D glasses at ViewSonic's showing at CES. The company also introduced a new 24-inch monitor, the VX2433.

In keeping with what seems to be a trend with monitors at this year's CES, the new 24-inch display has a 16:9 aspect ratio and includes a "Full HD" 1,920x1,080-pixel resolution. However, connection options are limited to HDMI, so I hope that ViewSonic includes at least a DVI-to-HDMI cable.

The display has a 2ms pixel response time and an aspect ratio adjustment that, according to the company, ensures … Read more

Samsung still adding 'Touch of Color' to monitors

Samsung has been doing the whole "Touch of Color" (ToC) thing for a few years now. Samsung injects a bit subtle color in monitor bezels, enhancing (depending on your tastes) the aesthetics of the monitor and brands it "Touch of Color."

I don't mind ToC, but I still prefer jet black. My own tastes not withstanding, Samsung is still pushing ToC and it had three monitors at CES 2009 to show it off: the P2070, P2270, and P2370.

Each of the three displays has a transparent bezel with gray shading that gives the edges a … Read more