ces

After such a thrilling end to the Super Bowl, it's no surprise that a record number of sports fans e-mailed, text messaged, and called each other during the big game.

And the carriers weathered the surge in traffic despite a jump in usage. The wireless carriers may not always have the best record at big confabs--many fared poorly at the Consumer Electronic Show--but they stepped it up for the Super Bowl.

Ensuring adequate wireless coverage is crucial because the high-profile event garners so much scrutiny and attention. For Verizon Wireless, which is the official NFL wireless sponsor, the … Read more

A handful of prototype laptops spotted at CES with Microsoft's Kinect hardware built in are currently generating some serious buzz.

Originally a hardware add-on for the Xbox 360 game console, the Kinect has the potential to be built into a lot of devices, at least those that run Windows. Enterprising hobbyists have already hacked it to work on PCs, and the next step is to take the bulky oversize Webcam hardware and shrink it down so it fits inside a laptop, with no external hardware required.

The Daily originally pointed out these prototypes, and described them as follows: "The devices, which at first glance appear to be Asus Netbooks running Windows 8, feature an array of small sensors stretching over the top of the screen where the Webcam would normally be. At the bottom of the display is a set of what appear to be LEDs."

My colleague Scott Stein was aptly dubious:… Read more

It's not every year that laptops take center stage (or even close to it) at CES. But in 2012, a combination of ultrabook hype and inventive product designs combined to make portable computers the most interesting category of the show.

A few weeks back, during CES, we shot the second version of what we're now calling the Laptop Talk Show. The show was streamed live online, and shot in front of a live audience, but has not been made available for on-demand viewing until now. This year's version features myself, Scott Stein, and Molly Wood going over … Read more

Windows 8 is stable on the ARM chip platform and will be seeded to developers soon, sources told CNET. Devices may be priced significantly less than their Intel counterparts, too.

Windows 8 on ARM should go to developers in February, said one source, who had some hands-on time with a high-profile device from a major PC maker, adding that Windows 8 was impressive and stable.

"In October of last year. [Windows 8 on ARM] scared the industry because it was unstable. But what we are seeing now is quite stable," said another source, who also confirmed an expected … Read more

Back from CES, we show off some video clips of our favorite products, Ty tells us why OLED matters, and Scott and Dan debate the best laptop for covering trade shows.

… Read more

If you love sharing your travel stories and photos, road-tripping app HipGeo recently got a redesign that lets users document and share their experiences with remarkable ease.

The free iPhone and iPad app from Los Angeles-based HipGeo passively records your location as you travel. It can then mash your pics and comments into an animated map and travel diary for sharing.

The app tags photos, adds captions, and pinpoints its location on a map. You can share by logging on to the HipGeo site and clicking on "create and share trip." Dead simple. … Read more

Nearly 18 months ago, One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) laid out plans to introduce a $100, education-focused tablet. While the design and features of that original mockup have changed, at CES 2012, OLPC and Marvell finally introduced a working model, the X0 3.0.

We briefly covered the announcement during CES week, but in getting some hands-on time with the device and speaking with the developers of this unique tablet, it got me thinking. With its low-power, low-cost approach to tablets, is there anything useful the XO 3.0 can teach consumer tablet manufacturers?

Honestly, to avoid burying the lede too much here, I'll say that I'm not sure it can. What sets the XO 3.0 apart from consumer tablets is that consumers won't actually have access to it.… Read more

Jeff: First, a disclaimer. I happen to think Razer makes great products. I've personally reviewed a handful of its gaming accessories and have, on average, been impressed each and every time.

For the second time in a row now, though, Razer has nabbed the People's Voice Award at CES, this time with the impressive yet borderline science fiction Project Fiona portable gaming tablet.

While it's certainly an impressive concept design, one has to wonder where "concept" ends and where practicality begins. We finally got some hands-on time with last year's winner, the Razer Blade gaming laptop, but even its design has seen significant changes compared with just 12 months ago. Will Project Fiona suffer the same fate?… Read more

This year's CES was pretty dismal for anyone interested in wireless. Sure, AT&T had some good stuff and the Microsoft launched the LTE Windows Phone 7. But other than that, most people would've been better off hitting the snooze button.

Last year, by contrast, AT&T and especially Verizon Wireless made a huge splash with 4G announcements. There was so much excitement that I thought it might upstage the CTIA Show in the spring, which could have faded into oblivion like so … Read more