ces 2007

Developments in the Blu-ray/HD DVD format war kicked into high gear in the past couple of months. November and December saw the bulk of the long-delayed HD product lines finally hitting store shelves: Blu-ray players from Sony, Panasonic, and Philips; the PlayStation 3; the Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on; and the second-generation Toshiba HD DVD players. In the new year, both camps came out swinging at CES 2007. With so much news to process, we've taken the opportunity to collect all the major developments into one easily digestible chunk.

Enter the combo player: LG officially unveiled the BH100, … Read more

If you buy one of Coby's new MP3 video players when they become available this spring, you'll also get a coupon good for 50 songs from eMusic.

The flagships of Coby's new models are the 20GB MP-C951 ($249) and the 30GB MP-C961 ($279 to $289), both stylish players with red-backlit, touch-sensitive buttons arrayed on a handsome black plastic case below a bright, 2-inch LCD. Both units can handle a variety of A/V formats--MP3, WMA, OGG, WAV, and Xvid--and include an FM radio with recording capabilities and a voice recorder.

Also eligible for an eMusic coupon are … Read more

In what seems to be the Swiss Army knife of portables, the S-XGen ultramobile personal computer (UMPC) from Seamless Internet includes an Intel PXA270 Xscale 520MHz processor running Windows CE 5.0 operating system, Microsoft Office Mobile, 256MB of RAM, a 20GB hard drive, Wi-Fi (802.11b), Bluetooth and tri-band GSM/EDGE/CDMA EV-DO network access, Ethernet and USB ports, a 4-inch TFT LCD touch screen, a 280 pixel Web video camera, and a fold-out QWERTY keyboard, all of which collapse into a package measuring 6.5x3.8x1.25 inches and weighing 14 ounces.

Eight hours of battery life accommodates … Read more

Challenging the Keyspan TuneView is iJet's black two-way RF iPod remote (available in March for $129.95), which lets you view your tracks and control your player from up to 500 feet away. (This was measured in an open space, always a popular RF-range caveat; since there are walls in the real world, your results may vary.)

The iJet is a fraction of TuneView's size, just a bit smaller than a Nano. Both your iPod and the remote charge in a dock, which transmits the contents and EQ settings menus to the remote for viewing and choosing in … Read more

One size fits all with the latest memory-free MP3/video player from HandHeld Entertainment, the Zvue Model 260. Instead of making several models of different capacities, Zvue lets you decide how much memory you need. The entry level configuration of the Model 260 ($99.99) will include a starter 512MB SD card instead, but the slot will accept a card as large as 4GB when it becomes available mid-year.

Physically, the silver-and-black player bears more than a passing resemblance to an iPod. It measures 4.16 x 2.4 x 0.5-inches, a hair long and thicker than a video … Read more

The MP3 player takes on a whole new dimension--literally--with the Walletex Wallet MP3 player. It measures a measly 2mm/0.091 inch thin--thinner than a pair of credit cards and slim and tough enough to store in a credit card wallet slot.

On one side of the player are the usual transport keys that require a forceful push, which means the thing won't accidentally start playing when it's in your wallet and you're sitting on it.

Sticking out from one end is a unique all-purpose sliver USB jack that's the same thickness as the rest of … Read more

It's been a year since we were first introduced to Monsoon Multimedia's Hava device, a placeshifting product that delivered a handful of features--Wi-Fi connectivity, multicast functionality, and Windows Media Center integration--not found on the category-leading Slingbox. Hava went on to release its flagship product in late 2006, and the company has since licensed the technology to Pinnacle, which sells a Hava clone called PCTV To Go.

At CES 2006, Hava was showing off a new entry-level product called the Hava Gold HD. It's housed in a different enclosure than the Hava Wireless HD, and it loses that … Read more

Harman Kardon is best known in the automotive world for its audio equipment, but here at CES 2007, the company has taken a leap into the crowded world of portable GPS devices with the unveiling of its Guide + Play GPS-500. Like most portable navigation devices on the market nowadays, the GPS-500 is more than a digital wayfinder: it can play a range of audio (MP3/AAC/WMA) and video (MPEG-4/WMV9) media formats and will even display album artwork in glorious Technicolor. Media is played from a 4GB SD card that slots into the top of the bezel. Maps and … Read more

Silex Technology America's new wiDock is a pretty hip iPod dock that lets you sync your iPod wirelessly (if you just can't wait for that feature to show up in the iPod itself) via a built-in 802.11b/g module. Its 3.5mm stereo audio and S-Video outputs let you use the wiDock with your home stereo and television set, as well. The dock also has an IR sensor on it that lets you control playback with a standard Apple Remote. Not a bad product at around $120, though maybe not as cool as one with wireless USB, … Read more