Iain McDonald's CES blog

Samsung's Touch Screen Media Center Boombox

Tucked in the corner of Samsung's booth is the RTS-A1100 media center. This boombox style device houses a 4.3" touch screen for navigation of it's built-in DVD player, 80gb Hard Disc with the ability to rip CDs, Bluetooth and iPod interface. The gesture controlled device has two 20watt speakers with video out being handled by component or composite outputs. While the UI still has a way to go before launch you should be able to get your hands on it for about $499 somewhere in the second half of 2008.

Belkin shows off it's Podcasting solution

Belkin have introduced the TuneStudio's little brother, the PodcastStudio (apparently dropping spaces is the new dropping vowels). The two channel recorder that works buy attaching your iPod features two movable built-in microphones as well as combo XLR / 1/4" inputs for other microphones and a built in speaker. It works with all the latest iPods excluding the Touch and the iPhone. It should retail for around $100 when it ships later this year.

Sony Demos TransferJet Wireless Technology

Sony have announced their close proximity wireless transfer concept dubbed TransferJet. The system is designed to be embedded into digital cameras, media players and mobile phones and can send data at speeds of up to 560Mbps over a range of 3cm. Still very much in its development stage, Sony envision this technology being placed in billboards that deliver content to portable devices or the built into computers for easy transfer of files. Simplicity is the name of the game and so no pairing is required between devices with no privacy issues due to its low range. At their booth Sony more

B&W liberates its speakers

Yet another nail has been placed on the coffin of the poor old wire, and this time it's British speaker manufacturer Bowers & Wilkins wielding the hammer. B&W have been showing off their wireless Home Theater in a Box solution, The Liberty. The system can handle up to eight separate channels, allowing a full 5.1 setup in one room with a two-channel system in another. Four speakers will be available when the system launches at the end of 2008: the floor standing XTW8, the bookshelf XTW2, the XTW Center and the PVW1 Sub. The system looks amazing. The more

Ion brings old and new together

Everything these days comes with an iPod dock, its a fact of life. Keen to not be left out, Ion have grafted on an iPod dock to their USB turntable. The LP Dock allows transfer of vinyl to PC or Mac via USB as well as directly copying to an attached iPod. All the standard turntable features are present as well as a built in preamp for connection to any device with a line level input. The included software will remove any clicks and pops as well accessing Gracenote's database. Any incoming audio is analyzed and all the track more

Sony rolls onto US shores

Thats right folks, Sony will be bringing its egg shaped, robotic, bluetooth entertainment device to stores all across America from spring '08. The Rolly has 2GB of flash memory to store tracks on the device and a bluetooth connection that allows you to stream music from a computer or phone. The Rolly will then move its "arms" and wheels to the beat of the music that is being played. Alternatively, you can become a choreographer and create your own routines for the Rolly to repeat endlessly for your pleasure. Apparently this device is meant to provide an alternate solution for more

Belkin's FlyWire Wireless HDMI

I think you would all agree that there is nothing cooler than a flat screen TV hanging on your wall. I think you would also agree that there is nothing worse than a wirey mess hanging from said screen. Luckily, many companies at this years CES are showing wireless HDMI in various forms and Belkin is no exception. The FlyWire is a wireless, two piece device that connects to your HDMI devices in your AV rack and sends them to the receiver that fits neatly behind your TV. It is capable of delivering 1080p content over an undisclosed range and more

Panasonic shows off the Worlds Largest Plasma

Panasonic has once again outdone themselves and unveiled their behemoth 150" plasma. This beast is no ordinary plasma; Designed for commercial and Cinema installations, it's the size of nine 50" TVs so it won't fit in your average living room. Whats more, its native resolution is 4k, 4 times the resolution of that 1080p set you have at home. No word on availability or pricing yet but don't expect this monster to be cheap.

Hitachi Debuts its line of 1.5" thick LCD TVs

There are two schools of thought here at CES; Those who can build the biggest and those who can build the slimmest. Hitachi is in the latter with its achingly thin line of LCD TVs dubbed 1.5. This is of course referring to its waif-like depth of 1.5". Three sizes will be available at launch starting at 32", 37" and topping out at 42". Naturally the 37" and 42" screens are 1080p and have 120Hz technology to reduce motion blur. So how are Hitachi getting them so slim? Well, they are using a combination of proprietary technologies, component more