When the internal codename for a new processor is Santa Rosa Refresh, you might think that there wasn’t much new really going on under the hood. But Intel’s latest Core 2 Duo Processor, based on a groundbreaking 45-nanometer manufacturing process and also known as Penryn, is a big deal for several key reasons. For starters, Intel’s HD Boost technology (which can handle what’s called SSE4 instructions) promises better multimedia performance, especially video encoding and editing. This should come in handy as high-definition camcorders come down in price. In fact, Intel promises up to 70 percent higher performance when encoding high-def video and up to a 30 percent speed boost for apps like photo editing, retouching, and publishing. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

We managed to get our lucky paws on Gateway’s first-ever gaming machine, the P-171XL FX. We threw this bad boy through our tests to find out how well the latest gaming laptop holds up to the most system-crunching games, including Crysis.

At first glance, it’s obvious that this laptop was made for gaming and multimedia. The FX has a glossy black shell with orange, silver, and carbon fiber colored accents (think Halloween). Gateway packs a full-sized keyboard with a numeric keypad and a copper border. We also appreciate the large trackpad and included fingerprint reader.

Above the display are a 1.3-megapixel webcam, a microphone, and a small blue LED light that glows when the webcam is on. Even at just 1.3 MP, the camera produced a crisp picture that reproduced colors quite well and wasn’t too dark or too light.

Five multimedia buttons, including DVD, Windows Media Center, and music quick-launch buttons sit just above the keyboard, surrounded by what appears to be a magnesium-alloy insert. Each orange-glowing button is flush with the surface, making for a clean-looking package. There’s even a touch-button volume control, which was awesome for tweaking the volume on the fly.

Belkin is hitting CES with lots of new products. Of the most interesting are the new laptop cases, the RockStar, and its wireless HD FlyWire device.

For laptop travelers, the Ceylon Messenger Bag ($49.99) for laptops looks stylish and comfortable. We like the idea that you also don’t have to worry about your bag falling down as you get ready to slide your laptop in since it stands upright on its own. The Laptop Hideway ($49.99), on the other hand, doesn’t look like it’s meant for taking out in public. The storage bag is supposed to keep your laptop and accessories out of the way. Those having to move their laptop from room to room and not in favor of carrying with their hands will find the Hideway useful.

We are happy to see that not all announcements at the show have to do with fancy HDTVs. Hauppauge announced today its WinTV-HVR-1950, a new high performance USB based TV tuner that will work with your laptop. The WinTV-HVR-1950 allows laptop users to watch, pause and record NTSC, ATSC or clear QAM digital TV onto their hard drive. We are also happy to hear that the WinTV-HVR-1950 supports NTSC analog cable TV, over the air ATSC high definition digital TV plus clear QAM digital cable TV.

To improve the performance of analog cable TV recording in Vista Media Center, the WinTV-HVR-1950 also has a built-in MPEG-2 encoder. The WinTV-HVR-1950 can also use the built-in hardware MPEG-2 encoder to record video from S-Video or composite A/V inputs from cable TV or satellite set top boxes. WinTV-HVR-1950 will be available in February 2008 for $149.

Kensington announced today three new Contour Balance laptop cases made specifically for professional women. This isn’t like that strong enough for a man made for a woman mumbo jumbo – these bags are strictly for women. The top loader case, backpack and roller were designed for women who demand staying hip with the latest fashion trends–each case is finished in either onyx and white or chocolate and cream, with contrasting floral paisley or graphic print along the interior.

The bags don’t skimp on the protection either. The company’s AirBrake cushioning system provides the support while the overall weight of each case has been reduced to make them easier to carry.

“We shaped them to fit the contours of a woman’s body, which makes carrying them more natural,” Ly Nguyen, Regional Product Manager, says in the Company’s press release. Are we sure Kensington didn’t just announce a feminine hygiene product?

The Kensington Contour Balance Case will be available for $79.99, the Contour Balance Backpack for $69.99 and the Contour Balance Roller for $119.99. All cases will be available this month for pre-order at Amazon.com and Kensington.com and at other major retailers in February.

Gamers can rejoice today (though maybe only male gamers). Sandio launched its 3D Game O2 Mouse that is specifically designed to provide a completely 3D experience. Users of Google Earth, Microsoft Virtual Earth and Second Life residents can breezily fly through the worlds.

Though not wireless, the mouse has 16 programmable commands and players can control camera views just with the mouse. Glow lights on the mouse allow for adjusting different dpi level setting. Even better, the mouse comes with a removable ergonomic wrist support. The Sandio 3D Game O2 mouse is now available in the U.S for $79.99.

When one thinks of iRiver, solid digital audio players are what typically come to mind, but with the WING, the company is going all Lewis and Clark on us by expanding into fresh territory-the handheld PC market. Featuring a 4-inch touchscreen OLED screen, a Windows CE Pro operating system, Wi-Fi connectivity, VoIP capabilities, and a web browser, the Wing looks like a potentially handy device for hopping online in a pinch, but the paltry 4GB of flash storage (a SD card slot is also available for sideloading content) will fill up swiftly once you feed the unit with music and video. We’ll drudge up more details on price and availability as we comb the show floor.

These days you can pick up a decent notebook for under $800, but what if you have two grand to blow? Or three grand? Well, Sony has something for every big spender with its new VAIO Premium PC line, offering souped-up specs of existing models ranging from the 11-inch TZ series all the way up to the 17-inch AR series. Three of these systems have Intel’s new 45-nanometer T8000 or T9000 series processors inside. Read on for the highlights.

With the latest mylo, Sony set out to address all the major beefs users had with the company’s first stab at a mobile Internet device for hipsters. The new model sports a bigger high-res touchscreen. There are more instant messaging clients, including AIM, Yahoo, and Google Talk. And there’s full Flash support for watching YouTube videos and playing games, Ajax support for accessing sites like Facebook, and a built-in camera. This $299 Wi-Fi device is much improved, so why don’t all of these enhancements add up to a compelling experience?

Consumers have been pretty apathetic towards the whole high-def DVD format war, but Toshiba’s new Qosmio G45-AV690 does a lot more than play movies from a limited number of studios.

As the first notebook with an HD-DVD-R/RW drive, you can use this system to burn gobs of content to re-usable discs, including your own high-definition home movies with the included copy of Ulead DVD MovieFactory.

To get you jazzed about watching HD-DVD flicks on the Qosmio’s gorgeous 17-inch, 1080p display (or your big-screen TV via the system’s HDMI port), Toshiba is offering five HD DVD movie titles for free through a limited time mail-in offer. Other highlights include an external CableCard-ready HDTV tuner, the latest T9300 Core 2 Duo processor, and blazing Nvidia GeForce 8600M GT graphics.

And you get the same sleek design, handy media controls, and powerful Harman Kardon speakers that made the Qosmio G45 one of our top desktop replacements. Just be prepared to cough up some serious cash; this config will run you $3,199.

This could easily be one of the hottest ultraportables of the year. The 2-pound U2E combines a premium design–complete with a polished plated hinge, leather touches, and copper etch detailing–with a power-efficient 32GB solid state drive and an 11-inch, LED-backlit display.

The result is a shockingly gorgeous machine whose data is protected from shock. And although Lenovo already announced a similar feature with its new IdeaPad U110, the U2E’s Smart Logon Facial Recognition Technology (which works with the webcam) certainly sweetens the deal. Pricing and availability should be announced shortly.

One of the few holdouts is finally joining the mobile broadband party. Today Fujitsu announced that it would be offering HSUPA-enabled versions of its U810 and T2010 notebooks this March, offering blazing uplink speeds of 500 to 800 Kbps and downlink speeds up to 1.4 Mbps using AT&T’s network. The U810 is Fujitsu’s UMPC, which features a 5.6-inch swivel screen, tiny but serviceable keyboard, and up to 5.5 hours of battery life. It weighs a mere 1.6 pounds. The 3.5-pound T2010 is a full-size convertible, complete with a 12.1-inch LED-backlit display. Both WWAN-equipped models sport an unsightly antenna, kind of surprising given that most other notebook vendors ditched those a while ago. But we’ll forgive the aesthetic intrusion is the performance is as good as promised. How much more this wireless freedom will cost you? Pricing isn’t set yet; we’re guessing in the $150 to $200 range.

Usually we frown upon an ultraportable getting bigger, but this is one redesign we’re psyched about. Fujitsu has managed to increase the size of the P7230’s screen from 10.6 inches to 12 inches while keeping the weight under 3 pounds. The result is the LifeBook P8010, a glossy black and silver laptop that measures a travel-friendly 11.2 x 8.3 x 1.4 inches and boasts an LED widescreen. Expect up to 6.5 hours of battery life from this system, which will be powered by an Intel Core 2 Duo processor. Other reasons to snatch this little guy up come February are the optional webcam, TPM and fingerprint security, and built-in DVD burner. The only thing missing is integrated mobile broadband. Starting price: a reasonable $1,699.