ces.laptopmag.com http://ces.laptopmag.com Fri, 25 Jan 2008 22:32:05 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.1 en Best of CES: The Video http://ces.laptopmag.com/best-of-ces-the-video http://ces.laptopmag.com/best-of-ces-the-video#comments Fri, 25 Jan 2008 20:35:49 +0000 Avram Piltch http://ces.laptopmag.com/best-of-ces-the-video Staff reporter Joanna Stern hosts this video, highlighting the achievements of our 2008 Best of CES award winners.

]]> http://ces.laptopmag.com/best-of-ces-the-video/feed Done. http://ces.laptopmag.com/done http://ces.laptopmag.com/done#comments Fri, 11 Jan 2008 02:48:20 +0000 Sarah E. Anderson http://ces.laptopmag.com/done Being pregnant at the show was not easy. My body did not always follow my determination to get to every meeting, stand, listen, and take notes. Morning sickness ensued, as did some light-headedness, at which point I was afraid I might pass out. But overall, I managed to see far more products than I had [...]]]> feet upBeing pregnant at the show was not easy. My body did not always follow my determination to get to every meeting, stand, listen, and take notes. Morning sickness ensued, as did some light-headedness, at which point I was afraid I might pass out. But overall, I managed to see far more products than I had time–or energy–to write about.

I avoided big parties or extremely late nights. I did enjoy beer pong one evening, however, with a designated drinker from our friends at Samsung and MWW (thanks, Kim). And seeing Slash was definitely the highlight of my week. I just wish I could have shown off my “Sweet Child of Mine” ringtone to him. Oh, well. I also saw handfuls of products that aren’t announcing yet, including a very sleek group of notebooks and some impressive advancements in digital cameras, which you’ll see more of at PMA later this month.

Cameras and Camcorders

In general, the cameras follow suit in becoming easier for novices to use, though my first impressions are that the DSLRs still won’t be easy enough. Mode dials are still jam-packed with icons that will intimidate even the most tech-savvy photography novice (myself included). We were also impressed with the advancements in camcorders this year. Sony took the cake with 16 new devices, loaded with the latest and greatest, but Canon, Panasonic, Samsung, and others are advancing the category with their hybrid models.

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]]> http://ces.laptopmag.com/done/feed Hands-on with Slew of New Asus Gear http://ces.laptopmag.com/hands-on-with-slew-of-new-asus-gear http://ces.laptopmag.com/hands-on-with-slew-of-new-asus-gear#comments Fri, 11 Jan 2008 01:35:01 +0000 Mark Spoonauer http://ces.laptopmag.com/hands-on-with-slew-of-new-asus-gear U2EIt’s no secret that Asus is taking the world by storm with its Eee PC, but the company had a lot of other new products to show us at CES, and not just notebooks. Asus plans to release its first smart phone in the U.S. this year, and it will also enter the very crowded GPS arena. Here are the highlights from our quick visit.
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]]> http://ces.laptopmag.com/hands-on-with-slew-of-new-asus-gear/feed Life of a CES Booth Babe - Part III http://ces.laptopmag.com/life-of-a-ces-booth-babe-part-iii http://ces.laptopmag.com/life-of-a-ces-booth-babe-part-iii#comments Thu, 10 Jan 2008 21:15:57 +0000 Joanna Stern http://ces.laptopmag.com/life-of-a-ces-booth-babe-part-iii FemisapienI learned quite a lot from MC and Kimberly about what it’s like to be oogled by CES men all day. But in the third and final installment of the Booth Babe investigatory report it was WowWee’s Femisapien who clinched the experience of what it is like to be a babe on “the floor” of CES. Sure human booth babes have it hard, but robots might just have it worse.

Name: Femisapien

Age: Eternal, until my batteries die

How did you decide to become a booth babe? Is it something you always dreamed of?

No, it really hasn’t been a dream and, if it wasn’t good money, I wouldn’t do it. I prefer to be on display in smaller venues where people can appreciate what I can do. In those places they can really see my emotive language and how I can be understood by other WowWee robots. Here they just ask me to shake my booty and play with my 4-way joystick hands.

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]]> http://ces.laptopmag.com/life-of-a-ces-booth-babe-part-iii/feed WowWee’s Robots Take Over http://ces.laptopmag.com/wowwees-robots-take-over http://ces.laptopmag.com/wowwees-robots-take-over#comments Thu, 10 Jan 2008 20:16:20 +0000 Joanna Stern http://ces.laptopmag.com/wowwees-robots-take-over WowWee had a whole new family of robots here in Vegas.

w2The FlyTech Bladestar is the newest addition to the robot company’s indoor flying robot line and it sure did make the security guards in the Sands pretty angry. Designed to be crash resistant, the Bladestar glides through the air with two wings that spin with helicopter-like movement. Built-in infrared sensors allow the Bladestar flyer to detect and avoid obstacles. I got to fly the guy around a bit, but then an angry Sands guard scolded me. More hot robots after the jump…

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]]> http://ces.laptopmag.com/wowwees-robots-take-over/feed 1 GHz in Your Pocket: Hands-on with Qualcomm Snapdragon Concept http://ces.laptopmag.com/1-ghz-in-your-pocket-hands-on-with-qualcomm-snapdragon-concept http://ces.laptopmag.com/1-ghz-in-your-pocket-hands-on-with-qualcomm-snapdragon-concept#comments Thu, 10 Jan 2008 18:18:28 +0000 Mark Spoonauer http://ces.laptopmag.com/1-ghz-in-your-pocket-hands-on-with-qualcomm-snapdragon-concept Snap OneSome day soon we’ll be able to stop complaining about how freakin’ slow smart phones can be, especially when you’re multitasking. Qualcomm’s Snapdragon platform incorporates a blazing 1-GHz processor that should be able to handle any task you want your handheld to do–including watching Flash videos–while providing 5 to 6 hours of battery life.

The concept device you see here, co-developed with Inventec, runs Windows Mobile and also has MediaFLO technology built-in for watching TV anywhere. But Snapdragon could just as easily find a home inside Linux-powered devices.

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]]> http://ces.laptopmag.com/1-ghz-in-your-pocket-hands-on-with-qualcomm-snapdragon-concept/feed Trimble Outdoors Hands-on for BlackBerry http://ces.laptopmag.com/trimble-outdoors http://ces.laptopmag.com/trimble-outdoors#comments Thu, 10 Jan 2008 05:23:40 +0000 Sarah E. Anderson http://ces.laptopmag.com/trimble-outdoors trimble outdoors 1Trimble Outdoors puts GPS on your BlackBerry 8830 or Pearl 2. The GPS software maker showed off its off-road navigator, fitness software, and geocache software, all of which are available–independent of the carriers–for smart phones.

We got a quick demo of the geocashing software, and for those who are into that, this definitely looks like a good way to go. Because it’s on your BlackBerry, you have access to all sorts of information, including others’ posts with clues about how they found a given cache, and it allows you to be more spontaneous in your geocaching because you don’t need to start at home online and then venture out. You can just be out with some time to kill, and see what’s nearby. The service will be $5.99 per month or $39.99 per year.

]]> http://ces.laptopmag.com/trimble-outdoors/feed The Real Sprint Speed: Hands-on with XOHM Mobile WiMax Gear http://ces.laptopmag.com/the-real-sprint-speed-hands-on-with-xohm-mobile-wimax-gear http://ces.laptopmag.com/the-real-sprint-speed-hands-on-with-xohm-mobile-wimax-gear#comments Thu, 10 Jan 2008 03:05:36 +0000 Mark Spoonauer http://ces.laptopmag.com/the-real-sprint-speed-hands-on-with-xohm-mobile-wimax-gear Xohm oneWe had a chance to swing by the XOHM booth and get a taste of what Mobile WiMax technology will offer once it starts rolling out to select cities beginning this April. The promise: a zippy 2 to 4 Mbps per second on the downlink and 1 to 2 Mbps per second on the uplink. XOHM operates somewhat independently of Sprint, but many believe that this high-speed data network is the carrier’s best shot at leapfrogging the competition. And it has some pretty big players betting on the success of Mobile WiMax, from Motorola and Samsung to Nokia and Intel. We had a little hands-on time with some enabled devices around the booth and generally liked what we saw. The highlight: XOHM-ready Asus Eee PC.
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]]> http://ces.laptopmag.com/the-real-sprint-speed-hands-on-with-xohm-mobile-wimax-gear/feed Best of CES Wi-Fi/Home Networking Device: Netgear HD/Gaming 5 GHz Wireless-N Networking Kit http://ces.laptopmag.com/best-of-ces-wi-fihome-networking-netgear-hdgaming-5-ghz-wireless-n-networking-kit http://ces.laptopmag.com/best-of-ces-wi-fihome-networking-netgear-hdgaming-5-ghz-wireless-n-networking-kit#comments Wed, 09 Jan 2008 23:16:30 +0000 Mark Spoonauer http://ces.laptopmag.com/best-of-ces-wi-fihome-networking-netgear-hdgaming-5-ghz-wireless-n-networking-kit Netgear HD/Gaming 5 GHz Wireless-N Networking KitYou don’t have to throw out your router to get blazing fast 802.11n speeds. Netgear’s 5 GHz Wireless-N HD Access Point/Bridge ($129) can be added to any existing network, whether you want to stream high-def video or enjoy online gaming sans the annoying lag.

When you pair two of the units together, you have the HD/Gaming 5 GHz Wireless-N Networking Kit ($229), enabling users to get their game on while simultaneously streaming high-def videos. Because the two pieces of this solution automatically discover each other, you get easy plug-and-play installation and a rock-solid connection between media devices in the living room (like the Xbox, Slingbox, Apple TV, and Netgear’s own Digital Entertainer HD) and your PC or network storage device.

]]> http://ces.laptopmag.com/best-of-ces-wi-fihome-networking-netgear-hdgaming-5-ghz-wireless-n-networking-kit/feed Best of CES Cell Phone Accessory: Nextlink Invisio Q7 http://ces.laptopmag.com/best-of-ces-cell-phone-accessory-nextlink-invisio-q7 http://ces.laptopmag.com/best-of-ces-cell-phone-accessory-nextlink-invisio-q7#comments Wed, 09 Jan 2008 23:12:17 +0000 Avram Piltch http://ces.laptopmag.com/best-of-ces-cell-phone-accessory-nextlink-invisio-q7 Nextlink Invisio Q7Small and discrete Bluetooth headsets usually suffer from poor audio quality, but the Invisio Q7 ($149) is different. This tiny device, which will be available in February, sports a bone conduction microphone that captures vibrations in the wearer’s jawbone and converts them to sound without picking up ambient noise.

Just as important, the Q7 is comfortable enough to wear all day, thanks to its patented Soft Spring, which adapts to the contours of your ear. Add in up to 6 hours of talk time and an easy-to-use, three-button interface, and you have an ideal accessory for road warriors.

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