The XP3.2 Quest Pro: not so durable after all
(Credit: Sonim)Leave it to the BBC to show us how it's done. At CES, BBC reporter Dan Simmons managed to break the display (click on the link for the video) on the seemingly indestructible Sonim XP3.2 Quest Pro. Simmons accomplished this feat after bashing the phone against the side of an aquarium in which it had previously taken a swim.
I have to hand it to Simmons. I've tested the previous Sonim XP3 Quest (we have our own video) and it survived whatever punishment we could throw at it. I dropped it 14.5 feet onto a concrete floor, I tried to hammer a nail into its display and I stood on a box with the phone underneath.
Simmons, however, managed to end its life. Apparently, it took him quite a while to do so, but he still managed to break the unbreakable. We still think the XP3.2 Quest Pro deserved to be a nominee in the cell phone category ... Read the full post at CNET's CES 2010 blog
There were a number of hot trends at this years CES, such as 3D televisions, Internet-connected cars, tablets, e-book readers, and Netbooks. Unfortunately, I don't cover any of that technology.
I cover portable media players, and for the most part, CES offered slim pickings. Last year, we had Sony's X-Series Walkman unveiling, a hands-on with the long-awaited Samsung P3, and a grab bag of PMP announcements from Iriver. This year, Sony was mum on the Walkman, Samsung's MP3 players seemed desperately gimmicky, and Iriver's lone PMP announcement came with scant details.
Truth be told, I was hardly surprised by what I saw. It was what I didn't see that made me feel uneasy. Going into CES, mypreshow predictions promised Android-powered PMPs and all kinds of interesting fusions between iPod accessories and custom-built apps. Well, I was wrong.
Sure, there were dozens of Android-powered touch-screen devices out there, but in the looming shadow of Apple's ... Read the full post at CNET's CES 2010 blog
ViewSonic's sand-frolicking model is back!
(Credit: ViewSonic)LAS VEGAS--Last year, I reviewed two 3D monitors: the Samsung SyncMaster 2233RZ and the ViewSonic FuHzion VX2265wm. While the ViewSonic monitor delivered a 3D experience comparative with the Samsung, its overall worse performance and lack of an onscreen display meant that, pound for pound, it just wasn't worth the investment.
At CES 2010, the company announced it's trying 3D again with the debut of the 23.6-inch V3D241wm-LED monitor. This time, the monitor had a 16:9 aspect ratio with a 1,920x1,080-pixel resolution--up from the 1,680x1,050-pixel resolution of the FuHzion VX2265wm.
The V3D241wm has DVI and VGA inputs, integrated speakers, and an LED backlight, making it the first 3D computer monitor that doesn't use a traditional CCFL backlight.
Once again, you'll have to use some 3D form of glasses like the ones included in last year's Nvidia GeForce 3D Vision kit. ViewSonic also states that while the previous version didn't use an onscreen display, this one ... Read the full post at CNET's CES 2010 blog
3D was the big story at CES 2010, but LG's BD590 was the best home theater product we saw.
(Credit: LG)LAS VEGAS--For the past few years, Blu-ray has been at the center of CES home theater news and 2010 was no different. Whether its 3D, portable players, streaming media, HTIBs or even AV receiver/Blu-ray combos, Blu-ray seemed to play a part in nearly every aspect of the home theater gadgets announced at the show this year. Here's a quick summary of the major trends we saw.
Panasonic DMP-BDT350
3D is coming, like it or not
3D was the biggest story at CES 2010, and four manufacturers announced 3D Blu-ray players: Panasonic, Sony, Samsung, and Toshiba. We liked the Panasonic DMP-BD350T the best out of the bunch (and it was a Best of CES nominee in the home theater category), as its two HDMI outputs make it easier to integrate with existing AV receivers.
But the bad news is even if you invest in Panasonic's 3D Blu-ray player, there probably ... Read the full post at CNET's CES 2010 blog
The new Asus 1008P Netbook.
(Credit: Asus)LAS VEGAS--This may go down as one of the best years for computers, and laptops specifically, at the annual CES trade show. We saw new and improved Netbooks, new CPUs from Intel, and a somewhat surprising number ofslate and tablet PCs.
Slates and tablets
Following Lenovo's U1 Hybrid, which combined a detachable slate PC with a full Windows 7 laptop (and was many people's favorite show item), we saw glimpses of tablets from HP, Dell, and others--although most were prototypes only, and clearly intended to stake out some slate real estate before the rumored Apple tablet arrives.
These slate devices are essentially handheld screens that do some or most of what your laptop does, but with touch controls and, often, 3G data access.
Intel WiDi
We were fond, in theory, of Intel's Wireless Display technology that will allow new laptop owners to wirelessly beam their desktops to a nearby HD display.
During our on-stage demo session, we couldn't actually get a connection to
... Read the full post at CNET's CES 2010 blog
LAS VEGAS--A lot of the gaming news we anticipated last month came to fruition at this year's CES in Las Vegas. While we didn't get a definitive release date for Project Natal, Microsoft did announce the motion sensing technology would be available this holiday season. How much it will cost is still a mystery and there was no sign of Natal at Microsoft's CES booth.
However, we did get some information about Xbox Live Game Room, a new online application that will allow gamers to virtually experience all the goodness of a classic arcade. Free to try and affordably priced to own, 30 titles will launch along with the service in late March, with five to seven new games made available each week.
(Credit: Microsoft)Sony gave us some hands-on time with the PS3 in 3D; and while it sounds like a huge investment, we couldn't deny how awesome it was in action. There's no word on when you can turn your PS3 into a 3D gaming machine nor did ... Read the full post at CNET's CES 2010 blog
LAS VEGAS--CES 2010 didn't produce quite a showstopper like last year's Palm Pre, but there's certainly one theme that dominated the show in the cell phone and smartphone categories and that's Android, Android, and Android. After a false start at CES 2009--last year's show defied expectations to produce no Android announcements--Google's OS finally emerged from its shell this year.
The Nexus One wasn't at CES, but it was the talk of Vegas.
(Credit: James Martin/CNET)Of course, there was plenty of buzz about it even before CES started, after the official announcement of the Nexus One. Though neither Google nor HTC were officially showing the Nexus One in Las Vegas (thus making it ineligible for CNET'sBest of CES Awards) it went on to be the buzz of the show. We posted our review from Sin City the day before CES began.
Beyond the Nexus One, AT&T committed to launching five new Android devices in the first half of 2010, including the Dell Mini ...Read the full post at CNET's CES 2010 blog
LG's DP570MH Mobile Digital Television with DVD Playback is due out later this year for $249.99.
(Credit: LG)LAS VEGAS--With mobile digital television (DTV) technology officially in the process of being rolled out, a few new Mobile TV devices are set to hit the market later this year, including LG's DP570MH, a model that combines a portable DTV with a DVD player.
Mobile DTV technology is different from the over-the-air signals you can pull in with a standard ATSC digital TV tuner and antenna. The key to Mobile TV is that you can pick up signals while you're moving in a car or even a fast train. According to LG, the new Mobile DTV standard allows broadcasters to use a portion of the existing 19.4 Megabit-per-second DTV channel capacity to transmit data with "extremely robust characteristics suitable for mobile, pedestrian and handheld applications."
The $249.99 DP570MH has a 7-inch wide-screen display (480x234-pixel resolution) and stereo speakers. The screen is designed to tilt to achieve the best viewing angle. ... Read the full post at CNET's CES 2010 blog
The NMP1000 from QNAP, the first digital content player that's also a NAS server.
(Credit: Dong Ngo/CNET)LAS VEGAS--CES 2010 has come to an end, and unlike most of what happens in Las Vegas, there are quite a few things showgoers want to make sure they carry home. Here are a few that I personally am excited about in the networking and storage categories.
The Plug Computer 3.0 from Marvell.
(Credit: Marvell)First is the debut of USB 3.0 products. The technology was first announced at CES 2009, and at CES 2010 a few companies released their own products, including Seagate, LaCie, Buffalo, and Western Digital.
As there's no motherboard with built-in USB 3.0 controllers yet, all of the new USB 3.0 external hard drives come optional with a controller card. This will change soon as VIA also announced at CES the world's first integrated USB 3.0 controller. It's safe to expect other hardware vendors, such as Intel and AMD, to follow suit, and ... Read the full post at CNET's CES 2010 blog
Eye-Fi's Pro X2 card won our Best of CES nod for the cameras and camcorders category.
(Credit: Eye-Fi)LAS VEGAS--While there's usually a sameness to a given category's product announcements at any trade show, there was an especially striking uniformity to the cameras and camcorders debuting at CES 2010--but in a good way! This year, meaningless talk of megapixels and longer-than-thou lenses gave way to more concrete but less glamorous-sounding improvements across product lines.
On of the most thrilling developments this year is the rapid disappearance of proprietary media; both Sony and Olympus, the last holdouts, announced that most of their new products will support SD cards. At the same time, manufacturers like Canon and Panasonic, incorporated support for the new SDXC "extra" high-capacity cards that were unveiled at last year's CES, and Panasonic and Toshiba announced forthcoming cards. Of course, I think there are still people out there confused about the difference between SD and SDHC, so I don't expect SDXC adoption to be bump free. (In a ... Read the full post at CNET's CES 2010 blog
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