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Spotted: Samsung's 17-inch Series 7 Chronos laptop
And then there were three. The first time we saw Samsung's Series 7 Chronos, we knew it was going to be offered in two mainstream sizes -- 14 and 15.6 inches -- but now we know the line's going to include a desktop replacement as well. The company's soon to ship a 17-inch model with a matte, 300-nit, 1080p display, next-gen Core i7 processor, JBL speakers and some unspecified ATI graphics card with 2GB of video memory. As you'd imagine, the industrial design is what you'll find on the 15-inch version we reviewed, and the laptop incorporates the same SuperBright display used on the Series 5 Chromebook and Ultrabooks. Which is to say it's bright with decent viewing angles, though not quite as sunny as the screens used on Samsung's Series 9 laptops. No word yet on when and where it'll go on sale, but we're hearing it'll run for $1,499 when it does arrive in the US. In the meantime, we've got some requisite hands-on photos below for your viewing pleasure.
Live from the Engadget CES Stage: an interview with Toshiba (update: video embedded)
Toshiba's senior product manager swings by to talk about Toshiba's ever growing product line and the future of their brand. Join us live at 3:00PM ET. Correction: The Toshiba Excite X10's correct pricing is $529.99 MSRP for 16GB and $599.99 MSRP for 32GB Update: Interview video now embedded.
Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 MSM8960 development tablet hands-on (Video)
We already had the deep-dish on Qualcomm's Snapdragon S4 development platform during our on-stage pow-wow with the company's Rob Chandok but we wanted to get some extra time with the device. The MSM8960 is a developer tablet: which means it'll never retail and it's packing some serious kit including a dual-core 1.5GHz CPU, 13-megapixel cameras on both side and Qualcomm's beefy LTE gear inside. We got a few minutes to play Fight Game Heroes: a tech demo game where your character fights a musclebound company executive in a steelworks. The action was fluid and rapid, particle effects like smoke and sparks were well rendered -- we think the chip's obviously got gaming gravitas considering the early nature of the software. It's harder to see if this is more noticeably powerful than Tegra 3, but on current evidence we think nVidia's a step ahead. Just as we left, 15 Nokia executives swarmed the booth, but would it be too much to hope that the company's thinking about building a Tablet? Well, yes, obviously. But it doesn't stop us dreaming, okay? After the break we've got footage so you can decide for yourself. Sean Buckley contributed to this report.
WOWee and MicroVision offer 200-inch viewing and 'booming sound' on your mobile
Despite all the product rivalry at CES, a little romance was inevitable -- and not just in the Engadget trailer. WOWee, purveyor of the ONE portable speaker, has paired up with MicroVision and its dashing PicoP laser projector technology (shown above) to create a "marriage of sight and sound." It looks like the two companies will start out by simply bundling their respective wares, which will be available together in 120 countries from this quarter, rather than rushing to announce a hybrid device straight away. A wise decision, no doubt.
Matias Slim One keyboard at CES
Yesterday I got a chance to chat with Steve McGowan of the Matias Corporation about one of their new products, the Slim One Keyboard. It's a fabulous idea, really: Take the form factor of the Apple Wireless Keyboard, and give it a button in the top right that says "iPhone". You've got your iPhone on a dock or syncing, and you get a text message. Hit that magical little iPhone button, and boom! Your keyboard is now bluetoothed up to your iPhone so you can reply to that text, then a second press of the iPhone button disconnects from your iPhone and your typing goes back to your computer. If the name sounds familiar, Matias has previously made waves with their Tactile One keyboard, which uses switches like the Apple Extended Keyboard II used, so it is a very responsive (and clacky) keyboard. You can see a demo of the Slim One Keyboard in the video below. It is available in Mac and Windows flavors for the iPhone.
Samsung Series 9 monitor and all-in-one eyes-on
After spotting a powered-off Series 9 display at a CES press event earlier this week, we told you we'd revisit it if we could actually show you that 27-inch, 2560 x 1440 panel in all its billion-color glory. Well, folks, here she is. Samsung's first PLS display for the consumer market is arriving in March or April for $1,199, and is arriving with a refreshed design that trades last year's slick surfaces for an aluminum base. We'll let those hands-on photos speak for themselves, but hopefully from where you're sitting you can still appreciate those wide viewing angles, deep blacks and rich colors.And what of last year's Series 9 monitor? Samsung recycled the glossy, asymmetrical design, added a slot-loading Blu-ray drive and turned it into a high-end all-in-one. The 27-inch display has 1080p resolution, and the same kind of Ultra Clear panel Samsung uses in its televisions to make sure that glossy finish isn't too reflective. And though Samsung doesn't have too many specs to share, we know it has a quad-core Core i7 CPU, 8GB of RAM, a TV tuner and an unspecified AMD graphics card with 1GB of video memory. As you'd expect, it also comes with a wireless mouse and keyboard, the latter of which has some surprisingly cushy keys, given the island layout and all. No word on pricing or availability, though a Samsung rep told us the company has no plans to bring this stateside.Edgar Alvarez contributed to this report.
Engadget rides the Board of Awesomeness, results are... awesome (video)
We showed it to you a few days ago, and now we finally got to ride Chaotic Moon's Board of Awesomeness. For those who missed it the first time around, it's an electric skateboard rigged up with a 36 volt battery and an 800 watt motor capable of hurtling you down the road at up to 32mph. It's controlled by a Kinect sensor bar and one of Samsung's Windows 8 developers tablets strapped to the deck. Interestingly enough, Chaotic Moon built the thing with little hackery -- the only hardware mod was made to connect the Kinect's power cord to the battery. You control the throttle by pushing your hand closer or further away from the Kinect, which is made possible using the sensor bar's Beta 2 SDK. A pressure switch is on the deck to kill the motor should you fall off, which is nice since the thing has no brakes -- it stops via the motor's natural drag. Kinect controls were also initially used for steering, but folks found it to be counter-intuitive, so now it turns like any other skateboard.As you can see from the video above, our skateboarding skills aren't quite on par with Tony Hawk, but that 800 watt motor puts out a ton of torque, so starting it up took some getting used to. The control system is easy and intuitive to use and is like pushing an invisible gas pedal with your hand, though since we were riding it in a parking lot here at CES, we got nowhere near its 32mph top speed. However, we eventually got the hang of riding it at lower speeds, and would love to spend a few days learning how to properly ride it and really see what it can do. The best part? This is only version one of the Board of Awesomeness, and the company plans to create a faster one in the future -- we'll be practicing our riding skills in the meantime to get ready. We hope you enjoyed watching us get awesome, but if you want to see someone who can shred asphalt on the Board of Awesomeness, hit the video after the break.
I'm Watch brings old Android, new form factor to your wrist (video)
Smartwatches are increasing their presence at this year's CES. Alongside Sony's latest efforts to marry notifications with a dash of apps, Italian company i'm SpA has decided to make the long trip over to Las Vegas and give us a showing of its own curiously named I'm Watch. The hardware includes a sapphire glass front -- a 1.55-inch color 240 x 240 display -- with an aluminum body that weighs around 70 grams. Power is provided through the headphone socket, and the 480mAh battery will afford around four hours of smartwatch entertainment. There were plenty of color options on the show floor with the standard style arriving in white, pink, light blue, red, yellow green and black. Several metallic options were also housed in a glass case and are set to arrive soon. The watch packs in both a loudspeaker and microphone, with Bluetooth connectivity and 4GB of memory storage. Aside from color options, there are two different models available with 64 or 128 MB of RAM. The interface remains a capacitive touchscreen, with a button on the right side acting as both the screen unlock and back button. Four icons can be housed on each screen, and like any Android device, you can swipe between them. App compatibility is a little hit and miss, on the aging Android version, but for social network updates and music playback and from our limited time with the watch, it appears largely up to the task. The basic model is priced up at $330 dollars, and is available to order online now. Smartwatch fans can check the Android timepiece in our video right after the break. Zach Honig contributed to this report.
iLuv ArtStation Pro for Samsung Galaxy Tabs hands-on (video)
The options for Samsung Galaxy Tab speaker docks are a bit limited, especially if you're looking to make use of its proprietary dock port instead of a Bluetooth connection. Earlier this year, iLuv outted its iMM514 for Sammy slates, enabling you to jam some Kelly Clarkson and charge the device at the same time. For $149.99, we weren't expecting to be blown away but we're hoping it'll be a serviceable kit for at least a few Android tablets. We spent a few minutes with the iMM514 and we walked away with some observations.Right off, there are noticeable differences between the ArtStation Pro and some of the high-end speaker docks that we've handled recently. Lacking a top-side LED, there is no visual indication as to whether or not the peripheral is powered on, which was a bit perplexing. Once docked, you'll have the option of portrait or landscape orientations coupled with the ability to make minor tilt adjustments. Controls were pretty standard for playback and responded quickly to our finger commands. As far as sound quality goes, the iMM514 was about what you'd expect from a sub-$200 dock -- it's serviceable and we didn't notice a ton of distortion at maximum volume. Granted, we were smack dab in the middle of CES so our keen hearing could've been slightly thrown off. Oddly, the dock can also be paired with a Bluetooth keyboard if you're into that, however it was nowhere to be found during our demo. Looking for a quick tour? Hit the video after the break. It'll make you stronger, we promise.
Live from the Engadget CES Stage: an interview with Romotive (update: video embedded)
Last year Romotive managed to add more mobile to the mobile experience with their Romo tank bot and RomoRemote app. This year, I'm sure, promises even more in the innovative bot business. We talk robotic with Peter Seid, Romotive co-founder at 1:00PM ET.Update: Interview video now embedded.
2013 Dodge Dart digital dash display hands-on (video)
Sure, we've seen digital instrument panels before, but the one outfitted for the upcoming Dodge Dart re-birth caught our eye. Instead of a regular ol' speedometer in the center of the driver side dash, you'll encounter a 7-inch instrument cluster that you'll be able to customize based on your specific auto info needs. This of course will be the second screen on the dash, as the vehicle will also feature Chrysler's 8.4-inch Uconnect infotainment system in the center. Just how useful is the new feature? We took it for a test drive of sorts, and hopped out with a few thoughts. First, the amount of information that can be delivered to the driver's screen was pretty comprehensive. You'll be able to check gas mileage / fuel economy, odometer details, tire pressure, burned out lights, follow the navigation system and sort out your music choices. The color and image quality were both great, something that gets overlooked from time to time with on-board vehicle screens. While some simple animations take place on the screen for things like driving directions, the folks at Dodge affirm that the monitor won't pose a distraction while you're on the road. For a look at the new display in action and a quick refresher on the Uconnect system, hit the gallery below or the video on the backside of the break.
Plextor's new external DVD burner works with TVs, no computer required
Plextor's been plenty busy this week, announcing its new M3 Pro SSD and PlexEasy external DVD burner, but the company's not done unveiling new products just yet. Plextor's newest offering is another external DVD burner, the easily remembered PX-612U. Like the PlexEasy, it connects via USB and works with TVs and media streamers without needing a PC. That's possible thanks to some secret sauce called PlexTV (not to be confused with the media client), which acts as a code translator to make the PX-612U's output mimic a HDD. It'll be available the first quarter of this year, for an as-yet-unknown number of dollars.
Plantronics Clarity Fortissimo speakerphone hands-on (video)
Music aficionados will recognize the term "fortissimo." It's used to signify belting out the tunes as loud as humanly possible, which is exactly what Clarity is hoping to achieve with its speakerphone that uses the name. The Clarity Fortissimo is geared toward those who are mobility-challenged, offering a massively loud 95dB speaker, huge buttons, voice activation, Bluetooth and DECT connectivity, and a large touchscreen display. The Fortissimo offers Plantronics' Vocalyst technology, which has the ability to push emails, messages and even social network updates. It also has a dedicated button that automatically dials Clarity's support center, where a rep can then program the phone remotely for you. Expect to see the Fortissimo available this spring -- we were quoted April / May -- and will retail for $500. We have images and video after the break.
AMD strikes CES with brand new APUs and Lightning Bolt
AMD decided to steer clear of the show floor this year, instead choosing to stick to a briefing room upstairs, where they gave us a quick tour of their current offerings as well as a sneak peek at some upcoming projects. There were two big stars, though, the first of which is the upcoming Trinity APUs, based on its Piledriver core. There will be three different versions: desktop, laptop and "thin and light." The latter of which is clearly aimed at Ultrabook-like form factors and draws just 17W, while promising similar performance to current generation 35W chips. To show off just how powerful its next-gen architecture is AMD demoed a machine playing DiRT 3 (at low quality mind you) on one display, transcoding video on another and playing a clip of a kata on third. Oh, and that third display was attached to the laptop that was driving the whole thing without stuttering. The other big news, though we sadly don't have accompanying visuals, was a backroom demo of Lightning Bolt -- AMD's answer to Thunderbolt. The protocol is capable of driving up to four displays and several USB 3.0 ports while providing power. It can only drive two at 1080p and it won't reach the full speed of USB 3.0, but AMD did say it will be faster than 2.0. Supposedly the tech will be incredibly cheap in integrate into a PC, and a single cord running from a DisplayPort to a hub was able to handle playing back a Blu-ray and transferring files from a thumb drive while pushing two 1366 x 768 monitors -- not bad for an early prototype. Check the gallery above for a few shots of the latest AMD APUs and, for more technical details, hit the more coverage links.
Henge Docks for the MacBook Air hands-on (video)
We were a little giddy when Henge Docks announced their desktop resting spot for the MacBook Pro, and perhaps even more so when they unveiled the MacBook Air model earlier this week. We paid the company a visit on the CES floor to catch a peek at products first-hand. Sure, the white, plastic exterior may a bit off-putting for some but we didn't mind it -- especially for a dock that you can snag for around $50. While the device is pretty straightforward, the rubber padding that hugs the docked laptop provided more security that we'd initially thought. One thing you'll want to keep in mind though: the peripheral does make the USB port on the machine's docked end usable on its backside, but the Thunderbolt socket is reduced to display-only functionality. The outfit assured us that it's working on a solution that maximizes that Intel potential and we're anxious to see that become a reality. An express tour awaits the curious, right after the break.
Wi3 Wipnet may solve your connectivity complications at home, for a price
The Moca (Multimedia over Coax Alliance) standards haven't yet solved our home networking problems, but things may be about to change. Wi3 is here at the CES 2012 to exhibit its Wipnet technology, which can use your home's coax backbone to transmit data at a speed of up to 175Mbps. The devices should go for sale in April, with four different configurations with one or two Ethernet ports (Wip1000 and Wip1500), Ethernet and WiFi (Wip2000) or Ethernet and HDMI (for client / server services – Wip2500), and with a price of about $175 without WiFi, and additional $50 for the wireless option. They may also be included in wall sockets, on wall mounts or even on standalone boxes for small New York apartments that can't be reconfigured. The Wi3 people are also developing a box that can send the power over coax, beside additional services (like internet connectivity), but for now each box needs to be powered independently, and they also have a different filter to make sure your data does not leave your home using the neighborhood coax lines. Like what you see? Don't judge till you peek the shots below.
CTL refreshes 2go Classmate PC range with new convertible tablet, laptop models
It's been quite a while since we've seen a new Classmate PC from the folks at CTL, but the company's now back at CES with a pair of new models. Those include the 2go Classmate PC NL3 convertible tablet (above), and the 2go Classmate PC E12, which takes on a more traditional laptop form-factor. Both models pack a 10.1-inch screen (with the NL3 employing a resistive touchscreen to accommodate a stylus), and each boast some relatively similar specs across the board, including a 1.6GHz Atom N2600 processor, 1GB of RAM, and your choice of either a standard hard drive or SSD for storage -- plus the same ruggedness found on the company's earlier Classmate PCs. Look for both to be available early next month, with the NL3 starting at $499 and the E12 coming in at $349. Videos of each are after the break.
Dish Network to close more Blockbusters than originally anticipated, CEO confirms
Dish Network's curious Blockbuster project appears to be sputtering a bit, now that the company has confirmed that it will shutter more stores than originally anticipated. Speaking to Reuters at CES today, Dish Network CEO Joe Clayton confirmed that his company plans to close all Blockbuster shops that aren't turning a profit, and that some of the remaining stores will be converted into Dish customer service outlets. Back in July, the company announced plans to keep about 1,500 stores open, along with about 90 percent of Blockbuster employees, but those aspirations have since been derailed. "We are committed to keeping the profitable stores open that are generating positive cash flow, but there are ones that aren't going to make it," Clayton explained. "We will close unprofitable stores. We will close additional stores." The exec did not specify how many stores would be closed, nor did he offer any sort of timeline, but spokesman Marc Lumpkin said that the decisions would be made on a "case by case" basis.
Able Planet reveals BT500 Bluetooth headset, NC1200 noise-cancelling headphones (first look and ears-on)
Looking for your next set of utilitarian headphones with a touch of aural-spice? While we were roaming the halls of CES, Able Planet (known for its hearing-aid-based Linx sound-clarifying technology) has given us a behind the scenes look some hand-built, pre-production models set to release later this year. Join us past the break for our overview and initial impressions. (Pro Tip: you'll want to read-on if wireless or noise-cancelling headphones pique your interest.)
Live from the Engadget CES Stage: an interview with Texas Instruments (update: video embedded)
If you heard that Engadget would be scoring some one on one time here on stage with TI, you would be right. Texas Instruments has been in the gadget industry longer than most, and we've got a lot of catching up to do. Join us here live at 8:30PM ET. Update: Interview video is now embedded.
