Ces2010
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Jinke announces 6 and 9-inch SiPix panel e-readers
We're certainly not wanting for e-readers this week, although we are definitely wanting for one that's compelling enough to shell out good money for -- which is fine, because company's all over God's green Earth seem to be working overtime to give us one. Take Jinke -- the company's switched from E Ink to SiPix panels for the A6 and A9 readers, both of which are planned to sport multitouch, 16 levels of grayscale, WiFi a/b/g, and optional 3G -- as well as the usual compliment of formats (FB2, EPUB, PDF, most image formats, and MP3). The former is a 6-inch (600 x 800) device with 2GB of storage, an SD slot, and an accelerometer. The Jinke A9 features a 9-inch (1024 x 768) panel, and up to 4GB storage. Both the A6 ($275) and the A9 ($330) should be available in March.
GestureTek brings Eyemo gesture control to Android, Momo tracking engine for Windows Mobile
GestureTek was showing off some of its gesture-based options for controlling your TV at last year's CES, and it's now back again with a few more slightly interesting pieces of software. That includes a version of its Eyemo software for Android, which is already available for range of other platforms, and lets developers take advantage of a phone's camera to add gesture control options to various applications -- although that only involves gesturing with the device itself, not your hands. The company's recently announced Momo software for Windows Mobile takes things one step further than that, however, and will indeed apparently let you control a game or other application with hand or body gestures -- although that'll likely work best on a device with a front-facing camera.
ATI serves up DirectX 11-compatible Mobility Radeon GPUs, helps nerds fall in love
DirectX 11 has been chewed up and spit out by desktop GPUs over the past few months, but until CES 2010, laptops at large were left out of the raving. This week, AMD has introduced what it's calling the world's first mobile graphics with DX11 compatibility, and the Mobility Radeon HD 5870 -- which just so happens to be featured in ASUS' recently revealed G73jh -- is leading the way. The HD 5800, HD 5700, HD 5600 and HD 5400 series are all new at the show, and each one comes with baked in support for ATI Eyefinity multi-display technology and helping tech-adoring geeks find their soulmates (as is clearly shown above). Hit the source link for more details on each, and figure on seeing these filter out to new ultraportables, mainstream rigs and gaming lappies in the seconds, days and weeks ahead.
Sennheiser RS170 wireless headphones ears-on
We don't generally run around plucking wireless headphones off their stands, but the CES Innovation Award here drew us in for a quick test job. In spite of the almighty din around us, these RS170 headphones delivered terrific noise insulation. They don't feature any sort of active noise cancellation, but just popping the sealed cans atop our noggin was sufficient to neutralize a vast proportion of the mayhem around us. The sound too was impressive -- certainly nothing unexpected given Sennheiser's reputation. What was pleasantly surprising, though, was the $300 asking price and since these are already available we've been able to find them online for as little as $250. For that you also get bass boost and surround sound functions, but from our limited time with the set we'd say you'll be getting some pretty awesome audio straight out of the box. %Gallery-82386%
Altec Lansing debuts new range of portable, not-so-portable audio products
Altec Lansing has been keeping itself fairly busy since introducing its brand new look a little over a year ago, and it's now back at CES with a new batch of audio products to keep things rolling. Leading things off is the inMotion Compact (iMT320) iPod speaker system, which is a slightly smaller, slightly cheaper followup to the company's inMotion Classic speaker system, and includes some nifty features like a folding leather-like cover that also doubles as a speaker stand -- look for it to be available in February for $80. That's complemented by the Octane Plus 2.1 Speaker System (pictured after the break), which will also run $80, and three new headphones in the company's MUZX DNA line that'll cost just $20 apiece but still promise "a full ranged, balanced sound."
Sony VAIO Z demo video is fully rendered, somewhat dizzying, still worth watching
When three SSDs just won't do, Sony's VAIO Z is the fix. We've had a chance to briefly see one in person, but still found ourselves oddly entranced by the promotional video embedded for your pleasure after the break. It shows a rendered Z floating about in space, flaunting its various assets (backlit keyboard, switchable graphics, side-talkin' power button) before ending with a branding slogan that's so powerful you just can't help but reach for that credit card: The Executive Decision. Yeah, we're getting chills here, too -- but that's probably because someone left the door to the trailer open again.
FaceVsion announces TouchCam N1 Skype HD webcam
In Store Solutions might have been the first to announce the first Skype HD webcam, but it looks like FaceVsion (yes, it's really spelled that way) isn't about to let it get off that easy, with it now introducing its own first Skype HD-ready TouchCam N1 webcam. As with In Store Solutions' cams, this one packs an embedded H.264 video compression chip to help out with 720p video streaming, and it includes dual unidirectional mics to ensure that the video isn't let down by sub par audio. Look for this one to be available sometime next month for $119.
VIZIO's new LCDs (and upcoming iPhone remote app) eyes-on
Since we can't drool over sets without release dates forever, our attention at VIZIO's CES event turned to flat-panels we actually expect to hit shelves in 2010. Still, we couldn't have expected a sneak peek of the company's planned iPhone remote control app (video after the break,) and the shock of seeing a 22-inch VIA & WiFi packing 22-inch LCD nearly overshadowed the massive 72-inch 3D set picture above. Also represented were a new soundbar surround package with HDMI 1.4 / Audio Return Channel due in May, a video-prioritizing wireless router and powerline networking setups, and of just to round things out, some iPod dock / touchscreen clock radios. %Gallery-82384%
ASUS / Pegatron Neo with Tegra 2 hands-on
ASUS may be in the process of spinning off the Pegatron brand, but for now it's still the same company behind this here slick white smartbook. Running the inevitable Android OS on a 10-inch display, but offering the never-boring Tegra 2 combo of 1080p playback and up to a "full day" of WiFi-enabled battery juice, the prototype machine was being shown off to give us a hint of what's to come. We're told the Neo is definitely coming later in the year, though the particulars of the price tag and distributor badge are not yet revealed. For our money, this was a spectacularly thin and light pseudo-laptop -- it's hard to overstate just how deprived of weight this thing is. Opening it up shows an appealing layout and keyboard, which were rather spoiled by a number of creaky and unstable parts. We found deep flex in the keyboard panel and around the hinges, but our optimistic souls are willing to put those things down to it being a demo unit. If this featherweight design makes it to market without sacrificing any of the good bits while getting rid of the bad ones, we'd recommend it in a hot and sweaty second. %Gallery-82366%
VIZIO CES concept designs show a future of ultrawidescreen, ultrathin & wireless HDTVs
VIZIO's announced 2010 lineup is alright and we'll get to them in a minute, but a few slick concepts were more than enough to distract us momentarily from nearer future products. What did we get our eyes on? Check the gallery and continue our shared experience with a 1/4" thick "Blade" LCD TV, 24-inch portable wireless (WiFi) HDTV, universal touchscreen IR remote, Quad HD display, Bluetooth headphones and of course the 58-inch 21:9 ultrawidescreen beauty shown above. We wouldn't be surprised if at least some of these are closer to production than several announced products here in Vegas, so check the video & press release after the break before trawling the shelves of local Wal-marts looking for a leak. %Gallery-82373%
LG Rumor Touch hands-on
LG launched another Rumor set on Sprint yesterday: the LG Rumor Touch. As you all likely sussed from the name, this iteration brings touchscreen -- resistive -- to the mix and it also comes loaded with a pretty stellar keypad. The touchscreen is pretty sharp as well, both with the haptic feedback when using it, response to your finger's pokes, and the quality of the display itself. The feel of the set is a bit light, -- but it doesn't extend to cheap -- the slide is solid with nary a bit of rattle, and the fit where the device's various edges meet is good. A standout, while trivial, are the themes the Touch supports, whereby, depending on season, the UI changes to winter, turkeys for thanksgiving, and, well, you get the idea. While we covered off all the specs yesterday, we learned today the Touch Rumor should ship for mid-March, but still no word on pricing. So with that, why don't you drop below and have a peek at the gallery and watch the video walkthrough we put together with one of LG's finest. %Gallery-82334%
iriver Story e-reader hands-on
At one point in time it seemed like iriver had a monopoly on insane, imaginative designs. Sure, it was mostly centered around PMPs, but iriver's stuff in its heyday was fun enough to make even a screenless MP3 player seem interesting. Lately, however, things seem a little more conservative. Take this iriver Story, for instance: it's a sexy device that seems very on par with other e-readers on the market... and that's about it. We played around with it a bit on the show floor, and found the keyboard to be pretty great, the design solid and slim, and the software pretty slow. With all the extra function-specific buttons on the keyboard, there's less of the arbitrary UI navigation limitations posed by some of the more simplistic e-book readers, but there's nothing so amazing or useful on the device that it would tempt the Kindle faithful. We're particularly worried about book load times, but it'll take some more time with the unit to really see how it stacks up across the board. For now you can check out a video walkthrough of the device after the break. %Gallery-82369%
Shuttle laptops hands-on
Shuttle's press announcement of its new mobile platform was accompanied by a booth's worth of demonstration units and we went over for a quick peek. What we saw was a selection of rather conventional looking machines -- certainly the new internal layout is not going to affect the way machines will look on the outside. There was an Atom N450 netbook in among the chunkier devices, which -- though they sported Shuttle branding and model names -- seem to be just sample machines to entice OEMs into picking up the Shuttle design. This was demonstrated best by the ridiculously creaky keyboard on one of the laptops and its hapless monitor frame. Closing and opening the lid led to the display casing splitting open (see here), which was as damaging to our love of Shuttle as it was to the unfortunate plastic. Update: Shuttle pinged us to say that those are definitely prototypes and as such the quality of the company's products should not be judged on their current state. %Gallery-82355%
Viliv P3 is like the Zii Egg of devices that don't run Plaszma OS (hands-on)
When we approached the just-introduced Viliv P3, we were cautiously optimistic that we were looking at a phone. Needless to say, our hopes would go on to be mercilessly dashed, but in the wake of the carnage, we were still left with an intriguing PMP with a big AMOLED display and an 800MHz Cortex A8 processor. You could argue that the most compelling feature, though, is that it clocks in at just 9.8mm thick -- a full 1.7mm thinner than the Nexus One while still managing 800 x 480 resolution. It felt a little creaky, but we were assured that the unit on hand was an early prototype -- and honestly, we'd even be willing to take a little creakiness on a production model if you get this kind of thickness (or lack thereof) in return. It's also got 720p TV-out, storage up to 32GB, optional T-DMB and DAB tuners, an exposed microSD slot on the bottom, and -- check this out -- Windows CE dual-boot capability, although the unit here only had Android installed. Stuff an HSPA radio in there and call it good, guys. Follow the break for a quick video of the P3 in action. %Gallery-82361%
Andy Rubin on multitouch in Android: 'I personally don't like two-handed operations'
In a very special CES edition of All Things D today, our own Joshua Topolsky had an opportunity to directly confront Google's Andy Rubin on the nagging multitouch issue -- not necessarily multitouch itself, but the growing disparity in support between American and European devices (the Droid / Milestone being the most famous example): "You call this a superphone -- 3.7-inch capacitive display, but no keyboard and no multitouch. Yet it has multitouch outside the US. Why not America?" Andy's reply: "It's not an America versus outside America kind of thing. It's a decision that is a result of the OEM model. I personally don't like two-handed operations... there is no conspiracy." That doesn't explain the fact that the European Nexus One seems to have some in-built multitouch enabled -- nor does it explain why any manufacturer would ever opt to exclude it under any circumstances unless there's some outside pressure involved. Surely Rubin's personal preferences don't play into this... right? Right, Google?
NUU Player runs Boxee on Atom
D-Link's Boxee Box might be the Tegra 2-powered star of CES, but it's not the only hardware running Boxee -- NUU Media's NUU player runs the grown-up version of XBMC on an Atom processor alongside some other custom apps. It's also got a 160GB local hard drive and runs a WebKit browser, compared to no local storage and Mozilla on the Boxee Box. What's more, there's also a Skype app and Bluetooth support, so you'll be able to make and take calls from the couch using a headset. Of course, all that means it'll cost "around $300" instead of the Box's "under $200" when it launches around March, but we know some of you might spend the extra coin for the more home theater-rack friendly form factor alone. Pics in the gallery, video after the break! %Gallery-82348%
Casio Exilim EX-FH100 hands-on in super-slow-mo
We're suckers for slow motion video, and Casio's clearly tapped into a vast supply of FPS to feed our cravings. The latest in its series of high speed cameras is the Exilim EX-FH100 point and shoot. It does 10 megapixel stills, high speed burst capture and up to 1,000 FPS video. Like with other Casio models, the higher the frame rate, the lower the resolution, but you can get a full VGA image at 120 FPS. At $349 it's practically a bargain if you absolutely need to do slow motion, and while it's a bit chubby and heavy in comparison to "fashionable" point and shoots, it's plenty capable as a stills camera to keep this from being a one trick pony. Check out the slow-motion capabilities after the break. %Gallery-82363%
Ostendo multiple CRVD display games-on
We're sort of hoping the third year's the charm for Ostendo and the CRVD display -- we first spotted the crazy 43-inch curved monitor at CES 2008 with Alienware and NEC branding, then just NEC branding at Macworld 09, and now it's CES 2010 and Ostendo is actually selling it directly. Even better, the company's hooked up with ATI for a pretty sweet Eyefinity demo -- sure, you might have seen the three- or six-screen Eyefinity demos in the past, but having three CRVD screens wrap 180 degrees around you is pretty wild. We played a little Dirt 2 and did a little Google Earth zooming on the rig -- we might never scrape the $6,499 per screen for a setup like this, but we can certainly watch the videos after the break and pretend. P.S.- Yes, the CRVD still has the same weak 2880 x 900 resolution, but Ostendo tells us they're working on something with more pixels for the future. Just don't make us wait another three years, okay? Update: Our friends at Engadget Spanish went back with their super-sweet fisheye lens and took some more pics -- you definitely want to check them out. %Gallery-82357%
Shuttle SPA and Micro SPA notebook motherboard standards launched at CES
Shuttle's just announced the SPA (Shuttle PCB Assembly) and Micro SPA notebook form factors to create a "new notebook ecosystem." The SPA currently covers 13-inch to 17-inch laptops while Micro SPA does 10 to 15 inches. This horizontal integration targets the small local OEMs as it would purportedly reduce production cost while simultaneously boosting green credit. Parts like fans, chassis and trackpad can be reused for new models or even just across one product generation -- you'll notice that all the ports and components are thus identically positioned, as pictured. While you question whether this will be just another another attempt headed to Mount Doom, Shuttle is confident as it's "standardizing the whole thing" rather than just one or two components. Word has it that several European vendors have already placed orders for a February launch, and US laptop fanatics will see SPA products in the following month. Anyone wishing to jump in can make minimum bulk orders of around 200 units and expect a two to three week production cycle in Shuttle's Taiwanese and Chinese factories. Press release after the break. %Gallery-82351%
Syndiant and Foryou break the low-res mold with 1,024 x 600 pico projector
We've already seen a pico projector here at CES that packs 1GB of internal storage, but Syndiant and Foryou have now finally announced a new device that has an upgrade where it really counts: resolution. Unfortunately, it's still just a prototype, and there's no word about pricing or availability, but the projector does use Syndiant's 1,024 x 600 resolution SYL2061 panel (pictured at right), and it still fits in a shirt pocket. Nothing else much in the way of details just yet, but this one's definitely the pico projector to beat when it comes to pumping out pixels.
