Motorola is fully committed to the Android platform, so that means with an increased number of devices on the platform, there are bound to be some experimental and outlandish ones coming from Motorola in the near future.

One of those is going to be called the Motorola Backflip, which on first glance resembles the Cliq in overall size, shape, and UI. But the similarities end there. Without a doubt the most unusual Android handset to date: the Backflip is hinged like an inside-out clamshell, features a full QWERTY keyboard on the outside of the chassis, and has a touchscreen which features a trackpad on its back side.

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Its similarity to the Barnes & Noble Nook may have spurred a lawsuit, but that isn't stopping Spring Design from releasing its dual-screen e-reader to the public next month. The Android-based e-reader bears a remarkable resemblance to the Nook, but has a larger bottom screen with full Web browsing and virtual keyboard capabilities. Alex also features a variety of connectivity options, including Wi-Fi, 3G GSM and EVDO/CDMA. But the device's $399 price point is $150 higher than its competitors, leading us to wonder how much traction it'll gain in the marketplace.

Alex goes on sale February 22 from Spring Design's Web site.

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A Hewlett-Packard spokesperson would only confirm to Betanews this morning that the unnamed 'slate' PC demonstrated by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer during his keynote address to CES 2010 yesterday evening, was not a current entry in the TouchSmart series being demonstrated to consumers by HP at the show this week. Rather, it's a completely new product that will likely have a new brand and a special campaign, and its availability is only being slated for "this year."

With a number of other PCs being unveiled yesterday for near-immediate availability, including the convertible TouchSmart tm2 tablet/notebook (available January 17 at $949 MSRP), it would appear the earliest product cycle that the HP "slate" would make is the back-to-school timeframe. That would peg a product announcement for around August. Expect the price point to be premium.

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If you believe the forecast, there does not appear to be much hint of Windows Mobile in the air tonight at CES -- this even though Samsung was among the smartphone manufacturers demonstrating new commitments to WM6. Whether or not Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer talks about it tonight, the topic on many people's minds when he's through will be Windows Mobile. Where's the momentum? Is there any momentum? "Wait until March" will be as good an answer as "No."

8:11pm PT: "When something like Project Natal comes along, it rips up your rulebook and throws it away."

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This spring, Cisco will launch trials with Verizon and France Telecom around HDTV-enabled videoconferencing, with commercial applications in health care, "family-to-family," and musical entertainment likely to follow starting in the second half of 2010, said Cisco CEO John Chambers, in a press conference at CES in Las Vegas on Tuesday.

In a series of demos, Chambers showed how Cisco's emerging TelePresence system can be used in both health care and remote communications between family members.

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February 17 had been the deadline for the US Federal Communications Commission to deliver a report to Congress specifying the details of its national broadband plan -- a proposal that would require new federal regulations, and potentially new legislation. But a spokesperson for FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell told Betanews Wednesday evening that Chairman Julius Genachowski had personally informed him the report would not make the deadline.

"I am disappointed that the FCC's broadband team is unable to deliver a national broadband plan to Congress by the statutorily mandated deadline," reads Comm. McDowell's statement this evening. "At the same time, I appreciate that Chairman Genachowski shared the news of his decision with me Tuesday afternoon. Once we receive a draft plan, I hope the document will reflect the benefit of the additional time being prepared to prepare it."

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In public policy, there's a concept known as the "Statue of Liberty ploy" (not to be confused with the Statue of Liberty play): Faced with any sort of budget cuts in a given area, officials say sorrowfully that they will be forced to shut down the Statue of Liberty, counting on the huge public outcry that ensues to restore funding.

We're seeing that now from AT&T, in its efforts to influence public policy.
First was its performance with the FCC at the end of the year, saying that in order to provide broadband access to everyone in the US, it would be forced to shut down the landline telephone network, regardless of the fact that millions of people still use it. We saw something similar in early December, where AT&T said that, due to its pesky iPhone users being so greedy, it would be forced to implement usage-based pricing if they didn't pace themselves.

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We've seen prototype wireless HDTV at both CES 2008 and CES 2009, but this year's upped the ante: It uses wireless power as well.

Haier America Digital Products Group demonstrated what it said was the first completely wireless television: a 32-inch LCD powered wirelessly from up to six or seven feet (according to the NBC Today Show's Al Roker, who got a demo of the device on this morning's program), and which received content via a wireless link from a Haier prototype Blu-ray player.

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Could Samsung be the next manufacturer with a Droid-quality smartphone on Android 2.1? And what are Samsung's plans to include Internet connectivity -- including a possible PC -- in its newest line of HDTVs? Betanews' Tim Conneally is on the scene with Samsung's press conference at CES 2010.

2:59pm PT: That concludes Samsung's presentation...and now it's off to Panasonic for us.

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Qualcomm's FLO TV mobile digital television platform is finally coming to Apple's iPhone and iPod Touch, but through an extraordinary and most unusual vehicle: a popular slip cover / battery pack combo that also doubles the unit's battery life.

It's an already existing iPhone add-on called the Mophie Juice Pack -- a slip cover that fattens the iPhone and iPod Touch a bit, but also lets it run long enough for you to watch a movie in its entirety, and leave some juice left over for conversations. At CES this afternoon, FLO TV announced an agreement with Mophie to integrate its service into Juice Pack.

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Toshiba's new Cell processor-powered LEDTVs look to be fierce machines. They take the current trends in connected set-top boxes and home theater appliances and roll them up into a single package that is as much computer as it is TV. Packed with 8 core Cell processors capable of 3.2GHz each, Toshiba says its new TVs will be ten times more powerful than your average desktop computer.

It's also equipped with Wireless HD, 802.11n wireless networking, DLNA digital media server capability, a 1GB internal HDD, internal BD drive, USB playback for handheld and mass-storage devices, a built-in camera, mic, and videophone software, and integration with Web-based video services such as Vudu, Netflix, and Cinemanow.

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At this moment at CES 2010 in Las Vegas, Pioneer is debuting an in-car entertainment platform designed to provide a full-color console and controls to users of Apple's iPods and iPhones.

It's called the "AVH" series, and Pioneer's top-of-the-line model (designed to replace the standard-size electronics consoles featured in some vehicles) is called the P4200DVD. Those latter letters are there for a reason: The system will playback DVD video, evidently using the audio system and layout of the automobile (if there's six speakers, it'll use them).

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It's a busy morning before the CES show floor opens, and it's the one day of the year when you're guaranteed lots of exciting news from the biggest names in consumer electronics. Tim Conneally reports live from Sharp's press conference.

12:40pm PT: lower budget version of the Quad pixel Aquos comes out in spring as well in sizes ranging in 60in, 52in, 46in, and 40in

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The TomTom Start, available in Europe, is now coming to the United States as the TomTom EASE, which will serve as the company's entry-level device. The EASE features a simple two-icon touch screen, text-to -speech capabilities for street names, and TomTom's Easy Port mount that makes it the most compact navigation device the company sells.

In order to keep costs low, the screen is only 3.5-inches and the EASE includes maps for only the United States, so those driving to Canada or Mexico are out of luck. The EASE will be available soon in both black and white color options. Pricing was not announced.

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Ralph de la Vega, the CEO of AT&T Mobility (the company's wireless arm) announced at the AT&T Developer Summit in Palm Springs today that the carrier will be selling two phones running Palm's Linux-based webOS. De la Vega did not specify which devices from Palm AT&T will be carrying -- whether the Pre, Pixi or new models -- but he said they would come later this year.

Palm's webOS phones will join multiple Android-based models from Dell, Motorola and HTC. AT&T has not said which Motorola or HTC phones it will sell, but it's a major step forward for AT&T, which has had exclusive rights to Apple's iPhone for the past two and a half years and has shied away from promoting other smartphone platforms.

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