Up Close: Asus Eee notebooks and mobile phones
Asus, a fairly new entrant to the notebook market, was showing off its 8-inch Eee at CES this week. Oddly named, the Eee was introduced last June and will soon go on sale at Costco in the United States. Although it can run both Linux and Windows XP, the Eee will ship out of the box with Linux for an estimated $199.
The Eee has a 900Mhz Intel processor, 512MB of RAM, 802.11g Wi-Fi, and 4GB of flash storage. An 8GB model is available for $299. Asus' notebook largely falls in the same product category as the OLPC laptop, but is not targeted at emerging markets.
Up Close: Logitech's new diNovo Mini keyboard
Logitech has the answer for those computer users with a media center PC in their living room that want to avoid keeping a big keyboard on their coffee table. The company's new diNovo Mini keyboard, introduced at CES, is about the size of a cell phone and includes a trackpad for moving the mouse that detects taps for clicking.
The design is fairly solid if not a bit plasticky, and its clamshell-like design protects the diNovo Mini from spilled drinks and being dropped on the floor. But the unique keyboard won't come cheap, with retail availability slated for February at $149 USD.
Up Close: Nuvi's new GPS line up
We stopped by the Garmin booth in the CES South Hall to get some hands-on time with the new GPS devices the company announced this week. Garmin's Nuvi 780, 880, and 5000 with MSN Direct will be released in the spring. The 5000 was far more hefty than the others, and will cost $800.
Nuvi 5000
Creative inPerson the biggest hit at CES
The spotlight item from Creative this year was the inPerson, a WiFi video phone device. The booth at CES was standing-room only, as many were eager to see a demonstration of the inPerson's capabilities.
Despite lackluster demand for video phones in the market, the inPerson demo drew a crowd that rivaled Panasonic's 150-inch HDTV display. Creative hopes its solution will entice people to forgo voice calling for something more futuristic.
Up Close: The OLPC $188 laptop
AMD had an OLPC laptop on hand to showcase the fact that its Geode processor powers the device designed for emerging markets. Navigating via the symbol-based interface proved difficult at first, but the laptop was solidly built and easy to use. We managed to take a picture with the built-in camera and share it, although the laptop became quite sluggish -- almost unusable -- when many applications were launched.
FCC will probe charges of Comcast customer discrimination
Charges that Comcast intentionally throttled the traffic of BitTorrent users for anti-competitive reasons, has apparently prompted the Commission to formally investigate the nation's largest CATV provider, its chairman said at CES yesterday.
The US Federal Communications Commission acknowledged on Wednesday that it has agreed to requests from citizens' rights and consumers' groups to investigate whether Comcast may be interfering with the rights of its subscribers by throttling their transfer speeds when they're suspected of trading files.
Jook turns MP3 listeners into low-power broadcasters
Most music listeners are accustomed to having to share ear buds with a buddy to listen to other tunes, at least up until the point where somebody bothers to invent some kind of loud speaker system. But a company called Jook Inc. has developed a way for multiple earbud-wearing practitioners of the digital life to share music through a kind of broadcasting technology.
Jook's technology allows users to wirelessly transmit their music to people within a range of ten meters. A click of a button connected to the headphones will let users begin or stop broadcasting music, with a little emblem lighting up when transmission is taking place.
Music industry heads seriously consider the subscription model
With digital rights management provisions being stripped from audio files now by all four leading music publishers, some of the digital music industry's leaders took time at CES today to evaluate the extent to which that loss could lead to gains.
In a sort of "what we have learned and where are we going" session, the panelists discussed the impact that DRM has had on digital music, its profits, and its availability, and where the consumption of music is going.
Microsoft: The future is in fashionable PCs
This year at CES, almost every booth has a section dedicated to devices designed with aesthetics in mind. Microsoft has become a big proponent of this new fashion-device movement with a dedicated team working with OEMs to develop fashionable hardware.
At any Starbucks, it's not uncommon to see people with their laptops finishing homework, or catching up on e-mails. As it leaves the confines of the office or home, the computer is no longer just a utilitarian device, and now makes a statement about its owner.
Panel: Ads are more powerful for promoting artists than their own music
At an all-day Billboard Magazine event, the day's first speakers argued that background music has the potential to do more for an artist's popularity than major label promotions, radio, and dedicated video airplay.
Billboard Magazine hosted today an all-day event consisting of discussions with prominent figures in the music industry, marking the first time digital music content providers have had their own forum at CES.
Blu-ray goes interactive for 2008, but will consumers bite?
With Blu-ray Profile 2.0 bringing Internet connectivity to all future players, the format is looking at interactivity to convince customers to make the switch. Blu-ray's focus on interactive features is also a response to HD DVD, which has long offered advanced Web-enabled capabilities through the format's HDi layer.
"Now we're ready for the next phase: the phase to really fulfill the promise of Blu-ray technology. That's really to start to develop the interactivity," said David Bishop, President Worldwide for Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, during Monday's Blu-ray press conference. "We'll really get the chance to use our creative juices moving forward. You'll see multiplayer gaming, ringtones that can be delivered to the consumer."
US trade rep attacks European electronics tariffs at CES
According to US Trade Representative Susan Schwab, the US is now considering taking action with the WTO over existing and proposed European tariffs on LCDs, set top boxes, and MFDs.
In front of an audience comprised of marketers clearly interested in selling their more of their products into international markets, speakers at this week's CES show have spoken out strongly in favor of the types of trade agreements that can enable such markets to prosper.
Retailers warn the DTV transition may not proceed as planned
Scott Fulton, BetaNews: From our Deja Vu All Over Again Dept., here's a topic that's a major CES issue this week and it's definitely a rerun from last year. It's the DTV transition, which is still on schedule for next year, except now some of the major retailers involved in getting new DTV broadcast converter boxes distributed, are worried that the US government won't be able to pull this off.
Sharon Fisher, who had more on this last year, has more on it this year.
Up Close: Hitachi's 1.5-inch thin LCD displays
While Panasonic went even bigger with its 150-inch plasma TV, Hitachi went small, showcasing a lineup of 1.5-inch thick LCDs. An 11-foot wide plasma may impress, but consumers can actually take advantage of Hitachi's ultra-thin displays.
The theme of this year's CES is shaping up to be one of design rather than power. Pioneer and Panasonic are also showing off ultra-thin displays, but only Hitachi's will go one sale in the near future in 32-inch, 37-inch and 42-inch sizes.
Up Close: Microsoft's Surface prototype
Microsoft's Surface experimental touch interface was on display at CES and the hordes of gawkers made it hard to get up close. The company was demoing working with photos and drawing using the Surface UI, which could be integrated into a table or placed on a wall. When will consumers actually see such technology? Not anytime soon.
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