We checked out the ASUS w5fe notebook PC the other day, which uses Vista's new SideShow system to allow you access to things like music, photos, contact information and more, even when the machine is on standby. I had thought that was about all it was going to be used for (certainly the website doesn't give much else away). However, having a peek at around the Microsoft booth I found a further three gadgets that were showing off SideShow functionality,

The rep had a mobile running a prototype SideShow application for the Windows Mobile platform. With this he was able to access his computer, scroll through emails, check out photos and listen to music, all wirellessly and without going near his machine.

Pioneer made some bold claims on Sunday about its brand spanking new plasma technology that should shoo of those pesky LCD and SED screens that have been sniffing around its turf. We were taken into a back room of the the Pioneer to witness the spectacle. Here, Pioneer had stood two 60" TV side by side, one using the current system, and the new one next to it.

The first me thing that struck me was that while the TVs sat idle, with nothing showing on the screen, you could still see the faint glow of luminance on the older tech one. The new plasma screen, however, actually offers such dark blacks that you can't tell whether it is showing a blank screen or has been switched off.

We kicked things off with a demo movie designed to show off all of its new features, such as the contrast ratio (which apparently is so good it can't be measured with standard equipment) and the richer colours. Then it was time for the side by side comparison and it became clear quite how much difference the new system makes. The colours are so much more vivid, skintones are a lot more distinct and of course blacks look quite considerably darker.

While not quite in the same category of quirkiness as the Guildhall concept projectors, this is still some unique looking kit. Again aimed at the gaming market (did the 360 controller give that away?) the Philips UJoy also acknowledges that once we've blown our hard earned cash on an Xbox, a PS3 and a Wii, we're not going to be in the market for an expensive projector.

For that reason, the UJoy uses a 50w bulb - much lower wattage than most other projector bulb - which means it won't burn up in 200 hours (which would only be what? a couple of Oblivion marathons, maybe). The low watt bulb should also be cheaper to buy too.

It is SVGA, which might be a little too limited for some those decadent 1080p features on modern consoles, and the contrast ratio of 1500:1 and lumens of 250 ain't wonderful either. Still, if it's cheap enough it might work out.

Tech Digest CES coverage

More from goodies from the Texas Instruments DLP booth. This time it is an ultra mobile projector from LG. It is called the HS101 and it uses LEDs to provide illumination as these don't get nearly as hot as a normal bulb would and they are a bit less fragile.

Of course, they on't perform as well either but you can't complain when the device could probably be squeezed into your coat pocket (well perhaps not quite, but it certainly isn't far off). It will produce SVGA resolution images, with a contras ratio of 1000:1 and lumens of 100. It might be best used in really dingy basement office then.

It does however enjoy LG's latest red on black design ethos, based heavily on the monumentally successful LG Chocolated phone, so it does look bloody swish.

Tech Digest CES coverage

Lurking in a darkened room at the back of Texas Instruments' DLP stand, there was collection of quirky looking protoype projectors. They were all designed by students at the Guildhall, SMU's videogames faculty. They are meant to reflect the more unique fashion tastes of games as well as being affordable and portable.

The idea could well pick up someday - all though DLP chip projectors are by no means the cheapest of home cinema components, they do producs a screen size that would cost a hell of a lot to acquire if you went down the HDTV LCD or plasma route. Unfortuntely, further details are fairly thin on the ground, but these can be expected to show up around Xmas time in the US.

The one pictured left, called the 'XT', definately looks like it has something a bit Alienware going on. Hit the turn for a couple more.

There is a striking similarity between this and the Mio H610, which hopefully means we'll be seeing a lot more of these diminutive GPS handhelds in the coming year. The N100 also has a very basic, minimaist white design and it plays MP3s, videos and displays photos.

NAVIGON provides the mapping software and it has the interesting quirk of showing proper brand logos for various points of interest (read fast food joints) as you pass them. I had a quick check of the map of the surrounding area around the convention centre in Vegas and found a multitude of golden arches and Burger King symbols popping up everywhere. It also does speed warnings, road sign text and lane advice. Although the screen is a bit small to ever have much over a full blown in-car GPS, it all looks rather cute and the speed at which the screen refreshes makes it all nice and smooth too.

Nokia has maintained a high profile at CES, announcing three new phones and deals with the likes of Skype, Yahoo and Six Apart. I sat down for a chat with Pekka Pohjakallio, VP of Nseries computers in Nokia's multimedia division.

Besides giving Nokia's initial response to the Apple iPhone, he also talked about the new N93i, N76 and N800, promised that Wi-Fi and 3.5mm headphone jacks will be standard in ALL Nseries handsets from now on, and hinted at a potentially-ace collaboration with guitar-maker Gibson. Read on for the full details.

This player caught my eye at the back of Truly's booth. I haven't heard of Truly before and from the exhibitor's blank face when I mentioned 'the UK', I get the feeling these neat little players won't be heading our way in the immediate future. Although there's a bit of a iPod nano feel to them they have one feature that sets them aside from pretty much everything else in the western, MP3 player market: Bluetooth. They come with built-in A2DP standard Bluetooth that means you can not only listen to your music wirelessly but you can also share music files and photos with other Bluetooth devices.

Other specs include built in flash memory that goes up to 8GB, an integrated Micro-SD card slot, Video player (only compatible with AVI and ASF formats though), photo browser, and FM tuner. It seems also that music playback is currently limited to WMA formats for some reason.

Designed for those situations when you're taking a call and the noise of a passing bus, tannoy annoucements or loud music completely obscures the most relevant part of what you're being told - the Plantronics Voyager 665 Bluetooth headset comes with new Audio IQ technology that is designed to intelligently adjust sound volumes when the background noise picks up. The idea is to stop you having to fiddle with the volume button too much while you chat.

Alongside that technology comes an impressive array of accessories too. The stylish headset fits into a compact holder with a pen clip. If you receive a call while it's in there, it will even give you a vibration alert. You also get an extra attachment that takes AAA batteries and will give you a few hours extra juice if you run out. And you get a car charger in the box too.

Belkin have announced what they claim to be the first wireless card featuring ExpressCard technology, that will give any notebook 802.11n (draft) wi-fi capability.

The N1 Wireless ExpressCard connects to the ExpressCard slot, increasingly being found on notebook computers, and so offers access to the higher speed and greater range that 802.11n offers.

Another day, another silly gadget or ten brought to you by our intrepid journalists. Here are the ten latest videos we shot at CES, assembled for your viewing pleasure.

1. Best. Video. Ever. Not only will the Giddyup Horse Simulator make you laugh lose weight, but you can get some uncomfortable jollies watching Stuart do his thang in a strangely sexual fashion.

2. I hate everyone who lives in Japan. Not only do they get to live in my favourite country, eating the best food in the world, but they also have Akihabara and futuristic gadgets we'll never see. These 10 megapixel cameraphones are a case in point.

Today's award for best converged gadget (and possibly the day's most bizarre iPod-related gadget) goes to the Viewsonic PJ258D high-definition DLP projector with integrated iPod dock, which follows on from the company's PC monitor with iPod dock from last year.

Actually, it might not be that ridiculous. Many of us download video to iTunes and our portable players and we might want to view them on a bigger screen. But personally, I just can't imagine paying out for a projector, then viewing some of the low-quality clips I have on my iPod.

Belkin have introduced their new uniquely designed laptop cooling stand.

It's powered by a spare USB port on your computer, and its wave design creates a channel between the laptop and the stand to assist in natural airflow. The Cooling Stand takes advantage of the fact that heat rises, by pushing hot air upwards through the channel.

Belkin have introduced a product specifically for when the lights go out and the power's down. The Battery Backup with Flashlight is designed to protect your valuable equipment and data, plus ensure that you don't trip over it because you can't see anything.

The detachable flashlight turns on immediately when the power goes off, providing you with a convenient, portable light source, whilst the Battery Backup keeps your connected equipment on, giving you ample time to shut down and prevent any data loss or hardware damage.

Buffalo have announced the expansion of its high-performance line of memory products with a new set of USB 2.0 flash drives.

The High Speed Type E is an economical drive for general applications, whilst the Ultra High Speed Type S is designed for rapid transfer of high volumes of data - up to 1GB in less than a minute (read speed 27MB/s and write speed 18MB/s to be precise). It's also compatible with Vista's Ready Boost technology.

This prototype from Belkin is a bit of a strange one: it transforms the 5G iPod, aka the iPod video, into a Portable Video Player. Ignoring the fact that the compatible Apple product already plays videos all by its lonesome, it quite an interesting idea. Maybe it will help to prevent eye strain. The concept design looked pretty distinctive with large flat buttons and a smart little slot for the iPod in the center.

As it is a prototype, further details are basically minimal, although I was assured that it was working yesterday and that it had only stopped on account of it breaking, which tends to stop most things. Apparently "it's rechargeable." "Or maybe it's battery powered". "It's probably both". Funnily enough I'm not holding out much hope of this making it to the US, yet alone the UK. Can't win 'em all I guess.

The LG Shine phone is currently only available in Asia, but it's been promised to the UK for a while now. However, the pictures seen so far don't do it justice, and I was surprised to find out how attractive it was once I got to the stand.

We've seen a LOT of Vista over the past few days - so much so that I'm even beginning to forget all the shameless similarities to Mac OS X. And it would be a real pain in the arse getting all my music, vids, work files, and photos transferred over. Not to mention all my carefully tweaked Windows settings that I'd lose. Or so I'd thought; Belkin has actually just revealed its Easy Transfer cable that you can use to transfer your content from your dusty old XP machine into a shiny new Vista PC.

And it isn't just there to carry the data across either. It actually has a chip inside that will automatically seek out your files and settings (but not apps) to transfer them across. It is 8 feet long and all you really need to do is plug one end into your XP machine, the other into the Vista machine and leave it do its thing.

If 50 Cent is reading this (and I hear he's a big fan of UK-based technology blogs. And also hos.) I've found your next TV, homie. Philips are celebrating their 1 millionth Ambilight telly by encrusting one in over 2000 proper diamonds - none of that Swarosvki crap here. Unfortunately, it's not for retail purposes, unless you can pursuade Philips. Perhaps with some kind of semi-automatic.

Further proof that the iPod can be used for absolutely anything music related as long as someone will make the right accessory for it. Belkin's latest iPod gadget is the TuneStudio (and well done for not calling it the iStudio). It's a four-channel audio mixer that lets you create digital recordings directly onto your iPod for instant playback.

The TuneStudio is compact, portable, and "tough enough to withstand life in a rehearsal room or in a garage" - presumably that means having beer poured over it or being crushed by some spontaneous guitar smashing. Podcasters can also use this device to record
their shows.