CES 2008: Huge thanks to the following companies...
There are a couple of companies out there in this plugged-in world which Tech Digest and Shiny Shiny would just like to raise their foot-long margaritas to, who’ve helped with kitting us out to the max, ensuring our laptops are as light as the free beer served at CES parties, and we won’t turn an embarrassing shade of red when a Gizmodo boy walks past and spies us using a digital camera held together by duct tape. It was an emergency internal operation gone wrong after a seaside accident, I swear!
A huge thanks goes out to these companies from myself, Stuart, Al, Susi, Alex and Gemma...
CES 2008: Punch with some proper Wii boxing gloves
While wandering around the Sands hall at CES today, I bumped into a Chinese company called Shenzhen Koonhome Technology, who were showing off some Wii accessories. The most quirky was the Wii Boxing Gloves.
Basically, they're a pair of lightweight gloves, which you strap onto your hands for playing, well, Wii boxing. They're not controllers, mind - you still have to hold the Wiimote and nunchuk. But the idea is they get you more in the mood.
I did ask if they're on sale already, and when they might be coming to the West, but the man on the stand thought I was just trying to blag his only sample. I must learn Chinese before next year's CES to avoid these kinds of misunderstandings...
CES 2008 Special
Read all our coverage from the show in our CES 2008 category
CES 2008: Samsung launches a slew of digital cameras – here's a quick roundup
Along with hundreds of high def tellies, it’s traditional for electronics manufacturers to flood their CES stands with digital cameras in all shapes and sizes. Some of them may not have the most wild and quirky set of features, but these are the cameras you’ll actually be buying next year when Currys works out that no-one’s stupid enough to buy consumer electronics before Xmas and has to flog ‘em off cheap in the new year. Here’s the run down:
Samsung i8
The latest in the multifaceted PMP range of Samsung cameras, the i8 offers MP3, WAV and video files as well as the more normal act of taking photos. It takes 8 megapixel shots and measures in at 3.5” x 2.3” x 0.8”. Compared to its CES award winning predecessor, the i85, the design is a lot less angular than before, although I can’t quite decide if that’s really been a good thing.
CES 2008: All your singing Mr Clock Radio robots are belong to us
Meet Mr Clock Radio. Made by Geewiz Entertainment, he claims to be the world's first "animated robotic alarm clock radio". And that just about describes all you need to know. He has 30 different ways of waking you up, some of which involve singing. Watch the video above for a taster.
Be warned, Brits, Geewiz told me that they've had interest at CES in distributing Mr Clock Radio in Europe. So he could be landing on a bedside table near you soon. Or not.
CES 2008: Jwin/iLuv shows just what to do with those blasted digital photo frames
Guess they had to be good for something, eh? HOW TO COVER UP BAD WALLPAPER FROM THE '70s, Jwin/iLuv-style.
Mind you, they had some nice digital photo frames on display actually, like their mother of pearl and crystal-encrusted model, which would be perfect for displaying electronic .jpegs of your nauseatingly perfect wedding. No word on pricing or availability, due to their website not containing any details, and the people on their stand not having press packs or speaking much English.
CES 2008 Special
Read all our coverage from the show in our CES 2008 category
CES 2008: Motorola Z10 to get you 'content creating'
Dave told us about the Motorola Z10 mobile phone yesterday, but Susi managed to have a play around with it, with a video below the jump. Here's what she had to say about the actual phone itself...
Content Creating. Sounds painful, but is actually pretty fun. Motorola have decided they want to 'own' the YouTube generation, by bringing us a camera that records high quality video, gives you loads of lovely editing options and then uses HSDPA to upload them to YouTube, Facebook et al. Aka, creating content, see?
It's a kickslider, like the Z8, but features a much prettier metal body. The video records at 30fps, which is far superior to anything you'd need on YouTube. However, it does mean you can slow down the footage, giving extra director weight to your masterpiece. There's also the ability to add slides, text, music, fading effects and chop up and switch around the scenes you've shot. In all honesty, we're hoping that someone will give us some of these for our video reviews. Please?
For a video of the phone in all its glory, click over the jump.
Some of the best stuff we've seen at CES so far has been far from the madness of the main halls and the major players with their new phones, digital bloody photo frames and iPod docks. And yet, as you might reasonably point out, this is also an iPod dock. Yeah, but it's a clever one, so there.
DOSS didn't have the world's biggest stand but they had a lot of quirky and attractive iPod accessories, not least of which were these clever wireless speakers.
CES 2008: Toshiba's thin bezel on Cinema series gets the hands-test
Just how thin are the bezels on Toshiba's new Cinema series TVs?
Well, we know the specs, that the bezel is the world's thinnest at 0.9" wide, meaning a 40" TV now fits in the same space as a 37-incher, but let's put that into perspective. Using the good ol' hand-test!
(Yes, my thumb is obviously double-jointed. You wouldn't believe the possibilities).
CES 2008 Special
Read all our coverage from the show in our CES 2008 category
CES 2008: Samsung Infolink television with USA today RSS feeds on screen
Susi's lethargy is obviously setting in as she looks at the Samsung Infolink television. Our quote of the trip so far has to be "anyway, there's stuff," which actually sums up this television pretty well. It's got an ethernet connection built in which allows the telly to connect to the internet...but don't get too excited, it doesn't allow you to surf the web, but pulls in RSS feeds on stocks, news and weather and displays them on screen. In the US the service is provided by USA Today, and a UK partnership should be revealed very soon...
CES 2008: Samsung’s giant French Door fridge – a breakthrough in late-night snacking technology
Samsung has proudly unveiled its latest French Door refrigerator here at CES. This behemoth easily outstrips all other French Door style units to offer the largest storage capacity of its kind in the market, at a whopping 29 CUBIC FEET. You could probably lose a whole child in that.
Designed to meet the needs of consumers who demand both high performance and good looks and, of course, instant access to more food than a normal human could eat in year, this basically the fridge for the ultimate late-night snacker.
It’ll be landing in the US in May, but it’s unlikely that it will be making a UK debut until we really commit to our growing national weight crisis in earnest. If you ever want to have a 29 cubic foot fridge in your house, it’s time think very seriously about cancelling that gym membership. Buying one of those gigantic series 7 Samsung HDTVs would help too.
CES 2008: The Philips Streamium, now with internet radio
An updated Philips Streamium has been revealed at CES, with the added extra of internet radio. So now not only can you rip music and stream it around your house, you can also pick up obscure radio channels and play them to your neighbours too. Susi shows off the kit below.
CES 2008: Toshiba's arty 'world's highest capacity 2.5" external hard drive', the 320GB-er
Toshiba's been kicking around the mobile storage industry for a good few years now, so it's refreshing to see them update their line with something visually appealing, and also with a worthy claim. Yep, it's another 'World's most...' product.
Take a deep breath - these 320GB HDDs are the world's highest-capacity 2.5" storage device. Not as impressive as Panasonic's 'World's largest HD TV', but nonetheless, it's a little something to help cheer them up after the whole format wars situation.
Included with the unit are the usual encryption and back-up software, plus a USB cable, all for $199 later this month. Did we mention they're purdy? I can't believe I'm writing this, but it looks like external hard drives just got sexy back.
It's not CES without someone looking like an idiot in gaming glasses or riding horse simulators. This year, Susi tested out the first 3D-ready plasma television from Samsung. It looks a bit odd without the glasses on, but she assures us it looks great when you're gaming. Take a look for yourself...
CES 2008: Samsung unveils more Bluetooth-enabled Home Theatre goodies
I am loving Samsung’s decision to slap Bluetooth into absolutely everything this year. The HT-X710 is another compact 2.1 virtual surround system, designed to match Samsung’s latest sexy looking HDTVs with A2DP and AVRCP Bluetooth included. The built-in DVD player will also upscale your movies to 1080p resolution.
If you want to cough up a little more, the HT-X715 comes with an extra set of speakers, but which are connected wirelessly using a 5.8GHz connection. Both models are due out in the US in May and should be making it the UK later in the year.
Panasonic Link to Cell is one of those 'I can't believe nobody's done this before' products, leading me to think someone probably has done it before. The $99 gadget will redirect calls to a cellphone through to its landline phone, meaning you no longer need to keep your mobile in your pocket when you're at home. This is probably most useful if you live in an area with bad network coverage in certain parts of your house, or if (like my entire family) you never seem to hear your mobile when you're at home.
Rumours abound that Paramount is the latest studio to drop HD DVD in favour of Blu-ray
Further hammering the nail into HD DVD's coffin, it appears Paramount is the latest film studio to drop the high-def format, after reports today from the Financial Times suggested they're following Warner Brothers' decision on Friday to back Blu-ray.
Paramount, DreamWorks Animation and Universal are the only real feathers to the format's cap, and to lose another studio so soon after Warner will result in the 'format war' being decided once and for all.
Apparently Paramount's contract with the HD DVD group has a written 'get out of jail free card' clause within it, giving the studio the right to abandon the format if Warner Brothers decides to do so first. It's been reported that due to DreamWorks and Paramount having such a close relationship to one another, the former might well have the same clause.
They might be small, but Sony's OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) televisions are definitely perfectly formed. With a ridiculously tiny 3mm thickness, it's a bit like putting your telly on a piece of paper. The 11 inch screens are available to consumers already, and Susi shows them off in the video under the cut. There was also a prototype model with a slightly larger 27" screen on show at CES, but considering these babies come it at almost $2,500, it may be a while before we see that one on sale in the US, let alone the UK...
CES 2008: Hands on with the Sony Rolly dancing music player
We showed you a bit of Sony Rolly action earlier in our CES coverage, but here's a much more in-depth look at the gimmicky music player - see how to control volume and tracks by moving the device, and a bit of Ricky Martin action. Who doesn't love that?
CES 2008: Samsung SyncMaster 2263DX USB with 7" Mini-Me monitor
Isn’t it annoying when you try to hook up a monitor to your PC, only to discover that – gosh darn it – you haven’t got any video outputs? Well, Samsung has you covered; the SyncMaster 2263DX is capable of connecting via USB “without the need for any additional video hardware”. Admittedly, we’ve struggled to think of a single occasion when this has actually happened to us, but after a bit of brain storming we realised that this could be brilliant for laptop users who don’t have a VGA output on their machines.
Another quirk of the 2263DX is the inclusion of an additional seven inch mini-monitor that fits on the top or side, giving you some of the benefits of having two monitors without forking out twice over. Samsung reckons it could be great for things like instant messaging while you’re running Word in the main screen. Apparently this will help improve productivity, and we all know how much work gets done when you’ve got Skype in front of you. Why not cut to the chase and just make a dedicated Facebook monitor?
More geeky features of the 2263DX include a 160 degree viewing angle, 1680 x 1050 resolution, 8,000:1 contrast ratio and a 2ms response time – take note gamers.
CES 2008: Samsung YA-BS900 Hyper 3-Channel Bluetooth speaker system
What with the YP-P2 Bluetooth MP3 player apparently kicking up a storm in the non-iPod realms of MP3 players, Samsung is following up its success with a range of compatible speaker systems. The YA-BS900 is the flagship model, sporting a 30watt, 3-channel system. The ‘Hyper’ 3-Channel Surround Sound system with Euphony Technology lets the listener hear the centre of the sound regardless of what position they are in or where they are in the room.
The A2DP, AVRCP Bluetooth part further reduces the need for cables although I’m sceptical about how much justice a virtual surround sound system will do to the limited quality of stereo Bluetooth sound. The noisy show floor wasn’t really the best means for assessing the acoustic quality but at least from an aesthetic angle the device definitely looks the business.
Apple intros new Mac Pro: eight processor cores, twice the performance of before
Nothing's really going to eclipse Apple's iPhone announcement at Macworld last year, which clashed delightfully with CES 2007. Yet Apple has chosen, a week ahead of Macworld, to push out a new, high-performance Mac Pro.
Using two of Intel's 45 nanometer Quad-Core Xeon 5400 processors running at up to 3.2 GHz, the newly designed system boasts up to twice the performance of the previous Mac Pro — and that was no sluggard.
Other notable inclusions are up to 4TB of internal storage, ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT graphics card with 256MB as standard, up to 32GB of memory, PCI Express 2.0 graphics slot, support for the latest generation of graphics cards from NVIDIA, and the power to drive up to eight 30-inch displays at once.
NOT CES 2008: Mobile music revenues to hit a staggering $18 billion by 2012
And it's thanks to the hottest and coolest new "thing" in the music world - paid for subscriptions, says telecoms analyst Juniper Research.
Mobile-friendly services like Universal's Total Music, where you pay a set fee every month and get to listen to EVERY record it's produced/churned out, will fuel this cash-mad boom, with iTunes obviously mopping up the rest of everyone's money.
But mobiles and subscription plans will soon CRUSH iTunes, with all-you-can-hear subscriptions set to rake in more money than paid-for individual purchases by 2012.
Dr Windsor Holden, author of the report which makes all these bold, futuristic claims, says "Music rental services such as those offered by Omnifone are incredibly 'sticky', in that once consumers have taken the time and effort to build up an extensive playlist, they will be increasingly reluctant to unsubscribe from that service and from the operator, thereby providing a significant boost to ARPU levels."
And he's damn right - they're amazing money-making schemes. The number of companies taking £4.99 a month out of my account because I simply can't be bothered to work out how to tell them to stop is huge.
And proper downloads of individual tracks and albums are set to rocket as well, as 3G services roll out to "emerging markets" and all the poorer people of the world get to enjoy the novelty of actually paying for MP3s. So if you want in on it, head to India - Dr Holden reckons the number of music downloads in the sub-continent alone will rise from 2007's figure of two million to a staggering 480 million-odd by 2012.
If you're in digital music distribution in 2012, you'll be minted, basically.
NOT CES 2008: Exclusive video of what WON'T be in Las Vegas this year
Hey everyone. What with all the talk of this "CES" thing that's going on at the moment, I thought I'd give you an EXCLUSIVE look at a few of the products that won't be on the show floor this year.
I'll be revealing a two-year-old TV with NO HDMI sockets on it whatsoever, a six-year-old games console and a literally ancient digital cable box that's definitely NOT rocking the crowds at the Vegas Convention Centre right now.
You won't see these anywhere else! (apart from maybe at a dump or really poor friend's house).
Come back tomorrow for more exciting exclusive revelations from absolutely nowhere near Las Vegas about what's definitely not going to be at the show.
Oh. My. God. I'm slightly disbelievingly putting this post together and realising that we've published more than SIXTY posts on Tech Digest today. And we're still sitting here with bags of other stuff ready to go. So this is an attempt to sort through it all.
CES 2008: WOLFKING reveals MVP series Gamepad and mouse
You can’t argue with a company called WOLFKING. And if you did, your arguments would be rendered utterly pathetic by the overpowering strength of all those caps. WOLFKING is touting its latest mouse / gamepad combo at CES this year. It features updated versions of its TROOPER gaming mouse and WARRIOR pad, which is aimed at PC gamers who don’t want to fill their normal keyboard with dead skin and stale sweat.
The WARRIOR has 55-key circular layout containing all the keys you need to play an ordinary FPS as well as a few multimedia controls. It connects via USB 2.0 and offers a high level of key customisation.
The TROOPER mouse utilises a programmable frame rate of over 7,080 frames/sec, high speed motion detection - up to 45ips & 20g, and 2400 DPI resolution. It also features the industry's only patented Rapid Fire Switch which lets select between 1 and 4 shots to be taken per single click.
Unfortunately there’s no info on price or when these might be making their way to the UK.
CES 2008: ZyXEL debuts first digital media adapter with built-in HomePlug AV
WiFi is great for a lot of things, but there are instances where it isn’t the best solution for home networking. Perhaps you live in a palatial mansion that outstrips the range of ordinary WiFi technology, or maybe you live in a drafty Scottish castle with five foot thick walls that completely blocks all your signals. Or maybe every other sod in the near vicinity already has a WiFi router clogging up the airwaves. Whatever. There’s a way around it that works really well called HomePlug AV, which uses your mains sockets to carry your network. The trouble so far has been that you always have to buy a costly set of HomePlug AV adapters – one for each of the devices you want to plug in and one to plug into your router / hub.
Finally, one company – ZyXEL – has thought outside (or perhaps that should be inside) the box and taken the step of including the PowerPlug technology in something other than a plain old HomePlug adapter. ZyXEL has picked a digital media adapter – the DMA1100P – as its debut HomePlug enabled device, which we’re guessing is some kind of set-top box for accessing networked media, although without further descriptions or even a picture we can’t be sure. Good to know someone’s trying though.
CES 2008: LaCie boosts capacity on its designer Rugged All-Terrain and Little Disk drives
LaCie don't just make technology, they design it. Or rather, they get someone in to design it - like the Rugged All-Terrain and 2.5-inch Little Disk drives, designed by Neil Poulton and Sam Hecht respectively.
Both are on show at CES with increased capacities, both boosted to 320GB. The Little Disk is available in either USB 2.0 or USB2.0/FireWire 400, while the Rugged is available in USB 2.0 and a USB 2.0, FireWire 400 and FireWire800 version. The LaCie Rugged is a tough drive with aluminium shell and rubber bumper to protect against everyday damage. The Little Disk has a high-gloss finish and a removable protective cap, with integrated, extractable USB cable. Bundled synchronisation software allows you to access and modify files, emails (Microsoft Outlook) or personal settings.
Both drives (with increased capacity) will be available late January from LaCie direct for £129 including VAT.
CES 2008: SlingCatcher makes a late arrival, brings new features
Last year we were promised that Sling Media would be touting its SlingCatcher accessory by Xmas. That time came and went and there was nothing. This year, it’s back at CES again, but amidst Sling’s busy year, the Sling Catcher has been through a couple of changes. It was originally – and to a large extent still is – a kind of reverse Slingbox; it takes web content and shows it on your TV (instead of taking content from your TV and transmitting it to your PC).
The newer version can also be used to bring content from a Slingbox to other TVs in the house and, when used with the Slingbox Pro-HD, is capable of trasmiting HD content around your home, as well as eliminating the need to have a PC as part of the equation.
The SlingProjector software automatically detects video windows on a browser and projects it to the TV screen to give you more of “lean back” viewing experience.
Sling has missed the sub-$200 price mark it was gunning for last year and the SlingCatcher is now set to retail for $249.99 when the unit launches later in 2008.
CES 2008 Creative promises big sounds from a small footprint with the GigaWorks HD50 speakers
Creative has a new range of desktop speakers on the market - the GigaWorks HD50.
Designed to deliver a lot from small package, the speakers each contain a Titanium Super Tweeter for the highs, a two-inch High Definition Driver for a solid bass, plus BasXPort technology for additional low-frequency strength. There's also front controls for volume and power, plus LED indicators.
CES 2008: Samsung announces its first high definition digital camera - the NV24HD
Samsung has a number of new cameras on show at the CES, the pick of the bunch being the NV24HD.
The 10 mega-pixel NV24HD allows you to record high definition video (well, 720p resolution at up to 30fps to be precise), with a HDMI interface to hook up to your HD-ready TV later. Other features include a 2.5-inch AM-OLED Screen, dual picture stabilisation (optical picture and digital picture stabilisation), faster Advanced Shake Reduction (ASR) to 0.7 seconds, advanced noise reduction which supports up to ISO 3200 and a local contrast control which enables the camera to compensate the brightness of a shadowed subject in backlit conditions.
The NV24HD is priced at £249 and should be around from March 2008.
There are a couple of companies out there in this plugged-in world which Tech Digest and Shiny Shiny would just like to raise their foot-long margaritas to, who’ve helped with kitting us out to the max, ensuring our laptops are as light as the free beer served at CES parties, and we won’t turn an embarrassing shade of red when a Gizmodo boy walks past and spies us using a digital camera held together by duct tape. It was an emergency internal operation gone wrong after a seaside accident, I swear!
CES 2008 Special
Just how thin are the bezels on Toshiba's new Cinema series TVs?
Toshiba's been kicking around the mobile storage industry for a good few years now, so it's refreshing to see them update their line with something visually appealing, and also with a worthy claim. Yep, it's another 'World's most...' product.
Further hammering the nail into HD DVD's coffin, it appears Paramount is the latest film studio to drop the high-def format, after reports today from the Financial Times suggested they're following Warner Brothers' decision on Friday to back Blu-ray.
They might be small, but Sony's OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) televisions are definitely perfectly formed. With a ridiculously tiny 3mm thickness, it's a bit like putting your telly on a piece of paper. The 11 inch screens are available to consumers already, and Susi shows them off in the video under the cut. There was also a prototype model with a slightly larger 27" screen on show at CES, but considering these babies come it at almost $2,500, it may be a while before we see that one on sale in the US, let alone the UK...
Nothing's really going to eclipse Apple's iPhone announcement at Macworld last year, which clashed delightfully with CES 2007. Yet Apple has chosen, a week ahead of Macworld, to push out a new, high-performance Mac Pro.
And it's thanks to the hottest and coolest new "thing" in the music world - paid for subscriptions, says telecoms analyst 
