I’m going to switch gears a bit and check out the Mobile Internet Devices section at the Intel CES 2008 booth where they had a number of small ultra-mobile and ultra-mobile like PCs one display. Enjoy the photo gallery! (I’ll try and provide specs where I can)

Sorry but I’m not sure what the above systems are. Could be reference designs for all I know.

Here are pictures of the Fujitsu Mini-Notebook system (most likely the U810). If it is the U810, then the specs are as follows:

• Intel Processor A110 running at 800 MHz
• Windows Vista or Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005
• 5.6 inch WSVGA Crystal View touch screen display
• Touch or pen input
• QWERTY keyboard
• Built in wireless LAN, Bluetooth, and Ethernet support
• Integrated fingerprint reader and BIOS lock
• 1GB RAM
• 40GB HDD

The left system is the Samsung Q1 Ultra which features:

• Windows Vista or Windows XP
• Split QWERTY keyboard
• Lithium Ion Prismatic batteries
• 1024 x 600 resolution display with back lit LCD
• Optional HSDPA cellular modem
• Integrated Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
• Ethernet support
• Integrated video chat camera and integrated dual array microphone

The right system is the HTC Shift which features:

• Support for Microsoft Direct Push technology
• Windows Vista OS
• 7 inch touch screen display (800 x 840 resolution)
• Wi-Fi and 3G wireless support
• Screen slides out and tilts up
• QWERTY keyboard
• Fingerprint sensor
• Mouse buttons and microPad
• UMTS and HSDPA support
• Bluetooth 2.0 support
• USB 2.0
• Intel Stealey 800MHz processor
• 1GB RAM
• 1.8 inch 40 or 60GB HDD
• Measures 207 x 129 x 25 mm

Here are additional pics of the Samsung Q1 Ultra:

One of the cooler looking ultra-mobile PC’s on display at the Intel booth was a prototype system from Lenovo pictured below.  This system is based on the new Intel “Menlow” platform which utilizes a new Intel processor code-named “Silverthorne” and a new chipset code-named “Poulsbo”.  No other details were given about the Lenovo UMPC but enjoy the pics!

Finally, we have some additional pics of other mobile devices. One appears to be a WiBro branded UMPC but it’s not clear what the model is and one definitely is the Samsung Q1 Ultra again. Enjoy!

Technorati Tags: Intel, CES 2008, Mobile Internet Devices, Ultra-Mobile PCs, UMPC, Samsung, Lenovo, Fujitsu, WiBro,

Yes - I’ll be the first to admit that I’m a sucker for USB gadgets, devices, and toys. So you can imagine how giddy I was when I came across Dream Link’s booth at CES 2008. In fact, the very first thing I noticed was their new USB MSN Missile Launcher which was prominently on display there (and yes.. I did indeed run over to the booth like a little kid!). Here are pictures of the USB MSN Missile Launcher:

Oh.. and yes the missiles are actually taking aim at me now (you can see me in the webcam picture)

Things you need to know about this model. First, it has an integrated webcam. Yes that’s right - a webcam. Why do you need a webcam you might ask? To remotely target your victims using MSN Messenger of course! That’s right, you can use MSN Messenger to control the missile launcher and shoot the foam missiles at people. Yes.. imagine the havoc you’ll cause in the office!

Features include the following:

• Powered by USB - with 4 feet of cable
• 3 foam missiles and a target
• Twice the distance of the original model
• Moves left, right, up, and down
• Prerecorded sound effects
• Shoots up to 15 feet
• Compatible with Windows XP, 2000, Vista
• Measures 5.019in x 4.33in x 7.303in
• Weighs 0.36 kg

You’ll be able to get this product at places like ThinkGeek.com.

Next up, we have the USB Plasma Ball. Yes - it’s classic plasma ball that’s now powered directly by the USB port. There’s not much to say here except that I found myself staring at the ball for minutes on end.. “Must… stay … away.. from.. the … light”.

Now here’s a cool toy (I think?) - it’s the USB Roll Up Drum Kit. That’s right - get your own portable drum kit which you can simply roll up for storage. Features include:

• Create your own sets or choose from pre-selected tones
• Innovative interface allows all programming and sound to be activated by computer
• Rolls up to small size
• Powered by USB with 4 feet of cable
• Compatible with Windows XP/2000/Vista
• Comes with drum sticks, and software
• Measures 12.362in x 12.244in x 10in

Looking for a gift for that female friend of yours? How about giving her the USB Mr. Perfect?  I nearly fell over in laughter when I saw this (BTW, there’s also a Ms. Perfect for the guys out there too) actually. Connect Mr. Perfect to your PC and have him send you the “loveliest” messages all day long. You can even select the personality that Mr. Perfect will have - whether he’ll be nice or “cheeky”. (Cheeky will make the messages a tad bit “saucier”). Finally, you can customize Mr. Perfect with a picture of your Mr. Perfect. hahahah.

Mr. (and Ms.) Perfect is of course powered by the USB port and compatible with all current version of Windows.

You can see more of Dream Link’s products over at their website - the Dream Cheeky (http://www.dreamlink.info/index.php).

The Dream Info booth also had some folks from Solid Alliance on hand showing off various USB flash drives. Of particular interest were the following two USB flash drives. Each of these drives cost in excess of $1000 dollars (I think it was closer to $1500 but I could be wrong here). The designs are hand-crafted and utterly beautiful!

If you’re not quite willing to pay that much for a USB flash drive, perhaps you’d be interested in Solid Alliance’s Sushi USB memory sticks? Sushi fans will certainly love to own one of these!

You can check out more products (although in Japanese) at Solid Alliances’ website here.

Technorati Tags: Dream Link, USB MSN Missile Launcher, USB Plasma Ball, USB Roll Up Drum Kit, USB Mr. Perfect, USB Flash Drives, Solid Alliance, CES 2008

Having talked about the new Creative inPerson video conferencing product this morning, I thought I’d continue the Creative Technology coverage. The truth is - I didn’t really come across anything that truly stood out at Creative this year. Yes, they had some headphones, media players, and sound cards out but let’s face it - it was a rather boring booth altogether. Most of the ruckus was around two things - Creative Booth Babes and the fragging that Fatal1ty was performing on various gamers in the crowd. So without further ado, here are some pictures that I snapped at the booth. Enjoy!

You can barely see them in the above picture but the Creative Aurvana Live! Headphones are truly on display above. There are actually two of them - one on the left and one on the right (and it doesn’t help that the headphones are rather pitch black to begin with!). Here’s what you basically need to know about the Aurvana Live! headphones:

• Lightweight and ergonomically designed
• Soft leatherette earpads and adjustable padded headband
• 40 mm neodymium magnet driver with ultra-thin bio-cellulose diaphragm
• Optimally contoured earcups minimize internal sound distortion (and have high gloss finish)
• Comes with microfiber travel pouch
• Frequency Response: 10Hz - 30kHz
• Cord length: 1.2 m - oxygen free copper cable
• 210 gram weight
• MSRP of $149.99

Next to this lovely Creative Booth Babe is the Aurvana X-Fi Headphone. Features and specs to the Aurvana X-Fi include the following:

• Employs X-Fi technology
• X-Fi Crystalizer technology restores details and vibrancy to compressed music and movies - highs and lows are enhanced
• X-Fi CMSS-3D technology expands stereo MP3s and digital movies into virtual surround sound over the headphones. Voices are centered and ambient sounds are moved all around you
• Noise cancellation technology reduces background and environment noise by up to 90 percent. Use these headphones to block out noise when you sleep!
• 40 mm neodymium drivers
• Frequency response: 20Hz - 20kHz
• Noise reduction level: 20dB
• Weighs 245 grams
• Includes travel case
• MSRP of $299.99.

Above is a picture of the Creative ZEN Stone MP3 player and I have to admit - these pictures really do no justice to the ZEN Stone (and the ZEN Stone Plus). Seriously now - if you want a tiny MP3 player, the ZEN Stone is pretty hard to beat in terms of size. But perhaps what I’m most impressed with is the suggested retail price of the ZEN Stone. At $50 bucks, the 2GB ZEN Stone seems like a bargain to me. Features include the following:

• Built-in speaker
• Available in four contemporary colors
• Plug and play capabilities
• 20 hours of continuous audio playback
• Ergonomically designed controls
• Dedicated random button for shuffle playback
• Drag and drop features when connected to your PC
• Available in 1GB / 2GB sizes
• Supports MP3, WMA, Audible 2 and 3
• Rechargeable Li-Ion Polymer battery
• Measures 53.7 x 35.6 x 16 mm
• MSRP of $49.99 for 2GB

Now if you like the look of the ZEN Stone AND you’re willing to spend a little bit more, then you should definitely give the ZEN Stone Plus a look over. For five bucks more (at the time of this writing), you get a 2GB player that adds an FM tuner, a display, a built-in stopwatch, countdown timer, clock, and voice recorder. That’s right - all that for $54.99! Here’s the full feature list:

• Available in 2GB or 4GB models
• 32 FM station presets
• Built-in stopwatch, countdown timer, and clock
• Available in five colors
• Measures 2.19″ x 1.39″ x 0.5″ and weighs 0.74 oz
• 9.5 hour battery life for 2GB and 12 hour battery life for 4GB
• Rechargeable Li-ion Polymer battery
• Supports MP3, WMA, and Audible
• Single color OLED display (64 x 64 resolution)
• FM Radio
• Voice recorder

Moving up the food chain, we’ve got the Creative ZEN Portable Media Player. The big news here - the ZEN is now available in 16GB and 32 GB storage capacities yet still retains the near credit card size form factor. This means you can now choose storage sizes from 2GB, 4GB, 8GB, 16GB, and 32GB.

Features include:

• 2.5 color screen with support for 16.7 million colors (320 x 2240 resolution)
• Supports unprotected AAC format, MP3, WMA
• Compatible with music subscription services such as Napster and Rhapsody
• Supports audio books
• Supports JPEG
• Supports MJPEG, WMV9, and (with transcoding - MPEG1 and 2, MPEG4-SP, DivX 4 and 5 and XviD)
• Built in SD slot
• FM Radio
• 30 hours of music playback
• 5 hours of video playback
• Syncs with and views Microsoft Outlook® Contacts, Calendar & Tasks
• Album art support
• Voice recorder
• Clock and alarm function
• Customizable main menu
• Works as external hard drive
• 8 EQ settings
• Measures 3.26″ x 2.16″ x 0.44″ and weighs 2.1 oz

So how much will the 32GB set you back? How about $349.99? The low end 2GB model goes for $79.99.

I’ll end things with pictures of some of the lovely Creative ladies as well as some pictures of the frag fest at the Creative booth.

Technorati Tags: Creative, Zen Stone, Zen Stone Plus, Aurvana Live!, Aurvana X-Fi, CES 2008

Creative used CES 2008 as their venue to introduce their latest entry into the video conferencing market - the Creative inPerson device. According to the company, inPerson is ideal for one to one and small group meetings - allowing users to communicate with one another without actually having to be there “in person” (and hence.. the name of course!).

The key to all of this is the inPerson device which looks like a small portable DVD player. Since the unit is portable, you can literally bring the inPerson device wherever you go and use it wherever there is a wireless or wired Internet connection. You will need to subscribe to a low cost monthly plan in order to fully utilize the inPerson device although other users can contact you via a PC webcam.

Here are the specs to the inPerson device:

• 7 inch widescreen LCD display
• 640 x 480 resolution video
• Supports up to a bit rate of 2 Mbps
• 76 degree wide angle lens
• High quality sensor for low light performance
• Supports composite NTSC and PAL formats
• Built in acoustic echo cancellation (AEC) feature
• High sensitivity dual microphones for longer range pick up
• Built-in speaker
• Connects to 10/100 Base-T port
• Connects to wireless networks (802.11b/g)
• Removable Li-Ion battery
• Rotating camera lens
• Wireless remote control
• Supports call history, auto answer, contact lists, speed dial, and auto-login

Here is a picture of two inPerson devices in communication with one another. I played around with the inPerson device for a short amount of time and was impressed with the overall quality of the audio/video. Creative even allowed us to contact another Creative employee in Northern California via inPerson and I have to admit - it was pretty neat to see the whole thing in action.

Right now, inPerson is geared towards businesses who want a cheaper alternative to common video conferencing solutions out there. Each inPerson device can be purchased for $519.99 at Creative’s website (which includes one year of free service by Broadxent). I don’t see this as a consumer ready device quite yet - especially since you have to pay subscription fees to actually use the device with other inPerson users. However, it’s still nice to see Creative come out with innovative new products that take a new spin on existing markets.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Creative, inPerson, video conferencing, CES 2008

In case you didn’t hear about this last week (I didn’t because I’ve been so focused on getting CES content up), Gizmodo pulled off several pranks at least week’s CES 2008 convention in Las Vegas. Specifically, they used devices called “TV-B-Gone” which would shut off television sets being used for demonstrations. You can see a compilation video here at Gizmodo. In response to this, CEA has barred the Gizmodo staffer from attending any further CES events. According to this News.com blog posting, “additional sanctions against Gizmodo and Gawker Media are under discussion.”

While I can appreciate a good gag here and there, I am concerned about what something like this will do for “bloggers” out there who are trying to get into and cover conferences and conventions. I for one had a “blogger” pass this year instead of a “press” pass (which did initially annoy me quite a bit) and that actually caused some problems for me at some booths. In fact, the very last booth I visited at CES before calling it a night was Samsung and I had a very tough time getting the right to take pictures at their booth. Why? Because I had a “blogger” pass instead of a “press” pass and Samsung had yet to determine whether bloggers were considered press. Um - hello? Did you not see the rest of the booths allowing “bloggers” take pictures of their products?

Thus as some “bloggers” (such as myself) are struggling to make a name for themselves in the business, a prank such as this can actually hurt the overall cause and further the “distinction” between a press analyst and a blogger for a website. I doubt that CEA would deny folks from online blogs at future conferences but CEA could certainly further the distinction between what a Blogger could do/access and what a Press analyst could do at these conferences. (I would think that a ban would definitely incur some major wrath from the blogosphere community out there).

So yes.. it was a funny prank but I do think it was taken a bit too far. Turning off sets at the booths is one thing. Turning off sets during actual presentations is another. Let’s keep in mind that the people manning and presenting the demonstrations are employees of their respective companies and they’re trying to do their jobs. I might get flamed a bit for this but I do think there needs to be a certain amount of professionalism from us “bloggers” out there..

Or else, I’ll need to make sure I get a “press” pass next year..

[Check it out via News.com]

Technorati Tags: Gizmodo, prank, CES, TV-B-Gone, CEA, News.com

Cowon had a small booth located along the side wall of the South Hall of the LVCC. The following are pictures as well as descriptions of the portable media players that they had on display there. Quite honestly - nothing really stood out at Cowon but enjoy the pics anyhow!

First up is the Premium PMP Cowon Q5W. This high end portable media player has the following specs:

• 5 inch 16.7 million color TFT LCD with 800 x 480 touch screen display
• Supports WLAN and Bluetooth wireless connectivity
• Alchemy ALU1250 600MHz processor
• Windows CE 5.0 OS
• TV out with Component, S-Video, Composite outputs
• Supports AVI, ASF, WMV, MPG, OGM
• Supports DivX, XviD, MPEG4, WMV 7/8/9
• Supports MP3, WMA, ASF, OGG, WAV, FLAC, APE, MPC
• Supports JPG, BMP, PNG, RAW
• Photo and text viewer
• Adobe Flash Player
• FM radio
• Voice recorder
• Supports MS DRM 10
• USB 2.0
• Built-in stereo speaker
• 7 hour video playback and 13 hour audio playback
• 40GB or 60GB HDD

Here is the Extreme PMP Cowon A3 media player. The specs are as follows:

• New TI DaVinci chipset
• 1280 x 720 HD video playback support
• 800 x 480 resolution, 16.7 million colors, and a 4 inch TFT LCD display
• TV Out - Component, S-Video, Composite
• Supports AVI, WMV, ASF, MP4, MATROSKA, MPG, VOB, DAT, MTV, OGM
• Supports DivX 3.11 and up, XviD, MPEG4 SP/ASP,WMV 9/8/7, H.264 MP, M-JPEG, MPEG1
• Supports MP3/2/1, ASF, WMA, FLAC, OGG, M4A, TTA, APE, MPC, WV, WAV, AC3
• Video recording from TV, VCR, or camcorder
• Voice recording and line-in audio recording
• Supports JPG, GIF, BMP, PNG, TIF, RAW
• Document viewer
• FM radio and recording
• JetEffect powered by BBE and EQ filter
• User adjustable 10 band EQ
• Built in stereo speaker
• USB 2.0 support
• Alarm scheduled playback or recording
• 7 hours of video playback and 9 hours of audio playback
• 30GB/60GB of HDD storage
• Optional mobile TV package supporting DVB-T, T-DMB, 1 SEG

This is the Premium MP3 Cowon D2 media player. The specs are as follows:

• 2.5 inch 16.7 million color TFT LCD with a resolution of 320 x 240
• Touch screen capable
• Video, music, photo and text playback
• Flash Contents player
• Calculator and Notepad
• FM radio and recording
• Voice and line-in recording
• USB storage
• Easy to use interface via Virtual Click and Virtual Motion
• 74mW output
• Supports full scale 30fps QVGA video and TV out
• SD/MMC card support with SDHC support
• Up to 52 hours of music playback, 10 hours of movie playback
• Dynamic playlists
• USB 2.0
• Supports APE, MP3, WMA, OGG, WAV, FLAC, Moving Picture, JPG, BMP
• Supports MS DRM 10
• JetEffect powered by BBE and EQ filter
• Available in 2GB, 4GB, and 8GB flash memory
• D2 DAB Digital Radio Edition and D2 1 SEG Edition

Above is the Cowon Extreme MP3 iAudio 7 portable media player. Specs are as follows:

• Swing-Touch interface
• Up to a whopping 60 hours of playback
• Choose from 2GB, 4GB, 8GB, 16GB flash memory
• Support for music, video, photo, and text playback
• FM radio and recording
• Voice and line-in recording
• USB storage support
• 1.3 inch color TFT display with 160 x 128 resolution and support for 260K colors
• Supports MP3, OGG, WMA, ASF, FLAC, WAV, Moving Picture, JPEG
• Supports Microsoft DRM 10
• Dynamic playlists
• USB 2.0
• JetEffect powered by BBE and EQ filter
• User adjustable 5 band EQ

Here is the Cowon Optimal Slim iAudio U5 portable media player. Specs are as follows:

• Slim design
• 1.8 inch TFT Color LCD display with a resolution of 128 x 160
• FM radio and recording
• Voice recorder
• USB Storage support
• 64 mW output
• Supports MS DRM 10
• Supports MP3, WMA, WAV file formats
• Choose from 2GB, 4GB, or 8GB flash memory
• Multi Language Support
• Up to 24 hours playback
• Dynamic playlists
• USB 2.0
• JetEffect powered by BBE and EQ Filter
• User adjustable 5 band equalizer

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Cowon, CES 2008, iAudio U5, iAudio 7, Cowon D2, Cowon A3, Cowon Q5W

We dropped by the Jada Toys booth where they were demonstrating an upcoming new product called the Guitar Hero Air Guitar Rocker. While using the “Guitar Hero” name and logo, the Air Guitar Rocker actually has nothing to do with the video game itself but will certainly appeal to gamers as well as air guitar enthusiasts and rock fans out there.

The Air Guitar Rocker consists of 2 guitar pics, a “Rockin Belt buckle” and a mini-amplifier. You connect the belt buckle to a mini amplifier, wear the belt buckle, and then proceed to have some fun!

When you wave the guitar pic in front of the belt buckle, a guitar chord is played and a rock session commences. The tempo of the song is controlled by how fast the user waves the pic over the belt buckle. Basically, once you begin strumming the pic up and down over the belt, you can pretend to be your favorite rock star. The booth had two individuals showing how to play a riff using the product. The skill is in getting the tempo just right such that the song being played over the amp sounds correct.

You can change songs by changing out different cartridges. The Starter Air Cartridge comes with 10 guitar riffs - 5 of which are:

• Iron Man by Black Sabbath
• Smoke on the Water by Deep Purple
• Ace of Spades by Motorhead
• You Really Got Me by Van Halen
• More Than A Feeling by Boston

The Guitar Hero Air Guitar Rocker will be available in March for an MSRP of $29.99.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Jada Toys, Guitar Hero, Air Guitar Rocker, CES 2008

Alienware had some of their latest gear on display with the Dell booth at CES 2008. The product getting the most buzz and attention at the Alienware booth was the “Alienware Curved Display” pictured below.

According to Alienware, this display is the equivalent of two 24 inch monitors. It has a native resolution of 2880 x 900 (double WXGA+) and is based on DLP rear projection technology. Response time is less than 0.02 ms and it’s basically the first of it’s kind. No word on price but Alienware will release it late this year. Enjoy the pics!

Technorati Tags: Alienware, Curved Display, CES 2008

Here we have the new Dell Inspiron 1525. This mid-range notebook is thinner and lighter than it’s predecessor but more importantly, is far more customizable than ever before. First off, you can choose from 8 of the standard colors including espresso brown, ruby red, flamingo pink, jet black, spring green, alpine white, sunshine yellow, and midnight blue. In addition to these colors, you can now choose from three new patterns which include Chill, Blossom, and Street.

Other specs to the Dell Inspiron 1525 include:

• Intel Celeron or Pentium Dual Core Processor
• Windows Vista OS
• Optional Built-in 2.0 megapixel Webcam
• Advanced antenna design
• 15.4 inch HD widescreen display
• Dell Wi-Fi Catcher detects hotspots without turning on your computer
• Dell MediaDirect
• HDMI output

Prices start as low as $499 for a Celeron 540 processor and 512MB of RAM. If you want a Core 2 Duo, you can get an Inspiron 1525 system now for $849 with 2GB RAM.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Dell, Inspiron 1525, CES 2008

Now if the Dell Crystal 22 inch widescreen doesn’t quite measure up for you in terms of size, then perhaps the new Dell UltraSharp 3008WFP 30 inch Widescreen Flat Panel will do? This new 30 inch monitor features a native resolution of 2560 x 1600, 3000:1 contrast ratios, an integrated HDMI connection, and a whopping 100 percent of the NTSC color gamut (actually higher on the CIE 1976 standard).

Features include:

• 2560 x 1600 resolution
• TrueColor Technology (100 percent of the color gamut) supports Adobe 98 color standard
• 3000:1 contrast ratio
• VGA, DVI-D with HDCP, S-Video, Component, Composite and HDMI connections
• 370 cd/m2 brightness
• 178 degree viewing angle
• 8ms response time
• Anti-glare surface
• 4 USB ports
• 9 in 2 card reader
• Measures 22.52-18.98 x 27.43 x 9.35 inches and weighs 34.36 lbs

One small issue - the price. For 30 inches, the Dell 3008WFP will set you back $1999. Ouch.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Dell UltraSharp 3008WFP 30 inch flat panel monitor, LCD monitor, Dell, CES 2008