For 40 years, the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) has been the launch pad of technology and 2007 promises to be nothing short of spectacular. Registration for the 2007 show in Las Vegas (Jan. 8-11) opens today!
Don't miss a chance to experience the excitement of the newest technology in the CE industry!
The first CES took place in New York City in June, 1967 with 200 exhibitors and 17,500 attendees. Since then, CES has grown more than seven-fold. Nearly 2,700 exhibitors, filling 1.6 million square feet of exhibit space, showcased their latest products and services to more than 140,000 attendees at the 2006 International CES.
Jaanus Kase is a big figure in the Skype world. Part of Skype's marketing team, he runs the company's Share Skype blog.While his posts there are opinionated and colorful, you'll really get a sense of Jaanus' personality if you visit his own Jaanus on the internet blog. No one is pulling his strings, that's for [...]
I've just returned from the 2006 Consumer Electronics Show. Whew.In the process of looking back at CES thru the ol' rear-view, I went to the CES site.Guess what I found. The CES' page title for the main 2006 International CES info page reads "2005 International CES."The inside pages show the correct title,but not the main [...]
I'd bet that Apple is working on a Wi-Fi-enabled iPod. I mean, this has been talked about for close to two years.The arrival What may finally push Apple into action is the arrival of two actual, real-world Wi-Fi enabled MP3 players on display here at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. I am actually on [...]
Well, the traditional phone companies are at it again, looking for pounds of flesh that they can extract from the feature-rich Internet-based services and sites that want carriage over their networks.Just yesterday at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas (I'm there) Verizon Communications CEO Ivan Seidenberg talked of willingness to strike up deals with [...]
I'm posting this from the Sands Exhibition Center, which is the Consumer Electronics Show's overflow exhibition and conference facility here in Las Vegas.Just had demos of the new softphone from NetZero Voice, as well as Packet 8's new softphone.Unlike more familar softphones such as Skype - these softphones are, in a word, pretty. The dialpad, especially [...]
Microsoft is working with Philips on the development of a wireless household phone.The phone will be able to make VoIP calls using Microsoft's Instant Messenger and its "Windows Live Call" service.No more specifics @ this point, but I am at the Consumer Electronics Show, in the words of the former Cat Stevens, "on the road [...]
Bleary eyed, I turned on the tv in my Las Vegas hotel room at about 4:30 a.m. this morning.Watched the CES Channel, and learned all about VONGO, the new video download application and service for broadband from Starz Entertainment Group that delivers movies and other digital content to PCs and mobile devices.Sony CONNECT will be [...]
Here at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Skype and Web-based collaboration facilitator WebDialogues have announced a Skype certified plug-in that enhances Skype voice conferences by allowing business and consumers to share documents, presos, applications, or their entire PC desktop using just a web browser.I have been looking at WebDialogues, and am really impressed [...]
Esteemed colleague Dan Farber thinks a Google-branded PC could work. In fact, rumors are flying that Google will announce such a product on Friday at the Consumer Electronics Show. That's where I am, incidentially.I think a Google network appliance- such as the oft-rumored Google Cube- would be a better idea. The way I envision Google [...]
Two thumbs up for KODAK Photo Voice, a new, free offering that lets users of KODAK EASYSHARE Gallery talk over Skype.Here's how it works. Say you have a slide show or individual photos loaded on your EASYSHARE account. These photos could be your daughter's graduation shots, your family opening Christmas presents, or maybe even shots of [...]
One of the undereported stories at the Consumer Electronics Show this week is the growing sophistication of headsets for VoIP calls.There are the usual cast of suspects, such as Logitech and Plantronics- but it now seems that headset makers more associated with audiophile applications - like listening to music - are testing the VoIP waters.In [...]
Well, after several flight delays, I arrived at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas Tuesday afternoon.Based on my conversations and observations so far, the overarching VoIP-related theme seems to be one of hardware-driven partnerships to enhance existing VoIP services.Some of the announcements that are jumping out at me include:Vonage will partner with networking systems [...]
... at 1:00 PM (and runs until 8:00 PM) at the Javits Center in New York.
It's also open Friday and Satuday from 11:00 AM to 8:00 PM and Sunday from 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM.
(That's a lot of hours ...)
Don't miss one of the rare "open to the general public" consumer electronics shows -- it's like the big CES show in January in Las Vegas but that's for buyers only.
(And if you think DigitalLife gets crowded ...)
Look for me on the show floor. I'll be there starting today.
While everybody hears about CES and MacWorld, another tech focused show is happening in Las Vegas -- StorageVisions 2007.
Not to be outdone by those two shows, we have some news from this one, too.
In a move to give the growing number of notebook PC users faster, more durable systems that run longer on a battery charge, Hitachi, Samsung, Seagate and Toshiba have formed a new organization called the Hybrid Storage Alliance.
With market research firm IDC predicting that hybrid hard disk drives will constitute 35% of all hard disk drives shipped with portable PCs by 2010, this technology is seen as the industry's answer to the growing demand for notebook PCs that deliver the speed and durability of desktop PCs.
The goals of the industry group are actually very simple:
Illustrate how flash memory/hard drive hybrid technology can extend the capabilities of today's notebook computers
Accelerate market adoption of the technology
According to the organization, hybrid technology combines the unmatched capacity and cost-effectiveness of hard drives with the responsiveness, power-efficiency and durability of flash memory.
Microsoft Windows Vista will be the first operating system capable of taking full advantage of the performance, power and durability benefits of hybrid technology. Hybrid drives will leverage the "Windows ReadyDrive" features in Windows Vista to enable a new generation of mobile PCs that boot up and resume from hibernation faster, optimize battery life, outperform standard hard disk drives and are more reliable and robust.
From sharp minds come sharp products -- and how about big, really big products.
Making its debut at CES, Sharp's Aquos 108-inch High-Definition LCD TV is the world’s largest HD set -- larger than even its plasma rivals.
The 1080p LCD TV measures 93.9 inches wide by 52.9-inches high -- that's almost 8 feet by 4.5 feet; SuperBowl ba-bee! (A "baby" Sharp 65-inch set is pictured; this one is currently available.)
The giant set features Sharp’s Advanced Super View LCD Panel, which is manufactured at Sharp’s Kameyama Plant No. 2. This is the first facility in the world to produce panels from eighth-generation glass substrates. (A little techno for you.)
The annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) clambake in the hot Las Vegas sun opened today after the obligatory Bill Gates keynote -- I'll point you to this spot here for what Microsoft is offering up at this year's show.
What I found particulary interesting instead was the CES Innovations Awards, which takes all of the gadgets at CES and breaks them down into 29 categories -- from Audio Accessories to Wireless Peripherals.
Amid all the excitement about big screen TVs, new cellphones and the like, here's a look at some of the winners in the Personal Electronics category:
Able Planet's Able Talker Assistive Listening Device enhances speech clarity and filters background noise to enable people with hearing loss to communicate in unfavorable acoustic environements; www.ableplanet.com
Black & Decker's Bullseye Laser Level Studfinder is an innovative, third generation model that is better, smarter and smaller for finding studs behind walls and making sure everything is level; www.blackanddecker.com
Emtrace Technologies' WidgetStation is a desk clock which can run various human friendly, easy to learn widgets; www.emtrace.com/widgetstation/
Freeplay Energy's Indigo Lantern is the answer to practically all portable lighting needs -- it's an ultra-bright LED lighting powered by rechargeable AC or by wind up; www.freeplayenergy.com
Oregon Scientific has three award winners: ATC2K is a water- and shock-resistant hands-free helmet cam that attaches to a helmet, arm, leg or bike! Talking Wireless Oven/ BBQ Thermometer verbally alerts you when your entree has reached the perfect temperature! and the WMS802 WeatherNow2 uses MSN Direct wireless service to receive a four-day regional weather forecast without the use of any outdoor sensors; www2.oregonscientific.com
SDI Technologies has two winners: the iHome Mobile is the first Bluetooth stereo-enabled clock radio, capable of streaming music wirelessly from MP3 phone/computer through speakers; and theTimex TM80, the first clock radio to wake/sleep to digital music by inserting a thumb drive or SD media card; www.sdidirect.com
SmartShopper uses voice technology to make grocery store shopping easier -- press "record" and say the item you need at the grocery store or an errand, press "print" and out comes your grocery list by category; www.smartshopperUSA.com
Teydo America's Gemtek combines GPS, GSM and the Internet within one small device to request and receive a location from any cell phone and computer; www.teydo.com
Yamaha's DGX-620 digital piano features 88 weighted, graded hammer piano-style keys, 500 instrument voices, easy song arranger and performance assistant. www.yamaha.com
Love the battle of the firsts and why should computer storage not leverage key features when one company has them and no one else does.
Well, today we have two separate reports -- one about Seagate and the other about Hitachi-- hitting the magical 1TBmilestone for storing data on a hard disk drive for consumer use.
You can check out the speeds and feeds on both drives, but no matter how you slice it, 1TB of data is a heck of a lot of data to store.
Remember when 1GB seemed like more storage than anyone could possibly use?
You knew Macworld and CES in the same week would be exciting, but who expected that Apple's show would blow the other one completely out of the water?
Funny what a little iPhone announcement -- and the ensuing announcement from Cisco about a lawsuit -- will do for blogging and all other forms of gadget reporting ...
A cell phone is to an Internet phone as an airplane is to a faucet? Go here to make sense out of this.
Interesting article in today's New York Times about the lowly set-top box that brings TV into our homes today (or at least a large part of U.S. homes today) is undergoing a transformation.
(At least by what was shown by companies like Motorola at CES earlier this month.)
Now while the article goes on to describe how this box is now being looked on to do more -- record shows on an internal hard drive, etc. -- why doesn't someone think of making these things look any better?
They are usually black and ugly -- how about some color?
Or better yet, how about some enterprising company developing skins for these things?
We've got skins for Xbox and the like so why not this piece of gadget hardware?
For 40 years, the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) has been the launch pad of technology and 2007 promises to be nothing short of spectacular. Registration for the 2007 show in Las Vegas (Jan. 8-11) opens today! 
... at 1:00 PM (and runs until 8:00 PM) at the Javits Center in New York.
Not to be outdone by those two shows, we have some news from this one, too.
From sharp minds come sharp products -- and how about big, really big products.
The annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) clambake in the hot Las Vegas sun opened today after the obligatory Bill Gates keynote -- I'll point you to this spot 
Love the battle of the firsts and why should computer stora
ge not leverage key features when one company has them and no one else does.
You knew Macworld and CES in the same week would be exciting, but who expected that Apple's show would blow the other one completely out of the water? 
