As if there isn’t already enough out of CES 2008, this pocket-sized projector has got to be one of the coolest gadgets that made its debut at the show. What’s the big deal? Code-named "SHOW", Microvision’s new projector is small enough to fit in the palm of your hand and can project a DVD-quality widescreen 848 x 480 pixel image up to 100-inches in size! What’s more, is that the SHOW is designed to connect quickly and easily to a variety of laptops, mobile phones, PMPs, digital cameras and other mobile devices. The production model provides up to 2.5 hours of battery operation and will make use of the company’s single micro-mirror laser scanning display technology. If Microvision can partner with Wayne Szalinski to develop an eight-foot projector screen that will fit in the back pocket of a pair of jeans, we’re good to go.

Read

Among the hoards of announcements that came out of CES this week, Sprint and Sanyo have just announced the latest edition to the popular Katana line. The interestingly-styled Katana DLX is aimed at the younger crowd and is Sprint broadband-compatible to accommodate all of Sprint’s current goodies such as Sprint Power Vision, Sprint TV, On Demand and Sprint Navigation. CES typically boasts cutting-edge tech though and a quick perusal of the Katana’s specs might have made an off-the-strip dive a better launching point than the convention center. Wait for it… Wait for it… A 1.3-megapixel camera? Yikes! The Katana DLX does support microSDHC cards however, and we figure that with the 12GB card SanDisk just announced you should be able to store around six billion snaps from the 1.3-megapixel monster. Hopefully the niche design, snazzy finish and colors (Platinum Ice, Pink Satin and Champagne) and moderate $130 price tag can combine to overcome the spec hurdles. Sanyo’s product page doesn’t even mention MP3 ringtone compatibility. If you can get past the grainy pics and if Super Mario-style ringtones are your bag, The Katana DLX is available now and ripe for the picking.

UPDATE: Sorry guys, this is old news!

[Via SlipperyBrick]

Read

The digital audio player market is….crowded, but what’s one more feature rich entry? Samsung has packed the YP-P2 with just about every feature imaginable. The biggest draw on this device is its creative implementation of Bluetooth. Using the player’s on board radio, users are able to interact with Bluetooth headsets, speakers, computers, and cell phones. If your phone has the correct Bluetooth profile you can even dial out and use the YP-P2 as a glorified address book and caller ID screen. Nice! Touch screen response is quick, and the video is nice, if a bit limited by the small 3" screen. It supports a wide variety of audio and video codecs, and with 35 hours of audio playback you should be set for quite some time. It feels good in-hand, and is slim enough to slip into any pocket you can find. It’s available now in 4 and 8 GB versions, with a 16 GB version coming soon.

Click on over to our Samsung YP-P2 gallery!

Bluetrek hit CES 2008 with a couple of interesting bluetooth devices, but the SurfaceSound DUO is particularly cool. Slim and relatively compact, the DUO clips to your car’s visor and can be paired with any bluetooth phone. It utilizes an integrated mic and snazzy flat speaker to give you hands-free calling and sports a respectable 22 hours of talk time, 24 days of stand-by. The cool thing about the SurfaceSound DUO is that any compatible Bluetrek headset can be docked in the headset port to make use of the DUO’s mic and speaker. Even cooler still, you can dock your headset while on an active call and it will seamlessly move your conversation to the loudspeaker. This means that you can transition between your car and the street quickly and easily without interruption. The DUO will also charge your docked headset so it’s nice and juiced once you park. No word yet on pricing and availabilty but hit the link to check out a video of the SurfaceSound DUO in action. Bluetrek’s moderately-attractive model seems to enjoy the device so that must mean you will too.

Read

We had the opportunity to spend a bit of quality time with LG’s new Viewty handset today at CES. After a bit of menu and feature exploration, we can say that this is a pretty nice high-end feature phone. The Viewty’s biggest claim to fame is it’s optical lense and imaging features, which allow for 5 megapixel shots, 120 frames-per-second video capture, auto and manual focus, an 800 ISO mode, and onboard image stabilization. We don’t have any hard data to prove this, but image quality felt on-par (or perhaps even a bit better than) the camera on the Nokia N95. The menu system is classic LG: simple and straightforward. Haptics feedback provides ample tactile response from the touchscreen, and everything felt nice and quick. Overall, it gets our stamp of approval. Hit the gallery, guys!

Click on over to our LG Viewty hands on gallery!

Are you noticing a trend here? The CES trade show is about many things, but gigantic televisions are certainly at the forefront of most big manufacturer’s offerings. While Pioneer can’t quite compete on the size scale with the likes of Panasonic and Sharp, the company is working to make a play on the luxury screen market. They’ve branded a luxury division under the name Kuro, and seem to be churning out some pretty attractive high-end TVs. They had a prototype TV on display here today, and it’s a beautiful product. It’s a 50" screen designed to sit in your living room or entertainment center. The TV itself is insanely thin, and picture quality is nothing short of stunning. The Pioneer reps were coy about whether or not there were plans to launch commercial production, but we think they’d have a winner on their hands if they decided to make this one available. Remember this concept TV is totally different from the Kuro that’s offered now. The black levels are simply unbelievable on the concept, even better than the commerically available Kuros in stores.

Click on over to our Pioneer Kuro concept TV gallery!

While cruising through the Samsung booth earlier today we stopped by their DAP and music station to score a bit of time with the YA-BS900 Stereo Bluetooth speakers. These things sound great, and interact with Bluetooth devices in a unique way. They feature embedded Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP profile support, 10 meter range, 30W output, motion detection sensor, touch sensor, and much more. They’re designed to work with Sammy’s YP-P2 Bluetooth digital audio player, as well as any other phone or media device that support the A2DP profile. Sound quality is excellent, and the design is subtle but appealing. They’re not too big, and we could easily see stashing this thing in a dorm room or on a kitchen counter. They come in a couple of colors as well, for all you color-scheme-matching freaks out there. They should run about $399 when they launch in March.

Click on over to our Samsung YA-BS900 Bluetooth speakers gallery!

We should state from the jump here that we didn’t get much time to play with this thing. About 30 seconds after we picked it up a Samsung PR rep scurried up and told us to stop taking pictures…what could they be hiding? We’re not entirely sure, but we’ll let you know what we did discover. The SWT-W100K appears to be a South Korea-only device (judging from the conspicuous Anycall branding). It sports an embedded WiMAX radio, 4.3" WVGA touch screen, Bluetooth, GPS, media player, DMB mobile TV support, Opera Browser, 2 megapixel rear-facing and VGA front-facing camera, and more. The response time of the device is quick, and the menu system seems to be pretty clearly organized (though much of the text was in Korean). We’re guessing that the odds of this thing landing on American soil are effectively null, but you know where to send that review unit, right Sammy?

Click on over to our Samsung SWT-W100K Mobile Internet Device hands on!

Your handheld device may not look particularly cool with this odd old school Motorola antenna-looking contraption sticking out of the miniSD slot, but this gadget is so compact and useful that you might not even care. Spectec hit Las Vegas this week with the latest in their line of SD-slot adapters; a compact portable GPS unit that plugs into a miniSD slot! Primarily targeting Windows Mobile users, Spectec’s upcoming adapter provides a tremendous size and weight reduction compared to standard bluetooth GPS receivers. Keeping your GPS receiver charged up is not an issue of course, as power is drawn from the handheld. Device compatibility will not be limited to Windows Mobile, but driver development could be a bit slower for other platform devices. Thanks to Spectec’s design however, drivers will not be a necessity for this receiver. If drivers aren’t present on the handheld, the adapter will enable Bluetooth and become detectable as a standard external bluetooth GPS receiver! Very slick indeed.

Read

This one has been on the market for quite some time, but we finally got a chance to get some "me" time with the Samsung SGH-G800 worldphone today. This slider handset is Samsung’s entry in the "5 megapixel camera phone war". It’s quite thick, but feels good in-hand. As imaging is its main focus, it sports a Xenon flash, face detection, and an onboard image stabilizer. Image quality is fantastic, and the camera app felt a lot faster than most other camera phones we’ve played with. An built-in video and image editor rounds out the imaging feature set. It also sports 145 MB of onboard memory, and is expandable by a microSD slot. Not leaving everything else out, the phone sports a nicely-appointed browser application, and a full array of Google Apps. We really liked this handset, and it should definitely make the short list if you’re looking for a high-end camera phone. Just hope that Samsung OS doesn’t bother you too much. Check it out in our gallery!

Click on over to our Samsung SGH-G800 hands on gallery!

What’s the next wave in high-end TVs? Where do we go after LCD and Plasma screens? Sony thinks they have the answer. Utilizing OLED technology, they’re manufacturing some pretty impressive screens. We got a chance to take a look at the prototype for 27" model (the 11" model is currently available for retail purchase). The screen and image quality on this thing could be the best we’ve ever seen. It’s clear, crisp, and provides excellent contrast, viewing angle, and color saturation. It’s 10mm thick, sports a contrast ratio of 1,000,000:1, and is fully HD compliant. The design is typical Sony, and while we might prefer a slightly more conservative stand design, we’re generally happy with the overall look. No word on drop date or price, but expect this one to be very, very, very expensive.

Click on over to our Sony 27" OLED TV gallery! 

If we didn’t see the video with our own eyes, we would definitely say that this is some sort of joke. No such luck however. Reminiscent of the NokLa knock-off devices issued shortly after each new Nokia release, iRiver has shamelessly cloned the iPhone and chosen to wear it publicly as a badge of courage. Debuted at CES, iRiver’s enormous lawsuit waiting to happen is essentially a Linux-based iPhone with an uglier UI and an uglier body. The application icons are iPhone rips, the application interfaces themselves are iPhone rips and the form factor is an iPhone rip. Japanese tech companies have historically been known for innovation; taking existing technology and vastly improving upon it. We can only hope that South Korean companies aren’t shooting for the opposite label! iRiver’s apparent motivation behind this massive blunder is to provide an iPhone-like experience but add 3G to the equation. Ummm, have they not been reading the news? The 3G iPhone announcement is coming shortly and it will be available later this year. iRiver also states that this device will be "more affordable" than the iPhone, making it more accessible. We don’t care. Bottom line: Many, many people need to be fired over this. Many people…

Read

The Neonode N2 mobile handset is a bizarre little thing. It’s a tiny, full touchscreen device that sports a single joystick for navigation. The touchscreen is navigable by way of several iPhone-like gestures, with a right sweep of the finger registering as a "yes" and a left sweep registering as a "no" or "cancel". The screen has Haptics feedback, which is something we feel to be an essential feature of a modern touchscreen device. The screen itself is pressure sensitive, which means that you can use it with gloves on…no bare, cold fingers necessary. The phone felt a bit sluggish, and we were not impressed by the dull UI, but overall the handset has some attractive features. It’s small, but not tiny, and the screen+joystick combo allowed for relatively easy navigation. Neonode is currently in talks with US carriers, and they informed us that a release on T-Mobile or AT&T is more than likely by year’s end. Excited? Check the gallery!

Click on over to our Neonode N2 hands on gallery!

What happens when you make the world’s largest Plasma TV? Wars end, buildings crumble, and world leaders fall to their knees. Oh, and you also display it at the world’s craziest technology expo. Panasonic had their beast of burden on display here today, and all we can say is…damn! A 150" television has to be seen to be fully appreciated, but we managed to snap some shots anyway to give you some idea of its epic scope. Picture quality is insane, though you’ll have to hire a small army to move this thing into your home (or personal stadium). The resolution is actually 4x 1080p (good luck finding an input source that high, though). That said, we want one. Please.

Click on over to our Panasonic 150-inch Plasma HDTV gallery!

Here’s a crazy hybrid device from the folks over at Sony. The Sony VAIO LT HDTV/PC (product name VGC-LT29U) is a device with a bit of an identity crisis. At heart, it’s an all-in-one personal computer, with clean lines and a classic Sony design. The computer sports 1TB of on-board storage, on-board Blu-ray player / writer, and an Intel Core 2 Duo T9300 CPU. It is, however, much more than that. Sony is positioning this as a modified HDTV. It’s wall-mountable, and also sports an on-board CableCard TV tuner that allows you to capture and view HD content. We like the design, and we could definitely see this thing resting comfortably on the wall in a small living room or entertainment center. Heck, are these in stores yet? You all know the drill by now. Hit the gallery for the action shots!

Click on over to our Sony VAIO LT HDTV/PC gallery!

Remember the new Sony Mylo 2 we told you about a couple of days ago? We got a chance to spend some quality time with the thing today, and have some pretty strong first-impressions. First off, it’s a lot bigger than the original device, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It feels balanced and well weighted, sitting comfortably in your hand. The screen is big and clear, and it does, in fact, sport 1GB of internal memory. It also has a 1.3 megapixel camera which is a nice touch, but the resolution seems subpar by today’s standards. Sony has added AIM support to its on-board IM client, joining the ranks of Google Chat and Jabber. This is no Sidekick killer, but it should work well for anyone looking to stay connected to their IM buddies while in range of a hotspot. The device does have some problems, however. The UI feels very sluggish, getting bogged down during basic tasks. The biggest issue is the keyboard. The keys, in a word, suck. A lot. The $299 price tag isn’t bad, but given the drawbacks we’re going to have to pass this time around. Hit the gallery!

Click on over to our Sony Mylo 2 hands on gallery!

Motorola made a big splash here at CES this year, launching a couple of great mobile handsets. The Motorola Z10 is a super high-end handset, sporting the company’s patented banana-slider design. The big news, however, is the phone’s on-board video editing suite. Using the rear-mounted camera, users are able to shoot video and store it to the on a microSD card. Video capture is nothing new, but the real magic happens once the movies are on-board. The Z10 features the most sophisticated video editing software we’ve ever seen on a mobile handset. You can combine clips, add transitions, overlay text, and drop narration or MP3s over your new masterpiece. Once its all done, you just simply us the built-in YouTube client that allows you to upload the flicks directly to your online account, provided, of course, you’re in a 3G coverage area. It’s a real well-made handset that we have absolutely zero hope of seeing on American soil, at least in the forseeable future…lucky Europeans. They always get the 2100MHz band love. Hit the gallery for the hands on shots!

Click on over to our Motorola Z10 hands on gallery!

We caught up with recording artist Sean Kingston here at CES who was performing for a Sony Corporate showcase. He’s definitely on the ball when it comes to gadgets; an iPod Touch, Sidekick LX, Sony Ericsson phones, and a home recording studio. Now, where are all those "Beautiful Girls" he talks about…

One of the most hotly anticipated devices of 2007 was the HTC Shift. HTC’s first entry into the UMPC market is set to create some pretty significant waves, and our brief hands-on with the device today confirmed what we already knew — the Shift is one hot machine. Spec-wise, there’s nothing new to report on, just know that the little bugger will not disappoint. It’s a bit bigger than we expected, and definitely out-sizes the OQO 2, but in terms of functionality, this thing takes the cake. The keyboard is top notch and the sliding screen mechanism is like a bigger, more robust version of the HTC Tilt. Hit the gallery for some more shots, and try and contain the drooling until this beast actually drops. Ah, good point, no? It still hasn’t been released in Europe although HTC said it would be in December. This thing has been pushed back more times R. Kelly’s court dates, so there’s no telling when it will actually hit. Let’s hope it’s this month!

Click on over to our HTC Shift hands on gallery!

Can’t wait to get your hands on some WiMAX goodies? Neither could we, so we headed down to the XOHM booth here at CES to get our fix. The company is working with Sprint and other partners to bring some 4G into our lives. It’s a noble mission, and if today’s demo is any inidication, they have some nice things in store for us. We got to play with an OQO 2 with embedded WiMAX. The unit is cosmetically identical to the existing retail version of the OQO 2, but it sports an integrated WiMAX radio instead of the current model’s EV-DO chipset. The difference, from our entirely non-scientific tests, is remarkable, with super fast download speeds. Overall we were very impressed. The booth also had a prototype of an Asus Eee PC sporting embedded WiMAX. The prototype didn’t seem to be terribly functional, but if the Asus can get this one off without raising the Eee PC price too much we think they’ll have a successful upgrade on their hands. XOHM told us that they are currently running a soft rollout in select markets, with wider commercial expected sometime around April of this year. Not too shabby, right?

Click on over to our WiMAX OQO 02 and ASUS Eee PC gallery!

Remember the Microsoft Surface? It sports a multi-touch interface that is impressive enough to make even the Apple fanboy a little jealous. We got a chance to preview some of the Surface’s many potential real-world applications, and came away surprisingly impressed with the tabletop computer. It’s essentially one massive touchscreen. The Surface we saw was fully functional, and we witnessed a number of impressive demonstrations. First was a simple but effective implementation of Microsoft Paint. The program has been reworked to respond to different types of input. Changing from a finger to a paint brush produced different types of brush strokes without having to fiddle with any settings or menus. The media application provided smooth and effective photo and video management and display, with iPhone-life "squeeze and pinch" controls for zooming and scaling. The final demonstration provided a window into future integration with T-Mobile’s retail environment. Placing different T-Mobile devices on the Surface brought up handset information, rate plan info, and more, all with the option to purchase and configure your new handset without having to deal with a customer service representative. It even allowed for dynamic device comparison when two or more handsets were placed on the screen. All in all, this is going to be a beast to contend with as we move towards the 2010 official release date. Check out the finger-lickin’ photos in the gallery, peeps!

Click on over to our CES: Microsoft Surface gallery! 

Among the gems to come out of CES is this monster display prototype from Alienware. We hope that the booth attendants laid some towels down on the floor to soak up all of that gamer-drool. Featuring a 2880 x 900 pixel resolution and a ridiculous 0.02ms response time, the display has a wraparound form that enhances viewing by expanding the peripheral range. No, it’s not a flat panel, but this should make potential buyers happy as it will be much more attainable as a rear projection, of course. The set up at CES was displaying the popular first-person shooter Crysis and reportedly doing a stellar job of it. Alienware claims that its curved creation should be commercially available sometime in the second half of the year and pricing info is not yet available. Like the rest of the Alienware lineup, we’re sure that this puppy will be very awesome and very expensive.

Read

We don’t have a whole lot to go on here in terms of actual specs as this apears to be nothing more tha a concept device at the moment, but judging from its appearence, we wouldn’t be the least bit upset if LG decided to put this thing into mass production. It’s a sexy little watch phone a la James Bond, but it sports none of the oversized nerd-factor that has made previous stabs at this sort of thing falter. All in all, it’s a good look from LG. Can we get a little mass production love? Hit the gallery for the shots!

Click on over to our CES: LG watch concept gallery!

We had a chance to sit down with the fine people from Dash earlier today, and they were eager to show off their innovative new Dash Express GPS navigation unit. From our initial impressions, we think they have a real winner on their hands. The Dash Express is a dash-mounted GPS navigation unit with a twist. It sports the usual array of mapping and navigation utilities, with an interface that rivals some of the more established names for ease of use and sophistication. Where the Dash Express gets unique, however, is with their implementaiton of Wi-Fi and GPRS radios to create a dynamic environment that allows for real-time traffic and POI updates, and much more. The Express can be controlled via the onboard touchscreen as well as by way web-based interface. The web interface allows users to send commonly accessed points of interest, web feeds, and pretty much anything else directly to the device. The interface is slick and fast, providing an excellent end-user experience. The software also includes a set of plugins that work with Firefox, Outlook, and Internet Explorer so users can send addresses embedded in emails and web pages directly to the device by way of a right-click menu — no web-interface required. We’ll have more on this in the coming months, but check out the shots for now!

Click on over to our CES: Dash Express gallery!

It’s CES madness over here in Las Vegas. Despite the circus that accompanies the year’s largest tech convention, we’re doing our best to bring you some of the show’s hottest products. First up is the new iRiver SPINN Personal Media Player. We’re not usually too excited about iRiver’s media players, but this one looks to be quite the player. The SPINN is a sleek new device that combines an analog and digital controller layout to provide some leve of tactile feedback while retaining an easily navigable digital menu system. It has a 3.2" WQVGA screen, and supports a wide variety of audio and video codecs. It also sports Bluetooth 2.0 and a built-in mic for voice note recording. It will be available some time this year and come in 4, 8, and 16 GB versions. All the good shots are in the gallery!

Click on over to our CES: iRiver SPINN gallery!