2010 CES

December 21, 2009 2:15 PM PST

Let Gramps crank up the volume with TV Ears

by Sharon Vaknin
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(Credit: jarrettphoto.com)

There might be a solution to one of the most obnoxious linear relationships: as Grandpa gets older, the TV gets louder. TV Ears is a wireless headset that allows Grandpa (or anyone) to listen to television audio in isolation. And though its design screams "geek!" the wearer can sacrifice fashion for a peaceful household.

A small transmitter plugs into the audio-out ports located on the back of the television set, satellite box, or cable box and wirelessly transmits the television's audio to the headset. The user can adjust the volume and tone dials on the headset, while television volume can be set to any level or turned off.

George Dennis, CEO of the Spring Valley, Calif.-based company, explains that unlike other wireless headsets or hearing aids, TV Ears amplifies dialogue more than other sounds with its "Voice Clarifying Circuitry." Since the digital transition, consumers are complaining of muffled dialogue, Dennis said.

TV Ears is made for a niche market--seniors--but parents who complain of loud video games might administer it to ... Read more

December 21, 2009 10:00 AM PST

New Atom Netbooks: Strange timing for shoppers?

by Scott Stein
  • 16 comments

(Credit: Intel)

It's an exciting and interesting morning for Netbook fans, as full official details and even system reviews of new Netbooks bearing Intel's next-generation Atom processors have emerged.

However, does the timing annoy you?

While we've known new Atom Netbooks were around the corner for months now, the announcement hits just three days before Christmas Eve and after the last weekend of holiday shopping. Does the new Atom make you want a new Netbook or regret getting one this holiday? On the other hand, do the modest gains from the new Atoms make you want an ultralow-voltage thin-and-light with a faster processor instead, or a next-gen smartphone/smartbook/tablet that could do HD video just as well?

Or does it simply not matter to you? Early reviews indicate that the new Atom N450's gains are mild, and mainly assist the battery life of Netbooks to go even longer between charges than they already do.

Sound off--we'd love to hear your thoughts as consumers.

December 20, 2009 9:01 PM PST

Asus' new Eee PC 1005PE adds the Intel Atom N450 CPU

by Dan Ackerman
  • 3 comments

The newest version of Asus' popular Netbook, the $379 Eee PC 1005PE, is the first system to reach our labs with Intel's new Atom N450 processor--the long-awaited sequel to the Atom N270 and N280 CPUs found in nearly every other Netbook.

This new 1005 model, thanks to the re-engineered Atom platform, is extremely efficient, and ran for more than 8 hours on our grueling battery drain test. That's extremely impressive, although the N450 was more of a mixed bag in our performance tests, beating other Netbooks in some categories, but matching or falling slightly behind in others.

The Eee PC 1005PE definitely scores points for being the first laptop out of the gate with the new N450 CPU, and its battery life is nothing short of amazing--making this a very useful system for serious road warriors. But we would have liked to see a 1005 that was more fully upgraded across the board.

Read the full review here.

... Read more

Originally posted at Crave
December 20, 2009 9:00 PM PST

What Intel's next-gen Atom CPU for Netbooks means for you

by Dan Ackerman
  • 4 comments

The first Netbook we've seen with the Atom N450 is the Asus Eee PC 1005PE.

Intel has officially announced the next generation of its popular Atom CPUs for Netbooks. While probably the worst-kept secret in personal computing, unveiling the Atom N450 (previously codenamed "Pinetrail") weeks before the upcoming CES trade show means Intel doesn't want this key announcement to get lost amid the thousands of new products set to debut in January.

One of the brightest spots in the consumer electronics industry over the past two years has been the growth of Netbooks. These small, low-power, low-cost laptops are popular with almost every segment of the computer-buying public, from students, to business travelers, to seniors.

But, these machines had became largely commodity products, with identical components and features, driving prices down to $299 (or less, with subsidized deals from mobile phone providers). More recently, PC makers have attempted to create new tiers in the Netbook market with high-def displays and improved Nvidia Ion graphics, or even competing CPUs from AMD and Via. ... Read more

December 18, 2009 4:33 PM PST

Best of CES 2009: Where are they now?

by John P. Falcone
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Samsung HT-BD7200

Samsung's HT-BD7200: A CES fave in 2009, how does this Blu-ray home theater system look with the benefit of a year of hindsight?

(Credit: Samsung)

At the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas (January 5-9), CNET editors will be choosing the Best of Show finalists and winners that will set the trends for the new year. But that begs the question: How well did we do last year?

It's a perfect excuse to look back at the picks from the most recent show, January 2009. We've gone to the archives and highlighted the winners in 10 categories--including our overall Best of Show. See which picks were right on the money, which were soon eclipsed by newer and better products later in the year, and which products were never even released. (Click on the images directly below.)

December 18, 2009 10:00 AM PST

Entourage Edge combines netbook, e-reader

by Sharon Vaknin
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(Credit: Entourage Systems, Inc.)

Entourage Systems, Inc. is a first-time CES exhibitor readying its release of the Entourage Edge, a hybrid gadget combining two trending technologies: e-readers and netbooks.

Asghar Mostafa, president and CEO of the McLean, Virginia-based company, has a strong entrepreneurial background, mostly building technology businesses. Although a variety of people might find it useful, Mostafa sees the Edge catering to college and high school students who could benefit from a lighter backpack.

Amazon vied to fulfill the same need with its Kindle DX, but college students are reluctant in accepting the technology, especially because of its price point.

Entourage Edge delivers what the Kindle DX does, but with the capabilities of a Netbook. As a result, the company is calling it a "dualbook," possessing two screens with independent functions and the added the ability to work together.

The Edge is slated to cost $490, close to the price of the Kindle DX or a netbook, and will be available to consumers February 2010.

CNET News reporter Ina Fried got a hands-on review of the Entourage Edge, ... Read more

Originally posted at 30 Days of Innovation
Sharon Vaknin is the CNET Labs' go-to intern. When she's not testing MP3 players, blogging, or making the lab look presentable, she can be found playing computer games. Sharon formerly worked for Best Buy and is currently studying journalism at San Francisco State University. E-mail Sharon.
December 17, 2009 1:23 PM PST

Top 5 CES vaporware

by Tom Merritt
  • 29 comments

Editors' note: Update, ha! Well, this happens sometimes. Turns out that Psyko Audio Labs DID ship some headphones this year and some customers e-mailed with pictures, so it must have happened. My apologies to Psyko Audio! But I'm excited the product is real, because it's a good one.

OK, folks. This is our last Top 5 of the year. And it's obviously meant to sync up with the start of our year when we head to CES first thing in 2010.

So watch the show to get a look at some of the products we loved last year at CES, but seemed to miss on the shelves this year. Then come back here and post in the comments for a chance to win the lame prize.

Originally posted at CNET TV
December 17, 2009 9:00 AM PST

KOR-fx, like music to my...chest

by Sharon Vaknin
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Although Rock Band comes pretty close to the "real thing," there's something missing: the vibrations that hit your heart when playing a real drum set.

Immerz, which until recently was a one-man company, created a device that lets you feel real-life sensations of a game, movie, or music. KOR-fx is made up of two plastic devices that lay on your chest and synchronize vibrations with received audio signals.

(Credit: xconomy.com)

President and physicist Shahriar S. Afshar, calls it acousto-haptic technology, something he turned to after three years participating in privately funded research. The result of Afshar's experiment contradicted a fundamental principle of quantum mechanics. Just as he expected, the physics community rejected Afshar's findings.

Lucky for us, his attention shifted to KOR-fx. The idea came from irritation with college students playing video games so loudly. Can't they just turn it down? No, he realized, increasing the volume to disturbingly high levels was an attempt to feel bass, like the physical sensation of a bomb explosion in Counter Strike.

Is this ... Read more

December 16, 2009 11:34 AM PST

Neato's auto vac gets down and dirty with Roomba

by David Carnoy
  • 4 comments

The Neato Robotics XV-11 vacuum goes on sale in February for $399.

(Credit: Neato Robotics)

Roomba has been king of the robotic vacuum market for a while, but Neato Robotics, a start-up out of Menlo Park, California, will be trying to usurp the throne in February with a new automated vacuum that will cost $400.

While the company expects to have multiple robotic housekeeping products in the future, its debut product is called the Neato XV-11. What makes it better than Roomba vacuums? Neato says it's smarter because it features a high-tech laser-powered Room Positioning System (RPS) to map your room and avoid most obstacles. And since it's smarter, it cleans a room in a more efficient manner, allowing it to finish the job more quickly.

We saw the Neato XV-11 in action and were pretty impressed with what it could do. It runs for about an hour on a replaceable, rechargeable battery and automatically returns to its base station for recharging when it's running low on juice. Once it recharges, it ... Read more

December 15, 2009 3:18 PM PST

Next Big Thing: Life in the Cloud revisited

by Molly Wood
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In 2009, CNET predicted that the Next Big Thing in 2009 would be "life in the cloud." Cloud computing was, in 2008, starting to become a major topic of discussion: would consumers trust their personal and corporate data to the cloud? Would businesses embrace the idea of offering more and more storage as we stored less and less data locally? Would enterprises re-architect their offerings and their businesses to take advantage of this revolution in cheap storage and online services? We had a fascinating conversation about the evolution of consumer data storage and entertainment, the hurdles facing cloud evolution (bandwidth crunch, anyone?), and the challenges facing this evolving trend. Now, as we approach our 2010 session, we thought it might be a good time to take a look back and see how we did.

First: were we right? Did cloud computing take off in 2009? Well, let's be honest: we weren't too far out on a limb, and that limb held up. Cloud computing became the buzzword of 2009, though I think we ... Read more

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