CES 2008

The Gizmodo kids pulled a good stunt at CES: they fired TV-B-Gone remotes at walls of shiny new monitors on display and during press conferences, much to the displeasure of booth staffers.

No colors anymore.

(Credit: Gizmodo)

The video is funny. The ramifications of prank will not be. The CES organizers only grudgingly gave bloggers press credentials to the conference, and even then kept them segregated into a working lounge that was a step down in amenity and luxury from the "press" lounge and work area. This prank will not endear the blogging class to either the CEA, which produces CES, or the companies that paid dearly for the right to occupy CES floorspace and show off their products.

I would not be surprised to see Gizmodo banned from the show and possibly sued by either the CEA or the companies its bloggers harassed. For journalists (in my mind, all bloggers are journalists), legal and constitutional protection does not extend to mischief or sabotage. Publishing news reports, opinion, and satire are protected acts. Physical interference is not.

I asked Gizmodo publisher Nick Denton if he was going to fire the Gizmodo crew for their prank. "No," is all he said in an instant message. He did not reply to followup questions.

Gizmodo added this apology after the post first ran, but I don't think it will mollify the victims.

It was too much fun, but watching this video, we realize it probably made some people's jobs harder, and I don't agree with that (Especially Motorola). We're sorry.

There are other likely outcomes of the prank. From now on, no one with an infrared-controlled device at a tradeshow is going to leave it exposed. A few tabs of black electrical tape will thwart TV-B-Gones. Beyond that, as our security expert Robert Vamosi said about this incident, expect TV manufacturers to think seriously about building encryption into their remote controls.

Click here to see our photos

CES dedicated a hall to in-vehicle technology presenters, and many of them brought the wildest cars you've ever seen. These cars sprout LCDs, amps, and speakers on any and every available surface. We took a walk around to find the most outlandish, outrageous cars on display.

Click here for photos of show cars at 2008 CES.

Though not nearly as big as CES, the PMA trade show is coming to Las Vegas in three weeks. Yes, less than a month after covering CES, our editors will bravely return to Sin City to report on some of the biggest names in digital photography. That didn't stop camera and camcorder makers from revealing plenty of new products last week, though; major companies from Samsung to Sony revealed their newest digital imaging products at the show.

Sony made one of the biggest camera announcements at the show, unveiling the Alpha A200 digital SLR. This new 10-megapixel model stands to face other intro-level SLRs like the Canon EOS Rebel XTi and the Nikon D40x. Casio also made a splash with the Exilim Pro EX-F1, an EVF camera the company claims can shoot 60 still images per second, or record video at a whopping 1,200 frames per second. I'll believe it when it's under our skeptical eyes in the lab. On the snapshot side of cameras, Kodak and Samsung both announced a handful of inexpensive point-and-shoots, and Kodak revealed the ESP-3 combination photo printer/document printer/scanner.

For camcorders, flash memory was the name of the game this year as Canon, Sony, and Panasonic all announced new, high-end SSD and card-based camcorders. Panasonic unveiled several new SD card camcorders, Canon combined large amounts of flash memory with SD/SDHC card slots, and Sony added an 8GB flash drive to a DVD camcorder, giving users plenty of options for recording and transferring footage. Besides flash memory, camcorder manufacturers revealed new cameras that used more conventional media, like miniDV, DVD, and hard drives. Though it didn't reveal any new high-def, flash memory models, JVC expanded its Everio line of hard drive camcorders with several slimmer, more colorful models as well.

Those are the big headlines from CES, but don't think that's all the new camera/camcorder news of the season. Keep an eye on Crave at the end of the month for our coverage of PMA 2008.

The Sony CDX-GT820IP

(Credit: Sony)

Sony refreshed its car stereo lineup for 2008 here at CES with the debut of six new models in Xplod lineup including two with as-standard iPod connectivity, and two new Bluetooth-equipped head units. At the top of the range, the CDX-GT820IP comes with a 30-pin iPod connector enabling drivers to control their music libraries directly via the stereo itself. The system features Sony's Quick BrowZer technology and "Jump mode", which make it easier for drivers to navigate large digital audio libraries on connected players. The CDX-GT820IP also features a multi-line fluorescent display, a front-panel aux-input jack, 4-volt front, rear and sub preamp outputs, and is compatible with Sony's add-on HD Radio tuner. It comes with a price tag of $230.

Next down the lineup, the CDX-GT720 ($200) features the same faceplate and display design as the GT820IP, but without the as-standard iPod connector. It is also HD- and satellite-radio ready and can be hooked up to an iPod via an add-on cable. Those who want iPod connectivity and can live without a fluorescent display can consider the CDX-GT620IP, which comes without the Jump mode feature and has two fewer preouts than the CDX-GT820IP, but retails at $160. Propping up the new releases, the CDX-GT420U ($130) comes without iPod compatibility, but does feature an as-standard USB port for playing audio tracks from flash drives and other generic digital sources.

Two new Bluetooth-enabled stereos--the iPod compatible MEX-BT5100 ($330) and the entry-level MEX-BT2600 ($170)--are refreshed versions of the current MEX-BT5000 and MEX-BT2500 respectively. All of the new systems are available now.

(Credit: Eye-Fi)

Wireless memory card company Eye-Fi just announced a partnership with Lexar to develop future products. According to an announcement on Tuesday at CES, Eye-Fi will combine its wireless technology with Lexar's flash memory and branding to produce a Lexar wireless SD card.

I spent some time with the original Eye-Fi Card back in November, and was pleased with what I saw. For a first effort at a new consumer device, the Eye-Fi Card worked as advertised and wirelessly uploaded photos to both local computers and online photo sharing sites with minimal fuss. Hopefully this will remain the case as wireless Lexar cards start to ship. The branding and interface might be slightly different, but since both products will use the same basic Eye-Fi technology, they should be similar and fairly direct to use. The original Eye-Fi card can't access public hot spots (hotspots must be registered on the card before it can connect), but perhaps future Lexar/Eye-Fi cards will see expanded Wi-Fi compatibility.

(Credit: SpeechGear)

SpeechGear's Compadre suite of translation software brings us one step closer the sci-fi ideal of a universal translator. The full suite of five programs gives you the ability to instantly translate anything you see, hear, or read into a ton of languages, including Spanish, German, Dutch, Iraqi, Chinese, Japanese, and more.

The most exciting portion of the software is Interact, which lets you have a near-real-time conversation with a speaker of a foreign language. You and your conversant simply speak into a microphone that's connected to your computer; the program uses voice recognition, machine translation, and speech synthesis technology to instantly translate your words both onscreen and out loud. CNET TV has video of the product in action.

Other elements of the suite include Interpreter, a PDA-based phrasebook with similar voice recognition and speech synthesis features; Document, which provides straight text-to-text translation of Microsoft Office files, with the advantage of preserving your original formatting; and the soon-to-be-released Camera, which translates anything you see, such as a road sign or menu. The whole suite runs on an engine called Composer, which lets you add your own terms and phrases to the word database, so for example CNET would never be translated as "see net."

As you might have guessed, the SpeechGear Compadre suite was originally designed for the military and is now being marketed to companies that do business internationally. And it's priced accordingly: Interact costs $995, Document costs $595, and Interpreter costs $75, while Camera's pricing has yet to be announced. But I have no doubt the investment will make sense to companies with global aspirations, and I look forward to the day when the technology trickles down to international tourists like me.

LAS VEGAS--On the Internet, no one knows if you are a dog. And at trade shows, no one knows if you are Jeff.

I had to meet Jeff Ziegler and Jake Player, the CEO and president, respectively, of PC recycler TechTurn, for a breakfast meeting at a restaurant. I had exchanged e-mails with the company but had never seen them in person.

While waiting outside the appointed restaurant, two guys approached me, and one pointed his finger at me. "Jeff?" I asked. "Yes," he said.

We sat down and exchanged pleasantries. Then another guy joined us. I hadn't expected that.

"Are you guys from TechTurn?" I asked.

No. They were from a speaker company. I excused myself and waited outside. Minutes later, my real meeting had arrived.

Trade shows are like that. Invariably, you have to go to hotel rooms and other places where you don't know the people. In a way, it's kind of like being a gigolo.

"Are you Mike?" someone might ask.

"I can be whoever you want me to be," I have to reply.

Kenwood says its digital TV receiver will be on sale sometime in 2008.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

Piping content into the car is one of the main themes on the automotive beat here at CES 2008, and Kenwood is leading the charge when it comes to the next generation of in-car television. The manufacturer is partnering with consumer electronics giant LG on development of a terrestrial digital television (DTV) receiver that will enable car occupants to watch ATSC TV at highway speeds. To date, analog receivers have enabled reception of in-car TV but only up to limited speeds. The prototype receiver that Kenwood is showing here at CES is based on the MPH (mobile, pedestrian, handheld) mobile DTV system developed by LG, Harris Corporation, and Zenith. Kenwood said that it expects to have a production version of the receiver by the end of 2008, anticipating cutoff of the analog TV signal in February 2009.

LAS VEGAS--Asked about the state of the U.S. economy, Best Buy CEO Brad Anderson said on Tuesday that it is clearly a concern.

"People that are getting their first (home heating) oil bills at $3 a gallon," he said, even as the U.S. mortgage crisis continues to hang over the economy. "The share of mind that the 'r word' is getting in the media has us concerned," he said, alluding to but not uttering, the word recession.

But Anderson said it was the transition to digital television that posed the biggest threat to his industry, warning of the dangers if consumers find themselves having TVs that don't work once the broadcasters end their analog signals in February of 2009.

"We're very nervous about the potential risk," Anderson said. "I think the industry will be damaged if we as an industry don't handle this well."

At the Consumer Electroncis Show on Tuesday, CEA Chief Gary Shapiro asks retail executives, including the heads of Best Buy and Circuit City, for their views on the U.S. economy, the digital TV transition, and other issues.

(Credit: Ina Fried/CNET News.com)

His comments came as part of a panel discussion of several retail executives at the Consumer Electronics Show here.

Circuit City CEO Philip J. Schoonover, meanwhile, was most concerned with his own company's performance, which has lagged the industry.

"I'm not smiling," Schoonover said, after Anderson and other retail executives beamed at their own growth last year.

"We're trying to fix the plan while flying the plane," he said. "It proved to be more challenging than I think any of us estimated."

Red BlackBerry Pearl 8130 for Verizon

(Credit: CNET Networks)

Pretty in pink (apologies for the blurry shot)

(Credit: CNET Networks)

Catching Verizon Wireless and Sprint off-guard, Research in Motion showed off some upcoming colored models of the RIM BlackBerry Pearl 8130 for the respective carriers at CES 2008. The red version will go to Verizon, joining the silver Pearl 8130, while the powder-pink model will land at Sprint along with the purple Pearl. No specific release dates were given, but I'd guess the launch dates aren't too far away--February at the latest.