CES 2009

Yahoo's Widget Channel software for TVs and video devices shows a link to Yahoo's Flickr photo-sharing site, stock prices, and an advertisement. Intel, Yahoo, and several partners will show the technology off at CES 2009.

(Credit: Yahoo)

Yahoo and Intel built their success upon widespread use of personal computers, but the two companies hope products to be shown at the Consumer Electronics Show in January will mark the beginning of their Internet-fueled expansion to the world of TV as well.

The two companies have attracted several significant manufacturing and content allies in the attempt to bring new smarts and interactivity to a part of the electronics world that has remained a more passive part of people's digital lives. Intel and Yahoo showed off Net-enabled TV prototypes in August, but the companies' technology will be presented in more finished form at the electronics show within products by Samsung, Toshiba, and a number of new partners that have signed on since the debut.

What exactly are they trying to achieve? For Yahoo, it's establishment of the Widget Channel, a software foundation that can house programs for browsing photos, using the Internet's abundant socially connected services, watching YouTube videos, or digging deeper into TV shows--and through which Yahoo will be able to show advertisements. For Intel, it's a foothold in an industry whose microprocessors have typically been cheaper, less powerful, and less power-hungry.

Yahoo is confident the products will catch on, in part because it's set "very low" licensing requirements, said Patrick Barry, vice president of Yahoo's Connected TV initiative.

"We do not see it as a niche offering in a few high-end models. We see this as moving into the mainstream. In 2009 we're going to see good penetration into the product lineups of the consumer electronics companies," Barry said. "Beginning in 2010, I think, you're going to see Internet-connected consumer electronics devices dominating the lineup."

But for both companies, TVs are terra incognita. "We emerged from the ocean of the PC," Barry said.

An anthropologist's view
Despite years of effort, the idea to put media-centric PCs in the living room hasn't caught on widely. But Intel, stung by its poorly received Viiv brand, has been taking the challenge seriously.

It even dispatched its top anthropologist--yes, the chipmaker employs anthropologists--to carefully study how people use TVs. In other words, Intel is trying to adapt to reality, not foist its ideas on an unwilling market.

Some people like to watch TV, but anthropologist Genevieve Bell, director of user experience for Intel, likes to watch people watching TV. Specifically, Intel concluded that unlike the PC, TVs are social. People watch it together, and what they watch turns into what they talk about. Another difference from PCs: it must be simple and reliable, she said.

When bringing the Internet to the TV, "You couldn't just turn it into a PC," she said.

And it's pretty obvious why those not in the TV market would be angling for a piece of the action. People in the U.S. spend about 5 times more time watching TV than using a computer, Bell said. Globally, it's a factor of 25; unusually, the TV and PC time is at parity in Israel, perhaps because of communication habits, she added.

More ads
For decades, people have been accustomed to advertising-supported television. The Widget Channel technology opens up some new horizons for Yahoo, though Barry said the company isn't going to rush to plaster sponsorships over the new interface.

"We have a lot of support from the advertising community, but we're focused on the consumer now," Barry said. "What you'll see initially is us trying to fall all over ourselves trying to make the consumer happy. The advertisers understand that." He wouldn't comment on when advertising will be launched with the technology.

Although Yahoo will eventually show ads, it won't have a lock on them. Barry said: "We are not going to be locking down anything from a walled garden perspective, including monetization. We get a nice advantage, knowing the ins and outs, but we will not limit the platform to being addressable by us."

There are many opportunities for ads, including the dock that can be shown across the bottom of the TV screen and in pages that fill the screen.

The Widget Channel technology is based on the Widget Engine software Yahoo got in 2005 with its acquisition of Konfabulator, and it lets programmers write a wide variety of applications.

Course corrections
Intel learned from initial testing of the TV technology, Bell said. For one thing, the company found that people didn't like the Widget Channel controls appearing on the left edge of the screen, one option the companies had demonstrated. Instead, people prefer the bottom, where they're accustomed to seeing text already.

Intel research found that people didn't like the left-side Widget Channel dock. (Click to enlarge.)

(Credit: Yahoo)

For another, she said, people expressed a powerful desire for a big button to make the software go away in one fell swoop--no menus or arrow keys or complication--so they could get back to watching TV when they wanted. That big button is also used to activate the Widget Channel.

And nobody wanted yet another remote control.

To help chart its long-term course, Intel gauged consumer sentiment in part by asking what people thought the future of TV would look like. People's answers generally fit into a few categories:

• Something that would provide relevant information in real time, such as the weather right before heading to a sporting event.

• Something that would connect them to other people they care about, a variation of social networking.

• Something that would let them participate more with what they're watching, for example by figuring out where a show's cast members already had acted, or finding, rating, and sorting content.

Few, though, wanted a full-on Web browser, nor a keyboard to clutter up the room.

Yahoo sees the same fallow ground as Intel in the market.

TV innovations that have succeeded focused on screen size, image fidelity, and flat-screen technology, Barry said. "But the consumer electronics industry has not really explored the...connectivity that the Internet provides."

Is Sony referring to a Netbook here?

CES 2009 is fast approaching, and rumors of new laptops are everywhere. This week though, the focus is on Sony.

Though enterprising news outlets have dug up hints at new products from the likes of Dell and Lenovo weeks before the big gadget exhibition, Sony is outing itself as having a new portable PC that will "change the way you think about laptops." A clock counting down the days and hours until January 9, when the new product is scheduled to appear, popped up on Sony's New Zealand site, as pointed out over the weekend by Engadget.

Putting the teaser in context of the photo of the oddly-shaped Sony device that popped up on the FCC's Web site two weeks ago, it certainly seems likely that this will be a notebook unlike what others are offering.

But the question is, will it be a Netbook? Sony has been conspicuously absent from the Netbook market among its Windows-wielding brethren. (Apple has held out too, but it's not price-matching with other PC makers.)

Netbooks have taken off in the past 12 months, moving from a quirky offering from Asus to the form factor that's giving the PC industry a whiff of hope. All the major manufacturers are on board, and it's paying off now since the price tags are cheaper than standard notebooks. However, how it will hurt them in the long run (dragging down average prices of notebooks, cannibalizing lower-end laptop models) is still to be determined.

The argument for Sony keeping out of the low-end fray is certainly there. Sony--like Apple--fancies itself a maker of luxury devices and is loath to get into price wars with the likes of Dell and HP. (Of course, it didn't want to wrestle with the lower-tier Vizio and Westinghouse in LCD TVs either, but the reality of the HDTV market forced Sony's hand.)

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Finally, a pair of video glasses that don't make you look like an extra on an '80s sci-fi B movie.

(Credit: Vuzix)

There's little doubt that as we inch closer to the technological singularity, video-enabled glasses will play a part. Unfortunately, manufacturers have yet to produce a pair that don't make you look like a complete idiot, and bionic eye camera implants still seem a ways off.

Luckily, the folks at Vuzix must have grown tired of all the Geordi La Forge jokes, as their latest pair of video glasses look astonishingly normal. While there's no guarantee that the Vuzix Wrap 920AV won't induce muffled laughter from everyone around you, they do promise to combine virtual reality capabilities and augmented reality features into one of the least obnoxious designs we've seen yet. The Wrap 920AV glasses will supposedly connect with almost any media player, and include built in headphones and individual focal adjustments.

No word on pricing or exact specs, but more details are sure to be revealed at CES.

Updated on December 18 at 3:25 p.m. with pricing information.

Toshiba said Wednesday that it will showcase a 512GB solid-state drive at the Consumer Electronics Show next month and begin shipments in the second quarter of 2009.

Toshiba 512GB solid-state drive rivals hard disks in capacity

(Credit: Toshiba)

To date, this would be one of the largest-capacity solid-state drives for use in laptops and come close to matching the size of mobile hard-disk drives.

Samsung has begun mass production of a 256GB SSD and Micron Technology is readying a 256GB drive that will ship in March.

Toshiba said it is releasing a broad family of "fast read/write SSDs" based on 43-nanometer Multi-Level Cell (MLC) NAND flash technology that will be showcased at CES. MLC technology allows solid-state drive makers to deliver higher capacity drives at lower prices.

In addition to the 2.5-inch 512GB drive, the new series of Toshiba drives also includes capacities of 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB, offered in 1.8-inch or 2.5-inch drive enclosures or as SSD Flash Modules, the company said in a statement.

Samples of the new drives will be available in the first quarter of 2009, with mass production slated for the second quarter, in the April to June time frame, according to the company.

Pricing in sample quantities ranges from $220 for the 64GB drive to $1,652 for the 512GB drive, Toshiba said.

The drives achieve a maximum sequential read speed of 240MB per second (MBps) and maximum sequential write speed of 200MBps. This is roughly the same read-write speeds offered by Samsung on its 256GB SSD.

Toshiba said it sees SSDs growing to approximately 25 percent of the notebook market by 2012.

Join us for our last Dialed In podcast of 2009. In addition to the latest reviews and cell phone news, we'll give you a preview of Macworld and CES. See you in 2009!

Listen now: Download today's podcast

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(Credit: Philips)

The Philips universal remote line has a new top dog. The Prestigo SRT9320 combines a 2.8-inch color touch screen on the top half with hard buttons on the lower portion. The screen handles both channel favorites (replete with familiar icon logos) and customized commands. The SRT9320 can control up to 20 devices, and it's completely programmable as-is--including learning modes and multidevice macros--without the need to connect it to a PC. (A USB port is included only for future software updates--presumably things like additional channel icons.)

While the Prestigo SRT9320 has a premium $249 price tag, it's missing such high-end niceties as RF control and a charging cradle. And while Philips touts the fact that you don't need a PC to program the SRT9320, we've found that to be a big advantage when dealing with sophisticated multidevice macros (something the task-based Logitech Harmony models handle with aplomb). By comparison, the Logitech Harmony One also has a touch-screen/keypad design (and a rechargeable battery), and it can be found for less than $200.

The SRT9320 will be available in the first quarter of 2009. In the meantime, a trio of more affordable Philips Prestigo models are currently available, all of which include a color LCD screen: the SRU8008 (controls 8 devices, priced below $100); the SRU8112 (12 devices, scrollwheel, also sub-$100); and the SRU8015 (15 devices, scrollwheel, wider form factor, under $180).

The Philips Streamium NP2500 (front left) and NP2900 (back right)

(Credit: John Falcone/CBS Interactive)

Philips' line of Streamium products was one of the pioneers in the network audio realm, but it never really clicked with consumers (at least in the U.S.), even as competitors like Sonos and Logitech's Squeezebox began carving out their own niches. But Philips is hardly throwing in the towel: the company has unveiled two new models, the Streamium NP2500 and the Streamium NP2900.

Both models offer the same basic features of the earlier Streamium NP1100: streaming non-DRM audio files from networked Windows and Mac PCs, as well as the ability to stream Rhapsody content (subscription required) and thousands of Internet radio stations (free) over a wireless home network. The new models distinguish themselves from the NP1100 with built-in color screens for navigation and album art and larger remote controls. Furthermore, the NP2900 includes built-in stereo speakers, so it doesn't need to be connected to an external stereo or amplifier.

Both the NP2500 ($229) and NP2900 ($329) are available now. But even without reviewing them, they feel a bit underfeatured and overpriced. Consider the Logitech Squeezebox Boom. While the $300 boombox-style audio streamer lacks the color screen found on the Philips products, it offers a much wider range of both free (Pandora, Last.fm, Slacker, Live Music Archive) and subscription (Sirius) in addition to the same Rhapsody and Internet radio options found on the Philips. Thankfully--like the Logitech--the upgradeable firmware on the Philips allows the potential for such additional services to be added down the road, when and if Philips signs them up.

Read the CNET review of Philips Streamium NP1100.

Updated at 11:30 a.m. PT with pricing info.

(Credit: LaptopMag.com)

Intel has a convertible Netbook on tap for the CES 2009 crowd assembling once again in Las Vegas next month.

Laptop magazine got a sneak peek at the newest version of the low-cost Classmate PC. It has an 8.9-inch swivel screen with touch and stylus input, a Web cam, and 1.6 GHz Intel Atom processor, 60GB hard drive, and Windows XP, with a few Intel touches to make XP work for the convertible form factor. So far, that includes Vision Objects Pen Input, which makes anything input via the stylus editable as text, as well as a virtual keyboard.

It's manufactured by CTL, like the original Classmate PC (which Intel will continue to sell). Laptop reports that it will begin shipping in mid-January.

Intel says that the price for the convertible Classmate will be slightly more than the original Classmate. The range will likely be somewhere around $250 and $400, though the company said it can't be more specific right now.

Brooke Crothers contributed to this report.

America's annual Consumer Electronics Show typically isn't a launching pad for new MP3 players. With the iPod's continued domination over the world of portable audio, most MP3 player manufacturers save their big announcements until later in the year--after Macworld shakes out and before a new crop of iPods arrive in September. That said, CES is a great place to spot new iPod accessories, such as speaker docks, video goggles, headphones, and boom boxes. One thing I can say for certain: CES 2009 will be littered with products proclaiming their iPhone 3G compatibility.

Companies such as Iriver are the major exception when it comes to CES MP3 player announcements. In 2008, Iriver launched 11 portable media players at CES and went away with one of our Best of CES awards. We expect Iriver will come back to CES with another treasure trove of portable audio goodies to show off. In fact, CNET Asia has already caught wind of some possible contenders.

Iriver made a big splash at CES 2008.

(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CNET Networks)

I also wouldn't rule out seeing some new MP3 players from Samsung. Rumors are already circulating that we may see an update to Samsung's popular touch-screen MP3 player, the YP-P2.

Sony is another big player at CES with a track record of making fantastic MP3 players. Some speculate that we'll see a new touch-screen Walkman unveiled at CES 2009, although it seems like an uncharacteristic move coming from Sony.

Speaking generally for MP3 players, we're likely to see even more emphasis placed on price and value, as manufacturers race to compete against SanDisk and Coby in the budget MP3 player space. On the other extreme, manufacturers ambitious enough to try and beat Apple at their own game will continue to incorporate touch screens, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and other advanced technologies, in an effort to create cutting-edge appeal.

In less than one month, the Consumer Electronics Show will get underway in Las Vegas against the backdrop of an economic recession and a major political transition. But while the macro economy may impact attendance, what about the usual cornucopia of tech toys on display? CNET News' Erica Ogg offers a preview of the 2009 CES.