CES 2008

(Credit: Lenovo)

CES 2008 may not have been a show for big wows, but there was plenty to talk about, at least on the computers and hardware front. For starters, Lenovo introduced three IdeaPads, the company's first consumer-oriented laptops for the U.S. market. (Lenovo also announced a corresponding line of desktops, predictably named IdeaCentre, for release in Europe, though we expect the line to reach our shores soon.)

HP caught our attention with the sub-$1,000, HD-equipped SlimLine desktop. Dell gave us a peek into the future with its 16-inch laptop prototype and the XPS 630 gaming desktop. Gateway launched its FX gaming brand into the mobile space with three new laptop configurations, while Alienware showed off its 15-inch gamer. We saw new ultraportables from Fujitsu and Asus, plus UMPCs from Toshiba and Samsung. We even got a glimpse at the tiny, Linux-based Everex Cloudbook. Desktops got smaller as well, if the Asus Nova P22 small-form-factor PC is any indication.

On the component front, Intel made a splash with the announcement of its first 45-nanometer notebook chips, known as Penryn; we shared our early test results for the new mobile CPUs and reported on plans for Penryn from Toshiba and HP. Intel also gave us a look at three high-end PCs that feature its components. Not to be left in Intel's wake, both ATI and Nvidia announced new graphics chips, the latter offering a peek at its Hybrid SLI technology.

Accessories that caught our eye included the Logitech diNovo Mini input device for home-theater PCs, the Ricavision Vave 100 Windows SideShow Universal Remote Control, and a Zyxel digital media adapter that lets you stream HD video and music from your PC to your home theater system.

This year's show also saw new storage devices, monitors, and security devices; click here to read all computers and hardware coverage from CES 2008.

The Zyxel DMA1100P digital media adapter

There are many devices that aim to let you share the multimedia content stuck on your PC with that large HDTV in your living room. Zyxel's DMA1100P digital media adapter is the only such device, however, that uses HomePlug AV Powerline technology to do so. (Netgear's Powerline HD Ethernet Adapter isn't certified as a HomePlug AV device, but it promises the same 200Mbps theoretical throughput as the Zyxel DMA1100.)

Still, for those looking to stream HD video and music and can't do it wirelessly--perhaps your TV and your home theater are too far apart or you simply have an aversion to wireless networking)--Powerline networking is an easy and effective way to go. Zyxel claims the DMA1100P is a snap to set up and will automatically recognize and connect to DLNA-certified devices. And unlike Netgear's adapter, Zyxel's unit features an HDMI port. The DMA1100P will be available in February for $270.

Buffalo's new drive doesn't make you pick a winner in the high-def disc format war, and it doesn't make you open up your PC's case to install it. The Buffalo MediaStation Blu-ray HD DVD (BRHC-6316U2) drive is an external USB combo drive that reads and writes Blu-ray discs and reads HD DVD discs. Unfortunately, Buffalo made no mention of eSATA or FireWire, so you're stuck with USB 2.0. It'll cost $649 when it starts shipping later this quarter.

Joining Yoggie's cool Gatekeeper Pico, a security suite on a USB stick, is the new Firestick Pico, a firewall-only version of the same thing.

Security on a stick.

(Credit: Rafe Needleman / CNET)

As covered previously on Crave, Yoggie's products are essentially security coprocessors. Computers unto themselves, they intercept all Internet traffic going in and out of your computer and scan it for threats. The Gatekeeper products scan for viruses, spam, and other threats, as well as running a bidirectional firewall. The new Firestick is a firewall only.

The benefit to these products is that they free up your computer's processor from running the security processes that you need. Considering how big and complex software security suites are getting, it sounds like a great idea.

The downside is they are physical products and have to plug into your computer. The Yoggie products are marketed for laptop users, but who wants to have to remember to plug in a USB gizmo just to run background security? I do like the idea for desktops, though.

The new Firestick Pico retails for $119. The fully featured Gatekeeper Pico is $149 and strikes me as the better deal. If you're going to stick a security dongle on your computer, why not just have it run all your safety software?

The Toshiba's onscreen keyboard.

We're always interested to see what's coming up for ultramobile PCs, the handheld platform better known as UMPC. We've seen previous iterations from the Sony UX to the OQO model 02, to the Vulcan Flipstart, but none have totally scratched our ultramobile itch, because of awkward interfaces, poor battery life, or underpowered processors.

Toshiba is showing off a new UMPC at CES, and while it doesn't yet have a name or release date, it incorporates a number of new features that move the category forward--but it's clearly still not "the one."

The Toshiba UMPC is a slightly bulky silver box running Windows Vista. Unlike other UMPCs with BlackBerry-style thumb keyboards, this uses an iPhone-like onscreen keyboard, accessed by flicking your finger up from the bottom of the screen. A flick from the left or right sides brings out a quick-launch dock of useful apps.

While the prototype we played with had a traditional disc drive, Toshiba says solid state drives will also be available (and they make much more sense in small devices such as this). A built-in accelerometer lets you flip the screen on its side, and in perhaps the most interesting touch, tilting the screen forward and back lets you scroll up and down Web pages.

Toshiba says its UMPC will hit Japan in the not-too-distant future, but no solid plans for a stateside release--or even a name--just yet.

DisplayLink makes video chips that let you connect an LCD to your PC via USB, which is highly convenient for adding a second display. Even more convenient? Going wireless. Iogear introduced its Wireless USB-to-VGA Video Card that uses DisplayLink's technology to output a video signal via WUSB to multiple monitors, TVs, and projectors at up to 1,680x1,050 resolution and 16.7 million colors. Iogear expects the WUSB external graphics adapter to become commercially available in mid-2008 from monitor, PC, and peripheral manufacturers.

To learn more about DisplayLink, read our reviews of DisplayLink LCDs from LG and Samsung.

New low: a $200 Blu-ray drive.

(Credit: Sony Electronics Inc.)

Funai announced a standalone Blu-ray player that will dip below the $300 mark when it's released next quarter, but if you've got a PC that's up to the challenge, Sony's got an internal Serial ATA Blu-ray drive that will do the trick for even less. The BDU-X10S drive will cost $199.99 when Sony starts shipping it next month (preorder it here). This BD-ROM (that's read, not write) drive comes bundled with CyberLink PowerDVD BD Edition for playing Blu-ray discs in MPEG-2 or H.264 format. It'll also play DVDs and CDs and will work with XP and Vista PCs.

The HS-1200 in the flesh

(Credit: CNET)

Are you a hardcore PC online gamer who's constantly restricted by the always-too-short-or-in-the-way cable on your headset? If so, Creative's new HS-1200 may be just the ticket. It's a fully wireless headset--the first such full duplex stereo model (according to the company), which means it can simultaneously send and receive audio. The PC headset will work with any VoIP or voice application, but Creative is aiming straight at the PC gaming market. The HS-1200 communicates with your PC via a USB transceiver that's about the size of a hockey puck--which also includes a separate umbilical cable used for recharging when the headphones are not in action. (It just plugs in--no cradle required.) Unfortunately, the battery is locked in and not replaceable, so charge degradation over time may become an issue.

On the design side, the microphone extension on the HS-1200 is such that flipping it up will turn it off--just bring it back down and the microphone is ready for use. The headset itself has four buttons: volume up/down, power, and call pickup (for using the HS-1200 for VoIP and communication applications when you're away from the desktop). The USB connectivity is designed to guarantee plug-and-play Windows connectivity--no software installation required.

Look for the Creative Labs HS-1200 to retail for $150 when it becomes available this spring.

gOS, the Linux-based operating environment that Everex put on its low-priced gPCs it sold at Wal-Mart Stores, is getting a nice little update and support by more Everex computers, including one ultra-tiny laptop.

Asus ePC, meet your new competitor, the Everex CloudBook

See our first gOS review: Almost the Google PC.

The 2.0 version of gOS, or "Rocket," has a freshened user interface with a few new features, such as a multiple desktop switcher. It also has support for Google Gears, so you can use the few offline/online apps that support it on the gOS devices. Currently, Google Reader is Gears-enabled, as is Zoho Writer and Remember The Milk. Unfortunately, Google's GMail, Calendar, and the Docs suite are still online-only. (We expect updates this year; GMail and Calendar first.)

Rocket also comes with the first gOS-built app, gBooth, a simple Webcam photo studio. The app will also be sold in a bundle with a Webcam and will be called meeBooth; it will work on Windows as well as the gOS.

Soon to come: support for Mozilla Weave Prism (correcting previous error), which is basically the Firefox browser without its toolbars--a nice framework for Web apps.

On the hardware side, the $199 gPC is getting updated with new plastics. It will be joined by a slick mini PC priced at $499 and a $399 notebook with a 15.4-inch screen, the gBook. All of the gOS machines are powered by Via chips, except the mini, which gets a dual-core Pentium (not Core 2 Duo).

The real news, though, is the Everex CloudBook, a 2-pound ultra-small laptop with a 7-inch screen, a 30GB hard drive, a Webcam, and good connectivity (Wi-Fi, 3 USB ports, a 4-in-1 card reader). It "out-specs" the Asus ePC, according to Everex, and will sell for $399 when it shows up at Wal-Mart on January 20.

These are all real computers. They may not run XP or Vista or OS X, but you can do real work and participate fully on Web apps with any of them. And they're selling at Wal-Mart. One has to wonder for how long people will continue to buy machines that are massively overpowered just so they can run Vista--an operating system that we're going to need less and less as more and more of our applications move onto the Web.

Dell's 16-inch laptop prototype.

There's a well-worn axiom in journalism that finding three examples of the same thing in short order officially constitutes a trend. With that in mind, take a look at this prototype Dell XPS laptop being shown under glass at the Dell booth. It's a 16-inch laptop, called the XPS 630i, and the unusual size displays images in a true 16:9 screen ratio (like your HDTV), rather than the 16:10 screen ratio found in most 14.1-, 15.4- and 17-inch laptop displays.

While Dell is the only PC maker showing off a 16-inch prototype to the public, it's not the only company interested in new laptop screen sizes. We can think of at least two other brands (and possibly more) that are all working on both 16-inch and 18-inch laptops, which makes this an official trend in our book.