theONbutton@CES – MSI booth walking tour including X320 and U115
MSI’s X320 is about as close as you’ll ever see to a Macbook Air without an Apple logo on the back of the screen. When the lid is closed the laptop is a dead ringer for the Cupertino model, aside from MSI’s black and white color models which accompany the silver one. The X320 should be released in the US in Q2 this year for under $1,000, sporting an Intel Atom and 13″ screen.
The U115 hybrid has a SSD and a traditional hard drive as well for mass storage. The spinning hard drive can be turned off for extended battery life, MSI claims up to 12 hours of total usage.
Note that the white X320 in the video is a mock-up concept.
Neil Berman
CES 2009 Preview: Manhattan November 11, 2008
CEA presented some interesting research at this week’s CES 2009 preview in Manhattan. Their surveys were conducted within the last month, so the results are right up to date.
Gary Shapiro, President and CEO of CEA
Unsurprisingly CEA identified that consumer sentiment is the lowest in 15 years and predicts holiday spending down 14 percent at $1,437 per person compared to $1,671 per person in 2007. Additionally CEA found that one in four consumers is adopting a wait and see approach, which will likely make it harder to determine how much people are really spending until later this year.
The good news however for the consumer electronics sector is that CEA believes the allocation of CE gift spending is growing. Additionally consumers are more willing to eliminate home decor, furniture and sporting goods expenditure than CE spending.
What’s the reason for this? CEA believes that consumer electronics are becoming so integral to our lives across a growing age range that CE expenditure is becoming less discretionary. In fact some CE items are viewed as cost saving investments as families spend on ‘cocooning’ themselves at home in surround sound instead of blowing $50+ on a family outing to the cinema.
Later in the proceedings George Kliavkoff stepped onto the podium to announce for NBC that the Today show, Power Lunch, Access Hollywood and Nightly News would all broadcast live from CES 2009. Steve Mosko announced for Sony that a 25th anniversary filming of Jeopardy will take place at CES. The announcements make it increasing likely that the January expo will marry up platform and content providers more closely than ever.
CES Digital Downtown 2008
Digital Downtown opened today at the World Financial Center in Manhattan. This micro CES hopes to get end consumers to fondle cool tech today and their credit cards on the weekend. There were also some product previews of toys not yet available on J&R’s shelves a few blocks away.
The long awaited Gigabyte M528 came up for air on Intel’s stand along with a handful of other MIDs (Mobile Internet Devices).
This 800MHz Centrino Atom powered MID is super-light with a full slide out keyboard. The design is similar to the Nokia N810 and keeps the Linux theme alive with a customized OS loaded with OpenOffice and Skype. The keyboard feels good with a rubberized texture and the light weight (spec is 340g) means you can hold it for a long time without feeling like it’s a brick in your hands.
Whilst the M528 would be an awesomely useful device with Windows XP installed, its limited 4GB SSD means that this will be a challenge. Unlike the EEE 4G which packs XP and leaves room on the side for a 32GB SDHC, Gigabyte’s beauty only provides Micro SD expansion and current capacities are unfortunately small. On the plus side there’s a 3 megapixel camera
on the back, a very low res webcam on the front and an 800×480 pixel screen which is a high enough resolution for decent web browsing. An unnamed source suggested that the M528 would ship in the US this summer for around $500.
LG showed off an LED-backlit LCD screen, due out for before the end of the year. It was noticeably more vivid than it’s sister screen and boasts a crazy contrast range of 1,000,000:1 (yes, you read all those zeros right). This gives really black shades of black and a heck of lot more of everything in the middle until you get all the way across the spectrum. 
(LED model on left in photo, current model on the right.) Pricing is expected to be at a fair premium to the existing model, but we’re not talking OLED megabucks. In fact although the image didn’t give me the wow I got from Sony’s OLED screen at CES, it’s a worthy contender at a fraction of the cost per screen inch. Better still it’s actually a real big screen product in 2008, whilst we’ll probably wait at least a year for large OLED screens to reach production.
They still look great, but don’t hold a candle to Sony’s recent efforts.
With the obligatory customized Scion acting as gatekeeper, 
Pioneer were the party animals of the show. They brought their country-touring-dome-complete-with-DJ to bang out some tunes, with a funked-out trippy kaleidoscope ceiling.
Inside was a homage to all things ICE, but as cool as Smart cars look on European streets they just don’t cut it with a sub in the back.
The show is being held across from Ground Zero, which was the site of the World Trade Center until Sept 11, 2001. For those of you who have not seen Ground Zero, it is now a scene of energetic building activity 
and will be the future location of the Freedom Tower. The first building to be rebuilt at Ground Zero was 7 World Trade Center, which opened its fifty-two stories in 2006. This is the top of it at 28x zoom (shot with steady hands and without a tripod, I used to be a surgeon – not). 
Neil Berman
www.neilberman.com
CES 2008 News: Laptops & UMPCs Part 2
The Aigo’s implementation of screen, keyboard and power make it one of the most promising UMPC designs out there currently.
The beautifully patterned red lid is striking and Lenovo had made a great effort to make the keyboard user friendly with large keys. The U110 will be available with an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, choice of 64 or 32 GB SSD or regular 160 GB HD and a 11.1 inch screen. 
Communication features include bluetooth, WiFi and a 1.3MP camera. The ultra-thin design ranges from 0.7 to 0.9 inches at the thickest point. This dream machine will be available in April priced at around $1,800.
The keyboard to the right of the screen sports a mixed key use arrangement. This is currently a prototype with no production details available.
Samsung also expanded its Q1 range with the launch of the Q1 Ultra Premium. The Q1’s thumboard, which I have generally found difficult to use, has been supplemented with a large software keyboard. Dial keys is gone. The Q1 Ultra Premium will be available with a 64 GB SSD and has a range of Intel processor options from 1.06 to 1.33 GHz. A Samsung representative said the current Q1 Ultra range would continue to be sold for the time being.
The Amtec U650 has again a different form factor, where the screen slides up to reveal a well designed thumboard.
In the face of competitors from Aigo and LG, the unit feels pretty chunky for something with a 5.6 inch screen. 
Sony has updated its Mylo communicator, which comes with Skype preloaded.
has a range of available accessories, including a snap-on keyboard. It also uses Intel’s new Silverthorne / Menlow CPU range which goes up to 1.6 GHz.
Finally Toshiba’s eMotion Feel UMPC is yet another different form factor proposition. 
Currently a working concept, the eMotion Feel looks expensive and heavy but amazingly weighs under one pound. The front panel’s pointer and buttons seem limiting as the main controls, along with a stylus. Its unique feature is tilt scrolling, 
which is activated by pressing a button on the left side and then holding the unit at an angle to scroll through a page. An interesting and intuitive design feature.
Read part 1 of the CES 2008 Laptops & UMPCs News here
Neil Berman
CES 2008 News: Home Entertainment
OLEDs, Ultra-thin TVs, All-in-one PCs and Wireless Streaming
My CES 2008 news update comes in the following sections: Laptops & UMPCs, Home Entertainment, Media Players, Cellphones, Gaming and Trick Technologies. To read all the CES 2008 articles, click here. Details of dates, pricing and specifications described below are given from the best information available at the time of writing and may change at any time at each manufacturer’s discretion.
All-in-one PCs
Dell and Gateway brought their recently all-in-one releases to CES. Both have similar names and compete with the same leader in the class – Apple’s smart-looking new iMac.
Gateway’s One (above) looks like a cross between the iMac and the prototype LimePC. Meanwhile Dell (below) has given its XPS One a more individual, and fussier, look with screen mounted side speakers and ultra-cool vibration feedback button which light up when you move your hand towards them. Both Ones are based around Vista with a blaster supplied for controlling Media Center.
All three models have decent amounts of Intel Core 2 Duo power to handle tough multimedia applications. However out of the box these are not hardcore gaming machines. The graphics implementations on all three are aimed more at home video/photo usage than complex in-game graphics rendering. Gamers would do better to choose other models in Dell and Gateway’s ranges. 
It will be interesting to see if this sector is successful in 2008. The iMac had a bumpy ride last year and now there are suddenly more players looking to share this slice of the pie. Design-wise it’s probably Dell first, then Apple with Gateway last. That’s not to say the iMac or Gateway One are doing anything wrong. However neither approaches Dell’s superb design details such as the minuscule motors under its screen buttons, stunning wireless keyboard and glow-in-the-dark features which light only when you reach for them. This is the One to watch.
Video
Organic LEDs stole the TV show at CES, with Sony’s (below) and Samsung’s stunning models lighting up their stands. 
In a one-on-one comparison I can say first hand that OLED screens make most current LCD images look ordinary without the need for complex image assessment technology. Sony’s OLED screen was so vivid it was as if the screen border was a window frame.
Current LED screens work by controlling pixel coloration whilst a backlight provides illumination. This means it is difficult to produce true black as the backlight is always present. When controlling one pixel is also difficult to stop surrounding pixels being lit, which is why current LEDs can suffer from blurring/tracing effects with fast action sequences.
OLED screens work by lighting up individual pixels, there is no fluorescent backlight. So colors are highly vivid and black is reproduced amazingly well. Contrast and brightness are also superb. They are also exceptionally thin.
Sony are currently selling a hyper-thin eleven inch OLED screen for $2,500 and Samsung will be releasing a digital camera with an OLED viewing screen later this year. 
The other big news was the ever-dieting TV panel, with several manufacturers showing off screens under two inches deep. Hitachi’s range (below), which carried the branding ‘1.5 is here’ (referring to panel depth) 
is due to hit stores in Q1 (32 inch) and Q2 (37 and 42 inch) this year. LG (below), Sharp, Samsung and Sony also carried ultra-thin panels on their stands. 
Samsung also showed a 3D-ready plasma display, although unfortunately we still needed to wear the funny glasses to see the images jumping out!
Panasonic had an amazing 150 inch high definition plasma screen on display (see top), which was awesome.
Wireless HDMI devices also made an appearance, with Hitachi demonstrating one of their 1.5 inch TVs receiving a signal over the airwaves. 
LG showed its useful dual format HD-DVD & Blu-ray player on their stand. 
This could be the best bet for wary consumers waiting for the format war to be played out (although Blu-ray seems to be emerging as the pick of many studios).
Audio
Several manufacturers showed their take on the single box home theater speaker solution, similar to Yamaha’s existing product. Both Samsung and Philips had an offering with a name derivation on ’sound bar’, whilst a similar looking unit was on display on Sony’s stand.
These speakers typically need a fairly well structured room and a subwoofer to deliver best performance. I tested the Yamaha YSP-800 a while back, which made a brave attempt but struggled to deliver a solid surround picture as the room was an odd shape.
Wireless Media Streaming
Klegg showed two wireless media streamers, one of which can act as a DVR 
with a cable TV input. The devices can stream audio and video files, including Windows Media Center format. They will ship with an empty drive bay leaving the buyer to pick their desired hard drive capacity and fit in place with the built-in Serial ATA connector. 
Once attached to the network, computers see the devices as local drives. Both models have extensive connectivity options. The DVR version is likely to cost around $299 and will be available later this year. The non-DVR capable Media Share Mega model should be $199 and in stores imminently.
Neil Berman
Everex Launches Asus EEE Rival
In my review of the Asus EEE PC I predicted: “…this is the IT bargain of 2007. Expect other companies to follow…“
It’s happened.
Everex announced the CloudBook ultra-portable notebook at CES, a direct rival to the Asus EEE PC.
Latest Jan update, Everex has revised the Cloudbook’s shipping date to Feb 15th.
Feb 17th update: The trackpad implementation on the Cloudbook looks nasty…I bought an EEE today.
CES 2008 News: Media Players
Useful features include a stopwatch and countdown timer for helping out at the gym. The Zen Stone Plus also has a voice recorder. The 4 GB version should be available soon, whilst the 2 GB version is already in stores undercutting the iPod Shuffle by a significant margin.
The new addition is otherwise the same as the existing range of 4/8/16 GB Zens offering video as well as music playback. There is an SD slot for extra expansion, but no wireless capability, unlike the new Zune…
which is easy to navigate and looks super-cool. The screen is vivid, video runs well and Zune Marketplace has one million DRM-free songs available. The real killer punch though is the wireless PC sync’ing and Zune to Zune sharing (see top). We’ll have to wait until Macworld on Jan 14-18th to see if Apple brings similar functionality to the iPod.
which danced around singing music from its onboard speakers. Sansa’s recently released Shaker was also on display, looking cute as ever in its pepperpot-like shell.CES 2008 News: Trick Technologies
My CES 2008 news update comes in the following sections: Laptops & UMPCs, Home Entertainment, Media Players, Cellphones, Gaming and Trick Technologies. To read all the CES 2008 articles, click here. Details of dates, pricing and specifications described below are given from the best information available at the time of writing and may change at any time at each manufacturer’s discretion.
Trick Technologies
Solid State Drives
although this was a working concept rather than a production unit. 
Samsung were running a video showing the relative merits of SSD versus traditional hard disks, which highlighted SSD benefits in file access timing, battery performance and vibration tests. The company, which has been fitting 32GB SSDs into production Q1s for a while, announced that a 64 GB SSD version will be available in the new Q1 Ultra Premium range. Toshiba had an open SSD on display and as expected the drive simply looks like a 
large memory board with an array of storage chips in place of a traditional spinning platter. I would expect SSDs to become an ever increasing part of portable commputing and to fall in price as production volumes increase.
Killer SSD fact: SSDs are governed by Moore’s law, which states that the number of transistors on a chip doubles about every two years. We could therefore assume that at a given price point the capacity of an SSD should double every two years. Or, the cost of a given SSD capacity should roughly halve every two years. This means that at some future point I expect SSDs to become cheaper than traditional hard drives and therefore more widely implemented given the relative benefits of SSDs.
Toshiba Hand Gesture Recognition
Giving us hope that Minority Report style hand waving technology may be possible one day, Toshiba demonstrated a prototype Qosmio laptop which responded to hand gestures. 
By making certain gestures in front of the laptop’s webcam, the demonstrator was able to play, pause and search through a movie. Another gesture turned the hand into a vitual pointer, controlling on-screen mouse movement. This was made possible by development of Toshiba’s SpursEngine, a co-processor which takes processing of certain highly data intensive functions away from the CPU and graphics card. This allows the latter two to concentrate on what they are doing and gives the overall system more horsepower for rendering HDTV and certain other multimedia tasks. The software is already compatible with Windows Media Center. The best news about this technology is that we could see Qosmios rolling into stores with it onboard as soon as this year.
Wireless Rechargeable External Drives
External drives are great…until you want to access them on the move at which point you wish you’d bought a laptop with a bigger hard drive. Not for much longer.
Seagate demonstrated a prototype 1.8 inch external hard drive called the DAVE equipped with WiFi and a battery (rechargeable via USB). So this drive could stay in a bag whilst you access it from a laptop on a coffee table nearby. Seagate is aiming to give it cellphone-like battery life. It is unlikely that Seagate will sell the drive themselves just yet, at present the company is working with third parties to build software and market the product.
Organic Light Emmitting Diode Screens (OLED Screens)
This technology, once emerging, has now definitely emerged and is retail stores. OLED screens were some of the stars of the show, with dazzling screens on display from Samsung and Sony. See the home entertainment section for more details.
See photos and read CES news about: Laptops & UMPCs, Home Entertainment, Media Players, Cellphones, Gaming and Trick Technologies.
To read all the CES 2008 articles, click here.
Neil Berman
theONbutton
Turning the world on, one gadget at a time.
