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Friday, January 7, 2011

Tablets crowd gadget show, chasing iPad's tail (AP) : Technet

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Tablets crowd gadget show, chasing iPad's tail (AP) : Technet

Tablets crowd gadget show, chasing iPad's tail (AP)

Posted: 07 Jan 2011 07:32 PM PST

By RACHEL METZ, AP Technology Writer Rachel Metz, Ap Technology Writer – 1 hr 37 mins ago

LAS VEGAS – Big tablets and small tablets, white ones and black ones. Cheap ones and expensive ones. Brand names famous and obscure at the starting line of a race where the iPad is already a speeding dot near the horizon.

It's impossible to walk the floor at this year's International Consumer Electronics Show without stumbling across a multitude of keyboard-less touch-screen computers expected to hit the market in the coming months. With Apple estimated to have sold more than 13 million iPads last year alone, the competition is clearly for second place, but even that prize is worth pursuing.

Technology research firm Gartner Inc. expects that 55 million tablet computers will be shipped this year, most of them still iPads, but there will be room for rivals to vie for sales of the remaining 10 million to 15 million devices.

A bevy of consumer electronics makers, including major names such as Motorola Mobility Inc., Toshiba Corp. and Dell Inc., showed off their tablets in Las Vegas at CES, betting 2011 will be the year the gadgets finally take off.

Companies tried for years to popularize tablets, but the frenzy began only with the release of the iPad in April. Now companies whose names don't include the word "Apple" are doing everything they can to differentiate themselves from the tablet front-runner.

They're adding bells and whistles the iPad doesn't yet have — such as front and back cameras for video chatting and picture taking and the ability to work over next-generation 4G data networks — in hopes of taking on the iPad, or at least carving out a niche.

Motorola's Xoom sports a screen that measures 10.1 inches diagonally — slightly larger than the iPad's — and dual cameras for video chatting and taking high-definition videos.

It will also include the upcoming Honeycomb version of Google Inc.'s Android software. Honeycomb has been designed for the larger touch screens on tablets; current versions of Android, used in many of the tablets at CES, are meant more for the smaller touch screens on smart phones.

For example, Gmail on a Honeycomb tablet shows a list of e-mails in one column and the body of the one you're reading in a second column. On a current Android phone, you'd only see one column at a time.

Motorola, at least, is confident that its offering is more full-featured than the iPad.

"A lot of people have been waiting for the definitive tablet," said Paul Nicholson, Motorola's marketing director. "This is the definitive tablet."

The tablet, which will start selling in March for an as-yet-unknown price, will also work on Verizon Wireless' existing, 3G network at first and later be upgradeable to work on its faster 4G network.

Tablets that work with a wireless carrier's high-speed data network may be a key to success in the tablet space, said Ross Rubin, an analyst for NPD Group, a market research firm. While a version of the iPad can use AT&T Inc.'s 3G network, Apple has not yet announced a plan for it to use any of the new 4G networks.

"Today we see a lot of tablet usage in the home. Perhaps tying it to a faster network can ... really expand the on-the-go use case for these products," Rubin said.

No matter how well any of the new contenders are received, though, analysts expect Apple to dominate in the tablet market for at least two years. With Apple's habit of annually refreshing its products, chances are the iPad will gain new features early this year that could launch it even further ahead of the competition.

And the company has something no one else has been able to match: mind share. Forrester analyst Sarah Rotman Epps said consumers are buying the iPad because they see their friends and colleagues with it, not because of its specific features.

"Just because Android tablets may have more features doesn't guarantee they will sell," Rotman Epps said.

But if the market opened up by Apple's other mobile triumph, the iPhone, is any indication, they will. Since its 2007 debut the iPhone has been immensely popular, but it also sparked increased consumer demand for other smart phones — eventually including those running Android.

For AsusTek Computer Inc., the most important focus right now appears to be hardware and software diversification. The Taiwanese computer maker unveiled a number of tablets at the show, including the Eee Pad Transformer, which is a laptop that splits in two to function as a tablet, and the Eee Pad Slider, a tablet with a keyboard that slides out of its left side.

The Transformer is set to begin selling in April for $399 to $699, depending on its configuration. And the Slider is set to be sold starting in May for $499 to $799.

This puts its cheapest Transformer $100 below the most inexpensive iPad, which sells for $499 to $829, depending on its configuration. Several other companies unveiled even cheaper tablets at CES, which could pique consumer interest, though lower prices could come with less-vivid screens and older software.

Richard Shim, a DisplaySearch analyst, said Asus' tactics point to a wider trend in tablets: The market is branching out extremely quickly in an effort to appeal to a wider range of consumers.

This extends to operating software, too: Some tablets shown ran Microsoft Corp.'s PC software, Windows 7. Research In Motion Ltd., the maker of BlackBerry phones, demonstrated its forthcoming PlayBook tablet, which is geared toward business users and runs new software built by QNX Software Systems, which RIM took over in 2010.

RIM plans to start selling a Wi-Fi version of the PlayBook early this year, and a version that operates on Sprint Nextel Corp.'s 4G network is due to arrive in the summer.

Android was clearly the software of choice at CES, though, and Honeycomb in particular. Rotman Epps sees this as the software for the first "real" Android tablet, despite the arrival of several non-Honeycomb Android tablets such as Samsung Electronics Co.'s Galaxy Tab last year. She thinks Honeycomb will help new tablets make their mark.

That's hard to judge now, however: Honeycomb hasn't been released yet. Many tablets at CES that will be released with that software were not showing off live versions of it at the show.

Several analysts said software — and the apps developed for it — are what will set winning tablets apart from the pack, but for now it's too soon to tell how compelling they will be.

"At the end of the day, that's what's going to sell the device," Shim said.

Camera makers slash prices on new point-and-shoots (AP)

Posted: 07 Jan 2011 03:00 PM PST

By DANA WOLLMAN, AP Technology Writer Dana Wollman, Ap Technology Writer – Fri Jan 7, 6:00 pm ET

NEW YORK – To fight dwindling camera sales, manufacturers are slashing prices for point-and-shoots — often below $100 — and offering more features for the money.

Camera makers unveiled dozens of models this week at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the largest gadget show in the U.S. Here's what to look for once they go on sale over the next few months.

Lower prices

It used to be nearly impossible to buy a digital camera for $100. Now, Casio America Inc., Canon Inc., Eastman Kodak Co. and Olympus Corp. all sell them, and other big brands just jumped on the bandwagon.

Sony Electronics Inc., a company not known for discounted cameras, will sell the Cybershot DSC-W510 ($100), a 12-megapixel camera with a 4X optical zoom — more than what you'll find on most entry-level cameras.

Canon, the market leader, will sell the 10-megapixel Powershot A800 for $89, albeit with a bare-bones 3X zoom.

Kodak has two budget offerings: the credit card-sized EasyShare Mini ($100) and the EasyShare Sport, an $80 camera that can be immersed in up to 10 feet of water, which is the kind of durability normally found in a $200 camera.

Fujifilm NA Corp.'s FinePix AV200 ($90) shoots 720p (1280 x 720) high-definition video, another rarity for cameras this cheap.

HD video standard

It's not unusual for whiz-bang features to trickle down into lower-end products. Face detection, for example, used to be reserved for high-end cameras; today, shoppers have come to expect it. Now, high-definition movie recording is becoming a typical feature on point-and-shoots.

With the exception of some of those $100 cameras, almost every model Canon, Fujifilm, Kodak, Panasonic Corp., Samsung Electronics Co. and Sony announced this week records HD movies at 720p or even 1080p (1920 x 1080) resolution.

Fujifilm's $90 HD number takes the cake in terms of value, but Canon's Powershot A2200IS ($140) also records HD video for a still-reasonable price.

While we can't vouch for the quality of these movies, the boost in resolution is an improvement because the videos will look sharp on high-definition televisions.

New ways to share photos

We've noticed several companies experimenting with new ways to free photos from the camera.

Samsung's SH100 ($200) isn't the first camera with built-in Wi-Fi, but it is unique in that it can send photos directly to a smart phone. Photographers can also use the Wi-Fi-enabled camera to back up their photos to websites such as Facebook.

People can also use their smart phone as a remote-control to trigger their camera's shutter, as long as they're within a Wi-Fi network. Here's the catch: The camera only does this with Samsung's own line of Galaxy smart phones, which run Google Inc.'s Android software.

Across its product line, Kodak has been emphasizing a sharing feature that lets people select photos stored on the camera to be automatically uploaded to sites such as Facebook when the camera is connected to a computer.

Eye-Fi Inc.'s memory cards can already wirelessly send photos from a camera to a PC or to websites such as Flickr. Now, they can also send photos to smart phones, tablets and other devices. It requires a one-time setup to connect the Eye-Fi card to the gadget over Wi-Fi. Android phone or tablet owners then download an app to see the photos.

Eye-Fi won't say if other devices, such as iPads and iPhones, will be supported. The new feature will be available as a free update to people who already own one of Eye-Fi's X2 cards, which start at $50 for 4GB of storage space.

More megapixels

For a while, camera makers had seemingly called off the megapixel arms race, taking a break from one-upping each other with higher and higher resolution. Now, they're at it again, cramming as many as 14 or 16-megapixels into new models.

This isn't necessarily a good thing: The more megapixels a camera has, the smaller each sensor is, meaning they can collect less light in dim shooting situations. Nighttime photos might also look grainer with more megapixels. This is all especially true of compact point-and-shoots, which have relatively small sensors to begin with.

But with higher resolution come cutting-edge extras, such as advanced image stabilization technologies, panorama shooting and the ability to shoot in slow motion, something the new Fujifilm FinePix HS20 EXR ($500) can do.

If you want those features, go for it. If you happen to see a 16-megapixel camera that costs $30 or $40 more than a similar one with lower resolution, though, pick the cheaper one. Even the cheapest cameras today have 10-megapixel resolution, which is more than enough to produce crisp 8 x 10 prints.

Verizon Wireless invites press to mystery event (AP)

Posted: 07 Jan 2011 04:41 PM PST

– Fri Jan 7, 7:41 pm ET

NEW YORK – Verizon Wireless said Friday it will hold a press conference on Jan. 11, reigniting rumors that it will become the second U.S. carrier to sell Apple Inc.'s iPhone.

At the International Consumer Electronics Show this week in Las Vegas, Verizon already made news with phones and tablets that will run on its high-speed, next-generation 4G wireless network. So it's significant that Verizon will still have an announcement big enough to warrant a press conference in New York a week later, with Lowell McAdam, president and chief operating officer of Verizon Communications Inc., in attendance.

Verizon would not give any further details as to what the event was about. Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris said she could not comment on rumors and speculation.

Rumors that Verizon would carry the iPhone have been circulating since before Apple Inc. unveiled the smart phone in 2007. Those rumors lingered over the years, but have become louder in recent months, as AT&T Inc. is believed to be nearing the end of its exclusive hold on the iPhone.

Although the iPhone has long been the crown jewel of AT&T's smart phone portfolio, the carrier in recent months added more than a dozen phones that run Google Inc.'s Android software. Until now, Verizon made up for not having the iPhone by selling Android phones such as the Motorola Droid.

Apple, as usual, did not attend the gadget show in Las Vegas. The company tends to make big product announcements at its own press conferences.

Shares of New York-based Verizon Communications Inc., which owns Verizon Wireless in a joint venture with Vodafone Group PLC, closed on Friday at $35.93, down 30 cents. The company gained 10 cents in after-hours trading. Apple' stock closed at $336.12, up $2.39, and gained 67 cents in after-hours trading.

CES: Orb Networks’ new slogan, “Have Blu-ray, will stream” (Ben Patterson)

Posted: 07 Jan 2011 08:07 PM PST

By Ben Patterson ben Patterson – 1 hr 2 mins ago

Got a Net-connected Blu-ray player or a PlayStation 3? Want to stream videos from YouTube, Hulu, or Comedy Central to your HDTV? Starting next month, all you'll need is a $20 Blu-ray disc and Orb Networks' free streaming software.

Orb announced this week that it will begin shipping its Blu-ray disc—yes, just a disc, not a custom Blu-ray or anything—in late February.

Once you've coughed up $20 for the disc, just insert it into your Blu-ray player and hit play. Instead of seeing a video, you'll be firing up an app running on BD Live, the Net-enabled platform that most recent Blu-ray players (as well as the PlayStation 3) support.

The app will allow you to stream videos from a variety of sources—including Hulu (yep, Hulu), Netflix, ESPN3, Comedy Central, you name it—to your HDTV, so long as you have the free Orb Caster client up and running on a PC or Mac connected to your home network.

I got a brief demo Friday afternoon of Orb's upcoming video-streaming Blu-ray disc on a PS3, and it works pretty much as advertised, with Orb co-founder and CEO Joe Costello controlling the feed using Orb's iPad remote app. (Versions are also available for other iOS and Android devices.)

It was hard to judge video quality due to the crush of Wi-Fi signals in and around the CES convention hall (even the nearby Las Vegas Hilton, where I saw Friday's demo, was seriously Wi-Fi-challenged). But Costello promised that HD video streaming is possible over the Orb software, provided you've got enough bandwidth on your local network.

OK, but how does Orb manage to stream video feeds from the likes of Hulu and Comedy Central without getting blocked? Well, the secret is the Orb Caster software I mentioned a bit earlier, which runs concurrently on your desktop and essentially fools sites like Hulu into thinking that you're watching over a standard Web browser.

Having to fire up the Orb desktop software while watching videos in the living room is a bit of a pain, but Costello enthusiastically noted that he and his team are developing a workaround, hopefully by the end of the year. (Nope, Costello wouldn't reveal any details.)

— Ben Patterson is a technology writer for Yahoo! News.

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CES: Mirasol color e-reader display ready for its close-up (Ben Patterson)

Posted: 07 Jan 2011 07:15 PM PST

By Ben Patterson ben Patterson – 1 hr 54 mins ago

Qualcomm's long-gestating Mirasol display—yet another e-paper technology that hopes to finally bring color and full-motion video to traditional, non-LCD e-reader devices—is back at CES this year, and may soon be ready for prime time.

More or less under wraps during last year's show, sample Mirasol e-readers were on full display at CES this year, and I got to take a gander at the latest build.

First, a little background. Qualcomm's Mirasol displays are similar to the E Ink displays you'll find on Amazon's Kindle or the Sony Reader, in that they rely on reflected light rather than the backlighting on a traditional LCD.

But while E Ink displays use thousands of electrically charged black and white beads to render text, Mirasol displays work their magic with the help of thousands of pixels and sub-pixels each consisting of twin conductive plates—one that's transparent, the other reflective, with an air gap in-between.

By applying a charge to the subpixels and expanding or collapsing the gap between the two plates, Mirasol displays can change the perceived color of reflected light from each individual subpixel to red, green or blue; the right combination of those colors can create a galaxy of different colors.

Got all that? I'm not sure I do, either, but hey—it works, and the benefit of the technology behind the Mirasol is that it's efficient (needing juice only when changing the colors of its subpixels), fast enough to display video, and capable of displaying a full spectrum of color.

That's the theory, but what's the reality? Well, the 5.7-inch, 1024-by-768 Mirasol I saw today at CES looked … well, much better than I thought it would, although it's by no means perfect.

Yes, we're talking full color here, with images of magazine covers looked particularly striking, while video was displayed at 30 frames a second—fast enough to render a scrolling Web page or a fluttering, slow-motion butterfly. Nice. (Oh, and by the way—the Mirasol display can be touch-sensitive, if a manufacturer so wishes.)

But I'd be lying if I didn't say that the colors on the Mirasol didn't look a bit dull and washed out, and there were also some slight artifacts and jitteriness to the video—nothing horrible, mind you, but noticeable nonetheless.

And while a Mirasol display will last for days on a single charge, it also requires a light source for viewing—perfect when you're lying on the beach under a blue sky, but not so hot if you're reading in the dark.

In any case, promising stuff, and I'm told that the first commercial, Mirasol-packing e-readers should begin shipping as early as the first half of this year. Who might some of Qualcomm's hardware partners? No word on that front, for now.

— Ben Patterson is a technology writer for Yahoo! News.

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Videos of possible PlayStation phone emerge (Digital Trends)

Posted: 07 Jan 2011 06:38 PM PST

Ryan Fleming Ryan Fleming – 2 hrs 31 mins ago

In perhaps the most shocking news of the day, there is tech news happening from places other than CES! While the convention rages on in Las Vegas, a Chinese website, IT168.com, has posted images and videos of what appears to be the PlayStation Phone, which were then reposted by GamesRadar.com.

It is important to clarify that these images and videos are of an "alleged" PlayStation phone, because China has been known to occasionally, once in awhile, produce electronic knockoffs and the like. So it is not inconceivable—in fact it might be a 50/50 chance that this is just a cheaply made knock off that someone stamped "Sony Ericsson" onto in order to sell it for a good price at one of the many, many, many electronics bazaars around the city. The image above shows the supposed PlayStation phone marked with the “Experia” (another model of phone made by Sony Ericsson) which could add to the fraud theory, or mean that the PlayStation phone is basically an Experia phone with a different key pad, which is actually fairly likely.

But the phone appears to be identical to the images and video leaked back in December, which lend credence to the legitimacy of the new videos below.

Strangely, Sony has yet to officially confirm that the PlayStation phone is even coming out. This isn't all that surprising considering Sony does not confirm anything, ever, for any reason until the official announcements, but if the phone is this far along, why not debut it as CES this week?

Perhaps Sony is planning a special event to announce the phone (feel free to send us that invite anytime, Sony), or perhaps they are waiting for the PSP2 in order to do a double announcement. Maybe the phone just isn't ready yet, and the model below is an early prototype. Or maybe Sony just didn't wanna. Time will tell. Besides, CES isn't over yet…

So for now, behold! More questionably authentic videos of the PlayStation phone that Sony refuses to comment on.

It's a Mad, Mad 4G World at CES 2011 (PC World)

Posted: 07 Jan 2011 06:00 PM PST

Mark Sullivan Mark Sullivan – Fri Jan 7, 9:00 pm ET

At a private dinner here in Las Vegas last night, Sprint CEO Dan Hesse pointed out that in recent memory CES wasn't about wireless technology at all. RIM CEO Mike Lazaridis added that he recalls the days when the wireless part of CES was contained in one little tent at the back of the exhibit hall, and everybody in there knew each other.

How things have changed.

Now, one of the biggest stories here at CES 2011--if not the biggest story--concerns the race among wireless carriers and their device-maker partners to roll out as many devices as possible that connect to the carriers' new, fast, 4G wireless broadband networks.

By the looks of the product lineups, 2011 seems poised to be the year that the tech-buying public becomes aware of what 4G is, and why it's important to the performance of their device that it be connected to such a network.

Some people I spoke with here claim that the general population doesn't yet know (or care) what "4G" means. But I think that's changing--and fast. In the same way that a Verizon advertising blitz helped make Android a household name, wireless carriers and gadget makers alike have helped to make "4G" a familiar term. The public at large may not know what it means in a technical way, but they do know that it connotes "new," "fast," and "desirable." The term has meaning and cachet now, and that will only increase.

The major wireless carriers here all made big splashes around 4G devices, seemingly trying to outdo one another with the number of 4G devices that will become part of their product portfolios this year.

Sprint

Counting the products it announced here at CES, Sprint now has 17 4G (WiMax) devices in its portfolio. Sprint was the first carrier in the United States to begin selling true 4G devices, starting with some USB modems and then adding the HTC EVO 4G and Samsung Epic 4G. Here at CES Sprint announced a new 4G phone--the HTC EVO Shift--as well as a new 4G WiMax Wi-Fi mobile hotspot made by Novatel Wireless.

Tablets are an important part of the carriers' 4G lineups, too, and Sprint said here yesterday that it will begin selling RIM's much-hyped PlayBook tablet--with a WiMax radio inside--beginning this summer. In addition, though Sprint currently sells a 3G-connected Samsung Galaxy Tab, a WiMax-capable version will likely show up soon.

Verizon

Verizon, which turned on its 4G LTE network in early December, announced ten new 4G LTE-capable devices to go along with the two LTE USB modems it already sells. Chief among the new devices are the Droid Bionic from Motorola, the LG Revolution, and the Thunderbolt from HTC.

On the tablet side, Verizon announced that it will sell the new Xoom tablet from Motorola, as well as a 4G-capable Galaxy Tab from Samsung. Also new to the Verizon 4G lineup are two new mobile-hotspot devices, the Samsung LTE Mobile Hotspot and a 4G LTE version of the MiFi mobile hotspot.

Next page: What does 4G mean to T-Mobile and AT&T?

Confusion About 4G?

AT&T and T-Mobile currently do not have 4G networks. Both carriers are trying to get the last bit of value out of their existing 3G networks by using HSPA+ technology. And each company asserts that because its 3G network can deliver speeds close to those of true 4G networks (namely, Sprint's WiMax and Verizon's LTE) in some areas in some markets, it should be able to call its devices "4G."

The truth is, both providers understand the brand value of the "4G" term, and how important it is for consumers to believe that they are investing in fast new networks. That's why AT&T and T-Mobile have both begun putting "4G' in the names of their products.

So be it. Even if there is confusion in the marketplace about 4G--which I believe AT&T and T-Mobile are causing--the truth will come out in the real-life data speeds that consumers see in their neighborhoods and on the routes they regularly travel. As the new, true 4G networks expand and mature, it will become clear that they can pump out faster broadband speeds with better reliability and lower latency in more places than 3G networks can. That will make a huge difference in the way connected devices perform, and consumers will notice.

T-Mobile

At any rate, T-Mobile announced here that it will double the speed of its HSPA+ 3G network during 2011. T-Mobile claims that its network can now deliver a theoretical top speed of 21 megabits per second for downloads, and says that it will upgrade its network to produce download speeds of 42 mbps (theoretical) in most markets this year.

Accordingly, the carrier says that it will release a set of new smartphones capable of the 21-mbps (theoretical) speeds in the first half of 2011, and that it will release phones in the second half of the year that support the 42-mbps (theoretical) top speeds.

In all, T-Mobile plans to roll out 25 new "4G" devices by the end of 2011. It announced a few of them here at CES, the most notable of which are the Dell Streak tablet and the Cliq 2 smartphone from Motorola. T-Mobile demonstrated a ZTE USB modem that it says can hit the new 42-mbps top speed; that device will become available around midyear.

As for tablets, T-Mobile already sells the Samsung Galaxy Tab, but it announced here the T-Mobile G-Slate with Google, made by LG. Codesigned by LG and Google, the new device will run on T-Mobile's 3G HSPA+ network, and will use a version of Android 3.0 designed specifically for tablet computers.

AT&T

Attempting to get in on the 4G fun early (meaning, before its LTE network is ready), AT&T is obscuring the line between 3G and 4G by saying that HSPA+ and LTE are both 4G. From a statement: "AT&T is the only U.S. company committed to delivering 4G using both HSPA+ and LTE technologies."

Fittingly, AT&T announced several new HSPA+ phones that include the term "4G" in their names. The carrier says that it will have "five to seven" such devices in its portfolio by midyear, including the Motorola Atrix 4G and HTC Inspire 4G smartphones. Another HSPA+ smartphone, the Samsung Infuse 4G, will come later.

Although the company is calling its HSPA+ devices "4G," AT&T Mobility CEO Ralph De La Vega announced here that AT&T will also accelerate the construction of its legitimately 4G LTE network, saying that the carrier will begin building the network this year and will complete the project in 2013. AT&T LTE service will start surfacing in certain markets in the middle of 2011, he said.

De La Vega also noted that his company will roll out a number of new LTE-capable devices in the last half of 2011 that run on the new network, including smartphones, tablets, modems, and mobile hotspots.

4G Is the Future

No doubt about it: 4G is the buzzword at this year's CES. It certainly isn't the only hot story at CES 2011, but so many consumer tech devices now connect wirelessly (or need to communicate to wireless devices) that the speed and reliability of next-generation wireless networks has become crucial to the performance (and market appeal) of all sorts of new products.

I'll drink the Kool-Aid here: I believe that devices that can connect to true, all-IP 4G networks--WiMax and LTE, that is--will do things we've never seen before, such as enable new types of apps. Or at the least, they'll perform familiar tasks much faster and more reliably than they do today.

Check out our complete coverage of CES 2011 .

Networking Gets Faster, More Media-Savvy (PC World)

Posted: 07 Jan 2011 05:58 PM PST

Yardena Arar Yardena Arar – Fri Jan 7, 8:58 pm ET

Home is where the network is: That's the mantra of networking vendors at the Consumer Electronics Show 2011 in Las Vegas this week.

Increasingly, home networks are being used to transport digital entertainment rather than business data, and network vendors are responding with a slew of products intended to help customers watch movies, look at photos, and listen to music wherever they want--regardless of where on the network that content actually resides.

But regardless of how vendors spin their news, many of these products are also great for small businesses that can use fast networks for big file transfers and backups. Many small businesses can also use the network cameras to monitor workplaces for security purposes.

The most high-profile announcements were of products to support the next-generation version of Intel's WiDi technology for moving notebook multimedia to HDTVs and stereos. Netgear will ship a new Push2TV adapter, the PTV2000, that will support the new version enabling 1080p video and streams protected content, later this month. D-Link promises its first WiDi adapter, the MainStage, by midsummer. Logitech, meanwhile, announced a $30 WiDi speaker adapter that uses the technology to play WiDi-enabled notebook audio over external stereo speakers.

These products exemplify what appears to be a looming trend for using Wi-Fi as an alternative to wired and Bluetooth connections between devices. The Wi-Fi Alliance says it is working on a standard that will basically provide the same functionality as WiDi without requiring an Intel-based notebook. Wi-Fi Direct, the alliance-backed technology for peer-to-peer device connections, is a first step, but right now it's a pipe requiring additional software to be useful the way WiDi is.

Faster, More Versatile Networks

Streaming multimedia requires good bandwidth and coverage, and vendors are responding in several ways. One is by offering hybrid routers that combine networking technologies, offering support for both wireless and wired devices. D-Link's Hybrid Wireless-N Powerline Router (DHP-1320) incorporates support for 802.1n WiFi (on the 2.4GHz band), HomePlugAV, and Ethernet. Netgear, meanwhile, announced its own Wi-Fi/HomeplugAV/Ethernet hybrid, the N300 Wireless Router + Powerline AV (WNXR2000).

Powerline, which uses electrical wiring, is gaining increased acceptance as a networking technology for multimedia since it's generally more reliable than even fast Wi-Fi. HomePlug AV appears to have won what once was a standards war for powerline networking, but some vendors are now offering speedier HomePlug AV networks through proprietary enhancements.

Netgear's hybrid router--as well as its new HomePlug AV adapters and switches with four Ethernet ports--promise speeds of up to 500mbps, as opposed to the 200mbps of the HomePlug AV spec. TrendNet and D-Link are also introducing 500mbps HomePlug AV gear, although neither announced a hybrid router with support for the enhanced HomePlug AV technology. The caveat here is that to get the speed, all your network gear must be from the same vendor. The HomePlug Powerline Alliance is working on a next-generation spec, but it won't be ready for a few years.

Making Wi-Fi More Media Friendly

Meanwhile, vendors are offering faster 802.11n Wi-Fi by introducing routers and adapters equipped with more antennas. TrendNet and Netgear both announced 450mbps dual-band Wi-Fi routers, the TrendNet TEW-692GR and the Netgear N750 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router (WNDR4000), respectively. Netgear's router is slated to ship by the end of March with a suggested retail price of $180, while TrendNet's router is due in April with a suggested retail price of $250.

Dual-band routers, which essentially run separate networks on the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, are becoming increasingly common. Networks based on the 2.4GHz band support older 802.11b/g devices, but 5GHz networks (which are compatible with 802.11a gear) are less subject to interference since they have more non-overlapping channels. This makes them a better option in densely populated areas, where 2.4GHz networks often knock each other offline.

Netgear at CES introduced a second dual-band router, the N600, which doesn't offer the same performance as the N750 but has some extra features such as technology to identify the best channel for network performance, support for remote streaming of media on an attached USB drive, and a new user interface for managing the router.

D-Link, meanwhile, has introduced two 802.11n routers and an 802.11n access point/signal booster that use so-called SmartBeam technology designed to speed things up by focusing the wireless signals on clients (instead of simply broadcasting them everywhere). The D-Link DIR-645 2.4GHz, 802.11n router and the D-Link DIR-845 dual-band (2.4GHz/5GHz) routers also have USB ports and support for streaming media from connected USB drives. The D-Link DAP-1525 access point can also be used as an Ethernet bridge connecting any networkable device with an Ethernet port to a Wi-Fi network.

More Network Cameras for Remote Monitoring

Another networking trend: The profileration of networked cameras that you can control remotely to monitor homes and/or offices.

D-Link's latest, the Day/Night Wireless N Camera (DCS-932L) features infrared illumination to support night vision for up to 5 meters; like its predecessors, it can be controlled remotely from PCs, iPhones, iPads, Android phones, or an HDTV with a D-Link Boxee Box via the mydlink.com Website. The DCS-932L is slated to ship this spring with a street price of less than $150.

A company called TP-Link, meanwhile, is showing a surveillance camera with sophisticated, Web-based remote controls for pointing, tilting, and zooming, as well as the ability to program up to 32 preset positions and 4 "patrol tours." The TP-Link SC4171G is slated to ship by the end of March at a suggested price of $299.

New Dolby System Looks to Improve Laptop Sound (PC World)

Posted: 07 Jan 2011 05:41 PM PST

Damon Brown Damon Brown – Fri Jan 7, 8:41 pm ET

Dolby's new PC Entertainment Experience 4, or PPEv4, pushes the capacity of one of the weakest sound players on the planet: the laptop. Built into the new line of Acer Aspire Ethos computers, PPEv4 sounded great and didn't disappoint at CES this week.

The PPEv4 has two levels, the mid-range Dolby Advanced Audio and the high-end Dolby Home Theater. The Home Theater is the one to watch, as it has several new tech abilities to make the sound better on built-in computer speakers. . First, the Dialog Enhancer makes speech clearer while removing excess white noise and avoiding distortion. The Intelligent Equalizer puts the emphasis on balancing sound without requiring too much work-- so you can tell the system to give, say, heavier bass without fiddling with the exact measurements as you would in a traditional equalizer. And both the Surround Virtualizer and the Dolby Digital Output help create quality surround sound, even with audio that wasn't made for it.

The PPEv4 is featured in the new Acer Aspire Ethos line, including the 8950G, which was test-driven at the show. The warm blue user interface can be popped up during any viewing or listening. There are three general settings for movies, music, and gaming, as well as six presets, including "warm" and "lush", for quick setup. It also had a nerdy set of details, including a detailed equalizer and six save slots so favorite custom settings can be kept for later use.

The movie clips shown, including an intense battle scene from Iron Man 2, were alright in their original form. The laptop speakers and the headphone quality were both average. However, with the PPEv4 enabled, the bass, treble, and mid-range sounds were very crisp. Most notably, the actual sound level of the laptop increased significantly without any distortion: Having the laptop sound halfway up with PPEv4 was clearer than having the laptop sound all the way up without PPEv4. The PPEv4 can be flipped on and off on the fly.

PPEv4 launches with Acer Aspire Ethos computers, and the flagship 8950G will be out next week for $1599.

Check out PCWorld's complete coverage of CES 2011

Related Slideshow: CES Gadget Overdrive: Day 2 Rewind

Glasses-Free 3D: Sooner Than You Think? (PC World)

Posted: 07 Jan 2011 05:15 PM PST

Patrick Miller Patrick Miller – Fri Jan 7, 8:15 pm ET

Glasses-free 3D TVs (also known as "autostereoscopic TVs") are practically the flying cars of CES--everyone wants them, but they never seem to make it to market. Here's a rundown on the state of glasses-free 3D TV, and a list of the companies to look out for over the next year.

Glasses-Free 3D: The Background

Ask your Average Joe consumer when they plan on buying a 3D TV, and the answer is typically something like "3D? Yeah, right. Not until they lose those dumb glasses." Ask your friendly neighborhood TV manufacturer when glasses-free 3D TVs will hit the market, and the answer is typically "Five to ten years", which in tech-speak translates to "I have no idea". That doesn't stop TV manufacturers from showing off prototype glasses-free 3D TVs, mind you--they just never seem to be anywhere close to market.

The reason it's so hard to implement is because the whole principle of a 3D image depends on your eyes seeing two slightly different images. The easiest way to do this is to wear a set of glasses that can use the lenses to change or filter the image slightly--active shutter glasses do this by dimming each lens in rapid succession, while polarized 3D filters use the glasses to show each eye a different image by filtering the light that each eye can see. If you want to do this without glasses, you'll need a specially designed (read: expensive) TV panel, and even the prototypes we've seen can't do this without severely restricting the effect to a fixed distance and angle, meaning that only two or three people at best could get a 3D image.

Glasses-Free From The Big Boys

Several of the major TV manufacturers had prototype glasses-free 3D TVs on the show floor: LG had a few portable displays, Sony had a portable Blu-ray player as well as two full-sized HDTVs (47-inch and 55-inch), and Toshiba had a full-sized 65-inch HDTV as well as a handful of portable Blu-ray players and a laptop.

Of course, none of these TV manufacturers gave even the slightest inkling that they'd be releasing a commercially available model, even for business-oriented digital signage purposes. That's because they're simply not ready.

In addition to the limited viewing range and angle problems mentioned above, the unfortunate fact is that the actual depth of the 3D effect in these autostereoscopic TVs is, frankly, disappointing. It's far too subtle to be exciting, and I often found myself looking for the 3D effect in an image or a clip when I should have been blown away.

In Video: Toshiba's 65-inch Glasses-Free 3D TV In Action

For comparison, I was impressed the first time I saw 3D in a movie theater. Then I saw 3D in a home HDTV and was a little bit let down--sure, it was 3D, but the image itself simply wasn't deep enough to make me feel wowed (and it certainly wasn't good enough for me to want to shell out the extra $600 or so that it would have cost to deck my home theater setup out for 3D).

Once I was over the novelty of not having to wear glasses, I quickly realized that the glasses-free 3D TVs somehow manage to make the glasses-required 3D TVs look good. 3D simply isn't fun if you're straining to pick out the 3D effect in each scene or still image, and if you paid a few thousand dollars for a 3D TV that had less depth than a hologram baseball card, it'd be even less fun.

Here Comes A New Challenger

The most interesting take on glasses-free 3D wasn't center stage from Sony or Toshiba. Instead, it came from iPONT, a Hungarian startup buried in the South Hall's Home Theater ghetto. iPONT specializes in designing 3D content for digital signage playback, but they had a prototype glasses-free 3D setup that looked really, really good.

In Video: iPONT's 65-inch Glasses-Free 3D TV

The iPONT setup consisted of a 65-inch autostereoscopic 3D display by Tridelity which hooked into a mysterious device iPONT simply called their "3D TV Box". Unlike the other glasses-free 3D TVs shown at CES, they used clips from YouTube 3D coming from an attached PC. Mind you, these were clips designed for normal glasses-3D TVs sets--the 3D TV Box converted that video signal into a format that the autostereoscopic panel could handle.

The results were comparatively breathtaking. While the viewable positions were just as limited as its fellow TVs from Sony and Toshiba, the actual depth of the 3D images was just as good as the 3D TVs that are out on the market right now. Interestingly enough, they actually managed to do that in a brightly-lit convention center hall, while everyone else's 3D TVs were carefully shrouded in a pitch-black demo room. Whether they used smoke and mirrors or animal sacrifice to pull it off, I don't know, but the results were impressive indeed.

iPONT CTO Andor Pasztor also seemed optimistic about their technology finding a place in the consumer market, maintaining that glasses-free 3D's prohibitive cost was strictly due to a lack of production volume, and not the process of manufacturing an autostereoscopic 3D panel itself. What's more, their proprietary technology--the 3D TV Box--was built entirely with off-the-shelf PC parts, except for one component that is a bit more specialized (but still commercially available). Of course, iPONT is a startup actively looking for partners, so you might want to take their claims of commercial viability with a grain of salt, but compared to the general message coming from Sony and Toshiba ("Not yet") or Samsung ("No thanks"), it gives this HDTV fan hope for the future of 3D.

Check out PCWorld's complete coverage of CES 2011.

Summary Box: Array of Mobile DTV gadgets to debut (AP)

Posted: 07 Jan 2011 04:31 PM PST

By The Associated Press The Associated Press – Fri Jan 7, 7:31 pm ET

WHAT'S COMING: For the first time, consumers will this year have an array of gadgets to choose from that receive Mobile DTV, a new type of TV signal designed for portable gadgets. TV broadcasters are using it to duplicate their regular channels, so the gadgets can tune in to local news shows.

THE GADGETS: There will be portable TV sets, plug-in antennas for the iPad and laptops, even GPS units that receive TV. Prices will start at $99.

WHY IT MIGHT NOT CATCH ON: Consumers didn't show much interest in an earlier, subscription-based mobile TV system. Phone companies aren't interested selling phones that receive free TV.

WordPress.com Blogs Garnered 23 Billion Pageviews in 2010 (Mashable)

Posted: 07 Jan 2011 10:37 AM PST

Jennifer Van Grove Jennifer Van Grove – Fri Jan 7, 1:37 pm ET

Automattic, the company behind popular blogging platform WordPress.com, reported 6 million new blogs and 23 billion pageviews for 2010. The latter figure represents a 53% increase from 2009.

These latest stats were reported by The Next Web, which added, "Media uploads also doubled to 94.5 terabytes of new photos and videos, while new posts were up 110% to 146 million" for the past year.

Just last month, Automattic founder Matt Mullenweg and CEO Toni Scheider disclosed that the company has around 30 million total publishers responsible for roughly 10% of all websites in the world. They also shared that WordPress.com receives 300 million unique visitors each month.

The five-year-old company may be experiencing remarkable growth, but it has yet to become a commercial success. The startup reportedly makes around $1 million per month from premium and hosting services, an inconsequential figure for a company that plays such a central role in web publishing.

Gizmodo says Verizon iPhone announcement is happening Tuesday (Appolicious)

Posted: 07 Jan 2011 01:59 PM PST

The Nox Admiral Is A Mean Android-Based Headphone Set (PC World)

Posted: 07 Jan 2011 06:11 PM PST

Damon Brown Damon Brown – 2 hrs 59 mins ago

One of the most unique headphones on the floor was the Nox Admiral. The heavy duty set has serious sound and an Android device on its side. Unbelievably interesting.

First, the cool part: The outside of the right side actually sports a little Google Android device. About the size of the average Android phone, the touchscreen will allow the user to increase or decrease the volume, and to switch songs with a swipe. Nox expects many already-existing Google apps to be compatible, which means radio programming like Pandora can be piped directly into the headphones.

It packs a rechargable lithium battery with an estimated 6 hour life, which enables the Admiral, unlike many other headphones, to truly be wireless. It communicates with devices using Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, and has a small, retractable mic for online conversations.

The Admiral sounds good, too. During CES, it did a Dolby 7.1 test with flying colors, successfully projecting the sound through many points within the audio "room". In a fun perk, the Admiral's 360 earpieces can be flipped and laid flat on a surface to be used as an in-room speaker system for others to enjoy.

The Nox Admiral will be out in late 2011.

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Gadgets for free TV arrive, but will buyers bite? (AP)

Posted: 07 Jan 2011 04:28 PM PST

By PETER SVENSSON, AP Technology Writer Peter Svensson, Ap Technology Writer – Fri Jan 7, 7:28 pm ET

LAS VEGAS – Being able to watch live TV on the go sounds like an appealing idea. Indeed, Audiovox Corp. says its RCA-branded portable, battery-powered televisions sell well. But there's a problem: people return them at extremely high rates. Why?

"If you move, you lose the signal completely," said Audiovox Electronics president Tom Malone. That's because digital TV signals are designed to be received by stationary antennas. If the antenna starts moving, the signals become gibberish.

The solution is a new type of TV signal known as Mobile DTV that TV broadcasters are starting to roll out. Many cities already have a couple of stations live. Audiovox said this week that it will build receivers for those signals into its 7-inch and 9-inch portable TV sets this year, joining several other manufacturers in trotting out Mobile DTV gadgets at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. That means that this year, consumers will for the first time have an array of Mobile DTV gadgets to choose from. The technology's future is far from certain, and this year's sales figures might well be crucial.

Most of the Mobile TV gadgets at the show add a receiver to a device that already does something else. For instance, Valups, a Korean company, is making an antenna that plugs into the iPad's connection port, turning it into a 9.7" inch portable TV, no Internet connection necessary. It expects to sell it in June for $99. One wrinkle: the Tivizen, as it's called, has a battery of its own and needs to be charged to provide two to three hours of viewing.

iMovee Corp. of San Diego was at the show with the Mobeo, a gadget the size of a smart phone that grabs a Mobile DTV signal and rebroadcasts it over Wi-Fi so that it can be picked up by iPhones, iPads, and Android phones and tablets such as the Samsung Galaxy Tab. It gets three hours on a charge and is expected to cost $149 when it launches in June.

Cydle, another Korean company, has a Mobile DTV receiver that doubles as an external battery for an iPhone, providing both a TV signal and extra power. It also showed a car navigation unit that doubles as a TV set, presumably not for use while driving (taxi drivers watching TV while driving is a common sight in some countries, including Taiwan).

Other manufacturers showed antennas that plug into laptop USB ports. Unlike the iPad antenna, they don't contain batteries and don't need charging.

Apart from Audiovox, the only big-name manufacturer betting on Mobile DTV is LG Electronics Inc., which launched the first Mobile DTV gadget in the U.S. late last year, a portable DVD player that did double duty as a TV set.

At the show, LG displayed Android smart phones with extendable antennas. They're able to receive Mobile DTV without any add-on gadgets. However, no U.S. wireless carrier has signed up to sell the phones, pointing to a big problem for the adoption of Mobile DTV. The carriers are focused on selling wireless broadband, which can also be used to watch video, and they don't have much interest in providing customers with a way to tune into free signals.

Some carriers have experimented with paid mobile TV. AT&T Inc. and Verizon Wireless teamed up with Qualcomm Inc. to sell a subscription-based service, FLO TV. It's been available on a few phones and on portable TV units. But the companies never found enough people willing to pay $10 to $15 per month for the dozen channels that were available, and Qualcomm is shutting down FLO TV this year.

The Open Mobile Video Coalition, which represents broadcasters and equipment makers, points out that Mobile DTV is different because it's free and it has local channels, including valuable news, traffic and weather reports. Participating broadcasters retransmit their main signals as Mobile DTV, so the programming is the same as on regular TV. For broadcasters, it's reasonably cheap to add a mobile signal to their towers.

In a trial with about 350 users in Washington, D.C., last summer, it found people watched Mobile DTV a lot in a surprising place: the home. Users found it convenient to have a small portable screen for casual viewing in the kitchen and other places away from the living room TV.

If Mobile DTV is going to catch on, it had better do so fast. Because few people watch broadcast TV compared to cable or satellite, the Federal Communications Commission has started to look at ways to encourage or pay broadcasters to shut down their TV towers and turn their space on the airwaves over for mobile broadband use. Wireless broadband is an incontrovertible success, and carriers will eventually want more spectrum.

6 girls arrested in Facebook teacher attack invite (AP)

Posted: 07 Jan 2011 03:34 PM PST

Hands-On With VIA Plus Internet Apps, 16:10 HDTVs, And More (PC World)

Posted: 07 Jan 2011 05:45 PM PST

Patrick Miller Patrick Miller – Fri Jan 7, 8:45 pm ET

Vizio's new 2011 HDTVs feature revamped Vizio Internet Apps, and even a few ultra-widescreen TVs. Read on for our first impressions, plus a few videos. Also, don't forget to check out our hands-on video with the new Vizio Theater 3D TVs.

VIA Plus: Google TV, Round 2

Google TV may have gotten a rather lackluster response in the Logitech Revue set-top box and Sony's Google TV lineup, but Vizio is working with them to make it the core of Vizio's high-end Smart TV feature set, VIA Plus.

In Video: Vizio's VIA Plus Smart TV Features In Action

You navigate the VIA Plus menus with a Bluetooth remote, which has a full QWERTY slider keyboard and touchpad, which makes it much easier to browse the Web. While the remote isn't quite ready for prime time, a Vizio rep stated that they intended to add an accelerometer to the remote for better gaming features, and a mic for voice search.

Frankly, the VIA Plus features look solid, but unless they can fix the problems that other Google TV implementations have hit--like content providers blocking all Google TV viewers, and interface viewability issues--they won't be able to hang with the other Smart TV features from LG, Samsung, Panasonic, and Sony.

Vizio Ultra-widescreen Cinema HDTV: Not Just For Connoisseurs

Among Vizio's new HDTVs are a handful of high-end sets intended for true cinephiles--namely, their ultra-widescreen Cinema HDTV sets, which boast a 16:10 aspect ratio instead of the 16:9 dimensions seen in practically every other HDTV on the market.

In Video: Vizio Ultra-widescreen Cinema HDTV, In Video

Frankly, I'm no film purist, so I didn't think that the aspect ratio difference would be a big deal until I saw it for myself. If you've ever asked yourself why you bother buying a big HDTV only to waste 10% of the screen space on black bars, you'll definitely want to take a look at their Cinema HDTVs, which can take an incoming video signal and automatically resize it so every bit of the display is used. Combine that with the relatively narrow, slick-looking bezel, and it looks simply gorgeous.

Games, Games, Games

Vizio also demoed an HDTV with OnLive's cloud-based gaming service baked in. While we weren't able to find a definite date for when we'd start to see Vizio TVs shipping with OnLive features, this is a very interesting play that takes a shot both at traditional games console manufacturers as well as rival TV companies like Panasonic, who touted their GameLoft partnership earlier in the week. No, you're not seeing double--the OnLive demo pictured below features their Versus single-screen multiplayer.

Check out PCWorld's complete coverage of CES 2011.

Verizon to carry iPhone: source (Reuters)

Posted: 07 Jan 2011 06:33 PM PST

– 2 hrs 36 mins ago

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Verizon Wireless will sell the iPhone, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing a person familiar with the matter.

There was no specific date for when Verizon would sell the phone in its stores, the paper reported on its website. The announcement will be made on Tuesday at an event in New York, WSJ said.

Verizon declined to comment. An Apple spokeswoman declined to comment.

Shares of Verizon rose 2.5 percent in after-hours trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Apple shares rose 0.6 percent in after-hours trading on the Nasdaq.

Verizon, Wireless, a joint venture between Verizon Communications and Vodafone Group Plc, delivered cryptic nontransferable invitations on Friday to an event to Tuesday's New York event.

The in-box invite to journalists was skimpy on details: "Join us as we share the latest news from Verizon Wireless."

AT&T Inc is currently the exclusive carrier of the iPhone.

On January 6, AT&T announced it will cut the price of its older iPhone model, the 3GS, to $49 from $99.

Apple's iPad is available through Verizon.

Earlier this week at the Consumer Electronics Show, the annual gadget extravaganza in Las Vegas, Verizon Wireless said it plans to have 10 new devices -- including four smartphones and new tablets -- on store shelves by midyear for its high speed wireless data service.

(Reporting by Liana B. Baker, Jennifer Saba, Gabriel Madway; Editing by Gary Hill and Gunna Dickson)
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