Philips' new portable DVD players integrate an iPod dock

In 2006, we saw a few portable DVD players that integrated an iPod dock so you could playback your iPod videos on the DVD player's larger screen. But Philips has taken iPod integration to a slicker level with two upcoming portable DVD players, the DCP750 and DCP850. Both are wide-screen models that feature 7- and 8.5-inch swiveling screens, respectively. Philips says they'll also have a built-in SD and MMC card reader, and both players will debut in the "first quarter" of 2007 with suggested retail price tags of $149 and $199.

They won't offer … Read more

Best of CES? Toshiba's press bag

I know it's only the first day, but I'm prepared to call the Best of CES awards. Top prize among the lucky press-badge holders in the crowd goes to (drumroll, please) the free Toshiba press bag.

See, here's what happens. Every year, we come to CES, and we get a giveaway schwag bag. I've written about this before, and in the past, they've been hideously colored rolly bags, Volkswagen-size messenger bags, or otherwise acceptable bags so plastered with giant logos that they render even the hippest attendee a total trade-show dork. But this year, Toshiba'… Read more

Toshiba adds third player to HD DVD lineup

Toshiba has expanded its lineup of HD DVD players from two to three with the newly announced HD-A20. The new model sits between the already available second-generation players, the $500 HD-A2 and the $1,000 HD-XA2. In fact, except for the addition of 1080p output via HDMI and some minor cosmetic changes, the features of the A20 seem to be nearly identical to the A2, which we've already reviewed in depth. Moreover, unlike the stepped-up HD-XA2, the A20 will not feature the latest HDMI 1.3 technology. The Toshiba HD-A20 will retail for $600 when it ships in spring … Read more

Philips aggressively prices upcoming 1080p 63-inch plasma TV

Vizio is making news at CES 2007 with a $3,000 60-inch plasma TV, but Philips has a big-screen plasma model of its own that it's going to price very aggressively at $3,500 (MSRP) when it arrives in stores in June. At 63 inches, the Philips 63PFP7422D is actually bigger and features 1080p resolution, USB connectivity for displaying digital photo slide shows and MP3 playback, and a motorized swiveling stand. That $3,500 is a suggested retail price, so we expect the real price to be even lower, possibly closer to $3,000. Of course, the Vizio will … Read more

Netgear Storage Central, round two

At a CES 2007 press conference this morning, Netgear announced the second iteration of its Storage Central device, the Storage Central Turbo (SC101T). As its name implies, it's faster than its predecessor, because of a Gigabit Ethernet connection. It still comes with two empty drive bays, into which you can install Serial ATA hard drives from any vendor and of any capacity. Conceivably, with Seagate's expected 1TB, 3.5-inch drives, you could easily have a 2TB SAN box on your network at a fraction of what you'd pay for a 2TB external drive. The two-drive setup allows … Read more

JVC tweaks midclass Everio camcorders

The highlight of JVC's Everio models for 2007 is the Gigabrid image-processing engine--an update that's sorely needed, given the poor quality we've seen from past single-chip units. And it must be better than its predecessor, Megabrid, because it's Giga, right? They all have 30GB hard drives, and JVC has added support for high-capacity SD cards, as well as compatibility with the company's DVD dock. The MG555 gets a bump up to a 5-megapixel sensor, too.

GZ-MG130, $499.95, January

GZ-MG155, $599.95, February

GZ-MG255, $699.95, February

GZ-MG555, $899.95, March

Cingular to bring video calling, with the LG CU500v

You'll probably see more about this as CES 2007 progresses, but Cingular (or is it AT&T?) announced a new video calling service, which makes it the first carrier in the U.S. to offer live mobile video calls. The video calls are one-way for now, however, meaning only one party can stream the video while the other party watches. The first phone to feature it is the LG CU500v, which is a slightly upgraded version of the HSDPA-capable LG CU500. I received confirmation from an LG representative that existing LG CU500 users can simply upgrade the … Read more

A social TV network

MediaZone will debut Social TV here at CES 2007, a mix of Internet television, MySpace, and instant messaging.

It's professionally produced online content that can be streamed or downloaded from the ad-supported site. The idea is to let users give feedback on, chat about, and rate programming, as well as forward the good stuff to friends. It's like YouTube, but from pros. Social TV aims to create global online TV channels that can be launched without the restraints of traditional television.

MediaZone has a shared-streaming technology allows users to securely share video packets, which lower the distribution cost … Read more

Dual's new line of in-car multimedia players

Dual Electronics is bringing a haul of new in-car navigation- and multimedia systems to this year's CES in Las Vegas. Leading the product lineup is the XDVDN8290, a SD card-based navigation system and multimedia player, which features a 6.5-inch motorized touch screen display similar to the one we reviewed last year on the XDVD8182. In addition to its turn-by-turn voice guidance for navigation, the XDVDN8290 plays DVDs, CDs, and MP3- and WMA-encoded discs.

Dual's IPlug interface also enables drivers to have direct touch-screen control over digital music files on their connected iPods (we'll have to wait … Read more