Crave

Having collected the laurels for Car Tech's Best of CES last year with its Avic-Z1 in-dash navigation and multimedia system, Pioneer is using this year's show to launch the Avic-Z2. The Z2 builds on the basic design of the Z1 and offers a range of upgraded features: a learning capability, which remembers roads frequently traveled by the driver and incorporates these preferences into suggested routes when applicable; a smart routing algorithm that takes into account factors such as posted speed limits and the number of turns to reach the destination, to give a more accurate estimate of journey … Read more

So maybe you don't have a recording studio in your basement. But if your musical ambitions go beyond playing "Freebird" on Guitar Hero, you might be interested in this new product from Belkin that's making its debut this week at CES. The TuneStudio, as it's called, might look like something like a Fisher-Price "My First Recording Studio" with its compact size and bright colors, but it's actually a pretty hardcore piece of equipment. You can plug in up to four audio sources (you know...mics, guitars, old-school beat boxes). There's a … Read more

With the Verizon press conference a few hours away, we have a little sneak peek into the big announcement that's about to unfold. We're expecting to see the LG VX9400 to debut as the first MediaFlo phone in the U.S., meaning it will be the first phone to receive full-length programming of television shows via a dedicated broadcast network.

Unlike that of Verizon's own V Cast, which mostly shows short clips via its EV-DO network, MediaFlo aims to offer high-quality, end-to-end television programming from media channels like NBC, ESPN, and CNN. It won't have as … Read more

Sony delivers its annual update for consumer DVD camcorders with four new models: the Handycam DCR-DVD108, DVD308, DVD408, and DVD508. These compact DVD camcorders replace the current generation and run the gamut from the inexpensive DVD108 to the full-featured DVD508. While most of these upgrades seem minor, the new DVD Handycams offer an important new feature: dual-layer support. These camcorders can now write to both dual layer DVD+-R/RW, offering twice as much recording time on a single disc.

The DVD108 and DVD308 also offer newer, more powerful lenses than their predecessors. Aside from the 40x optical zoom lens, … Read more

At least that's what one Digit Wireless representative would have us believe. Fastap is a relatively new technology that incorporates raised and lowered keys into a single keypad to facilitate quicker text messaging without the need for a full QWERTY arrangement. The first commercial phone to offer this keypad was the LG AX490 from Alltel, which we reviewed late last year. We felt it required a bit of learning curve to pick up, and it is not as quick as one would expect.

That said, it's good to know that Fastap may be incorporated into new cell phones … Read more

As we first reported in December, Ford and Microsoft have been busy working in collaboration on in-car communications and entertainment, to be unveiled this week at CES. Well, here we are today at CES, and we can spill the beans on details of the system to be marketed under the name "Sync."

Initially to be made available in twelve 2008 models across the Ford family and across the entire 2009 lineup from FoMoCo, the service will be a fully-integrated, flash memory-based system that enables drivers to call hands-free and to control a range of digital audio via voice … Read more

A few months back, when we asked Kodak reps why the company wouldn't have its new digital photo frames available in time for the 2006 holiday buying season, they said it was because the frames that Kodak would announce at CES 2007 were going to be ambitious, and the company needed time to get them right. Well, now that I have final specs and pricing, it's hard to argue with that strategy. On paper, at least, the new frames--the top-end ones anyway--offer most of the features I'd want in a digital photo frame and should put a … Read more

If there's one word that defines wealth (of the monetary variety), it would be "yacht." Even that becomes an understatement when talking about designs released recently for the latest tri-deck "Sunseeker" hailing from the U.K.

The main deck of this 121-foot sea monster boasts a lounge, a master stateroom with office, and a dining area with a table for 12, according to Luxist. Not impressed? The upper deck features a bar and a large saloon, as well as sliding glass doors to a private cockpit. Then, on the sky deck, you'll find a … Read more

So you like the idea of watching TV or movies on your MP4 player or cell phone, but the screens are just too small for you to make an accurate call on instant replay, especially if your next paycheck is on the line with the game's outcome. All that could change with new technology from Microvision, which claims to have built the world's smallest projector.

The company's Pico Projector, which is planned for release at this week's Consumer Electronics Show, is designed to be embedded in handheld products to project "photos, videos, movies and TV … Read more