ces2013

At CES, Panasonic leads with Viera smart TVs

LAS VEGAS--It was short and sweet, and if you blinked, you might have missed it. We're talking about Panasonic's press conference at CES today.

The star of the show, unsurprisingly, was Panasonic's 2013 line of Viera TVs. But the consumer electronics giant also showed off a range of other new products, from midrange LCD TVs, to new Blu-ray players, to Bluetooth speakers, to a range of micro home stereos, and finally a set of bone-conducting headphones.

It may not have been the shortest press conference of the day (Lexus called it quits at 13 minutes), but before … Read more

Nvidia Shield: 1.9GHz Tegra 4 portable Android gaming console coming in June for $349

After months of anticipation since its debut at CES 2013, the Nvidia Shield (no longer known as "Project Shield") now has an official release date and price. The portable Android-based gaming system with a built-in 5-inch screen will ship in June for a price of $349.

The device is available for preorder starting today, Tuesday, May 14, for those who signed up (by clicking "Notify Me" here) to receive Shield updates from Nvidia. The general public can preorder Shield on Monday, May 20.

Final specs, fight! Final specs for the Shield look like about what you'… Read more

Netgear unveils true dual-band range extender with support for Apple's AirPlay

LAS VEGAS--Netgear announced at CES 2013 its first wall-plug dual-band Wi-Fi range extender, the Universal Dual Band WiFi Range Extender Wall-plug Edition (model WN3500RP).

You plug it into a wall socket within the range of an existing Wi-Fi network to help extend its range. It's also the first Wi-Fi range extender that can be directly connected to speakers for music streaming using AirPlay, via its standard 3.5mm audio jack, or the USB speakers via its USB port.

The new can simultaneously extend both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi bands, making it best suited for a dual-band home … Read more

Nvidia unveils gaming console at CES 2013

Monday's CNET Update from CES 2013:

There's a flood of news to digest at the International CES, but I got you covered. Update will sum up highlights of CES each day in a handy-dandy three minute video. The show floor officially opens Tuesday, but here are some stories already getting buzz:

- Computer chip maker Nvidia announced that it's getting into the hardware business and making its own quad-core portable gaming console.

- Fitbit unveiled the Flex, a fitness-tracking wristband that will compete with the Nike FuelBand and Jawbone Up.

- Garmin wants to go beyond the … Read more

Griffin iTrip FM Transmitter adds Aha by Harman integration

LAS VEGAS--We're not what you'd call fans of FM transmission technology, but Griffin's iTrip with app integration for Apple's iPhone is easily one of the best in that class. At CES 2013, Griffin and Harman announced Aha app integration with the iTrip Auto FM hardware.

Aha provides a way to to listen to your Facebook and Twitter feeds, audiobooks, podcasts, news, and other audio content -- Harman claims more than 30,000 stations are accessible by the app, with new stations being added constantly.

Now, in addition to using the iTrip app to scan for open … Read more

New Netgear NeoTV Prime player: Full Web access on TV and much more

LAS VEGAS--Netgear showed off today at CES 2013 the latest in its line of NeoTV streaming players, the NeoTV Prime with Google TV (model GTV100).

The new player offers everything that previous players offered, plus the ability to run apps from Google Play. The player allows you to access a large pool of entertainment including movies, TV shows, and music from major streaming services such as Netflix, YouTube, Amazon Instant Video, HBO Go, Crackle, Flixter, Rhapsody, Pandora, and more. Google Play also gives you movies and new releases in HD, music albums, and apps designed specifically for the TV.

The … Read more

Netgear adds Slingbox live TV to NeoTV players

LAS VEGAS--Netgear's NeoTV player's feature list just went up a notch today.

Netgear announced at CES 2013 that it has added Sling Media's SlingPlayer to its line of NeoTV players: the NeoTV (NTV300), NeoTV Pro (NTV300S), the NeoTV Max (NTV300SL), and the just-announced NeoTV Prime with Google TV (GTV100).

The addition of the SlingPlayer means that now those with a Slingbox can use the NeoTV as a set-top box for streaming live TV shows, sporting events, recorded programming, and even movies on any TV via the Internet. It also means you can extend TV viewing to a … Read more

SteelSeries keyboards light up CES with 16.8 million color options

LAS VEGAS--There's never a lot to report on the gaming front here at CES 2013, but we can always expect SteelSeries to announce something hot during the show.

Last year it was the SRW-S1 racing wheel, and they stand out this year with two new flashy keyboards that let you customize almost every inch to suit your pwning needs.

The $99 Apex is the gem of the announcement and the realization of the company's dedication to R&D. Drawing from an understanding that gamers require hardware that demands as little movement as possible, the Apex is the … Read more

Sharp Purios about Ultra HD TV

LAS VEGAS--Sharp has announced two new Ultra HD/4K displays at CES with the flagship Purios the first to receive THX 4K Display certification.

The two TVs are the 60-inch Purios now due in summer 2013 and the prototype 60-inch Ultra HD TV.

The Purios was developed in conjunction with the I-cubed Research Center, and combines an Ultra HD resolution with a proprietary ICC (integrated cognitive creation) image processor, which the company claims reproduces the way the human brain responds to light. Sharp says this process tricks the brain into believing images are actually real.

The Aquos Ultra HD TV … Read more