ces

Lenovo kept the focus on its new IdeaPad laptops at the show, but it also introduced a new desktop line, albeit very quietly. The three IdeaCentre models depicted here will come out in Europe at first, and although a U.S. introduction is likely, specs, pricing, and which models will cross over are all still to be determined. The last time we reviewed a true Lenovo home desktop was in March of 2006, with the Lenovo 3000 J-Series. It appears that Lenovo has paid attention to desktop design trends in the meantime.

For the third year in a row, the Consumer Electronics Association has asked the expert editors at CNET to pick the hottest new gadgets from the International Consumer Electronics Show. The 30 finalists for Best of CES 2008 have been announced, and you can vote your favorite for the People's Voice Award.

Winners will be announced live on CNET TV at 2 p.m. tomorrow, January 9, so check back then to see who the winners are, and which lucky gadget will earn the coveted Best in Show award.

Tuesday is only halfway over, and CNET's photographers have already seen a day's worth of excitement from CES, much of it musical in nature. Follow their footsteps in our CES 2008: Day two slide show.

Among the overflowing handful of MP3 players that iRiver is bringing to the U.S. is the Disney-branded MPlayer (Season II), a supersmall and cute MP3 player shaped like Mickey Mouse's head. Although the MPlayer has been floating around the Web for some time now, I've never seen it for sale in the States. The latest version will come in a rainbow of colors and is set to hit a virtual retail shelf near you in Q1 of 2008. The player is screenless and supereasy to use--it's an obvious choice for introducing your little ones to the … Read more

Magellan is bringing its A-game to CES 2008. In addition to several other announcements, including the unveiling of the Magellan Maestro Elite 5340+GPRS, the GPS manufacturer debuted the Magellan Maestro 5310. The portable navigation system was designed to better meet the needs of baby boomers and features a larger 5-inch touch screen to increase map, menu, and image readability by 35 percent. "With 90 million baby boomers in North America representing $2 trillion in annual spending power, developing GPS products geared to their specific needs is critical to expanding the category," said Christian Bubenheim, vice president of … Read more

The LG KS20 isn't a new phone by any means, but we're showing it off here because, well, we won't be seeing it stateside any time soon. That's right, the LG KS20 is a lovely looking touch screen Windows Mobile 6 smartphone that's intended only for the European and Asian markets at the moment. It has a large, 2.8-inch touch screen display, a 2.0-megapixel camera, high-speed 3G support, on-demand video and music, and of course, all the features of a Windows Mobile 6 smartphone, such as mobile e-mail and documents on the go. … Read more

While the mid-fi brands scramble to load on the latest techno gizmos and race to the bottom with ever cheaper prices and quality, high-end audio brands shoot for the moon. Take Loiminchay Audio, manufacturers of limited-edition speakers for well-heeled audiophiles are introducing their wares at CES in Las Vegas today.

The Loiminchay Audio speakers are artisan-crafted from sensually shaped layers of solid Birch MultiPly. The interior space of each speaker is machined out, the driver holes opened, and substantial bracing added, resulting in a tremendously non-resonant driver support structure. The speaker is then finished with sixteen coats of lacquer--Loiminchay's … Read more

The Visteon/3M demonstration vehicle, a BMW X5 fitted with numerous modifications for instrumentation, interior materials, switch gear, and lighting, was unveiled in the Visteon tent at 2008 CES. One of the more interesting features of this car is its virtual instrument cluster, using LCD displays for the speedo and tach, and a 3D center display showing route guidance. 3M provided materials to create a 3D effect, which makes graphical arrows indicating upcoming turns seem to float over the map background. The 3D effect only shows up when you are looking straight on at the display, such as in the … Read more