ces2013

LAS VEGAS -- LG's flagship OLED television set will arrive in the U.S. this March, the company announced here today.

The model will cost "about" $12,000 LG's U.S. marketing chief James Fishler said at the company's press conference at the Consumer Electronics Show.

The 55-inch TV set design first debuted at last year's CES and won CNET's highest honor, but was delayed, due to what was rumored to be issues manufacturing the set.

Last week LG said its 55-inch OLED TV model (55EM9700) would arrive in South Korea next month … Read more

The entire consumer-electronics world will be focused on Las Vegas this week as the 2013 International CES kicks off in Las Vegas. Today is about major press conferences from the industry's leading companies, but tomorrow, the eyes of the industry will be on the opening keynote address from incoming Panasonic President Kazuhiro Tsuga, who will follow brief remarks on the state of the industry by CEA President and CEO Gary Shapiro. The event starts at 8:30 a.m. PT (11:30 a.m. ET) on Tuesday, January 8, and CNET will be there covering it live. We'll … Read more

LAS VEGAS--If you go with a sound bar instead a speaker system, you generally have to give up true surround sound. Unless, of course, your sound bar is a transformer.

The Philips Fidelio Soundbar HTL9100 is billed as the "world's first sound bar with detachable speakers," as the far ends of the sound bar can be removed and used as rear speakers. The detachable, battery-powered speakers operate wirelessly and Philips claims 10 hours of battery life. The speakers then recharge automatically when they're reattached.

The HTL9100 also features two HDMI inputs, in addition to an optical … Read more

Pandora continues to expand the number of automobiles that are compatible with the Webcasting service.

Oakland, Calif.-based Pandora said today at CES 2013 that the Chrysler Group has agreed to include Pandora's Uconnect Access into the entertainment systems of its new cars. Uconnect enables owners to stream the service via their smartphone to the car's sound systems.

Up to now, Pandora has been long on flashy partnerships and listener numbers but hasn't convinced a skeptical investment community that its business model is sound. During the initial public offering in June 2011, the stock opened at $16 … Read more

LAS VEGAS--When I awoke this morning to the headline "Pentax Debuts Retro Design Camera...Classically Crafted Brass Body" in my inbox, my first thought was "Steampunk! Yeah!" Sadly, after that, nothing could possibly live up to my expectations. Nevertheless, Pentax entering the advanced compact market with the $499.95 MX-1 -- even though it's yet another vintage-style camera along the lines of the Fujifilm X20 -- still merits some attention.

As far as I can tell, the Pentax follows a well-traveled path. Unfortunately, it uses a BSI sensor as has become popular of late, but … Read more

LAS VEGAS--For the past few years, Canon has been successively eliminating several camcorders from its annual lineup. This year, we're left with just three consumer models; really, though, just one model in three configurations. The surviving version is the still popular lowest-end HF R series -- specifically, the Vixia HF R40, R42 and R400.

The series gets a few hardware updates, including a bump to Digic DV IV, which enables several new video capabilities, including higher frame and bit rates -- MP4 1080/60p at 35 megabits per second and AVCHD 2.0 1080/30p at 28Mbps -- a … Read more

LAS VEGAS--The excellentCanon Vixia HF G10 gets a modest -- some might say disappointing -- upgrade for 2013. The most notable change is the price; the G20 will cost $1,099.99, a couple hundred lower than the current retail price.

On the upside, the camcorder incorporates a new version of the HD CMOS sensor, which Canon claims offers a better dynamic range. That's good, of course, but surprisingly it doesn't offer the increased bit rates or frame rates as the lower-end models. Instead, it gets prerecord capabilities, an improved eye cup for the EVF, and a … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Personal fitness company Fitbit has just jumped further into the wearable tech market. The company unveiled its $99.95 Fitbit Flex device, an activity tracker designed to be worn all day and monitor movement, sleep, and calories burned.

Design The Flex is similar to other competing products in the growing personal fitness category such as the Nike FuelBand, and Jawbone Up. Built to be worn all day long, the appropriately named Flex is a soft bracelet encased in a rubbery skin. The idea is that it's malleable enough to stay firmly wrapped around your wrist but be comfortable … Read more

LAS VEGAS -- We've seen Garmin GPS devices on the dashboard. We've seen Garmin navigation in the dashboard as part of Chrysler's UConnect infotainment system. And with the unveiling of Garmin's K2 infotainment platform at CES 2013, we get a peek at what happens when Garmin takes over the whole dashboard.

Obviously, this new system will be powered by and showcase Garmin's maps and routing algorithms. However, the K2 platform also combines a number of dashboard technologies ranging beyond navigation into what Garmin hopes will be a more cohesive in-car experience.

At the center of … Read more