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Intel is making a big push into smartphones and tablets, Polaroid has the first Android phone, and Asus hands out four cores for the price of two with the game-changing Asus Memo 370T.

Links from Wednesday's episode of Loaded, from the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas:

At this point, Nokia has little to hide.

Rumors, leaks, and an anonymous confirmation from two New York Times sources has let the Nokia Lumia 900 "Ace" come rushing out of the bag.

In truth, the proverbial bag was pretty wide open anyway. The global release of the Lumia 800 at Nokia World last fall set the expectation of a CES announcement for the U.S. version; its absence at this show would result in shock and disappointment.… Read more

Trendnet, a vendor of affordable and green networking products, announced today the first 802.11ac networking products to be showcased at CES 2012.

As introduced by networking chip-maker, Broadcom, recently, the 802.11ac wireless standard is the next generation of the 802.11 wireless technology with the 802.11n (or wireless N) currently being the mainstream. The new standard will initially offer up to 1300Mbps speed (compared to the top 450Mbps of the existing N standard), with the capability to scale up to 6.8Gbps in the future.

The new AC standard also uses the low 5Ghz band and incorporates … Read more

With just two weeks until CES, most of the wireless industry is busy making final plans.

We've already told you what we think will happen with tablets and smartphones in Las Vegas, and if carriers and manufacturers have their way, we won't know anything official until the show begins.

Forgive me, but patience is not a virtue in this case. So to get a peek at what might come at CES, I dug through the last couple weeks of filings with the Federal Communications Commission for any clues about new devices. And as it turns out, there was … Read more

Microsoft and Nokia have been linked to the posting of astroturfing comments on a negative Nokia Lumia review.

The review of the Nokia Lumia 800, posted on the Indian Web site Moneylife.in, was based on the technical specifications rather than hands-on experience with the Windows Phone device. The review concluded that "Although Nokia sees its Lumia 800 to be a competitor to Apple iPhone [sic], it is nowhere near the niche product. In fact compared with iPhone, the Lumia 800 can be termed as 'noPhone'."

Many commenters were unhappy with the review. However, the tenor of the … Read more

commentary Nokia needed to make a big splash in its return to the U.S., so what does it do?

Nokia said today it is partnering with T-Mobile USA to deliver the Lumia 710 early next year. The Lumia 710 is better known as the lesser of the two smartphones the company introduced in October.

So let me get this straight: the former handset titan that badly needs another shot is debuting with the weakest nationwide carrier as its partner, using its middle-of-the-road phone as the kickoff device. Seriously?

Nokia needed to put its best foot forward with its first … Read more

T-Mobile USA and Nokia said today they will sell the Lumia 710, marking Nokia's push to re-enter the U.S. market in a real way.

With the Lumia 710, priced at $49.99 and available on January 11, Nokia and T-Mobile are going after consumers who own a basic cell phone, but have been hesitant to upgrade to a more complicated smartphone. The companies believe the low price of the handset, lower-priced data, and easier-to-use Windows Phone operating system will help people ease their way into a more sophisticated mobile device.

It will mark the first Nokia Windows Phone to hit U.S. shores.… Read more

Behind the scenes, Nokia is making some headway with the big two carriers in the U.S.

The Finnish handset vendor, eager for a comeback, is testing a 4G LTE version of its Lumia 800 smartphone, CNET has learned. That's despite the fact that the Windows Phone operating system powering the Lumia doesn't yet officially support LTE.

The lack of LTE support has been seen as a critical issue for the U.S. carriers, which are increasingly focusing on 4G devices and services. As a result, anyone supporting Windows Phone, including Nokia, faces hurdles getting approval. But Nokia … Read more

First, there was "The Imperial March" and now, there's "House of the Rising Sun."

The traditional folk song is just the latest tune to be covered by an unlikely group of musicians: old computer equipment. YouTube user bd594 assembled a handful of old tech to re-create the tune made famous by the English rock group The Animals in the mid-1960s.

In his video description, bd594 explains that he used an Atari 800XL with an EiCO Oscilloscope to play the part of the organ, while the combination of an HP Scanjet 3P, Adaptec SCSI card, and an Ubuntu v9.10-powered computer provided the "vocals." The guitar section was performed by a Texas Instrument Ti-99/4A computer with a Tektronix Oscilloscope, and a hard drive powered by a PiC16F84A microcontroller created the bass, drum, and cymbals section.

Each instrument was recorded separately and then mixed; bd594 insists no sampling and audio effects were used in the recording session. What results is a pretty impressive and fresh take on the song. … Read more