2013

DETROIT--Volkswagen has been much better known for its high-mileage diesel models than hybrids. Yet here at the 2013 North American International Auto Show, VW showed a concept car featuring a new transmission that will let it turn almost any car in its lineup into a hybrid. The company also showed a new, more efficient direct-injection 1.8-liter engine making 250 horsepower.

The CrossBlue concept, a diesel hybrid, relies on what VW board member Ulrich Hackenberg referred to as an eDSG in an interview with CNET. The eDSG is a new version of VW's Dual Shift Gearbox (DSG), a transmission … Read more

Huawei could not have asked for a better CES.

With best-selling heavyweights like Samsung, HTC, Morotola, and Nokia all but invisible from the show, the usually second-tier Huawei became a top dog when it announced two high-end Android phones -- the Ascend Mate and Ascend D2 -- and its first Windows Phone 8 device.

A relative unknown in the U.S, Huawei vowed two years ago to become a top-five vendor in three years. With one year left for it to achieve its own prophecy, things are finally looking good.

LAS VEGAS--Long nails and touch screens don't get along very well. It can take some nimble finger acrobatics to get in touch with the display. Sri Vellanki of Tech Tips had already created an over-the-fingertip stylus. It was a natural step to then figure out how to integrate it into wearable fashion nails.

Nano Nails takes pretty much the same tip design as the Tech Tips and places it under the index fingernail. They will be available in either a full press-on nail or a nail tip. Vellanki expects them to sell for in packages of four or six for around $10. They could be put on by the wearer or applied at a salon.… Read more

DETROIT--Chevrolet has pulled the covers back on what is easily the most hotly anticipated (and worst-kept secret) of the 2013 Detroit auto show: the 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray.

Only three Corvette models have ever borne the name Stingray: the mid-'60s second-generation model, the third-generation car produced through the '70s and into the '80s (arguably the most iconic), and now the seventh-generation (C7) 2014 model. Chevrolet states that it's reviving the name for the 2014 model year because it is the best 'Vette ever. Well, it's not like Chevy would claim anything less of its newest halo car, … Read more

The laptop was reinvented at CES.

Or maybe I should say there was a vigorous attempt to reinvent the laptop. Because we won't know how successful touch has been until next year this time.

Intel's CES booth -- still a large presence in the CES Central Hall -- had one basic unmistakable message: touch has arrived.

Windows 8 convertibles, detachables, touch-screen laptops, and just plain tablets from Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Samsung, Acer, Asus, Lenovo, Toshiba, Sony, and others blanketed Intel's booth.

And just to make sure the touch message was crystal clear, Intel issued an edict to PC … Read more

LAS VEGAS--CES is a bizarre proposition: thousands of people trying to digest news from thousands of exhibitors sandwiched between casinos, all punctuated by taxi rides narrated by the I-can't-believe-it's-not-butter voice of Steve Wynn.

And there are random bursts of heavy metal music.

Add to that ginormous booths, loud booths, babe-filled booths, swag-filled booths, and even booths with nothing in them.

But at the heart of CES are ideas, the lifeblood of innovation. And you don't have to go too far to find the far-out. … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Lixin Cheng and the rest of his division are determined to make it in America.

Cheng is the CEO of ZTE's U.S. division, and in addition to strengthening the company's carrier relationships, Cheng also has big plans in the near future to increase ZTE's presence in the U.S.

"There are a lot of things already in the pipeline," he said, referring to the devices planned through U.S. carriers.

But other than just spending money on developing handsets (though Cheng does refer to it as ZTE's "bread and butter"), … Read more

LAS VEGAS--It's been an exceptionally busy and newsworthy past 12 months for cameras -- budget full-frame models, 4K action cameras and cinema cameras, full-frame compacts. Unfortunately for CES 2013, most of that happened at Photokina this past fall. So while this show brought a few nice, potentially ownworthy updates to existing product lines, none of it really stands out as particularly whizzy.

In advanced cameras, the most common update has been to autofocus systems, with combo phase-detection/contrast AF starting to take over in camera lines that have traditionally had rather slow performance -- new models like the Fujifilm X100S … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Computers and related hardware are rarely the top category at the annual CES, with last year being a possible exception, thanks to ultrabook hype. In 2013, we found laptops, desktops, and tablets in shorter supply than usual, with the main culprit being the October 2012 release of Microsoft's Windows 8 operating system and the flood of new systems that went along with it.

The following are some of the big-picture trends and ideas we took away from the show, while a breakdown of our Best of CES nominees in this category is here.

Ultrabook DNA is everywhere Even … Read more