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Imagine the HP Mini 311 with a new Atom...

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

With CES coming in January and Windows 7 computers already everywhere to be found, a casual observer might assume that Vegas' annual consumer electronics extravaganza might not be as exciting for laptops. For Netbooks, at least, that seems to be completely untrue. Although Netbooks have seen an across-the-board upgrade from Windows XP to Windows 7 and, in some instances, boosts like HD-resolution screens, added RAM, and discrete Nvidia GPUs, Netbooks still tend to run variants of the same N270/280 Atom processor we've seen since 2008.

Intel has been readying its newer Atoms, including a dual-core D510, for a while, but a rumor of a leaked document suggests that Intel might be unveiling the new Atom N450 (the successor to the N270), and even new Netbooks and Nettops containing it, at CES. The report also suggests a possibly quick decommissioning of the old Atom N270s. Intel's new Atoms are supposed to provide better battery life as well as smoother video playback.

We've already found some great new Netbooks recently (check our 2009 Holiday Tech Guide for suggestions), and this should only drive the new wave of Netbooks ever forward.

We're excited about seeing some of these future Netbooks. As long as they stay affordable, that is.

(Via Engadget)

Steve Ballmer and Alan Mulally at CES 2009.

(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CNET)

Ford Chairman and CEO Alan Mulally will be the featured speaker on the opening day of the 2010 International Consumer Electronics Show, the Consumer Electronics Association announced Monday.

His keynote address will open the show the morning of Thursday, January 7. Although it's not Mulally's first time at the Las Vegas event--he also spoke last year--it will be his debut as the main keynote speaker. Recent opening keynotes have been given by Sony's Sir Howard Stringer and Comcast's Brian Roberts.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer will speak the night before, as he did last year, taking over the slot traditionally given to Bill Gates.

Although he's not a technology executive, per se, Ford has made it a point to come to CES with lots of gadgets in the past. This year looks to be no different, as Mulally is scheduled talk up in-car tech like GPS navigation, location-based services, and video, according to the CEA.

Corrected on 9/22/09: This post initially had the day of the week on which Mulally will be speaking wrong. January 7 falls on a Thursday, not Friday.

Update, July 30, 10:28 a.m. PDT: The Wall Street Journal has now added a correction to its story: "Correction: It is not clear whether Apple will attend the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show. This post previously stated that Apple would attend."

We've heard lots of speculation about the possibility of Apple attending the massive CES trade show in January, but The Wall Street Journal is reporting straight out that Apple plans to attend.

CES is devoting more floorspace to Apple this year. But will Apple attend? The Wall Street Journal is saying it will.

(Credit: Tom Krazit/CNET)

If true, this would seem a bit of a schizophrenic move. After all, Apple explained its decision to leave Macworld (which takes place around the same time as CES) by saying that it doesn't need trade shows anymore to get its message across, given its network of retail stores.

We've attempted to reach Apple for confirmation, even given the late hour, but haven't yet received a response.

Although the Journal blog post references a dinner with journalists and Gary Shapiro, who heads the organization that puts on CES in Las Vegas, it doesn't attribute Apple's move to Shapiro. "Apple plans to attend the show's 2010 version, marking the first time in memory the Cupertino, Calif., consumer-electronics giant will be there," the post reads.

And it goes on to talk about how Shapiro, chief executive of the Consumer Electronics Association, has invited Apple CEO Steve Jobs to give a keynote address at the show. "But nobody from Apple has gotten back to him," the Journal post says, citing Shapiro.

Meanwhile, while other bloggers have followed the Journal piece, Engadget's Ryan Block, who says he was at the same dinner with Shapiro, is challenging the report's accuracy. "At no point did Gary even remotely imply that Apple would be present at a future CES." That sentiment was echoed by Engadget founder Peter Rojas in a comment posted to the Journal story, addressing its author, Ben Charny. Shapiro "was very clear that Apple would not be exhibiting at CES 2010," wrote Rojas, who was also at the dinner with Shapiro. "I'm frankly a little shocked that anyone could have come out of the dinner with a post like this."

CNET Editor in Chief Scott Ard, who also was at the dinner, concurred that Shapiro didn't say anything that could be construed as definitive about Apple and CES 2010. He also noted that the Wall Street Journal story didn't attribute possible attendance by Apple to Shapiro.

"Shapiro didn't say anything at the dinner that could be taken as confirmation that Apple would attend," Ard said. "And it's hardly news that Jobs did not return an invite request."

Ard continued: "Ironically, much of the conversation Tuesday revolved around three topics: Apple's plans, CES 2010, and accuracy in journalism. We'll see how this story shakes out--at this point the Journal's post is hard to evaluate because it does not have any sourcing regarding Apple's supposed attendance."

"The good news in all this," Ard said, "is that Apple will likely have to declare one way or the other what its plans are very soon."

What we do know, however, is that with or without Apple, CES is planning to expand its Apple section from 4,000 square feet to 25,000 square feet. The venue will be called the iLounge Pavilion.

Anyone else having trouble envisioning Jobs in a Vegas lounge, albeit one that starts with the letter i?

This post was updated at 11:28 p.m. PDT with comments from Peter Rojas. It was updated again at 7:04 a.m. PDT on Thursday with comments from CNET's Scott Ard.

Brian Tong, host of CNET TV's The Apple Byte, finally makes the trip out to New York for the sole purpose of helping us host the show. Alright, we wish--in reality Brian is out here for a much nobler cause. Today's show is filled with everything you'd expect from Apple fanboys and video game nerds!

(Credit: Brian Tong)

It's always an insane show whenever Brian Tong of CNET TV's The Apple Byte rolls through the studio, and today is absolutely no different. Although we'd like to think that Brian is here just because he loves us so much, it turns out that his trip is for a much greater cause: The big Moon personally invited him out to speak on a panel in front of CBS interns about what it's like being a minority in the media, something that Wilson and I definitely could have spoken about, but clearly CBS wanted a positive influence on the kids. Unfortunately, Brian finally drops some bad news when he tells us that these 13-year-olds are already vying for all of our jobs.

In today's episode, Brian gives us a rundown of his sojourn to E3 and all the recent video game news coming out of the pipe, including Project Natal, Xbox 360 rumors, next-gen console forecasting, and everyone's favorite Nintendo Wii vitality sensor! I wish I could remember what else they were talking about, but I blacked out (on purpose) just as they started talking about E3. Much thanks to B-Teezy for getting up early to do the show!

The Consumer Electronics Association, which hosts CES in Las Vegas every year, said Thursday that the trade show will expand its Apple section from 4,000 square feet to 25,000 square feet.

CES is devoting more floorspace to Apple this year. But will Apple attend?

(Credit: Tom Krazit/CNET)

It's called the iLounge Pavilion and will be an exhibition area for products related to the Mac, iPod, and iPhone. This year, for the first time, there will also be a section for applications for use on Apple products.

The original 4,000-square-foot space sold out within days of the announced availability to retailers, developers, and accessory makers looking to exhibit their wares and services, according to the CEA. That led to the decision to expand the floor space.

After Apple announced that the 2009 MacWorld Expo in January would be its last participation in the event, speculation arose that the company might choose to appear at CES--which is held around the same time--instead.

But despite the CEA's decision to create the Apple section, first announced in January, Apple has not yet commented on whether it would participate or not. The reason that the company bowed out of MacWorld--that it doesn't really need to participate anymore--would seem to preclude a similar type of presence at CES, where it would be one of thousands of companies on display.

Archos, a popular maker of Portable Media Players and Mobile Internet Devices, is joining the Netbook fray by releasing one of its own.

Earlier this week, the company announced the availability of its new 10-inch Netbook on its online store. The Netbook was originally slated for release in April, but because it was announced at CES in January, I guess the company felt ready for prime time. Finally, Archos is said to be working on several new versions based on Intel's Moorestown platform, which will replace Intel's current Netbook and MID platform sometime in 2010.

(Credit: Archos)

For now, let's take a quick look at the specs of the Archos 10, which will sound awfully familiar, especially to those people who've either purchased a Netbook or done some research on getting one.

• Microsoft Windows XP Home edition
• Intel Atom N270 1.6GHz Processor
• 160 GB hard drive
• 1GB DDR2 RAM
• Multi-card reader slot, Wi-Fi, and 3G USB ready
• 3 USB ports
• 10.2-inch WXGA screen at 1024x600 resolution

The Archos 10-inch Netbook is now available for purchase for $399 with the standard three-cell battery, or for $449 with the extended six-cell battery.

The Nokia 7510: Get it while it's hot.

(Credit: T-Mobile)

It's a busy day for T-Mobile. In addition to announcing the availability of the RIM BlackBerry Curve 8900 and the new T-Mobile Shadow, the carrier also started shipping another CES phone, the Nokia 7510.

Though T-Mobile isn't using the "Supernova" label as part of the 7510's name, the phone offers everything we saw in Las Vegas. Its most prominent design features are the replaceable front covers in brown, red, and espresso and the hidden external display that flashes nifty animation intermittently.

Features include a 2-megapixel camera, a music and video player, support for T-Mobile myFaves, messaging and e-mail, instant messaging, Bluetooth, an expandable memory slot, a speakerphone, and a personal organizer. It also has integrated Wi-Fi for use with T-Mobile's HotSpot @Home service.

The 7510 is available now for $49.99.

The Platinum i-Series from iHarmonix produces better sounds than the headset Apple includes with the iPhone.

(Credit: Dong Ngo/CBS Interactive)

Once in a while you get something and like it so much you wonder why you hadn't gotten it a long time ago. Or, as in my case, why you didn't use it.

This happened back during CES. I was given a headset from iHarmonix, the Platinum i-Series, as a freebie. I didn't have a chance to really use it until just now and asked myself why I waited so long.

The headset's sound is much better than that of Apple's OEM included with the iPhone. For the first time, I can enjoy the bass and really control the multifunction button (that ends calls as well as controls music playback), thanks to its round shape and larger size. The iPhone's included headset has a very tiny button that's hard to press on. It was almost impossible for me to make a successful jump to a previous track.

What I like best, however, is the fact that the Platinum i-Series is black instead of having the same white color as Apple's headset. Now I can blend in without people looking at me and thinking, "Oh I know, you got an iPhone, all right."

I've never been a fan of cord clutter. I switched to a Bluetooth mouse and keyboard in my office, and I've delighted in the clean look ever since. Cord clutter may be annoying in the office, but it's downright dangerous in the kitchen. The kitchen--that place where I spill, where my kids come barreling through at top speed, where tangled cords are truly an accident waiting to happen.

Cordless technology for the kitchen is a great idea, but one that doesn't get as much press, perhaps, as wireless peripherals for the office. Until now.

At the Consumer Electronics Show this year, Powermat debuted its technology in a whole new way. Powermat "brings safe, simple, and efficient wireless electricity to surfaces including walls, tables, floors, and desktops. It is designed to replace the need to access multiple electrical sockets," says the Web site. In other words, you can use this technology to power your electronics in real time, with no cords, no outlets, and no batteries.

Now imagine that your kitchen countertop came with this technology. Tough to envision? Here, watch a video.

The bad news is that the coolest stuff hasn't yet hit the States, but it will, in good time. Wireless electricity. And you can spill on it. It doesn't get much better than this.