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A gadget that we didn't notice at CES - but should have cos it's really cool - is Crosley's portable turntable, letting you mix on the move.

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The Revolution runs on batteries, has a 3.5mm headphone jack and a USB out and is pretty small - well, we can't tell how small exactly, all we've got are the pictures of the prototype, but it looks good huh. While not for vinyl purists, it is a fun way for people to play around with mixing without investing in massive room-dominating gear. And being tiny, the turntable is indeed portable. According to Gizmodo, it sounds great for a bedroom turntable and will feature software that will identify and tag your vinyl to digital rips.

The Revolution is slated for release in mid- to late-summer, for $150, in black at first and then in a variety of colours.

See the Crosley] site for updates

CES 2010 Day Three and Show Round-Up

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Buttons have been replaced by touchscreens over the past few years, and now Toshiba are taking it one step further and doing away the whole idea of touching anything. All you need to do now is wave. Their new Gesture-Control TV uses a webcam and an infra-red motion sensor to detect what you're doing with your body. Your gestures then act as controls for the TV functions.

Pause the image by holding out your palm, tap your ear to change the volume, make breaststroke motions to scroll through a globe of content options. Play by holding your palm over one of the options.

From the video shot by Ashley at CES, the sensitivity seems a little shaky and as you would expect, Toshiba are working on making sure that accidental gestures don't get picked up by the TV. Toshiba estimate that the technology is about five years away from the consumer market.

See a video of the Gesture-Control TV in action on the Best Buy UK channel. Best Buy UK sponsored Shiny brother site TechDigest's CES 2010 coverage.

Now you can change your iPhone into an authentic-sounding guitar with this clever accessory and app which lets you strum out rock tunes from your iPhone. Created by small Japanese company Evenno, the fingerist can be plugged into an amp, or played off its own speaker which runs off AA batteries. It plays like a normal electric guitar, but with the iPhone's touchscreen instead of strings: making it a whole lot geekier. Full marks to the gentleman in the video for his stylish cufflinks.

See more on the fingerist

Just so you didn't think everything was too serious at CES, here's the iPhone hat. It looks like a mixture between a baseball cap and a small head-tent and it lets you watch videos on your iPhone or iPod touch, with ease. Incorporating an iPhone holder and a magnifying glass it creates a private mini cinema around your head. Only catch being of course that you look a bit stupid. And if your phone rings...? you're gonna have to dismantle the whole affair.

Anyway, for only $19.95, it might be worth it for the times you have to sit on a train and don't really mind if fellow passengers give you funny looks. Hell you won't be able to see their funny looks anyway, you'll be watching a film.

Sony has taken a different slant on the tablet: it's gone for a cheap mash-up of a digital picture frame, e-reader and internet device. The result is the Dash, a $200 internet device designed to work in a kitchen or a bedroom. You use it to listen to music, watch video, check the weather, download recipies, use Facebook/Twitter etc. It is very simple to use and boasts a decent touch screen. Ashley apologies for the whispering and the low vid quality, but he nabbed this while the press conf was still going on.

CES 2010 Round-Up: the Intel Wall

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An interactive wall of news stories was one of the show's most popular attractions. The Intel Wall was a giant touch screen for multiple users full of 2D cubes that each represent news stories. Touch one and and picture and headline burst out of the wall. The stories come from Google News, at the moment just the headlines pop out but Intel says it can add a lot more information. And of course it doesn't have to be news stories, the wall could be used in shops or railways stations for example to display information about anything from trainers in stock to train times. watch and wonder.

ces 3-4 myford_touch_press_images_main.jpgFord have been collaborating with Microsoft in creating an in-car computer system. Ford CEO announced plans to pipe internet content into future Ford vehicles as part of a system called MyFord Touch.

So think touch screens, traffic information and graphic controls for the music system.
They're hoping it's going to give people a feel-good factor as well as something useful:
"MyFord Touch, combined with new SYNC functionality, creates an experience that will cause people to fall in love with their vehicles again," said Derrick Kuzak, Ford group vice president, Global Product Development. "It's not just a technology; it's an experience - one we hope will have people across the globe looking forward to spending time behind the wheel of their vehicle."

The system behind MyFord Touch is Microsoft Auto 4.0, which is an expandable platform open for new developments, allowing it to grow and add new features without requiring new hardware. Cars will get more intelligent - can only be a good thing.
Two models with MyFord Touch will be built next year, and one more in 2012, though Ford says 80% of new cars will have the system in five years.

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If you're longing for some old school audio gear but still want to be able to play your iTunes lists, check out the 80s chic i931 from Lasonic. An iPhone/Pod dock set into a fabulous ghetto blaster it has a few other mod cons - an SD card slot and a USB port. It also has AM/FM radio on board. The system is capable of blasting out 15 watts per channel through
separate woofers and tweeters.

On sale in America in mid 2010 costing $149, should reach Europe too. Lasonic.
[Via Techdigest]

ces 3-2 Motus_L_video (2).jpgI get excited by pull-out keyboards, so a phone which has a keyboard that not only pulls out but flips back on itself could keep me occupied for hours. Before I even turn it on.

Motorola explain the thought behind the flip:"the truly original design allows BACKFLIP to create new ways to enjoy photos, music and more. In the reverse-flip, tabletop mode, listen to music or view videos hands free. The digital picture frame mode lets you show off your latest adventures. You can even turn BACKFLIP into a bedside alarm clock for your morning wake up call."

But though this hinge technology is pretty fun and gives the silver and black Backflip its name, it's what's inside that's exciting here: an Android OS with the Motorblur user-interface bolted on. I'm a fan of Motoblur - it's a social networker's dream and creates a mash-up feed of updates from Facebook, Twitter, email and native apps like the calendar and text messages. A little bit hyperactive in fact.

Motorola has jumped on the Android bandwagon, producing big-hitting smartphones on Android like the Droid, the Dext and the Milestone. It's a tactic that could pay off. I'm looking forward to getting hands-on with the Blackflip, not least just operating that flip mechanism.

Motorola Backflip will be available Spring 2010.

ces 3-3 dell slate.jpgDell has learnt one thing from Apple at least - keeping a bit of mystique going. Dell's slim shiny new slate computer was launched at CES but kept tantalisingly out of the hands of reviewers. So what we know is: it has a 5 inch screen, it runs on Google Android and it looks a bit like a giant iPhone. Intrigued? Well we sort of are.

It's a bit smaller than the HP slate revealed by Microsoft yesterday, though Dell say they're testing the product in a range of different sizes. The PC company have been pushing into the mobile market recently designing a smartphone, the Mini 3.

Apparently it has a SIM slot which suggests it would run off a phone network contract. It comes in red too, according to a quick photoshoot with Engadget (pic below). It's slim apparently, which makes up for the oversized phone feel, but the rest is shrouded in Applesque mystery.

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CES 2010 Day Two

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Hot tip from Ashley at CES in Vegas: the Samsung LED 9000 3D HD TV. Yes you saw that right, this is a television set that shows three dimensional film. It is compatible with Blu-Ray 3DTV and 3D broadcasts from Sky etc.

What impresses me is that the device cleverly converts standard 2D TV into 3D too, though as Ash points worth seeing what that looks like before getting too excited.

The set is a miniscule 0.3 of an inch thick - about as broad as a pencil. It's kind of like a normal TV in reverse, the image is 3D and the slender set is practically two dimensional.

Hello. Looking forward to seeing Come Dine with me in 3D.... but I imagine the effects won't be quite as striking as in Avatar.

See the rest of Ash's tips from CES 2010 here.

Tablets are everywhere this week, all the big PC companies are trying to imitate the Apple tablet and the damn thing hasn't even come out yet. One of the big contenders is from top PC makers Hewlett Packard, HP.

The HP tablet was unveiled today at CES by HP and Microsoft. It runs Windows 7 and it's a sleek, dark-rimmed touchscreen device. Steve Ballmer head of Microsoft waved it about on a stage in front of massed journalists and technophiles at the CES conference describing it as "almost as portable as a phone as powerful as a PC running Windows 7".

No-one's really had any hands-on time with this gadget but the reaction from the blogs is a bit well, muted. Partly because everyone's eyes are back on Apple, partly because the software isn't new - Windows 7 is good but we've seen it before. See the video above to get a sense of the hardware.

Okay. Back to Apple-watching.

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Brilliant! It's finally arrived: an augmented reality visor. Thanks to the clever people at Vuzix. and their Wrap 920AR we will now be able to gaze out at the world and see it overlaid or 'augmented' with computer generated graphics.

Maps on streets, reviews on shops, facebook profiles on people... this is the sort of thing that augmented reality promises and that Vuzix's Augmented Reality Wrap Video Eyewear could bring to everyday life. Provided you don't mind going around with giant black plastic spectacles on.

The Wrap 920AR gives you a real-time video feed that shows you what's in front of you while seamlessly mixing it with computer-generated imagery.

Vuzix explains: "users can view the real-world environment and computer-generated imagery seamlessly mixed together; allowing video game characters to jump out of the TV and come to life in your living room, or magazines and books with animated links back to the web in real time."

Vuzix brought us Video eyewear in Nov 09 - "eye-wrap" gear looking a bit like sunglasses which lets you view films and video on the inside screen, giving the effect of watching a widescreen TV. These guys are pretty exciting.

Likely price: $799.99
Expected availability for the Wrap 920AR is Spring 2010, more here: www.vuzix.com.

ces 2-3 vibrating headphones.jpgYou may never have thought you needed them, but Technocel have just invented vibrating headphones. Do they improve the listening experience? Apparently so..

The EarVibe earphones start to vibrate as the music hits low-frequency bass which "takes your listening experience to the next level" according to the makers. I suppose it replicates the experience you'd get in front of big speakers by making you physically vibrate to the beat of your music. Well just your ears of course.

Is this going to make earphone sore-ear syndrome worse? Might do. Though judging by the picture, the earpieces look nice and squishy.

Otherwise the earphones feature high-fidelity stereo sound and include a microphone for hands-free voice calls for clear conversation and music.

EarVibe from Technocel available 15 January for $29.99 at www.technocel.com

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The future's bright, the future's wide-screen, touch-sensitive and knows how you're feeling. Well according to netbook-makers ASUS anyway. They unveiled a range of concept products at CES yesterday: which they claim can adjust to your mood and emotions.

The three Waveface products: the Casa (an internet-ennabled TV); the Light (a tablet device); and the Ultra (a wrist-computer) use contextual information to provide you with more relevant information.

As Asus put it: the products "represent ASUS's context-based vision of the digital life; that every element in the users environment even down to the user's own physiology and emotional state can be sources of data to help deliver the right information and services at the right time".

Details are sketchy on exactly how they do it, lots of sensors we imagine, but this range certainly sounds intriguing. And they look cool too. Here's the Ultra:

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And the Waveface Casa:
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We'll post further if we hear about these becoming commercially available.

See more stories from CES 2010

asus karimrashid

Asus boosted the battery life and performance of their Eee PC Seashell netbook when they launched the latest version of it at CES yesterday. They also gave the casing a retouching with techno-chic chocolate brown check from industrial designer Karim Rashid.

The new Seashell 1005PE is still running on a single core Atom processor but it's an updated version, the Intel Atom N450 and now supports Windows 7.

It's the resulting 14 hour battery life that impresses me most. At over a day's worth of use, that's as good as a mobile phone.

Karim Rashid's design is available in either glossy Hot Pink or matte Coffee Brown.

See more at www.asus.co.uk

N210 whiteSamsung has enhanced its range of netbooks with four glossy hand-bag sized additions.

The big selling point of the Samsung netbooks: battery life. The N210 and N220 deliver a frankly incredible 12 hours of web browsing on one battery charge, the N150 and NB30 managing 8.5 hours and 11 hours respectively.

Other portability-friendly features include durable scratch-resistant cases with built in handles; an alert system that allows you to track the netbook if it gets stolen and One-Click connection to a home or office PC, making it safe and easy to transfer and view files between computers.

They look good too making them attractive and reliable on-the-go devices that you can easily chuck into a handbag.

The catch? These netbooks run on Intel's Atom chips - power-economic yes, but slow compared to the dual-core chips available on higher-end netbooks and PCs.

The Samsung N210, N220 and NB30 will be available during January in the UK at leading online and high street retailers. The Samsung N150 will be available in January at selected retailers. No prices as yet.

See all stories from CES 2010 here

Kodak has announced a waterproof pocket video camera and a new touch screen camera with an unusual search feature in its raft of products for CES.

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The Kodak Slice is a touch screen digital camera which stores up to 5000 photos on the internal memory. It shoots photos and videos in HD. The interesting feature is a search function which uses facial recognition and stored information about location and time of the shot to let you sort photos according to who's in them and when and where you took them. The Slice is wifi-ennabled meaning that you can share photos from your camera instantly with Facebook, Flickr or Youtube.

The Slice Touchscreen Camera will be available in black, nickel and radish for £299.99 beginning in April 2010

kodak playsport

Kodak's Playsport Video Camera shoots in HD and works underwater - up to a depth of 10ft. Meant for rugged adventurous video shooting, the one-button to record make the device very simple to use. You can buy accessories which let you mount the camera on your helmet, handlebars or just hang it around your neck.

The PLAYSPORT Video Camera will be available in Abyss (black), Wave Crash (blue) and Adrenaline Rush (purple) for £129.99 beginning in April 2010.

See www.kodak.com for more information on both

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