CES

Steve Ballmer crashes CES keynote and other Qualcomm tidbits

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wn_XI3dU-kU

Though Microsoft passed on this year's CES keynote, that didn't stop the company's boss Steve Ballmer from making his trademark entrance to last night's keynote by Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs. His running out on stage wasn't on par with the previous bigger than life entrances and the now famous 'developers' chant and was in fact a prearranged surprise, but it's still kinda noteworthy. Ballmer basically praised Qualcomm's Snapdragon processors that power new Windows 8 and Windows Phone devices. Qualcomm made a number of announcements at the show and the company's keynote wasn't short on celebrities...

CES 2013: Sharp talks IGZO display tech

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnUUXoFsjoY

Sharp, one of Japan's three struggling consumer electronics giants (the other two are Sony and Panasonic), showed off its IGZO panels at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Last we heard, Apple was hoping to use IGZO tech in upcoming products. It's interesting Sharp's demonstration included Corning, the maker of the iPhone's cover glass that in its third-generation boasts 40 percent higher scratch resistances and 50 percent better overall strength. Sharp's IGZO technology requires only a fraction of energy compared to traditional LCD screens and provides richer, livelier colors, deeper blacks and overall sharper images while maintaining the thinness of in-cell display tech featured on the iPhone 5...

CES 2013: Crayola’s Light Marker for iPad lets you paint in the air

CES didn't officially start until today, but we've already seen a plethora of new mobile products and accessories. We've told you about smart watches and smart forks, and even smart automobiles. And now we have something for the kids.

Crayola, easily one of the most recognizable names in art supplies, has teamed up with iOS appendage-maker Griffin to create the Light Marker, a marker-shaped stylus that can draw on an iPad without having to touch the screen...

CES Unveiled: some new products we like

Last night, CES opened to members of the press with Unveiled to highlight many of the design award honorees and new tech that will be featured across the upcoming show, which starts tomorrow. I was on hand looking for new iOS compatible or Apple accessory products geared toward iOS devices. Check inside for a few of the products I stumbled upon...

CES 2013: Canopy’s Sensus case adds touch controls to the back of your iPhone

As CES marches on, it's getting tougher and tougher to keep up with all of the different iOS accessory announcements. But we're trying. Earlier today we saw the Hapifork from Hapilabs, and Griffin's PowerDock, and now we've got an interesting case to show you.

The Sensus iPhone case, from Canopy, is very unique in that it has a 10-point touch sensor across the back, and built into the sides of it. This enables users to interact with applications and perform other tasks without actually touching the handset's display...

CES 2013: Griffin’s new PowerDock charges five devices simultaneously

Griffin Technology is on a roll at CES 2013. Among the product announcements they made at the show is this ultimate charging station that I'd definitely make good use of, the PowerDock 5. As the name implies, the main advantage is its  design which makes possible charging of up to five iPhones, iPods or iPads at once, an indispensable feature for families that mostly use Apple's mobile products (I know, filthy rich people).

Each of its five charging bays conveniently has a 10-watt, 2.1-amp power supply so you can store and charge, say, five power-hungry, full-size third and fourth generation iPads simultaneously. As if that weren't enough, the badass accessory even accommodates your iPads in their cases. What more could you ask from a charging station?

CES 2013: a ‘smart’ fork arrives, but will it help you eat less?

We already have smart TVs (Samsung leads the charge), as well as smart ovens, smart laundry and smart vacuum (all coming from LG in 2013). Heck, we're increasingly wearing app-enabled smart watches around our wrist (we're looking at you, Apple). It really is no surprise then that gadget makers now expect we'll monitor our eating habits using a 'smart' fork?

Enter the Hapifork from Hapilabs, an unusual app-enabled accessory coming this Spring to "greatly improve your digestion", up to the point where "you’ll likely start losing weight". I'm not entirely convinced science exists to back that claim...

CES 2013: Lego debuts iOS-friendly Mindstorms EV3 programmable robots

Toy maker Lego announced at CES 2013 a new line of iOS-compatible toys that let children and robotics hobbyists create and command robots "that do what you want". The kit turns your Lego creations into live robots that can be programmed without a computer. Previous Mindstorms incarnation dating as far back to the original model released in 1998 all required a PC. The Mindstorms EV3 kit comes with the EV3 Intelligent Brick, a programmable unit that un‐tethers robots from the computer and sports its own ARM9 CPU with 64GB of RAM and 16MB of flash storage...

CES 2013: Hyundai to integrate Apple’s Siri into its vehicles

After General Motors announced in November it was going to be one of the first car companies to market its new Chevy Sonic and Spark vehicles with the new Siri Eyes Free feature, today at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas car maker Hyundai Motor Company also confirmed it will integrate the feature into its vehicles, although the company did not specify which models will be part of the initiative. More information right past the fold...

Belkin unveils the Thunderstorm, a handheld home theater for your iPad

CES starts today, meaning you can expect to see several new product and accessory announcements over the next 5 days. Earlier today we told you about the Cookoo smart watch, and now it's Belkin's time to shine.

Known for Apple accessories like USB cables and keyboard cases, Belkin doesn't have much of a track record in the audio space. That changes, though, with the Thunderstorm, a new iPad case with built-in speakers...

CES 2013: Bluetooth Smart-enabled Cookoo watch launches with iOS compatibility

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYgDAQVZLQo

Among the many exhibitors vying for your attention at the CES show room floor are makers of connected smart watches. Pebble, the most highly funded Kickstarter project to date, already teased “big news” at CES as it readies to finally launch its Android and iOS connected E-Paper Watch.

You can now put Cookoo on your list of CES smart watch announcements. Another Kickstarter project, the Cookoo watch just launched worldwide as an iOS and Android connected accessory supporting low-power Bluetooth Smart (Bluetooth 4.0) networking.

In the case of Apple's platform, the scratch and water-resistant Cookoo watch supports the iPhone 5, iPhone 4S, iPad mini, iPad 3/4 and fifth-gen iPod touch and uses a button-cell battery so it doesn't need to be recharged like typical smart watches do...

Packing gear, gadgets, and survival items for CES

As we mentioned previously, 2013 CES will be the largest trade show of its kind, with a massive show floor of 1.86 million square feet and spanning the Las Vegas Convention Center, plus three additional hotels and conference centers. Lucky for me, I am headed on my first religious pilgrimage to this largest of large conferences and the next planning step is packing.

But, what to pack to help me survive the war zone that is the CES show room floor? Check inside for a long list of gadgets, gear, and survival items I'll be bringing along for the ride...