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- The most ridiculous cars of CES [gallery]
- Feet on with Sanyo’s eneloop electric-assist bike
- Hands-on Sennheiser/Adidas 680 sports headphones
- Evertune keeps your guitar tuned forever
- Sharp goes its own way, doesn’t lose its mind promoting 3D TV (like everyone else has)
- CES so far
- Razer announces Chimaera gaming headset for Xbox360
- You know, you could have just asked me to put my camera away, Mr. Drunk With Power bouncer
- NSFW: True Companion Debuts Sex Robot Roxxxy
- Lingo Debuts 15 New Translators at CES
- We’re live with the creator of Gran Tursimo
- An open letter to the creator of the pretzel dog
- SteelSeries announces StarCraft 2 keyset, March of the Scourge mouse pad
- Sennheiser And Adidas Partner For Special Earphones
- iLuv Launches New Speaker/Charging Station
- Hands on with the MagicJack femtocell
- Video: Another CES-focused TechVi segment for your amusement
- iPhone Beats Droid, Nexus One And Droid Eris In Touchscreen Performance
- Can the Skiff save the magazine industry?
- Sadly we did not see this at CES
| The most ridiculous cars of CES [gallery] Posted: 09 Jan 2010 04:14 PM PST I decided to take a gander through the car audio section of the show and was met with quite possibly some of the most grandiose automobiles I have ever been within 5 feet of. Despite the purpose of these vehicles being to showcase the audio systems these companies can create, flashing lights and bright colors seemed to be the attention getting method of choice. Although, more often than not, I heard Soulja Boy being passed as music. Gross. Anyway, the image descriptions will tell you exactly why these constructs made the most ridiculous list.
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| Feet on with Sanyo’s eneloop electric-assist bike Posted: 09 Jan 2010 03:59 PM PST
We got a bunch of feet-on time with the eneloop bike, and we all found it a blast to ride. Although it does have a “step-through” design that’s present on female bikes where I’m from, it’s a decent looking thing, and will come in a carbon fiber version soon as well.
The eneloop bike adjusts its boost depending on how hard you pedal and what mode you’re in. If you google the thing, you’ll find all the specs — battery size and all that. It’s been around for a while now but it’s just now starting to be pushed on our shores. It’ll cost you $2300 at the moment, which is pretty serious cash, but you can consider it an alternative to a scooter or used car, depending on your needs.
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| Hands-on Sennheiser/Adidas 680 sports headphones Posted: 09 Jan 2010 03:30 PM PST
We found a pair of these previously announced Sennheiser headphones here at CES and got a hands-on demo for you guys. The short version: They have a rugged, solid feel and great sound quality. A bit pricey, but if you are an avid outdoorsman, you won’t go wrong with these. There are four models in the series. All have a reported frequency response of 18Hz – 20kHz, maximum output of 120 dB (save the MX which peaks at 118 dB), and 16 Ω’s of impedance. The kevlar-reinforced cable is a bit short, which cuts down on the amount of bounce while you’re running. You can add a cable extension if you want, which also gives you an in-line remote with volume control and a shirt clip. The headphones can supposedly withstand temperatures of up to (or down to, in this case) -10 degrees Centigrade. Unfortunately, no one at CES was showcasing a super walk-in freezer, so I wasn’t able to give these headphones a proper test. Nor was there a sauna company, so their sweat-proof claim is untested as well.
The audio quality across all four is great all around. If you jog often, and utilize your media player while you do so, these headphones are a good investment. Provided you have the 80 to 120 bucks for them.
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| Evertune keeps your guitar tuned forever Posted: 09 Jan 2010 02:15 PM PST
Their FAQ is pretty comprehensive, though, and assures the reader that there will be no real change in tone and you can bend it like you would any other guitar. They’ve also got better pictures of the guts; I accidentally set my camera to EV-2 so they came out a little dark. And just for kicks, here’s Greg rocking out:
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| Sharp goes its own way, doesn’t lose its mind promoting 3D TV (like everyone else has) Posted: 09 Jan 2010 02:01 PM PST
Let’s have a round of applause for Sharp, which could be the only TV manufacturer here that isn’t freaking out over 3D. (Not that it, too, doesn’t have 3D TVs on its roster, but it doesn’t treat them as the be-all, end-all.) Instead, Sharp made the brave decision to try something different, which, you’ll recall, adds yellow to the usual threesome of red, green, and blue pixels. Now, how successful this end up being, who knows? Cameras still only record using red, blue, and green, and it’s quite a bit harder to explain to people why the addition of the yellow pixel could be more substantial, and "better," than WOW 3D COOL~!. Other TV manufacturers? It’s all 3D, all the time. Monkey see, monkey do. The beauty of 3D is that 1) it’s not new 2) it’s never been effective before 3) it’s riddled with potential problems. The most obvious concerns people who already wear glasses. (Sixty-eight percent of Americans who required vision correction wear glasses, according to some random site that I’m taking as Gospel.) Why would I want to wear a second pair of glasses on top of my regular glasses? It’s not very elegant, now is it? And then each of these TVs will require their own glasses. That means if you own Company A’s TV but your neighbors have a TV from Company B, you won’t be able to wear your glasses while visiting their house. Never mind that there’s not a whole lot quality 3D content out there. (Not every movie or TV show is directed by James Cameron.) It’s a quick, easy-to-market gimmick that not a single journalist/blogger/person I’ve spoken to here has been impressed by. So yeah, I just wanted to highlight Sharp’s go-our-own-way attitude. I have no idea if it’ll work out in the end, but it’s worth noting again.
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| Posted: 09 Jan 2010 01:49 PM PST
CES always seems shorter than it really is. We’ve been here in Vegas since Tuesday, reporting live on almost everything of any importance, and we’re all goofy and tired. I usually hate CES. It’s a long slog through endless halls and repetitive meetings that go over what has already been gone over. But this year was different. This year’s CES was strangely subdued yet refreshing. CE companies have stopped the genitalia-waving associated with speeds, sizes, and megapixels and have started producing products with considerably more finesse. The devices we saw were well-designed and featured a number of clever UI tricks that can turn an average iPod dock into a thoughtful device designed for a specific purpose and person. Manufacturers have figured out that numbers on products don’t sell. Features sell, and I’m talking about top-line features, not the details. Consumers have been bombarded with speeds and feeds for so long that they’re now noise. TV manufacturers, for example, have stopped fighting about screen size and have started focusing on how to convince millions of viewers to switch to a 3D-ready Blu-Ray/TV combo. That’s going to be a tough fight and it won’t behoove them to mention very much about HDMI interoperability and refresh rate. Instead, they are creating compelling reasons to upgrade including on-screen, open widget and streaming systems as well as cool new energy saving techniques. The products this year are touchy feelie. Say what you want about cynical manufacturers “going green” but there is a focus on design and durability over high tech. Perhaps its a reaction to the economy – there’s no R&D budget – or maybe it’s a reaction to a skittish consumer who doesn’t want throwaway tech. Regardless, I like where this is going.
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| Razer announces Chimaera gaming headset for Xbox360 Posted: 09 Jan 2010 01:38 PM PST
The Chimaera definitely brings something to the table, it’s wireless of course, and supports full 5.1 sound just like your Xbox. Since this is considered to be a professional level headset, it also will allow you to daisy-chain several headsets together at one time so your entire team at the lan party can maintain communication. MSRP is $129.99, and they will be available worldwide. The one we saw at CES was a mock-up though, so I wouldn’t expect it soon. From the press release:
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| You know, you could have just asked me to put my camera away, Mr. Drunk With Power bouncer Posted: 09 Jan 2010 12:30 PM PST
Why do nightclub bouncers think they’re above the law? I attended a Divx party at some place called Moon at the Palms Hotel in Las Vegas for CES. (Divx actually has some neat stuff on the way, but that’s a matter for another day.) Like always, I had my camera, a Canon DSLR, hanging around my neck. This, having a camera, wasn’t an issue at the Divx party, which ended at 11:00pm, but it most certainly became an issue a few hours later. Photographers take note! Following the Divx party, which was 100 percent okie dokie, another one started up. People were welcome to stay at Moon just that it was no longer a Divx event. I think the new party had something to do with the Adult Video Awards or whatever. With this new party, apparently, came new rules, rules that were not made clear to attendees who had stayed over from Divx. The rule that got me in hot water: no cameras allowed. So I’m walking around the venue and decide to take some photos of these young ladies who were dancing. Harmless, so I thought. I take my photo and a rather large bouncer, comparable in size and statue to Chief from One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, RIPS THE CAMERA RIGHT OUT OF MY HANDS. I think my initial reaction was, "umm… what did I do?" The bouncer says something like, "There’s no fucking cameras allowed in here. Come the fuck with me." Really aggressive language for no real reason. So he leads me (well, orders me to follow him) to the back of the venue where another big guy orders me to show him the photos I took. Not knowing any better, and really not trying to make a scene—it’s pretty damn scary to have two guys significantly larger than you bullying you around, so cooperation is the name of the game—I show him the photos. I tell them things like, "Nobody told me cameras weren’t allowed. If someone had told me of course I would have put it in my bag." Of course, that’s greeted with, "Shut the fuck up and just stand against the fucking wall." Someone else enters the scene and takes my drivers license. Needless to say I’m freaking out internally. I’m not exactly in the business of purposely trying to stir up trouble. Some time goes by, like around 10 to 15 minutes of me just standing against the wall trying to explain to these people that there were no signs posted, no announcements made or whatever that cameras weren’t allowed anymore. At the end of this ordeal I’m asked to leave the venue and was escorted outside. Again, everything was super aggressive on their end, when all I’m trying to do is figure out what was going on. My questions: are bouncers allowed to violently snatch a camera out of your hands while using all sorts of threatening language? Are bouncers allowed to demand to see all the photos that are stored on a memory card? I’m guessing not, but you try articulating that to a bunch of huge men who are in the business of scaring the shit out of you for no particular reason. As far as I know, the bouncers absolutely can ask you to put the camera away or, if they deem fit, ask you to leave. (At which point, I still believe you can refuse to leave, but then you’d be trespassing and the police would be called. Clearly I have no interest in getting the police involved, or getting punched in the face by some huge guy.) Needless to say, I shan’t be going to Moon or the Palms again. (Who knows, maybe I’m now on some sort of "do not allow" list.) Let my mistake be a lesson for y’all.
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| NSFW: True Companion Debuts Sex Robot Roxxxy Posted: 09 Jan 2010 12:19 PM PST
Depending on your mood, you can assign the robot different personalities such as Frigid Farrah or Mature Martha, who will respond differently based on the personality you choose. For example, if you hold Mature Martha's hand, she may say "I love holding hands," whereas if you touch Frigid Farrah she may say "What are you going to do with that hand?" The coolest part about the robot is that you can build your own custom personality based on your preference or tweak an existing personality. Once you develop a personality you really like, members can share it with friends on True Companion's website. The website sync also makes the robot compatible for updates and new features or sexy quirks such as a robot that responds to a S&M safety word. More like a social networking site, True Companion’s site will have a monthly fee. The 2 1/2 year project was estimated to cost around 1 million dollars and the robot itself will cost from $7,000 to $9,000 depending on the level of customization you choose. New robots are in the works that will build upon this internal computing model and incorporate more movement. The male version, Rocky, available as a gay robot or a heterosexual robot is currently being developed. True Companion claims that the robot isn't solely used for sex but is rather a life partner or mate for those who can't find or don't want the real thing. According to True Companion's Web site, she "can carry on a discussion and expresses her love to you and be your loving friend. She can talk to you, listen to you and feel your touch." Well, Roxxxy certainly won't make you put the seat down. Click through for more NSFW pictures and video of Roxxxy.
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| Lingo Debuts 15 New Translators at CES Posted: 09 Jan 2010 12:08 PM PST
Lingo, the maker of talking and multi-lanaguage translators, have debuted more then 15 different translators at CES. The units announced ranging from models with six languages, all the way to 52 languages — prices range from $19.95 to $299. Lingo has versions of it’s translator for students well, the WorldMate 6 goes for $19.95, and includes 30,000 words, and 720 phrases in English, German, French, Spanish, Italian and Dutch. It also has one touch language icons featuring the country flags, which allow users to switch easily between languages. WorldMate 6 also offers a QWERTY style keyboard, which also displays local time, the date, a currency converter, a calculator and Learn & Save. There are multiple versions that you can find on Lingo’s site.
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| We’re live with the creator of Gran Tursimo Posted: 09 Jan 2010 12:02 PM PST
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| An open letter to the creator of the pretzel dog Posted: 09 Jan 2010 11:30 AM PST
Dear Sir or Madam, My name is Doug Aamoth. I'm a 30-year-old technology blogger originally from the Minneapolis area, now living in Boston. In May of 2009, I had my first pretzel dog in the Philadelphia train station while traveling for business. Shortly thereafter, I purchased and consumed two additional pretzel dogs in New York City's Penn Station while on another business trip. And finally, while here in Las Vegas for the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show, I have consumed a total of seven pretzel dogs.
I would just like to congratulate you on creating such a delicious food item. I, like most Americans, like pretzels and hot dogs. But sometimes I don't want an entire pretzel – they've gotten so enormous over the years! While I'm almost always up for a hot dog, I've never particularly cared for the squishy white hot dog buns. And if you're familiar with the conventions of the South Beach diet, you'll know that you might as well just eat table sugar if you're going to consume white bread products. So being able to eat a hot dog while getting a filling, yet not-too-filling taste of pretzel is much appreciated. And while some may find $3.79 for a single pretzel dog to be a bit expensive, it's like, "Hey, guys. We're in an airport. What'd you expect?" You could also substitute "train station" for "airport" if you want. Where was I? Oh. You can get two pretzel dogs for $6.00, which I think is a pretty good deal. Again, thanks for your contribution to the fast food industry. I know I won't forget it. I'm not sure how healthy pretzel dogs are, but I also don't eat them all that often so it's okay to have for a treat. One of our readers called me "chubby" earlier, which I think is a bit short-sighted since he hasn't actually seen me in person — video cameras add ten pounds and there were two cameras on me when he called me chubby for a total of 20 additional pounds. Also, if I ran up from behind him and punched him in the neck really hard and he fell over, it wouldn't be fair for me to say something like, "Man, that guy is NOT good at standing upright when attacked for no reason." Sincerely, Doug Aamoth
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| SteelSeries announces StarCraft 2 keyset, March of the Scourge mouse pad Posted: 09 Jan 2010 11:16 AM PST
The Zboard keyset is a limited edition product, customized to make it easier to play the game and includes exclusive artwork. The keys are labeled with commands and shortcuts, allowing the player to pick up the game faster then someone using a normal keyboard. The keyset will MSRP for $24.99
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| Sennheiser And Adidas Partner For Special Earphones Posted: 09 Jan 2010 11:00 AM PST
Sennheiser and Adidas have partnered up for a special version of their earphones. In all the models that were announced, they all feature a loudspeaker, and a volume controller built directly on the earphone cable. The cables are fiber-reinforced and remain flexible to temperatures as low as minus 10, according to Sennheiser. All the earphones also feature different ergonomically designed ear pieces. For the MX 680 stereo model, Sennheiser has developed a patent-pending EarFin holding system, which they say will ensure that the earpieces fit and stay on your ear comfortably. For the models launched, the prices range from $79.95 all the way up to $119.95, depending on what model you choose, of course. Adidas has also come out with a Nike Plus alternative, called the miCoach Pacer, which we covered two days ago.
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| iLuv Launches New Speaker/Charging Station Posted: 09 Jan 2010 10:41 AM PST
iLuv has launched a new speaker and charging station, that corresponds with an iPhone app that iLuv has developed. The iLuv iMM190 features a dual dock alarm clock with NOA/S.A.M.E Weather Hazard Alert. Also, it comes with pre-programmed NOAA-supported channels, and can store up to 10 alert messages, as well as a LED warning indicator.And, if you don’t have reception for 10 days, the iMM190 will warn you. The iMM190 is also a CES 2009 Best of Innovations Honoree. If you have an iPhone or iPod touch, you can plug both into the iMM190, and charge both at the same time. Both docks on the unit are fully compatible with the iPhone 3GS as well, and you can control the treble and bass of the speaker system. The unit comes with a remote so you can control the music playing on your devices that are plugged in. The iMM190 will retail for $149.99 and you can get more info at iLuv’s website.
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| Hands on with the MagicJack femtocell Posted: 09 Jan 2010 10:30 AM PST  We saw MagicJack's femtocell design live in their suite and came away dazzled and slightly bemused. The device itself is far from finished - it's basically just a PCB right now - but the concept is compelling. For about the price of the MagicJack ($40 or whatever) you stream your cellphone calls through their device, bypassing the cell carriers completely. Will it work? Sure. It's essentially like a cell booster in a package about as big as a deck of cards.
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| Video: Another CES-focused TechVi segment for your amusement Posted: 09 Jan 2010 10:19 AM PST Here's a recent TechVi segment from CES wherein yours truly and John Falcone from CNet talk about strange and wonderful technology products. Enjoy. CES 2010: Interview with Doug Aamoth and John Falcone [TechVi.com]
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| iPhone Beats Droid, Nexus One And Droid Eris In Touchscreen Performance Posted: 09 Jan 2010 09:55 AM PST  To be honest, I don't really care which is the better smartphone (or super-duper phone): the iPhone 3GS, the Motorola Droid, HTC's Droid Eris, Google's Nexus One, Nokia's N900 or the Palm Pre. It's just great to witness this seemingly never-ending advancements in mobile technology, both on a hardware and software level, and to see increased competition drive innovation at such rapid pace. Just compare the market today to five years ago, and you can't help but be amazed by how far we've come - I still remember my epic struggles to get my previous phone (HTC S710 with Windows Mobile) to do half of what I really wanted it to. In short: if all phone manufacturers keep on pumping out better phones, I'm a happy camper (for the record: I'm still very pleased with my iPhone 3GS as my primary device). But comparisons will be comparisons, and MOTO Development Group this morning announced the results of its DIY touchscreen analysis, based on some touchy testing of the capacitive screens of the Nexus One, the iPhone, the Motorola Droid and HTC's Droid Eris.
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| Can the Skiff save the magazine industry? Posted: 09 Jan 2010 09:51 AM PST
There has been quite a bit of talk about Hearst’s Skiff ereader and we got a hands-on last night before the show closed. The device is about as big as a Kindle DX (11.5-inch display and a very thin bezel) but quite thin (.25-inches). They use a metal board spun-coated with e-ink instead of a glass sheet for the screen, which will definitely prevent the heartbreak of shattered ereaders for the next generation of readers. It uses Sprint's 3G network. However, I doubt seriously you or I will ever add a Skiff device to our arsenals this year or any year. Here’s why. Think of the Skiff, then, as something like a Roku box for magazines. The Skiff isn’t even supposed to be for books. The software is focused on the representation of magazines in their native format, complete with all of the design frou-frou publishers love. That said, the physical device itself is secondary to the goal of moving paid subscribers to a different delivery system as quickly and easily as possible. The Roku box, like the Skiff, is a proof of concept and a device for early adopters. The real value in the Skiff proposition is in the other color devices that exist, namely other ereaders (even, potentially, Kindle et al) cellphones, laptops, and, possibly, tablets. Skiff’s software is specially designed to work almost anywhere, with or without a touchscreen, and, like Netflix on the XBox, for example, it doesn’t need a dedicated, house manufactured physical product to compete. The Skiff is a device designed to make nervous publishers less nervous. We all know ereaders are the future but it has taken publishers a few years to get on board. Think of the Skiff as Hulu or, frighteningly, Joost. It is a way through the vague and backward business model of an entrenched industry and, if it fails, could mean the end of magazines as we know them. Here’s hoping it works.
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| Sadly we did not see this at CES Posted: 09 Jan 2010 09:35 AM PST
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Good for those of us who take an hour to tune our guitars because we don’t know what we’re doing at all. I am a little suspicious, however: if it’s such a simple principle and essentially has no downside, can it really have not occurred to anyone yet to create it? I mean, it is self-evident that no one has, but I wonder if there’s a dark side to the product they’re not telling us about.
Thankfully, Razer is finally getting into the console market. In addition to the 
Men have often dreamed it, but it hasn't become a reality until today: the sex robot. The technology was developed by Douglas Hines of 
Check out the live stream, Devin is interviewing the creator of the Gran Turismo series. He’s photorealistc, and I hear that he’ll show damage just like a real person in this version! (edit: it’s over; we’ll get the HD video up shortly, but you can watch the interview if you skip ahead in the video player)
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