There is nothing sexier than headphones and lingerie!

So I wouldn't normally give airtime to such a ridiculous product but the fact that Sega Toys actually thinks there is a market for this made me laugh.  The "Love Trainer" is a variation of their FiTrainer that uses "biometrics" to "coach you to optimal performance" and "get over erectile dysfunction."  Featuring sounds bites such as "The love making will now begin" and "following the beat, make love much harder" and "Well done, lets make love more regularly" I really don't know how they could go wrong. Please note that I used quotations liberally to make it clear that I in no way endorse this product.

Checkout the video over at Engadget

Lenovo W700ds, something about enormous technology gets me excited

This might be my last post about the beast that is the W700ds, but don't count on it.  Engadget did a full up hands on review of a production unit and had some interesting things to say.  Surprisingly their review was overall positive, they actually think someone would be willing to move a 11lb laptop more than out of the box onto their desk (I guess you have to get your exercise somehow).  I would love to get my hands on one of these as I think it would be quite the spectacle to see this next to my little x61t. While it may help you improve your athleticism lugging it around, its computing prowess runs laps around the MacBook pro and x61t sitting on my desk.  Head over to Engadget to get the full writeup and a few videos of the behemoth in action.

Engadget Lenovo Thinkpad W700ds Review

"Projector Phones" are coming closer to market, but why?

I think we have established my obsession with PicoProjectors and associated technology, but I honestly don't believe that cell phones are the right place to put these things.  Samsung has given PopSci a hands on with its new "Show" aka W7900 and its an impressive device.  I just don't know how often you would use the projector other than showing it off for your work buddies or putting on your own personal light show at the clubs on Friday night.  Give me a portable unit with >10 lumens and over 4 hours of batter life so I can watch Titanic off my iPod in a power outage and I will be happy. Slap one on the back side of a Netbook or  strap it to a GPS for a heads up display but I think the cell phone industry needs to continue its path of engulfing the point and shoot camera market before it takes on the TV industry.  Read the posts over at Engadget and PopSci to get the rest of the specs.

Goverment Doing What It Should... Go Figure

Well acording to an article in The Huffington Post quoting an ABC News Report, Obama's administration told Citigroup that $50m on a private jet wasn't where they were expecting the $45b bailout to be invested.  I admit it sounds like an incredible airship but I have to agree with the president's administration that $50m could be used a bit more wisely. Hit the embedded link to read the story.

Site Simplified

We this isn’t groundbreaking news but you can now get to yThunk by simply hitting up www.ythunk.com !!

 

This is how the website will be accessed while I work on building its real home (which will be much more interesting). 

 

I am still working on wrapping up all my CES coverage and will have a bunch more up by the end of the week.

 

 

The Swiss Army Knife for the techy in all of us (well those with $330 to spare)

So I haven't left that darned CES E-Mail Station yet so here is another interesting product to further lighten you already empty wallet (who's isn't after CES?). Victorinox released a swiss army knife with more gadgets than even I thought possible, dubbed the "Presentation Pro"

This is what it includes:
-Knife
-File/Screwdriver
-Scissors
-32 GB Flash drive (yeah... 32gb) With Fingerpritnt Authentication
-Laser Pointer
-Bluetooth Presentation Remote

I am not sure where they managed to slip the battery for the BT and Laser but it seems to be a just about the length and width of the classic swiss army knife and about twice as thick.

Checkout Engadget for their take. (I didnt want to steal their picture)

Engadget: Victorinox Presentation Pro floated by the Swiss army

Delicious Chumby News - Although I take no credit

Well ever since I was graciously given my little leathery tech friend I have imagined a world where I could release the little guy from his tiny shell. And it seems like my good friends over at Samsung have set out to do just that. I will let Engadget to the rest of the talking since I don't need to so hit the link to read more.

Engadget: Samsung / Chumby prototype digiframe

Ok, back to typing on my Bold for the night. Expect a few more posts to crawl out over the next couple hours. What a wonderful day at CES, I cant wait to get off my feet and loose some money!

A few minutes of reprieve from my beloved Blackberry Keyboard

So I managed to get to a computer... Thank you CES for having the E-Mail Stations (Sponsored by Techwell). So I am going to try and catch up on everying that has been goin on that was too big for me to see on my blackberry... (ok, bad joke). Seriously though, my thumbs hurt, aswell as my feet and back but thats the CES burn!! I was catching up on my BGR and they had another article on Obama and his beloved blackberry. As an avid blackberry user myself I thought I would chip in my 2 cents.

I dont think there is any reason that he shouldn't have the device if the proper precautions are taken. Obvioulsy he wont need the GPS since he will no longer be in charge of any of his time and there has to be a way to mask his phone from cell tower triangulation (other than changing the sim every 20 min). Other than that I dont see it as too much of a security threat if he checks his personal mail and myspace page from his 9000 (I personally believe it would be embarassing for the president to have anything less). I know that he will have a few secconds of downtime now and then so why not let him spin up Viigo and check out BGR, Engadget, and yThunk while he can? Clearly he has the intellegence to keep those nuclear launch codes and national deficit numbers off the airwaves :)

I would love to hear people thoughts on this so please feel free to comment.

Picture for my Recharge

So the last post was supposed to have a picture attached.. Here it is. The post was more interesting with it included :)

Recharge

So I finally got a chance to sit down, eat lunch and crank out some posts. The show is as crazy as ever and most people I have talked to haven't noticed a real decline from last year's show. I thought I would take a few minutes to reflect on what I have seen so far before I jump back up and see the rest!

Trends:

Everyone is still trying to solve the IPTV problem and each has their own approach. I will do a Internet TV roundup later so I won't waste anymore keystrokes here.

Home control is still divided on communications standards. Some use ZiggBee, some are on Z-Wave, and others use proprietary RF, but none are really using IP.

Personal Audio is huge and growing fast, everyone is trying to make a better headphone and it seems like "high end" is becoming the standard. The iPhone has definitely devoured the PMP market though, there aren't even half the amount of companies here as two years ago trying to compete in that space.

CES never fails to amaze, even in hard economic times there are companies here that have displays that cost more than a NICE house.

Well I'm back to the floor! Ill be putting together more posts tonight!

Lots of USB Microphones

Analog is so passe... Several manufacturers have announced new USB microphones this year with the coolest one being the Samson Go Mic. Its a small condenser microphone that will sit on a desk or clip to the top of your laptop screen and allow for decent sound recording on the go. It even fold down into its self for easy transport. I doubt its studio quality but it should be great for voice-overs and podcasts. It has a dedicated headphone output for real time monitoring. Another device sharing that same feature is Shure's new X2u. Its a usb adapter that will hook up to any analog microphone and even provides phantom power. This is a nice portable unit that stays true to shure's high standards in build quality.

Coolest thing at CES (Pt 1)

So I have come across what is the coolest thing at the show so far. 3D Gaming and TV! NVidia has a demo of guitar hero shown on a samsung "true HD lcd" panel that runs at 120hz and the results are amazing! Mind you, you have to wear glasses for the effect, but it is truly impressive. I might actually get back into gaming when this becomes the norm. Apparently there are several manufacturers that are making compatible sets and most games will actually support it out of the box! I'm excited. Its something you truly have to see to believe as no picture or video would do it justice.

Bit LED Micro Projector from Atlantis (APSE-10A)

One of the trends I will be following at CES is Micro Projectors. The first one I came across is the APSE-10A from Atlantis. It is a little bit larger than a pack of cigarettes and had VGA resolution and a built-in battery pack to take it on the go (no word on battery life). The unit does not currently have any US resellers so who knows if we will ever see it in stores. I was impressed with the demo they had up and could see myself using one of these as a toy more than for professional presentations, but the technology is developing so who knows. Atlantis had their product road map up in their booth and are hoping to be moving to laser technology for their next line of micro projectors. This is an interesting option but I am looking forward to seeing the offerings from 3M and Dell. No price yet on this one.

Asus AiGuru SV1 Skype Video Phone

Asus has introduced a standalone skype video phone which seems to be pretty well implemented. I feel like they could have done more with the device to make it a little more versatile like adding a handset for skype voice calls or at least bluetooth so you can connect a headset. It has a battery powered option and wifi but its so big that I don't know who would take this thing mobile. Its nice to know a standalone video client can be done but this needs a couple rev's to be worthy of your cash.

Brother PT2430pc - Plug and Play label printing from your computer

So I chose something rather mundane to start out since I didn't want to get you too excited off the bat.

This little device is true plug and play since the software is actually stored on the device and launched when you plug it into your USB port (like flash drive based apps). It was incredibly fast at printing and since its on your computer you can add graphics to the labels (company logos, signs, borders, ect). Don't expect photo quality work since it is the same resolution as your normal brother label makers but it adds a new level of versatility to the process. It can be powered by battery or AC adapter and has an auto-cutter. The one thing that always bothered me about label printing was the 1/2in printing margin on either side that you had to trim down by hand, this machine does away with that and will print and cut right to you text. This unit retails for $89 and its little brother (no pun intended) runs in at $69 and removes the auto-cutter and AC adapter.

First Post From The Ground In Vegas!!!

I managed to make it all the way to arid Las Vegas Nevada to get a glimpse of the ever changing consumer electronics landscape at CES 2009! The flight was uneventful and I managed to snag an aisle seat with an empty middle next to me. I had an interesting conversation with my seat mate who was on his way back from Cuba and highly recommended a visit, maybe one day I will be able to travel there on my US passport...

I will be posting to the blog from my Blackberry and I will try to include photos when possible. If I think its cool I will try and get it up here!


That said, not much to report yet but I will get back to you all as soon as I manage to get my bag checked at the hotel and pickup my badge holder!!

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