There were a bunch of stand-out products on display in Las Vegas this year. Here are our top picks:
1. Motorola Xoom
It would seem like Motorola is back with a vengeance judging by the killer products they had on show. With a delicious 10.1" screen (bigger than the iPad) and some killer looks, the Xoom tablet was many show goers' overall best in show device, mainly thanks to it being the only tablet that ran Android 3.0 dubbed Honeycomb. Honeycomb was designed by Google specifically for larger screen devices, making the Xoom feel like a tablet instead of an overgrown smartphone. It also includes 32 GB of onboard storage, a front and back facing camera, Flash support and HDMI out. We're also holding thumbs for a killer price.
2. Motorola Atrix 4G
One of the stars of the show was Motorola's Atrix 4G smartphone, ticking off all the best features including next generation 4G connectivity, 16 GB of onboard storage, 1 GB of RAM and of course the powerful Nvidia Tegra 2 1 GHz dual core processor running the show. Enough to power a regular computer you might say? Well yes indeed, since when connected with the Atrix's notebook dock, it launches Motorola's Webtop app to power this notebook/netbook. Does this pave the way for future smartphones to do the same? If processing power is anything to go by, yes, but costs involved in producing the docking stations might be the deciding factor.
3. Microsoft Touch Mouse
A mouse is a mouse is a mouse right? Well not exactly, seeing that Microsoft's Touch Mouse has a matrix of capacitive touch-sensing electrodes covering it, thereby making it accessible to multi-touch gestures. By for example flicking a thumb over the side you can scroll through pictures or tabs in a web browser, while more gestures, including flicks, pinch-to-zoom and panning are supported as well. Gently petting it will result in the mouse following you everywhere. Not.
4. Samsung 9 series notebook
We've not really seen any response from PC manufacturers that comes close to Apple's wafer-thin Macbook Air, but at least Samsung is pushing things in the right direction with their delightful 9 series thin and light notebook. With a second generation 1.4 GHz Core i5 Processor and 128 GB SSD storage, it weighs in at just over 1.3 kg thanks in part to its Duralumin body. Yummy.
5. GM EN-V electric car
GM showcased their EN-V, short for Electric Networked-Vehicle, at CES, pointing towards concerns about traffic congestion, parking availability, air quality and affordability as reasons why this petite vehicle might just be the future of inner-city travel. We can't imagine that Victor Matfield or Bakkies Botha will be driving one of these soon.
6. Razer Switchblade
The Razer Switchblade tablet/netbook hybrid is basically a mini netbook designed for one thing, playing PC games on the go. It runs Windows 7 and sports a 7" capacitive touch-screen with a 1024 x 600 pixel resolution, but the killer feature is its "magical" keyboard. When a game is launched the keys transition to fit with the game you're playing, in other words, instead of display the usual letters, your keys can now accommodate spell or weapon slots, making WoW for example that much easier.
7. Sony Bloggie 3D
Sony went big on 3D this year, showcasing it on not only their TVs and notebooks but also on the Bloggie 3D camera. This compact handheld 3D recorder can capture high definition (1080p) MP4 video and 5 megapixel still photos in 2D or 3D, paving the way for anyone with blue paint to make an Avatar sequel. Captured content can be played back in 3D without glasses on the camera's 2.4" LCD display - without the need for silly glasses.
8. Nvidia Kegputer
The Nvidia KEGputer is a joint venture between Nvidia and Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. and melds together a monster gaming rig with a fully functional 58 litre beer keg. Liquid cooling and refrigeration ensures both cold beers and smooth performance, while the rig is outfitted with two EVGA GeForce GTX 580 GPUs and a ton of other insane specs. Unfortunately the chances of seeing this gem in a store is about the same as completing Black Ops smashed on the kegputer's fine draft.