CES 2007 – Summary Report

CES 2007.
The Consumer Electronics Show 2007.
40th Anniversary Edition.

The largest marketing orgy in the US gets even bigger with 2,700 vendors displaying their wares to over 140,000 visitors in two major convention centers and an addition dozen side venues. Only in las Vegas (Orlando would argue the point, but CEA won’t move the show).

Microsoft was kind enough to fly me out there and I walked many a mile in this show. Here is the summary of what I was able to see.   

Wow, where to begin.

Well the first couple of days out there were mostly Vista classes provided by Microsoft is preparation to the retail launch on January 30, 2007. MS really is "betting the farm" on this release and they have been immensely responsive to the beta testers thoughout the process. Most notable was the re-writing of the EULA (End User License Agreement) to accomodate power users and gamers who update their systems frequently. Needless to say the mantra at the Microsoft booth was "Vista, Vista, Vista!".

{mospagebreak title=Microsoft}

Bill Gate’s Keynote address (his 10th in a row) was not as spectacular as in previous years. This is mostly due to all of the media buzz already around Vista and the vast sea of information already out in the open. One item that was shown was the Windows Home Server (see detail in my blog) which provides several key features previously available only to Enterprise customers. Some of the features include:

• Centralized Storage with easy expandability
• Automated Backup and Restore
• Media Streaming
• Easy Access via Windows Live

There were various other sundry items on display in the MS booth and they all centered on Vista.

 {mosimage title=Intel}

Next door was Intel (as usual) and they were announcing their new Core2 Quad Q6600 mainstream CPU. Other than that, the booth was mainly crowing about what was released last year. In the back, however, Intel had a little number dubbed "The V8". This machine was built with off-the-shelf (Newegg’s shelf anyway) components available in the channel.

The V8 is an 8-core dual Xeon 5300 workstation. This monstrosity can be yours if you do a little legwork as to the Intel mainboard model numbers and all of the components used are available on Newegg. I predicted this two years ago. There are other mainboards that support this configuration as well.

{mosimage title=Razer}

Razer didn’t have a booth, but they did have a meeting room that I was invited to. There I got to see their new bits of kit including:

• The DeathAdder – a right-handed gaming mouse powered by a 3rd generation IR sensor.
• Battlelight Add-on for the Tarantula keyboard
• Microsoft Reclusa gaming keyboard
• The Mako Audio system – a 2.1 speaker system

 {mospagebreak title=Corsair}

I was invitied to the Corsair Party at the Bellagio. They had a private suite with food, drinks and kit to show off. Pretty standard bill of fare here: new overclockable RAM, more USB devices, and flash memory. The ProLock (on the left) is a secure USB key that requires the entry of a security code to enable the device. The unit on the right rests in a watertight aluminum tube that is pretty much crushproof (unless you are in the habit of playing around steamrollers).

 

{mospagebreak title=Zalman}

 The Zalman booth was chock full of new goodies and some products that were merely prototypes last CES. Here is the lowdown:

This is the Zalman 3D monitor. This unit requires the use of special glasses in order to get the stereoscopic effect. Fortunately the glasses are rather stylish and make you look like a high tech craftsman instead of a nerd. The images were quite compelling but they did not leap out from the screen. 3D content has to be filmed in 3D for the effect to occur.

Any gamer knows who Fatal1ty is. More surprisingly most marketeers know who he is too. Zalman expands their Fatal1ty line with this really excellent case. Built like a tank, the chassis is made of solid aluminum and has plenty of ventilation. Now if only they made a version without the logos etched in.

 The HD160XT is a new HTPC chassis with a built-in display (similar to the Silverstone LC18). This is a very stylish chassis that would look good in any stereo rack. When paired with Zalman’s signature cooling fans, systems using this kit are nearly silent.

Zalman also introduced a new fan controller (on the left) that not only controls/monitors fan speeds, but also reports on the actual wattage being consumed by the system. This is done with a sensor module that plugs in between the power cord and PSU and reports via USB. This device can be externally or internally mounted. On the right is Zalman’s new line of heatpipe cooled modular power supplies. According to Zalamn reps, PC systems rarely need more than 750W as their monitoring gear shows, this is why 750W is the largest they make. The jury will be out till we get some of those fan controllers in.

{mospagebreak title=Silverstone}

 Silverstone was out in force as well, showing off quite a bit of new kit. New HTPC chassis, power supply units, tower units and case options were on display. On the left you see a custom wood HTPC case. It is a testament to the platform that such niche products are already starting to crop up. In the center is Silverstone’s latest HTPC case (whose name eludes me for the moment – I will update when the info arrives) and on the right is the amazing LC18 case paired with their HTPC liquid cooling unit. This combo allows for near-silent operation.

 

Silverstone’s TJ09 was on display. This is the case selected by Maximum PC magazine for their last Dream Machine. A custom TJ07 was on display as well with an amazing flame paint job. The new Decathalon series of modular power supplies were also on display. This particular model is 1000W quad-SLI model. Modular PSU’s appear to be all the rage.

This is Silverstone’s new little treat. The SG03 is a microtower chassis that can hold a full size ATX PSU (this unit has a 1000W Decathalon installed) and can accomodate a quad-SLI configuration (depending on the motherboard). Granted you can only fit micro-ATX mainboards but the options in this regard is getting broader and broader every day.  The front houses up to two 120mm fans (one is standard) but can be user upgraded. It is also avaialble in black.

{mospagebreak title=LG}

LG resolves the High Definition format war with Blu-Ray/HD-DVD multi-format drive. This trinket will set you back $1200 USD but then you have the peace of mind that you actually don’t have to choose a side. The PC version on the left can also write/rewrite Blu-Ray discs. On the right you have LG’s 100 inch 1080p LCD panel. Makes my 30 inch Dell tiny by comparison…

 

 

LG also had a 3D flat panel display. However, theirs doesn’t require you to wear special glasses in order to see the effect. Sadly those of us with astigmatism will get headaches watching it due to the corrections in our glasses. A DTV adapter for older TV’s was on display. This unit downsamples HD & digital content back to analog. Designed for the cheapskates waiting for the $49 HD set. Upconverting DVD players are now hitting 1080p with some more advanced scalers. I’m not sure if my photo does it justice.

{mospagebreak title=AMD}

The AMD booth (housing both sides of the house but nary an ATI logo in sight), while not as large as Intel’s or Microsoft’s, carried quite an array of tech. Most interesting of which is the ATI Digital Cable Tuner. This little USB device allows you to decode digital HD content from your cable service provider without the use of s set top box. The DCT has been approved by CableLabs and accepts standard CableCards. Sorry, no DRM hacks here. Still it will allow Media Centers to record more than just the OTA HD content they’ve been restricted to up till now. Intially this will be deployed to OEM’s and later in retail.

I couldn’t track down any solid evidence of Barcelona or the upcoming ATI video chip. However, both are slated for a Q1 2007 launch, so stay tuned.

{mospagebreak title=Cooler Master}

Fan fave Cooler Master also had a bushel of new goodies to show off. None the least of which was custom case designs based on their chassis as well as new Mini-Aquagates for single and dual processor systems.

That last case on the right is the new CM Media 280 chassis. If you look closely, you will see the built-in liquid cooling system for the CPU. Pop in a passively cooled video card and you have yourself one quiet box for the living room.

 {mospagebreak title=Asus}

A visit to the Asus media room was very informative. Asus has a bevy of new kit on display including the nearly mythical L1N64 (QuadFather) motherboard. I want you all out there reading this to wish deep in your hearts that AMD keeps its promise that they will send us one for review. Also on display were the new P5B Deluxe mobo, the M2A-VM (AMD Live! + HDMI) mobo, several new laptops including a 12 in. unit, a SideShow equipped unit, and a UMPC. The real scene stealer here is the XG Station: an external device that allows you to add desktop/workstation video to any ExpressCard equipped laptop! In fact, I saw another one of these at the Ageia booth running video and PhysX on a laptop! Video cards were represented as well and they had an 8800GTX with it’s own water cooling system built-in (sort of).

{mospagebreak title=Miscellaneous}

UMPC’s and small form factor laptops abounded from all sorts of vendors: Sony, OQO, and newcomer Flybook. The Flybooks were especially cool as the V5 was a tablet convertible laptop and the VM had a telescoping display. Both units are powered by Core Duo ULV processors, but the rep told me that they will be releasing updates later this year that will be powered by Core2 Duo ULV processors and will be 64-bit capable.

Just to give you an idea how small these machines are the OQO Model 2 is 5.6" W x 3.3" H x 1" D and weighs less than a pound. It is shown here running Windows Vista Ultimate. It comes with WLAN 802.11abg, Bluetooth, and (optionally) EVDO WWAN.

The Flybooks are tiny notebooks that pack a ton of connectivity in their tiny frames. The VM has a telescoping display and the V5 is convertible to a tablet. Both weigh in a little over 3 lbs and have widescreen displays (the VM is 12.1" 16:10 and the V5 is 8.9" 16:9). Both are currently powered by Core Duo ULV processors but a revision is planned for later this year to Core2 Duo ULV processors. They were shown running Vista and will be 64-bit with the chip upgrade.

HP showed off their Voodoo PC division quite proudly however the that part of the booth was about as well lit as an opium den. In the well lit parts , printers and more mundane PC’s were strewn about attracting business customers. The Photosmart B9180 printer was on display as well.

This printer has already been Vista Certified and has some pretty amazing features. First, it performs automatic gamut matching between the image on your screen and the printer. This means that photos will come out with proper colors with little or no adjustment. Second, is the automatic switching between the two shades of black (photo and matte) plus a light gray ink for excellent black and white printing. Third is it’s astounding array of media. This printer accepts everything from 4×6 glossy prints, to large format (13×19) art papers and even prints on special canvas! The best part is the price. Comparable units from other manufacturers start around $1300. The HP B9180 lists for $699!

Other bits of fun:

Wow Wee (makers of the RoboSapien and RoboRaptor toys) showed off several new prototypes:

In order: the RoboQuad, the RoboBoa, the RoboDragonfly and the RoboPanda. I foresee them on your kids’ Christmas lists this year and terrorizing your pets in late December.

Taser International presented their signature self defense device in it’s new C2 model which is available in 4 fashion colors!

Real men carry pink Tasers.

Get your couch potato into the pool with this little number:

All you need after this is a Playstation 3 and the 100" LG LCD TV floating on a barge and you’ll never get your gamer out of the water.

That about wraps it up for now. As more info comes in I will post updates and add pictures. The gallery is located here. Discuss this report here.