Well it is the beginning of another year and that means CES. This year marks the 40th anniversary of CES. Last year was our first year at CES and now it is our second so we know what to expect. It is 2 days before the actual show and we are at CES: Unveiled, which is the official press preview of what to expect at the show. Last year we were able to take a look at some really cool products before everyone else did, let's take a look at what we saw this year.
ASUS
ASUS showed one of the most unique products (in my opinion) at CES: Unveiled. They were showing off a product called the XG Station, which is the world's first external graphics card station for notebook computers. You connect the XG station to your monitor then the XG station to your notebook via an express card. The XG station has a very cool "L-Shaped" design to it, which makes it easy to sit on your desk or table. The front of the XG station has a large LED display that shows your system master volume, GPU clock speed, GPU temperature, Dolby headphone feature status, current actual frames per second, and GPU fan speed. It also has a dedicated control panel within Windows so you can easily switch between modes and settings. The XG station comes with an ASUS EN7900GS graphics card, 2 USB ports, and headphone and speaker ports. There is no word yet on pricing, but the XG Station is schedule to release at the beginning of Q2 2007.
ASUS also is back with their notebook auxiliary display that was shown last year. This year it is using Windows Vista, and is the only product available to utilize Vista's slideshow technology. The LCD display on the front of the notebook us very easy to use and has a control set right beside it. The W5Fe, which is the first notebook to use this technology, is based off ASUS's W5 series design. The system should ship at the end of the month when Vista is released.
Logitech
Logitech did not have that many new things this year, but they did have some cool products. First off they showed a really cool slim keyboard, the diNovo Edge. The diNovo Edge is an extremely small and thin keyboard that can be used for your home PC or for media purposes. It has features such as Logitech's TouchDisc and PerfectStroke systems, and it also has a touch-sensitive volume slider. There is a function hot key (like on a laptop), and when pressed the hotkeys at the top of the keyboard are illuminated. The keyboard uses Bluetooth to connect to your computer and it has a charging base that stands the keyboard upright. Logitech says with only 5 minutes on the charging base you will get 1 days use out of the keyboard, and with 2 hours of charging you will get 2 months of use. You should already see this product at your local computer store for around $199.
Harmony remotes are one of Logitech's best selling products. They are taking them to the next level with the Harmony 1000. The Harmony 1000 looks nothing like other Harmony remotes as it has more of a square design. This square design allows for a 3.5" color touch screen LCD display. There are also a set of controls to the right side of the LCD display. With the Harmony 1000 you can control up to 15 separate components with just 1 remote! I also features RF and IR communication. It has a rechargeable lithium-ion battery and a charging base. I could not get any information on battery life, but if it is like other harmony remotes you will get a lot of use out of it before you have to charge it again. All Mac users should be happy as you can use this on your computer (OSX 10.2 or higher). You will these on store shelves in February for $499.
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