The Best of CES 2006 - Day 1

The largest electronics trade show gets off to a roaring start in Las Vegas. Digital Inspiration will bring you daily highlights from this greatest electronic show on earth.

Digital Inspiration 2006 CES Coverage

Bill Gates takes wraps off Windows Vista displaying features aimed at positioning the software giant as the entertainment hub for a future of digitally connected homes. Microsoft also unveiled a search function within Vista that cuts across the content within a PC and its network, aimed at not conceding search on the desktop or the Internet to Google. Microsoft also unveiled MTV Network’s Urge Music Service, which will be built into Vista’s new Windows Media Center. It will offer users instant access to 2 million songs and videos in MTV’s library.

Intel launched its Core Duo chip that has lower power requirements and higher performance. The processor which has two computing engines built into a single chip, is expected to enable smaller, living-room friendly Viiv systems and will power the next-generation mobile platform, the Centrino Duo.

Pallm announced the immediate availability of Treo 700w, a Windows-based version of Treo. The Treo 700w comes with Microsoft’s standard application set for Windows Mobile 5, including readers and editors for Microsoft Word, Excel and Powerpoint, a pocket version of Outlook and Pocket Internet Explorer. The built-in Windows Media Player 10 syncs music and video with PCs, including protected WMA content bought from online stores like Napster and Yahoo!. Palm has enhanced Pocket Outlook with support for MMS picture messaging and added the well-regarded Picsel PDF viewer.

Eastman Kodak introduced the world’s first dual-lens digital still camera, the Kodak Easyshare V570 zoom digital camera. Using proprietary Kodak Retina Dual Lens technology, the elegant V570 camera wraps an ultra-wide angle lens (23 mm) and an optical zoom lens (39 - 117 mm) into a small, sleek package less than an inch thin.

Google plans to announce a new service that will allow consumers to buy and download videos from Google Web site, such as television shows, on their computer from Google content partners such as TV companies.

Google also plans to announce Google Pack, a bundle of software from Google and other companies that consumers will be able to download and install on their computers. The software bundle will include the open-source Firefox Web browser, a version of Norton AntiVirus software, Adobe Reader software and RealPlayer multimedia software.

Both Pioneer (Inno) and Samsung (Helix XM2go) introduced MP3 players that also include satellite radio service from XM Satellite Radio. The players are about the size of a deck of cards and can store a listener’s own music collection ripped from CDs as well as XM programming. Both devices save music in the popular MP3 and WMA formats.

Sony showcased the Librié e-1000 electronic book, a next generation e-book Reader that lets users to store and read digital books. Roughly the size of a paperback novel, but thinner than most (about .5 inches thin), the device can store hundreds of books in internal memory with the addition of an optional Memory Stick or Secure Digital (SD) card. The electronic Reader can also store and display personal documents in Adobe PDF format, favorite web content like blogs or news feeds, and JPEG photos.

Dell showed off Limited Edition XPS 600 Renegade, a new gaming PC that includes several high-end components, including a “factory overclocked” 4.26GHz Intel Pentium Extreme Edition. It also includes four Nvidia graphics processors in an airbrushed fiery red case designed by Michael Lavallee.

Dell also showed off a concept laptop design that folds out and resembles a desktop computer with a detachable keyboard. The computer included a 20-inch widescreen display and the company has at least 10 patents. A release date has not been determined.

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