Intel@CES

CES is over, but the MacBook Air is worth talking about

2008-01-19T21:30:41Z

It’s been a week since I’ve returned from CES and all the buzz has calmed down, but I really wanted to talk about the new MacBook Air . I know they didn’t showcase this new computer at CES, but since Apple announced it at the beginning of CES, I figured I’d go for it.

I’ve concluded this thing is extremely cool and worth owning!

At first, I thought it would be too small and light to be a serious computer. How could this nearly paper thin thing keep up with the heavy tasks I’d throw at it? As I studied it and read more reviews on it, I’ve come to realize that it’s not the “bulk” that makes a powerful computer powerful. It’s the technology inside. And this thing has everything I need.

]]> Starting with latest Intel Core 2 Duo (which my current Mac doesn’t even have), this sliver of aluminum also includes 2GB RAM, 80 GB hard drive, a sharp 13” widescreen and the fastest wireless networking available today. I thought my large hands would be cramped on this tiny thing, but I found out that the MacBook Air comes with a full sized keyboard.

So what did Apple give up to make it this thin? There is no optical drive (CD or DVD), but you can get an optional USB external SuperDrive or use the new Remote Disk capability to access the optical drive on another MAC or PC on your home network. I saw a demo of that and its slick! There is also no Ethernet port or memory card reader, but these are easily added through optional USB accessories.

I’m really excited to try the new larger trackpad that now recognizes many of the gestures — like pinch, swipe and rotate — that are used on the iPhone and iPod Touch. I use them on my iPod Touch all the time; they’d be fantastic on a computer.

There’s more I could mention, but I think you’ll agree there is a lot more to this computer than meets the eye.

Are you ready to pre-order yours?

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iPhone Karma at CES

2008-01-15T15:00:15Z

Offsetting the mean bloggers at CES, the exhaustion from a show that the NYtimes described as

One million exhibitors. Sixty million attendees. Four trillion booths spread across an area the size of Rhode Island.

and the brutal traffic in Vegas, my hope in humanity was restored (however briefly) when someone found and turned in my iPhone.

I was making my way to the John Lennon bus (seen here in this video), and had my iPhone, in a pouch, attached to my belt (I’m over forty, so I wear belts). I made a call and a few minutes later noticed it was gone. First panic, then a high-alert status as I looked, searched, and fretted about what would happen to it. I retraced my steps, looked for anyone using an iPhone (found one guy, and later gave him the thumbs up, when I found it), and waited. Repeatedly returning to where it most likely fell off my belt, eventually a nice woman asked me if I had lost a phone? “Yes!” I said, an “iPhone.” She told me she had it and kindly handed it to me.

The most interesting thing about the recovery was my good friend Marcus emailed with the subject “your phone:”

Lupe from the exhibitor registration tent called me to let me know that she has your phone. Just go to the tent and ask for her.

I called him amazed and he said, “your phone called me over an over again. It was weird.” When the iPhone dropped, it must’ve called Marcus — I think it was sending for help. I’m glad I found it and thanks to whoever turned it in.

Later, I told the iPhone Karma story in the Intel@CES booth.

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Video: Core 2 Duo - up close

2008-01-14T16:15:39Z

Beyond the Hi-Def Lounge, beyond the mobile majesty of our MIDs and past our amazing laptop spiral (video) at CES 2008, we wanted to get back to what’s central in all of our lives.

We had a team positioned with the silicon cores of an Intel Core 2 Duo microprocessor. As we saw on the Las Vegas Strip… showing this technology up-close is awe-inspiring:

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Live HDTV on your Laptop without ANY Wires

2008-01-12T01:33:45Z

As one of the Intel booth demo staffers, I had the pleasure of meeting hundreds of visitors to the Intel booth. The one thing they all had in common was a passion for Intel technology and the desire to learn how they can have the best computing experience possible. I’m happy to report that many of these folks told me how much they love their Intel-based PCs and that they will only consider Intel processors in their future PC purchases! And I had an incredibly easy demo to show these folks because it sold itself. Live HDTV on your laptop via broadcast, cable, or satellite as well as DVR capabilities all streamed over 802.11n Wi-Fi. And the quality of the HD was gorgeous! I picked up the laptop and walked all around the booth to stunned observers who realized they were watching live local Las Vegas broadcast HDTV without ANY wires.

The demo, enabled by Intel® Centrino® mobile technology with built-in 802.11n wireless capability and a HAVA Wireless HD* box from Monsoon Multimedia, was just another great example of why CES is the place to be for the coolest technology in the world!

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Gizmodo rates their ten best booths of CES

2008-01-11T18:52:08Z

Tech blog Gizmodo had a nice run-down of some of the top booths at the 2008 CES show, among them Disney, LG and Belkin. We’re proud to report that Intel rated their number one booth. (Thanks!)

Gizmodo praised the “humongus and helicious helix” of laptops in the center of the booth. The “spiral”, as we called it, featured 52 of the latest laptops based on Intel(R) Centrino(R) processor technology. The sprial was surrounded by other displays of innovative notebook form-factors and interactive games about silicon technology.

]]> Intel’s booth was 12,400 feet and included hundreds of systems, almost all powered by new 45nm Intel(R) Core(TM)2 dual and quad core processors.

Thank you to Gizmodo for the nice recognition.

Read the entire Gizmodo story by clicking here.

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What's new for my digital home?

2008-01-11T06:23:00Z

I enjoy the digital home I’ve created for my family, and am always on the lookout for new technology that will improve my experience or capabilities for enjoying my digital entertainment. What better place to search for the next big thing than CES 2008.

Unfortunately, I’m a tiny bit disappointed I didn’t find the killer solution or technology that will bump my digital home up a notch. Yet, I didn’t go home without something fun to envy. Actually, I found three things to envy!

]]> My first stop is always the NextGen “Next Generation” connected home.

This is a real 2000 square foot digital lifestyles home featuring the hottest products on the market from industry leaders like Intel, Microsoft, HP, Klipsch and Lutron for integrating all technology in your home from lighting, security, climate control and digital entertainment with PCs and touch panels throughout. It truly is really cool and I want every bit of it in my next home; I just didn’t see anything that blew me away.

If you read my post on Hollywood and digital content you know I’m not happy that NBC pulled out of iTunes. So, I stopped by NBC Universal’s booth to see what they had done with my favorite shows. Turns out they are launching their own service called Hulu that will carry all their premium programming. I learned more about it and sure, I’ll give it a try. It’s not the integrated remote-controlled solution I still want (like, ah.. iTunes!) but at least I can get my content digitally.

So, what did put a twinkle in my eye?

Logitech was showing two products that I’m pretty sure I’m going to get.

First, the Logitech Squeezebox Duet that actually won two awards this show - CNET’s Best of CES 2008 for Home Audio and the CES Innovations 2008 Design and Engineering Showcase Award. It’s an ingenious network digital audio streamer that uses a handheld remote with a built-in color screen that lets you navigate your entire music collection on your networked PC as well as access some online music services and a majority of the free Internet radio stations. It’s connected to your home stereo or powered speakers. And it’s much more affordable than Sonos.

Second, the Logitech diNovo Mini palm-sized, cordless min-keyboard and media controller which also won a CES Innovations 2008 Design and Engineering Showcase Award. I have a couple media center PCs and for the most part, I use the remote control. But occasionally, I like to pop open a web page or stream some content from a branded player and need to get up from the couch or bed, grab the full sized wireless keyboard and sit with it in my lap. This little gem can hide in my night stand or on the coffee table and give me that same control without the bulk of the larger keyboard. It comes out in March and I’m putting in my pre-order now.

I finished my tour with a little taste of bliss. I sat in front of some of the best speakers that have ever caressed my ears – HiVi Swans 2.3 HT Flagship Home Theater system. The Swans 2.2 system was a finalist in TechTV’s Best of CES 2003 High End Audio category and the 2.3HT is the next generation of this ribbon speaker system. These babies are designed for superior sound quality and sound stage reproduction and have the dynamic range to handle everything from tiny 1W power inputs to 1500W easily, yet still remain warm and accurate. How sick is that? It’s experiences like this that remind me just how much I truly enjoy high end audio systems and remind me how much my own system is in need of a serious upgrade!

I’d love to hear if you’ve identified anything for your digital home that you’d consider the next great thing. Leave a comment if you have.

Anyway, I’m done with CES 2008 and am heading home tomorrow morning. It was a long and tiring week, but it was a good show. I always enjoy coming here. I’ll be back!

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The plane home

2008-01-11T03:52:23Z

Nevada means “covered in snow” or “snowcapped”. The mountains around Las Vegas are surprisingly breathtaking as I blog from seat 8F on a flight back to Portland.

There is a very colorful ridge of mountains just to the west of the city w/ beautiful red and orange strata, demonstrating the powerful tectonic forces at work on the North American plate below. Snow has fallen on some of the higher peaks.

I’m beaming. What a fantastic show. The energy and excitement in and around town was physically felt. I’m so proud of our bloggers who covered this event. Everyone demonstrated and personified why social media is so critical at large events like CES. It extends our booth and our technology offerings virtually to customers and users all around the planet. It becomes a chronicle of events; an archive of time and place.

It’s inclusive, it’s open and it’s colorful… like the mountains below.

I hope you’ve found or find value in this blog. I hope that the passion we have for technology, the zeal and enthusiasm we have for our jobs at Intel comes across through our entries.

We brought some smart folks to the table. Our goal was to simply provide perspective on technology and consumer electronics for those not in attendance. To contribute our unique voices to the widening social web. (The picture is a shot of the “Blog Central” room upstairs in the Intel booth w/ a few of the crew).

Please let me know if you think this goal was met and thanks for coming along.

All my best,

Bryan Rhoads

(P.S - Intel just won “Best Booth” from Gizmodo for CES 2008 - Way to go Victor and team!!!)

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Feel the music, get into the HD

2008-01-10T19:24:59Z

I’ve often wondered how far we could take immersive media. I experienced a cutting edge application of surround sound and HD video right in our Intel booth here at CES 2008. The area was called the High-Def Lounge and the audio and video experience really took me by surprise.

Let me tell you a little bit about this experience. I was seated in a chair that looked sort of like a big bubble, a bubble covered in gorgeous white leather. When I sat down I had speakers all around me - above, below, and to the sides - built into the chair. They were sound controls similar to those on a home thearter to my right, allowing me to adjust the volume and bass levels. In front of me was one of the latest 45nm Intel(R) Centrino(R) processor-based notebooks from Lenovo.

]]> When I hit the go button, I was toally immersed in a combination of stunning 1080P HD video and utterly amazing audio from the SonicChair that I was sitting in. The video was series of clips from the amazing BBC documentary Planet Earth, which you everyone on the planet should see in HD. It’s stunning!

The audio experience was unbelieavable. The SonicChair knocked out the pandemonium of the busy trade-show environment and completely surround me with sound. I could not only hear, but feel it in my body.

The computer was a Lenovo Y710 notebook with a wide-screen display and a new 45nm Intel(R) Core(TM) Duo dual-core processor running at 2.8GHz. The content was an impressive full 1080P with beautifully sharp visual clarity.

I know it will be some time before I have a SonicChair in my home, but the experience is something that shows me where the possilities lie for home entertainment in the future. I have nothing against the iPod, but the audio experience of a true multi-channel surround-sound sysem is simply amazing. When combined with stunning visuals, it’s an awesome experience.

For more on the SonicChair, visit SonicChair.de.

For information on the Lenovo Y710 notebook, click here.

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Let's ROCK out!

2008-01-10T19:05:47Z

Do you share that rock star fantasy with me? The one that has you on center stage, blasting music out of your guitar in front of thousands of screaming fans? The one where you’re wearing those cool sunglasses that Bono wears, even though your in a dark stadium, just because they look so darn cool?

OK, I admit it. Like a lot of mid-30 somethings that grew up on Rock N Roll, I have these fantasies. If you do as well, then the new Guitar Hero III for the PC is for you. We were lucky enough to have a notebook computer based on the newest Intel(R) Centrino(R) processor technology set up with the new game and the Intel booth has been rockin’ here at CES all week long. In fact, as I’m sitting here in the back of the booth, I can hear a little “Hit me with your best shot” coming through the walls and it’s taking me back to … well, an early time in my life.

]]> I’m so impressed with the new generation of games, especially music oriented games like Guitar Hero III. What I’ve seen this week is that a slightly older crowd has been transfixed by the game, watching other people try their hand on the guitar. People that wouldn’t consider themselves gamers are trying, playing, and generally becoming quite addicted.

I have to admit I was lucky enough to get a copy of Activision’s Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock on the PC for Christmas. The English family has been rockin’ out since. My neighbors must think my media-center is broken, because they’re probably hearing Joan Jett through the wall of our house 27 times in a row. It’s just so much fun to play.

What’s nice about these games is that they appeal to people that aren’t necessairly what you’d consider gamers. And they also can be the center of attention at a party in the way that Karoke and other interactive games can be.

Watching the crowds in the booth confirmed this for me. When someone would start playing the game, people would gather and they wouldn’t leave until the song ended. They would clap and cheer too if the person was really shakin’ the house.

And people are serious about this game too. As I was finishing this post, I visited the official site for the Guitar Hero community and I see that the top score right now is 487,358,129 points from Vipen. That’s incredible!

I’m excited to see where these games go over the next few years as their appeal broadens to new audiences, including older guys, like me!

Rock on!

For more information on Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock for the PC, click here.

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My future is on its way

2008-01-10T17:00:59Z

Every once in a while I will run across something that stops me in my tracks. Yesterday it happened in the Panasonic booth.

I probably shouldn’t date myself by telling you that I was weaned on the Jetsons, and feed a steady diet of futuristic tech via the whole Star Trek series. My discovery of Panasonic’s Life Wall told me the future is here.

UPDATE: I’ve now posted a video of the demonstration.

]]> The Life Wall is a room-sized wall video display that is manipulated via in-air hand waving and arm movements. The wall image can be changed (windows added with various outdoor scenes, pictures hung, wallpaper modified, etc) to suit your taste anytime you want. You can also access web pages, interface to your home automation and security systems, make phone calls, play videos and movies. In the presentation, she opened a video of an underwater scene with fish swimming around a reef, then resized it smaller and placed it on top of an image of a fish tank. She then opened a DVD movie and expanded that movie to take up the entire wall for true cinematic experience. Again, all this done through a navigation system that is controlled by in-air hand and arm waving.

Here, watch this video and it will all become clear…

Here’s a few photos as well…

View of the whole wall. Remember that everything you see on the wall is a video image - the fire is crackling in the fireplace, the beach scene outside was just switched from a snowy scene.

Example of manipulating the navigation menu through in-air hand waving.

Playing live video on the wall.

Selecting a photo and placing it on the wall with a frame around it.

Final photo placed and resized.

It’s not available yet, but it’s good to know that my future is on it’s way.

You can find more information and demos on the Panasonic website.

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CES 2008: Otellini Describes the Intelligent Internet

2008-01-10T16:30:00Z

Listen to an excerpt of Paul Otellini’s CES 2008 keynote where he describes Intel’s vision of the intelligent Internet and how we overcome obstacles to make it a reality.

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Intel defies gravity

2008-01-10T06:20:38Z

Intel invited 35 lucky thrill-seekers for a once-in-a-lifetime Extreme “Zero G” flight today in Las Vegas.

It’s the same flight that NASA uses to train astronauts and where the film Apollo 13 filmed the weightless scenes of Tom Hanks and others.

An international crew consisted of contest and sweepstakes winners from around the world (Australia, France Germany, Italy, Korea, PRC, Sweden, Taiwan, UK and the USA). In conjuction w/ the flight, last night Intel also gave away Zero G flight suits at the hottest blogger party on the Strip.

Among the crew were Intel’s Mooly Eden shown here w/ a floating tablet PC demonstrating how Intel “defies gravity” with laptop performance. Eden is vice president and general manager of the Intel Mobile Platforms Group.

I also think I saw blogger/Cluetrain co-author Doc Searls and Andru Edwards of GearLive. Did Scoble have a conflict? :(… (Hey Robert… Good to see you again at the party last night).

Here are some more shots taken by Rohit Bhargava - he’s also posted up the entire day’s flight up on our Flikr site… Thanks for sharing… and I hope that the “Vomit Comet” didn’t hold up to its name.

Looks like a lot of fun.

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WiMAX -- Is it ready yet?

2008-01-10T05:34:36Z

For the US market, the two service providers that are getting ready to deploy WiMAX networks are Sprint and Clearwire. Tuesday at CES XOHM, Intel, Motorola, Nokia and Samsung all stood together to talk to press and analysts about bringing WiMAX to the market. Sprint gave an update on their deployment plans. It was an exciting discussion not because they were talking WiMAX but because its clear that WiMAX is so close to reality. These companies are talking about something that will be available to millions of people in 2008 – unlike many of the things that we see or hear about at CES, WiMAX is coming really really soon.

]]> It was excellent to see everyone’s excitement about WiMAX – especially Barry’s as he talked about additional benefits of WiMAX you might not have thought about: Interior Decorating. It seems Barry’s house (like mine) is full of Ethernet (presumed) cables going everywhere connecting devices around his house and if you’re like Barry’s wife you want the cables gone, which Barry has promised as soon as he WIMAXs the house. Maybe HGTV will have a segment on “1 easy way to improve your home décor: WiMAX”. Intel’s own Sriram Viswanathan was there talking about how he excited he is about WIMAX and the growth internationally – everyone agreed this is more than a US technology – watch out world, here comes WiMAX!

I had to reflect on this moment as a historical one – will we remember sitting here at CES in this room watching all of these guys talk not as the future, but almost as the kickoff of the “year of first mobile deployments”. That thought took me down memory lane, back to 2003 when Intel put our weight behind the technology. Barry West, the CEO of the XOHM business unit for Sprint was gracious and praised Sean Maloney for pushing WiMAX. I remember how excited we all were thinking about the possibilities back then. Hotspots were just beginning. I would walk into Starbucks and ask people with notebooks if they were using the Wi-Fi network and they would look at me confused – no idea what I was talking about. That was only 4 ½ years ago. Hurry up WiMAX!

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CNET Best of CES 2008 Winners

2008-01-09T23:29:05Z

Yesterday, Annie wrote about the nominees for CNET Best of Show awards. I just left the CNET South Hall 2nd floor studio where they presented the winners for Best of CES 2008. Though there were some truly deserving winners, nothing really rocked me enough to run out and purchase it (though there was one surprise winner and one I’ll certainly look more into).

]]> I won’t list out the details as you can get that from the CNET Best of Show website. But here’s the list, and a couple of my comments:

GPS: Azentek Atlas CPC-1200
Cellphones and Smartphones: Motorola Rokr E8
Computers and Hardware: Lenovo Ideapad U110
Digital Photo and Video: Sony Alpha DSLR-A200
Emerging Technology: Bug Labs Platform
Gaming: Nyko Wireless Nunchuck for Wii - What?? This thing beat out the hot Gateway Fx720 and the amazing Alienware Curve. I guess I’m not much of a Wii-fanatic to really appreciate this win.
Home Audio: Logitech Squeezebox Duet – hmmm.. this one deserves a deeper look by me.
Home Video: Echostar TR-50 – Brilliant!! I can’t believe someone hasn’t thought of an HD DVR for over-the-air broadcast digital TV (ATSC ) before. This is great, and I might actually run out buy one!
MP3 and Portable Video players: iRiver W7
Televisions: Philips 42PFL5603D Eco TV
People’s Voice: Motorola Rokr E8
Best of Show Overall: Philips 42PFL5603D Eco TV

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Big, Sharp, Rounded Displays

2008-01-09T22:51:54Z

One of the things I keep seeing at this year’s CES are big, sharp, HD displays. But, apart from crisp pictures, I also noticed lots of soft curves, touchable acrylic bezels, and most popular, shiny black surrounds.

Although beautiful and desirable, I must say, these glossy, rounded design motifs remind me of something—I can’t quite put my finger on what it might be.

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