January 6th, 2009
CES 2009: First impressions; CES Unveiled [Day 1]
Yes, it’s that time of year again. Mere hours after my plane touched the tarmac in a surprisingly chilly Las Vegas, CES 2009 has kicked off with the unofficial opening to the show: CES Unveiled.
With consideration to the terrible economic free-fall the world has and continues to experience, there are a surprising amount of people buzzing about the ballrooms at The Venetian for the event. Make no mistake: Princeton economist Paul Krugman may be heralding the second Great Depression, but vendors and press alike are oohing and ahhing at new gadgets anyway, Heinekens in hand.
What recession?
Though there isn’t much news to report at an event like this — stay tuned, most of the big announcements are slated for tomorrow throughout the day — there is certainly some new gadgetry out on the tables to look and feel and play with (if you can get that close).
Here are some of my favorites:
Lenovo W700ds
Laptops and Desktops blogger John Morris first introduced us to this jaw-dropping notebook, which is a 17-inch behemoth that packs another 10.6-inch screen extension in the side of the display, not unlike a CD-ROM drive. It’s one thing to look at product photos of this laptop, but it’s a whole different ballgame to see it in person — it’s huge, and judging by the enormous bezel needed to handle the display hardware, it’s not going to win any awards for being the prettiest belle at the ball. Lenovo reps told me that it’s intended to replace the procedure of carrying around a second display — but I’m not completely sold, since this thing feels heavy. Seems like trading one back-breaker for another.
Andrew J. Nusca is an associate editor for ZDNet and SmartPlanet.
See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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| 01/07/09
