The unit is being called “UVO” and is labeled as an in-car infotainment system. The first thing you’ll notice is the big bright screen that is fully touch enabled. This makes it very easy for displaying prompts and interacting with the unit and displaying images from the rear view camera. What you won’t notice right away are the tweaks that have been done to make pairing with your cell phone that much easier. It’s now a 1-step process and you’re up and running. Of course it supports external MP3 players, iPods, and Microsoft’s Zune (the first in car unit that fully supports the Zune – to my knowledge).

You will also find support for HD and Sirius Radio and something called MP3 Copy / Virtual CD. With this feature, you can insert a CD into the player and then tell it to make a copy of the CD on the internal memory. There’s a limited amount of memory to store music, and if you want to create a large library it would be recommended to use an external media player, like the Zune. However, you can store a handful of CDs in the memory of the unit for quick access.

Keep your eye’s on the road when driving – Kia has taken this principle and made it that much easier to do while interacting with your new UVO entertainment system thanks to a new Haptic button on the steering wheel. The haptic button will be located on the steering wheel close to the thumb of the driver allowing for easy operating. It features 7 modes of reactive vibration – which translates to controlling 7 different functions of the car’s heating/air conditioning to the UVO stereo. This eliminates the need to install multiple buttons on the steering wheel, each with their own unique function.

As is typical with these kinds of announcements, there was no information provided on the price or the exact date that it would become available. If you’re planning on buying a new Kia, I would think about holding off for a couple more months and see if you can’t get one of these units in that new car.

It was hard to resist getting hands on with this machine.  When you open the lid of the laptop, the two screens are stacked, one in front and the other behind. You can then pull then apart, sliding one to the left and the other to the right. They move very easily and snap into place when extended.

There’s no word on when this would become available or how much it would cost. Or even if they plan to bring it to North America. Onkyo isn’t really known for their personal computers on this side of the world. It’s my guess that we won’t see this available around these parts. I sure hope I’m wrong.

Now, I may be exaggerating a little. There are a lot of booths with cases, docks and accessories for your favorite Apple mobile device. What really gets me, is why even enter that market at this point? There are so many companies making accessories, that you don’t really stand a chance of being in the top 10 unless you’re doing something so radically different than everyone else and from what I’ve seen, that’s just not happening.

Consumers are sitting in a great position as the price of accessories is only going to go down. Unfortunately, so will the quality and the manufacturers will struggle to make money and provide for their employees.

Anyway, I hope you’ll forgive me if I neglected to visit or take pictures of any of these companies and their products.

Sorry about the rough picture.

The general idea here is to provide a mobile device for people that work in the cloud. It offers instant on and quickly suspends when you close the lid, in order to ensure the best life out of the battery.

When asked if this device could possibly make it to production this year, HP simply restated that this is a technology demo only and they can’t talk about possible future products or roadmaps.

I have to admit that I was very impressed by this unit. I wasn’t too sure about the Android laptop rumors that have floated around in the past, but after seeing HPs technology demo, I’m sold and looking forward to the possibilities that this will bring with it.

As it turns out, the in-dash unit is running Windows CE and they are doing a remote control session to the device in almost the exact fashion that you would do remote control between your desktop and your Windows Mobile device with SOTI’s Pocket Controller Pro software.

The connection can be made over WiFi, Bluetooth, or over USB connection. They are still working on the USB connection, but expect to have that completed soon. You do need to install a small agent on the device to allow the communication to happen.  They are open to supporting more than just LG devices. Since this is a Windows Mobile client, it will work on any Windows Mobile device. It’s still early, but they are looking at adding other mobile operating systems as they move forward.

Currently this is not something that you can go out and buy.  They are talking with car manufacturers to put this in your next car.  Eventually they would like to see it as a stand along unit that you could purchase and install in your car.

This gives you true hands-off your mobile device while still being able to access and control everything on your device.

First off, we put the rumors to rest – i-mate is alive and kicking. According to Jim they had some fraud issues. The issues have all been dealt with and the people at the heart of the fraud are being held in Dubai.

Now, lets talk about the rugged 810 smartphone. The 810 is a messenger style device that is about the same thickness as Samsungs Propel Pro. It has a touch screen and is running Windows Mobile 6.1. But that’s not what makes this device special. The 810 is the smallest and most rugged smartphone in its category on the market today. It’s fully waterproof and has a fairly nice drop rating – which Jim was happy to show us as he tossed the phone in the air and let it come crashing down to the ground. Only to be picked up and tossed into a bowl of water. The device didn’t skip a beat.

This is a perfect device for the road warrior that is too rough on the general consumer products, but still needs all the portability that comes with a consumer device.

The Smart has very few buttons on the device. There is the standard call and hang-up buttons. Between those you’ll find a back button and just between that row of 3 buttons and the screen of the device, you will find a small silver button to open the menu or start the navigation.

The new Smart from HTC is the latest non-Windows Mobile device to come from the manufacturer that at one point only dealt with the Microsoft based OS. HTC now has a number of Android based devices and with this announcement adds Brew to the list.

The full press release can be found after the jump.

LAS VEGAS, Consumer Electronics Show (CES), – Jan. 7, 2010 – HTC Corporation, a global smartphone designer, today unveiled HTC Smart^TM, a new type of smartphone that creates a new category of easy-to-use, connected smartphones that are accessible by people all over the world.  The HTC Smart will be available this spring across Europe and Asia.

“HTC has always focused on listening to customers and setting the stage for new mobile categories and HTC Smart is the response to customer demand around the world for an easier-to-use, affordable smartphone,” said Peter Chou, chief executive officer, HTC Corporation. “Just adding a touch interface doesn’t mean a phone is a smartphone; The integration of HTC Sense brings an unparalleled smartphone experience for people looking to do more on their phone.”

Bringing HTC Sense To The Masses
HTC Smart begins with a friendly compact touch design and integrates an intuitive user experience that is centered around HTC Sense^TM, an HTC design philosophy that puts people at the center by focusing on three core areas: Make It Mine, Stay Close and Discover the Unexpected.  HTC Smart enables personal customization of each person’s own phone experience.  It also provides a quick and easy way to see what friends are up to via various social networks as well as quickly communicating over the phone, through text messaging or email.

“HTC Smart breaks new ground in delivering the powerful, in-demand smartphone features that consumers want on a more accessible device for global markets,” said Paul Jacobs, chief executive officer, Qualcomm Incorporated.  “We are pleased to be supporting HTC as they utilize the capabilities of Qualcomm’s Brew Mobile Platform open operating system to offer high-end capabilities and a compelling mobile user experience at mass-market price points.”

Qualcomm Brew Mobile Platform (Brew MP)
HTC Smart utilizes Qualcomm’s Brew MP, a popular mobile operating system that enables smartphone devices to be offered at more aggressive price points, providing HTC with the flexibility to deliver smartphone features on devices across multiple tiers.

About HTC
HTC Corporation (HTC) is one of the fastest growing companies in the mobile phone industry and continues to pioneer industry-leading mobile experiences through design, usability and innovation that are sparked by how the mobile phone can improve how people live and communicate. The company is listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange under ticker 2498. For more information about HTC, please visit www.htc.com.

The first thing you need to understand is how 3D TV works. It all starts with a 3D DVD or BlueRay player along with some sort of 3D content. If the media output is not “3D” encoded, then some of the TV’s can automatically convert the signal into 3D-like signal. Although, everyone is quick to point out that this isn’t TRUE 3D.  Think of this like “up-converting” DVD players – it does the job, but it’s not really HD content from a regular DVD. If the signal is already 3D, then it’s passed directly to the screen and you can sit back and enjoy your movie in 3D.

Oh, but wait – there’s one thing missing from that whole equation.  Without special 3D glasses on, you’re not going to see the “amazing” picture.  Instead you’ll just be looking at a blurry mess.  It’s not horrible, but it’s not the picture you’ve come to expect from HD TVs. Here’s the thing, with the special glasses on, the picture does jump out from the TV and is kind of cool to see. Is it worth buying a new TV, DVD, and glasses?

While 3D can be fun on some movies, I find that anything with high speed motion across the screen doesn’t tend to display as nicely in 3D as on traditional TVs. Further, and the big gotcha in my books, is the glasses.  I don’t need or wear glasses in daily life, outside of sun glasses, and I really don’t care to wear them just to watch a movie. And what if you don’t have enough glasses for all your friends that have dropped by?

I’ve put the glasses on at a couple of the booths and talked with the reps to try and figure out why I should really care about 3D TVs. As expected the images do pop on the screen, but it’s not that much better. It’s not like I’m jumping back to avoid an object that appears to be coming right for me. The good news is that all of these 3D TVs have a button that will allow it to display in regular 2D – Yeah!

While there is no word on the expected price or the actual date of availability, this is a significant win for T-Mobile, and will play a key part in growing their customer base.

For those of you north of the border, it’s worth mentioning that the HD2 on T-Mobile’s network would result in a perfect match for the new Wind network in Canada.

Let us know your thoughts on the HD2. Are you interested in switching to T-Mobile so you can enjoy this device when it arrives? The full HTC press release can be found after the jump.

LAS VEGAS – January 6, 2010 –T-Mobile USA, Inc. and HTC today announced the HTC HD2 is expected to be available for the first time in the US exclusively from T-Mobile USA this spring.  With its industry leading, high-resolution, 4.3-inch capacitive touch display and high-powered features, the ultra-thin HTC HD2 phone delivers content in a sharper, brighter and richer way.

The HTC HD2 comes equipped with the 1 GHz Snapdragon™ by Qualcomm mobile processor and utilizes T-Mobile’s high speed 3G network for a fast mobile data experience.

“T-Mobile and HTC have a long history of partnering to deliver innovative, cutting-edge products to T-Mobile customers,” said George Harrison, vice president, marketing product innovation, T-Mobile USA.  “The HTC HD2 delivers a thin, sophisticated design and powerful features that we are excited to add to our dynamic smartphone line-up this spring.” 

The HTC HD2 is the first Windows® phone with HTC Sense, a software experience focused on putting people at the center by making their phones work in a more simple, natural and personal way. With the HTC Sense experience, the HTC HD2 includes a variety of enhancements that expand and improve the overall phone experience. For example, the HTC HD2 includes a proximity sensor that is used to prevent false screen touches when the phone is picked up to answer or make a call, and a light sensor automatically adjusts the brightness of the display. 

“Combining the intuitive user interface based on HTC Sense with an outstanding set of specifications and the powerful T-Mobile network, the HTC HD2 adds up to be not only an amazing device, but an amazing experience as well,” said Jason Mackenzie, vice president of HTC America. “The HTC HD2 is a Windows phone that has already been enthusiastically received in Europe and Asia and we are excited to bring this highly-anticipated device to the US, exclusively through T-Mobile USA.”

The HTC HD2 uses the first capacitive touch display on a Windows phone for the smoothest possible performance and to make viewing, zooming and resizing websites, Microsoft® Office files, PDF documents and pictures easier with just a simple pinching motion. The large capacitive display makes it easy to read and reply to Outlook® e-mails, edit a Word document or modify an Excel® spreadsheet right from the HTC HD2. Additionally, the HTC HD2 delivers advanced phone features including:  GPS functionality, a Web browser, and an advanced 5 megapixel auto-focus camera with dual LED flash for capturing images, even in dim conditions.

Availability

The HTC HD2 is expected to be available in the U.S. exclusively to T-Mobile customers this spring.  More details will be available at http://www.sticktogether.com/htchd2.

3G coverage is not available everywhere. For information where T-Mobile 3G service is available or to see T-Mobile’s Personal Coverage Check tool, please visit http://www.TMobile.com/Coverage .

About T-Mobile USA, Inc.

Based in Bellevue, Wash., T-Mobile USA, Inc. is the U.S. wireless operation of Deutsche Telekom AG. By the end of the third quarter of 2009, almost 151 million mobile customers were served by the mobile communication segments of the Deutsche Telekom group — 33.4 million by T-Mobile USA — all via a common technology platform based on GSM and UMTS, the world’s most widely used digital wireless standards. T-Mobile’s innovative wireless products and services help empower people to connect to those who matter most. Multiple independent research studies continue to rank T-Mobile among the highest in numerous regions throughout the U.S. in wireless customer care and call quality. For more information, please visit http://www.T-Mobile.com . T-Mobile is a federally registered trademark of Deutsche Telekom AG.

About HTC

HTC Corporation (HTC) is one of the fastest growing companies in the mobile phone industry. By putting people at the center of everything it does, HTC creates innovative smartphones that better serve the lives and needs of individuals. The company is listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange under ticker 2498. For more information about HTC, please visit www.htc.com

First up is the new x100e – weighing in at 3lbs, the new x100e has a 11.6” display and a full sized keyboard with TrackPoint and a multitouch touchpad. Available today starting at $449 with 1GB RAM and  a 160GB 5400RPM hard drive or $549 with 2GB RAM and a 250GB 5400RPM hard drive. Both versions run Windows 7 on the AMD Athlon Neo Single Core 1.6GHz processor.

Next up is the new Skylight Smartbook – Available in early Q2, this ultra-lightweight machine tips the scale at just 1lb. It’s runs a customized version of Linux and is aimed at users who keep all their data in the cloud. There is a removable memory stick that allows you to quickly remove your data and settings. The Skylight is very slim and has a very attractive flashy red paint job. The expected price is $500 with the option for a subsidized version available from your local carrier.

Last up is the IdeaPad S10-3T – This convertible netbook will offer up to 2GB of RAM with a 320GB hard drive, powered by the Intel Atom N470 or N450 processor. The best part of the S10 is the capacitive multitouch screen. While I haven’t been able to get any solid time when this will be available, it is expected to start at $500 and go up from their based on the options. I was unable to grab any pictures of this unit, but I’m hoping to catch some as CES kicks into high gear later this week.

UPDATE: It looks like the s10-3t is available right now.  In the same fashion as the X100e, Lenovo is announcing and making it available to purchase at the same time. You can also see a nice little demo of the unit over at GottaBeMobile.com