The leak contains a section called "new product showcase" and was live as of 12 p.m., EST. This here is the t410.

The T410s, featuring "high performance" and an optional touchscreen.

Sleek ThinkPad with a shiny new veneer.

Ultra portable! Also shiny!

Future office workhorse?

[Lenovo via Engadget]

The HP Mini 210 HD, to be officially announced next week, boasts a 1.66GHz N450 Atom CPU and GMA 3150 graphics. The N450 is half as small as and nearly 20% more efficient than its predecessor. The HD designation will likely come courtesy of Broadcom's Crystal HD video chip.

The netbook will be available in Sonoma Red, Solid Black, Silver Crystal or Pacific Blue and is expected to ship for $330 next week after its official announcement at CES. [Logic Buy via Engadget]

The event looks like a proper announcement party, if not a full launch—demonstrations are on the itinerary, which is unsurprising given that Google has been handing out Nexus Ones left and right. (And that we've already played with one.) The meat of the announcement, presumably, will be about how they're going to sell it. We now know that the phone will be "supported" by T-Mobile, but we don't have a full picture of the rate plans, contract situation (if any) or, obviously, the price.

Also interesting: they've scheduled this right at the beginning of CES. To the tech press, most of whom will be bivouacked in Vegas by then, this is a minor annoyance. To everyone planning on making waves at the conference, this is more than an annoyance, it's a crippling blow: Google could steal the show at this year's CES, like Palm did last year. The difference is, they'll do it without even being there. [AllThingsD]

Thankfully LG didn't compromise on diagonal size, with this prototype coming in at 42-inches. It's LED-backlit, with a 120Hz processor (for the US market, anyway) and apparently only weighs 4 kilograms.

Please excuse me while I fall over in shock. [I4U]

As for what the Tegra 2 is, nobody really knows, because the closest Nvdia execs will get to a spec rundown is to offer vague promises of MORE: evidently it will be at least twice as powerful as its predecessor, which was was impressive in its own right. We'll get a sense of how powerful it is at CES, but the major point Nvidia would like to make is that unlike last time, the Tegra 2 will actually get used:

At CES we are going to make a major announcement about Tegra family. It is highly possible that we will see some very interesting form-factors coming out at the same time. [There will be products] shown by our partners using the next-generation Tegra device. You are going to see roll-outs and deployments of tablet PCs, smartbooks, netbooks, MIDs throughout the first half [of the year]; and then you will see major roll-outs of smartphones in the second half

This jibes with chatter from the last few months that companies like Samsung, Nintendo and even Nvidia themselves have suddenly started working on Tegra hardware; we just didn't know until now that it'd be next gen. What we still don't know is what that means: If the original Tegra could decode 1080p video, what can the new one do? Decode 1080p video more enthusiastically? [XbitLabs]

An updated Pre is the safe bet. I don't think they're going to let their brand go an entire year without a new high-end phone, and the Pre is getting a bit worn compared to the hype on the 3GS and the Droid (and Android as a whole). Palm has to pull out something big to wow people back into their camp.

Electronista also points out that this will be the first "major presentation" for CEO Jon Rubenstein since he became CEO.

You can help him win the slot by simply voting for him. Voting will run through 11:59 p.m. PT on 11/29/09. Good luck Jake!

The information posted regarding Sony television models is incorrect. Any specifications, model names, photographs or other details were not issued by Sony and do not represent the company's current or future product line.

The updated XBR series would scale up to 60-inches, and feature 240Hz Motionflow, W-LED-backlighting, a new Bravia Engine 3 Pro with HD video processor, and UV2A panel technology. HDTVLounge also believes the shot above may well be a glimpse of the 32-inch XBR11's new floating glass design.

As for the OLED TV, it's just one of several models that are on the proposed list:
• KDL-S6100 | Entry CCFL
• KDL-V6100 | Mind Range CCFL
• KDL-W6100 | Mid Range CCFL
• KDL-Z6100 | High Range CCFL
• KDL-X500 | Mid Range Edge-Lit LED LCD
• KDL-650 | High Range Edge-Lit LED LCD
• KDL-XBR11 | High Range W-LED Backlit LCD
• KDL-XBR12 | High Range Advanced LED RGB Backlit LCD
• KDL-ZX Series OLED

Fingers crossed we see some of these at CES in January. [HDTV Lounge]

"The mPower Reserve Battery offers an unprecedented minimum shelf life of 20 years and has an immediate activation to full power. Through an intricate battery design, mPhase developed a way to eliminate power dissipation before initial activation."

The flashlight uses an intense, high-performance LED, and has an accessory USB connection to charge your mobile devices. It's slated to arrive in March, but we hope to get a better look at it at CES in January. [CNETand Yahoo News]

The reason this is even a subject again is because of an oddly (and perhaps tellingly) vague piece posted on the the WSJ's Digits blog by Ben Charny, who flat out claims that that Apple plans to use CES to replace Macworld, which it walked away from last year:

Apple plans to attend the show's 2010 version, marking the first time in memory the Cupertino, Calif., consumer-electronics giant will be there.

That sounds clear enough, but it's buried in a piece that otherwise seems to be about how the chief executive of the CEA, Gary Shapiro, can't get in touch with Steve Jobs. But hey, he's probably just being vague, and drew his conclusion from quotes that he didn't include! That's what journalists do, sometimes! Except the meeting from which Charny drew his conclusion was a dinner with multiple attendees, one of whom happens to be ex Engadget editor and current CEA advisor Ryan Block. He took issue with Charny's reading of events:

[I]t's also specious and flatly wrong. I was seated directly across from Gary, and present for the entire conversation, wherein a dozen or so other journos chatted with him and one another. When asked about the CEA's ongoing contact with Jobs, Gary joked that every once in a while Steve might even return his email — to which we all laughed knowingly. Yep, that's our Steve. Shapiro went on to mention that Apple was a great and long-standing supporter of the efforts of the CEA, but that their only direct involvement was sending a check each year to pay their membership dues.

As far as the WSJ post goes, this is pretty damning. But it really just rules out Charny's version of this dinner, not the possibility that Apple will actually go to CES. As far as that question goes, we're left with the same evidence we had last time rumors like this went around, all the way back in January. The verdict then, and still, is that they probably won't: January's a pretty terrible time to launch new products, but more to the point, Apple doesn't even care about industry trade shows—which CES epitomizes in all the worst ways—anymore. Their statement from all those months ago hasn't been followed up:

Apple is reaching more people in more ways than ever before, so like many companies, trade shows have become a very minor part of how Apple reaches its customers. The increasing popularity of Apple's Retail Stores, which more than 3.5 million people visit every week, and the Apple.com website enable Apple to directly reach more than a hundred million customers around the world in innovative new ways.

Apple would gain nothing from going large at CES, so until a credible story comes along that says otherwise, that's the word. [WSJ via Engadget]

The two big chipmakers seem to think so. CNET's sources at CES told them that the processor, which will be priced above the Atom but below the pricey ULV Core 2 Duos found in ultraportables and current thin laptops like the MacBook Air and Voodoo Envy 133, are "going to enable notebooks that are less than one inch (25mm) thick," but that don't cost as much as the aforementioned computers. The performance level will be commensurate with the price, give or take: significantly more powerful than the Atom, but by no means a flagship processor.

Details are scarce for the time being, but the processor seems to have an identical mission as AMD's Neo: create an entirely category of laptop, designed like an ultraportable, but priced between a netbook and a notebook. Does anyone need this, or want this? HP's 12-inch DV2 is the first of its kind, and by definition these new ultrathin laptops won't deviate much from its precedents. If it doesn't get your juices flowing, it's doubtful that any of these new bridge machines will. [CNET via Engadget]

Their tent, sponsored by LG, had connectors for a variety of handsets (good on LG for that), and I've read scattered reports today that said you'd get about a 30% charge in 30 minutes.

Now, if they could only find a way to recharge our exhausted CES 2009 staff, who are no doubt spent after their extensive conference coverage and a few innocent pranks. Those CES massages were a start, but only a start. I imagine they need something more.

TreeHugger has some video of a GotWind rep explaining the system and making a charge:

[Treehugger]

The zombies represent, uh, unrecycled TVs or something, I guess. And it appears that they got kicked out really quickly, so in order to make up for the lack of footage they shot them doing the thriller dance. Ohhhkay.

But in the end, their message, that TV companies should provide convenient ways for people to recycle their old sets to protect the environment, is solid. And their methods, while awkward, are helping them get the message out, this post included. So kudos, awkward zombies. [Take Back My TV]

OLED TVs—a nigh miraculous display tech that blows away plasma and LCD when it comes to sheer OMGorgeousness—were supposed to hit their trade-show fantasy prime this year: Still too expensive for you and me, but flooding our greedy retinas with stunning images at every corner, just a few months away from hanging on Usher's bathroom wall. It's not just that there aren't any of the big OLED TVs we'd been hearing about—nothing near 40 inches—we're just not seeing them.

The announcements were really low-key or non-existent. Sir Howard gave a brief shout-out to Sony's new flexible OLED in his keynote. Not a peep of new product in Samsung's conference. The booth footprint is also tiny—remarkably so, considering how hard S & S were cheerleading last year.

OLED TVs being shown off this year would still be crazy expensive, yes, and big ones, retardedly so. But the argument that the economy deflated the rapidly expanding OLED TV bubble doesn't make a whole lot of sense—the economy panic really hit in late summer/early fall, while development cycles are years long. More than that, affordability has never been a tenant or consideration in the annual parade of what's new, what's amazing, what's next. Last year, they said it was OLED. So where is it?

Samsung says they need to run through at least one more generation of LCD—with a new, heretofore unseen generation of LED backlighting technology—before OLED will be ready for primetime. And it's unlikely they're going to let Sony step ahead of them, so now we're talking 2011ish at the very minimum. Not to mention, the plasma guys—Panasonic and Pioneer—aren't even going to talk OLED till they've finished milking their ultra-thin plasma strategy dry.

There is a bright side, at least for a handful of rich dudes: A slowed OLED TV development cycle means their 11-inch XEL-1s will be special for that much longer.

One of Intel's special projects division threw the screen together to demonstrate the Core i7's polygon-crunching skillz (you may be able to see a tiny fps meter there in the corner as the model spins), and they don't plan to bring it into any commercial products any time soon. Still, spinning a 3D model floating between two sheets of glass with your finger (only one though, sadly no multitouch) is still a thrill, after all these years. But would you want to do it all day working for Precrime division? My toothpick arms wouldn't hold up.

You're welcome, internet. That was for all of you.

Video: Chris Mascari; Song: Django Reinhardt - Minor Swing; Thanks to the Engadget crew for being such good sports.

While Cult of Mac's—Wired's Mac centric blog—source says “it’s a done deal" citing "friends who work at Apple", this doesn't match Apple's previous statement regarding trade shows:

Apple is reaching more people in more ways than ever before, so like many companies, trade shows have become a very minor part of how Apple reaches its customers. The increasing popularity of Apple’s Retail Stores, which more than 3.5 million people visit every week, and the Apple.com website enable Apple to directly reach more than a hundred million customers around the world in innovative new ways.

Apple has been steadily scaling back on trade shows in recent years, including NAB, Macworld New York, Macworld Tokyo and Apple Expo in Paris.

If Apple is shifting from Macworld and tradeshows to do their own low cost show-n-tells whenever they want, it doesn't make much sense to believe they are "going large" at that big mammoth-graveyardish wasteland of electronics and press releases that some people like to call CES. Or does it? Whatever it is, something smells here, and it's not all that bacon. [Cult of Mac]

I'd say it falls under the drunk/brilliant category. According to Einfach Eee website (Varning! German!) the box will include an Atom processor, 2GB of RAM, a 1-4TB HDD, and 802.11n MIMO, and slot-loading DVD burner, a router and a touchscreen.

The intent of including the touchscreen is simple: it negates the need to either pipe into the NAS over the network or connection an external display, mouse and keyboard. Simple tasks, such as configuring the access point, moving files, setting permissions and burning DVDs (and hopefully direct media playback and torrent controls—with its DVI port, this could make a pretty amazing media PC) should all be manageable through the touchscreen.

To top it off, the $600 reported price is surprisingly low. ASUS says the D200 will ship in Q1 '09. For more pics and specs, head over to [Einfach Eee.—Thanks, Johannes]

Not at all far, as it turns out. MobileCrunch reports that the release could come as soon as tomorrow, which is fantastic news. If you're not familiar with Slacker, it's an almost too-good-to-be-true online radio site that enables Last.fm and Pandora-like streaming, in conjunction with more tradition radio-style stations and easily controllable user-made stations.

As with the Slacker standalone player, the station content will be stored locally on the BlackBerry or iPhone, meaning that you don't need a solid 3G or Wi-Fi connection to play back your music. It's safe to say that the iPhone version, like the Blackberry app, will be free, but some features will be disabled unless you have a full Slacker subscription, a fact that holds true across the Slacker range of products. [MobileCrunch—Thanks, Daren!]

Palm Pre : Number one with a bullet. If we told you three months ago that Palm would own CES, would you have believed us? But this phone is for real, and from the looks of it right now, it very well could be the morale lift Palm so badly needed.

And the rest, in no particular order:

Samsung BD-4600 Blu-ray Player: Wall-mountable, networked, 1.5-inches thick, and really, really nice looking.

Samsung Luxia LED TV Lineup: Samsung loosed a whole series of ultra-thin, LED-backlit, network-connected LCDs, winning the Battle of the TV Announcements hands down.

Vizio Connected HDTVs: These Vizios stream just about everything possible over wireless-N: Amazon, Blockbuster and Netflix VOD, Pandora, Flickr, Rhapsody, plus any other Yahoo web widget.

Sony Vaio P: Sony's Vaio P is something we haven't seen before: a 2.08:1 aspect ratio (1600x768) on a 1-inch thick portable. Something different in the very, very generic netbook field.

Casio 1,000fps Point and Shoot Cameras: Both the EX-FC100 and the EX-FS10 bring the EX-F1's slo-mo capture goodness to a point and shoot. Casio's still the only folks in the super slo-mo field, and they're continuing to kill.

LG's GD910 Watch Phone: It was a non-working, behind-the-glass prototype last year, but one of every gadget head's boyish dreams will come true later this year: A watch that's a phone.

Eee Keyboard: Asus took the crazy cake with their still-shadowy home theater keyboard. With an onboard processor (of some kind), a touchscreen and keyboard and wireless HDMI, it makes perfect sense as a unique home-theater machine.

Sony Cyber-shot G3: We're all about putting web browsers on as many things as possible, and Sony's found another way to get one into our pants: A super-slim wi-fi-equipped Cyber-shot G3 that's the world's first to surf the web.

Panasonic Portable Blu-ray Player: Panasonic's DMP-B15 is the world's first portable Blu-ray deck. Your laptop probably doesn't have a BD drive, but this will ensure you can watch hi-def 1080p on a tiny, tiny screen on your next flight.

And there you have it. Good stuff you may or may not be able to afford in '09? Disappointment of disappointments? Discuss.

• Also out CES day two's Best of the Rest.
[CES 2009]

Coming in 60GB, 120GB and 240GB flavors, the new SSDs offer up speeds of 200MB/s read and 140MB/s write, which is nothing to scoff at. And the prices? Not too bad, with the MSRPs at $149, $249 and $499, respectively. I, for one, would very much like my next laptop to have one of those 240GB (or larger) SSDs in it, and I might just wait another generation in order to ensure that that happens. You've got to think that by next year's CES these things will be pretty damned close to regular HDD prices.

SANDISK UNLEASHES WORLD’S FASTEST MLC SOLID-STATE DRIVE (SSD) FAMILY

Affordable Third-Generation SSDs Based on Multi-Level Cell (MLC) Flash Technology, Equivalent to a 40,000 rpm Hard Disk Drive (HDD)

CES 2009, South Hall, Booth # 30659, LAS VEGAS– —Jan. 8, 2009 – SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK) today unveiled its third-generation family of solid-state drives (SSDs). Using multi-level cell (MLC) NAND flash memory technology, SanDisk’s G3 Series establishes new benchmarks in performance and price-performance leadership in the SSD industry.

Designed as drop-in replacements for hard-disk drives (HDDs) in notebook PCs, the initial members in the SanDisk G3 family are SSD C25-G3 and SSD C18-G3 in the standard 2.5” and 1.8” form factors respectively, each available with a SATA-II interface. Available in capacities of 60, 120 and 240GB*, the unit MSRPs are $149, $249 and $499, respectively.

The G3 SSDs are more than five times faster than the fastest 7,200 RPM HDDs and more than twice as fast as SSDs shipping in 2008, clocking in at 40,000 vRPM1 and anticipated sequential performance of 200MB/s read and 140MB/s write3. The G3 SSDs provide a Longterm Data Endurance (LDE) of 160 terabytes written (TBW) for the 240GB version, sufficient for over 100 years of typical user usage. (2,3)

“SanDisk’s G3 SSD has met the demand of a 120GB SSD at less than $250 with an exceptional user experience” said Rich Heye, sr. vp and general manager, Solid State Drives (SSD) business unit, SanDisk. “Three key features developed by SanDisk enable this new design: a new SSD algorithm called ExtremeFFSTM allows random write performance to potentially improve by as much as 100 times over conventional algorithms; reliable 43nm multi-level cell (MLC) all bit-line (ABL) NAND flash; and SanDisk’s new SSD controller, which ties together the NAND and the algorithm.”

“With large capacities and aggressive pricing, SSDs are poised to enter mainstream corporate notebooks in 2009.” Heye explained, “Given the current economic environment, corporate IT managers have also described a desire to extend the service life of existing notebooks. These notebooks are already maxed out on DRAM, and struggle to meet users’ performance expectations. These existing WinXP notebooks can be upgraded to a 60GB SSD for $149, resulting in a system that frequently outperforms a new notebook with a HDD, thereby delaying the need for large capital purchases.”

“Web-Feet Research has tested the replacement of the HDDs in three year old Notebooks with SSDs and has found an improvement in boot times, application loading and general user responsiveness that, in many cases, exceeds what a new notebook with an HDD can deliver,” said Alan Niebel, Principal at Web-feet Research. “In these challenging economic times, IT managers are looking for ways to reduce IT spending without adversely affecting their user base and the SanDisk G3 SSD solution extends the notebook replacement cycle an additional two years at minimal cost.”

The SanDisk G3 SSDs will be available to this market in mid 2009, in a 2.5” PATA configuration expressly for this purpose. In addition, the SanDisk G3 SSDs will be available on sandisk.com for do-it-yourself (DIY) enthusiasts. “An SSD upgrade improves the user experience like nothing else you can do to a computer.” Heye concluded.

SanDisk’s flash technology is produced at fabrication plants in Yokkaichi, Japan, where SanDisk and its partner, Toshiba Corporation, share the output. The SSD controller and firmware were designed by SanDisk expressly for the G3 SSD.

If you would like to learn more about flash and the significant role that it plays inside laptops and other consumer electronic devices, please visit SanDisk’s SSD Academy at http://www.sandisk.com/ssd. Here you can learn about solid state drives and the great promise they present to the computing market

Web browser walkthrough showing navigation, cards (Palm's term for tabs), and the sad proof of no flash.












Palm Pre official video tour














Here's the Pre's music player and Amazon music store.














Here's a quick look into the Pre's photo viewer, camera, texting, and video player.

You basically just take a video and then take a still shot of the background. The camera then is able to cut the subject out of the background and place it on any other background you'd like. At the press conference they demonstrated the function against a perfectly white background, which obviously produced very clean results, but who knows how well it'll work against a less uniform background. But really, it's a pretty easy way to do pretty basic green screen work without even dumping the video out of your camera.

Dynamic Photos will be available in the upcoming EX-FC100. I weep for how this will be used in the future.

Apparently, a trailer for Angels & Demons. Tom Hanks is here! He has Betamax regret! His first real gadget was a Sony Trinitron. Hilariously self-conscious, mocking the fact he's shilling for Sony. All he ever sees is Sony, Sony, Sony. And uses Sony Sony Sony. Except the teleprompters! LG.

Here's Sir Howard Stringer. Tom: "I'm whatever Sony wants me to be, Howard." Tom is hilarious.

3D glasses, "unlike any other prototype before. They let you watch a movie while walking around. "Tom why don't you try?" "Oh look, they're so cool and hip...They're going to get even better than they are now? I'll be checking the Fedex." "Will you take the hold off my paycheck for Angels and Demons now?"

Tom exits, being pulled into realm of Casio and Samsung. "Howard save me, you're a knight!"

Howard: "I'm not recession proof." He has seven principles for the industry: Fusion of industries, open technologies (Linux, consumers expect choice), social networking, squeezing more money out of consumers (he calls this a "value chain" and "good business," go green, etc. Nothing unobvious or mindscrewingly revolutionary.

By 2011, 90 percent of Sony products will connect to Internet and each other.

Heeeeere's the G3 Wi-Fi web browser camera. They've already uploaded photos of Tom and Howard using the camera to Picasa, and then sent it to a Bravia TV on stage. Available now for "an extraoridinarily reasonable price."

Connected photo frame/alarm clock/screen thing with Chumby power—plays video, Big Ben alarm clock. Very cool. Quoting Letterman on weather from it: "It's so cold in NY right now, Bernie Madoff is actually looking forward to burning in hell."''

Flex OLED protoype, eco-friendly. "How many people get a chance to squeeze Beyonce? I hope Jay-Z isn't in the room."

Sony sells more HD products than anyone else, they think they'll benefit from DTV. We'll see!

Pixar dude John Lasseter is here. "Sound check: Is my shirt loud enough in the back?" I want one. He's here to pimp Blu-ray: "You can't go back." Showing Wall-E on Blu-ray. Man I love that movie.

He's demoing Sleeping Beauty BD-Live content—menu represents real-life weather, kind of cool. His kids beat his ass at Cars Blu-ray game. Trailer for their upcoming movie Up. Looks awesome, and funny. More Tom Hanks talk: He's working on Toy Story 3.

Talking PSP and PS3 and how they interact. Kaz Hirai coming up. Talking about PlayStation Network and how it's expanding what you can do with PS3.

New free MMO called Free Realm for boys and girls, tweens and teens. Launching on PC first. Looks like medieval Second Life. MTV dumping 2000 hours of programming on PSN video. Hello, Real World Brooklyn! EA is now onboard PlayStation Home, bring more games and yay, contextual ads to "savvy consumers." Overall though, no new PlayStation announcements. Where's Netflix streaming? Seriously dude. Even my pants has that now.

America's doctor, Dr. Oz is getting his own show thanks to Sony. Find out why your penis doesn't work the way it used to, everyday. Oh, by the way, you're a fatass. He just said Sir Howard is bulbous dude. He should be six foot six to match his weight. Drop your belly fat or DIE. Outside of a fried food convention, this has to be the most ironic place he could drop this speech. High fructose corn syrup is the devil, says Dr. Oz. I knew it!

Sony is all up in the new Yankees stadium. 550 Bravia LCDs. The whole park is on,e giant Sony commercial. Reggie Jackson is here. Says he can't wait to see the new Sonyized Yankee Stadium. New candy bar: Reggie Bar. Tom Hanks loves it.

Talking up green products: Greenheart bio-plastic, Eco Bravias, etc.

Here we go; 3D announcement. We're supposed to put on 3D glasses now. 3D Cars clip in Tokyo drag race. Gran Turismo in 3D. 3D footage from Virginia Tech at Orange Bowl.

Dreamworks Animation CEO Katezenberg up to talk about 3D. Two revolutionary events in the history of cinema: The arrival of sound, then the arrival of color. He thinks 3D will be the third. (How conveniently poetic.) "It's not your father's 3D." It's 3D that uses polarized lenses and dual projectors (so you do still need glasses, even though Sony insists that they're different 'cause they is state of the art and less dumb looking, from Ray Ban.) Showing 3D clip of CGI flick Monsters and Aliens, with a giant robot fighting a giant girl and some monsters—pretty cool.

Sir Howard's back up with a Sony Ericsson phone, has Gracenote for identifying songs. And hey, our friend the Vaio P.

Hello, Usher. He's in 3D too, but no glasses required. Usher: "Yeah I do.... know a lot about technology. *Pause* Sony technology." He just had two sons, captured experience with... Sony. Howard asks if Usher misses the album. Usher says Sony Ericsson lets him make an album. Also mentions Sony sponsored his Broadway run on Chicago, which Tom Hanks' wife was also in. Woooo, the incestuous commercialization—as entertainingly, ironically self-aware as they're trying to make it (and it is)—is mud-pie thick.

Howard wrapping up, talking about how they make dreams, rainbows and economic revitalization happen.

And that's it!

A bizarre clip meshing him into classic black-and-white flicks intro'd the speech, telling us how gadget companies are gonna save us from the Great Depression 2.0. It was made using a new service called Yoostar that'll let you desecrate old movies by embedding yourself into them, along with other warped personalizations. Shapiro gets pretty cutting: Gadget companies are bright light, not just because they're gonna breathe life into the economy , but they don't need no bailouts like certain other industries, dammit. But even that light's looking pretty dim this year.

Gary Shapiro loves some Obama, talking about how tech-loving he is, and how he needs to promote tech growth and innovation to keep America on top in tech (We're on top? Really?). But he has no love for other politicians stepping in to make rules about technology. They've got some innovation checklist (pictured) for dumbo politicians to follow so they don't hose the whole industry, and therefore, Shapiro says, America.

Hahahaha, he's talking about how trade shows matter more than ever in crappy economies, and how it actually saves money for companies. I thought saving money is why companies have been pulling back on their trade show explosivganza.

Overall, it's not a pretty picture for the industry when its cheerleader-in-chief lays out how grim stuff is, even if it's mixed with pillowy clouds of fluff about how great the industry is.

They also talked about batteries that they would soon be offering for phones that, you know, actually let you swap the battery out. This would allow you to buy a new battery for your phone and never plug it in again. It sends a good amount of power through that little amount of air, too, as they had a 2kW blender running with no cords attached. Eventually, phone companies will get on board with this technology, which uses internal coils to pick up the charge, and we won't have to go aftermarket to ditch the wires, but until then it's pretty cool to see this tech in action.

Of course there's the secondary screen, clocking in at 10.6 inches and popping out of the side of the 17-inch screen. But there's also the built-in Wacom digitizer. And the fingerprint scanner. It is, frankly, awesome. But the cost of said awesomeness is size: this thing is an absolute tank.

Weighing in at about 11 pounds, this is more desktop replacement than portable computer. Sure, you could carry it around with you, but expect back problems if you try to do it too often. Oh, and the battery life? Two hours. Er, yeah. But for people who are looking for a boatload of functionality (not to mention two screens) in a laptop, there are few peers to the W700ds out there.

Or, if you want the quick and dirty, here's what unfurled in front of me, give or take a few guest presenters and some marketingspeak:

Ballmer comes out—my guess is he's smiling. He talks about the wonderful world of consumer electronics. He mentions this company called Microsoft. He also mentions the tough economic times we're all going to suffer through together. He will be optimistic, however.

He's going to talk about Windows 7. First, he'll announce the availability the Windows 7 Beta tomorrow for registered Microsoft beta peeps, January 9th for everybody else. He'll run through a lot of stuff we've already seen on Win 7, like DeviceStage, Homegroup networking, "Play To..." and other coolness like the Win 7 touch interface.

On the Windows Live front, he'll tell us that Windows Live Essentials is no longer in beta, and that you can now post photos on Facebook directly from Windows Live Photo Gallery, and save photos from Facebook directly to your Win gallery too. He'll also say that Windows Live Search and Essentials toolbar is gonna boot Google from Dell computers in February. Meanwhile, Verizon Wireless is going to implement Windows Live on VZW feature phones. IE8 is not out of beta yet, but it's coming.

For Windows Mobile, the big news, as presumed, will be full Adobe Flash support in the browser. (Sounds good to me, if only the browser was as good as, well, others.)

Ballmer is going to call Robbie Bach to the stage to talk about connected entertainment. Bach will start with some good Xbox stats—28 million worldwide, with 17 million active Windows Live members, and over a billion dollars spent on the service since inception.

Bach will introduce a number of sweet products:
• Windows Mobile app for managing Netflix queue
• Xbox Live community game builder called Kodu (already buzzed about)
• Windows Media Extender functionality in Toshiba products (announced earlier today)
• The latest edition of Ford Sync, which you can read about here
• Go back and forth on shows you didn't pre-record using Microsoft Media Room Anytime (I wonder what the advertiser stipulations are on that)
• Already known games Halo Wars and Halo 3: Orbital Drop Shock Trooper
• Xbox Live Primetime game 1 Vs 100 live gameshow coming in spring

What, no love for Zune? Almost everything's going according to plan so far, but stay tuned, because anything could happen. You know, come to think of it, Robbie Bach got to talk about a lot of the fun stuff. Is this the kickoff of the Ballmer Years? Or is it really the kickoff to the Bach Years? Steve would probably win at arm wrestling, but seeing the two of them on stage, I'm starting to think Bach could maybe take the bossman in a Cool Hand Luke-style a fist fight. [Full CES 2009 Coverage]

Both the Xbox 360 and PS3 models are compatible with your PC, if you like to mix things up. They both have their console-specific buttons, of course, and look pretty solid. They'll be dropping for $50 each later this month. [Kotaku]