Dell unveils Android tablet, smartphone

US computer giant Dell has announced plans to launch a new touchscreen tablet computer and a smartphone powered by Google's Android software.

Dell unveiled the new phone, the Venue, and the tablet, the Streak 7, at the annualConsumer Electronics Show, which draws tens of thousands of buyers and sellers from around the globe to Las Vegas.

Dell launched a smartphone late last year with Microsoft, using the US software giant's Windows Phone 7 mobile operating system, but it opted for Google's freeAndroidplatform for the latest device.

Dell said the new Streak 7 tablet has a seven-inch (17.8-centimeter) screen, slightly larger than the display on the first Streak the company released last year.

Dell said the Streak 7 is designed for the faster Internet speeds of US wireless carrier T-Mobile's 4G network.

"With its dual-core processor, seven-inch multi-touch screen and dual cameras, the new Dell Streak 7 tablet takes full advantage of the unrivaled power of T-Mobile's 4G network,"said John Thode, vice president of Dell's Mobility Product Group.

The Streak 7, which Dell said will be available in the coming weeks, is one of dozens of touchscreen tablet computers being launched at CES as electronics manufacturers seek to match Apple's success with itsiPad.

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Thousands flock to Nintendo 3DS premiere in Japan

Thousands of Japanese game fans flocked to an exhibition hall near Tokyo as Nintendo let the general public try its 3D-enabled DS console for the first time.

The new-generation DS machine -- which allows users to play3D gameswithout wearing special glasses -- missed the Christmas season but will be released on February 26 in Japan and in March in the United States, Europe and Australia.

Thousands of gamers on Saturday converged on the hall as Nintendo kicked off an admission-free, three-day event for the 3DS in Chiba, east of Tokyo.

Nintendo declined to say how many people had gathered, but hour-long queues did not deter those waiting for a trial lasting just a few minutes.

"It's fun, I want it,"Reika, 12, declared after she visited the event with her parents.

Her 48-year-old father was also impressed.

"It was surprising that images come out like seeing images on 3D television with special glasses,"he said, adding his daughter would get a new machine, despite the family's already having a number of consoles.

However, he said, his daughter's gaming time would likely be limited.

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Thousands of game fans wait in line to try Nintendo 3DS during an admission-free, three-day event for the 3DS at an exhibition hall in Chiba, suburban Tokyo, on January 8. The new-generation DS machine -- which allows users to play 3D games without special glasses -- missed the Christmas season but will be released on February 26 in Japan and in March in the United States, Europe and Australia.

"I don't think she will play 3D games too long as they tire you more"than conventional video games, he said.

Nintendo has warned that children under the age of six should not use the 3D console because of possible damage to their eyes.

The machine allows the illusion of depth to be increased or decreased so that games can be played in both 2D and 3D, while built-in cameras let users take 3D pictures.

Masatoshi Sakazaki, a 24-year-old student, said it had been"worth waiting"30 minutes to try a battle game.

"The game looked so brand-new with realistic, 3D images,"he said of Sengoku Musou, which features characters wielding swords and guns.

But, he added, it had taken its toll."I'm not accustomed to seeing 3D images. Even playing for 10 minutes tired me."

The gaming gadget features the trademark DS dual screens, with the upper screen providing 3D images and the other controlled by touch with a stylus.

When in sleep mode, the console can still locate other nearby 3DS devices, exchange data and receive game challenges or other invitations automatically.

More than 20 titles with 3D capability were set up at the exhibition, ranging from a peaceful game in which the user has to pet dogs to football matches and fighting games.

Many lauded the picture quality.

"The movie quality was good and images came out of the screen more than I expected,"said Genki Arakaki, 19, who was among the first group of people to see sample scenes for the Metal Gear fightinggame.

Arakaki said he will buy the machine, which will sell for 25,000 yen ($300)."As games become more dynamic, I believe it's worth making them 3D,"he said.

The hugely popular Nintendo DS has sold more than 130 million units worldwide and its new 3D version has drawn keen interest from media andgamers.

The 3DS will go up against Sony's PlayStation Move system, which enables users wearing special glasses to play 3D games using wand-shaped motion controllers.

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Motorola Xoom tablet crowned best CES gadget

Motorola Mobility's Xoom tablet computer powered by new"Honeycomb"software from Google was crowned the best gadget at the giant Consumer Electronics Show (CES) on Saturday.

Along with being declared the top creation at the dazzling gadget extravaganza, Xoom was also honored as the best of the scores of tablets introduced here as fresh competitors in a market dominated by Apple iPads.

Motorola also scored a victory with its Atrix smartphone designed to work with high-speed 4Gwireless networksand which can be used in a dock to power a laptop.

Atrix won the top spot in a smartphone category at the official Best of CES awards.

"We took big risks and they paid off,"said Motorola Mobility chief software engineer Seang Chau."We didn't know if people would get it; but obviously they got it."

US telecom maker Motorola Mobility jumped into the bustlingtablet computermarket Wednesday when chief executive Sanjay Jha unveiled Xoom at CES.

Motorola Mobility's hotly awaited tablet computer, the"Xoom,"will be available in the first quarter of the year, Jha said.

With a 10.1-inch (25.6-centimeter) screen, the Xoom is about the same size as Apple'siPad, which hit stores in April and has other leading technology companies around the world scrambling to catch up.

Xoom will be a fierce competitor in the marketplace becauseGooglebuilt Honeycomb software specifically to power tablet computers, according to Jha.

"This is really the next generation of tablets,"Motorola Mobility device team head Alain Mutricy said as he held a Xoom in one hand at the awards ceremony.

"Our partnership with Google has been very intense and has enabled some great technology."

The CES accolades came just four days after Illinois-based Motorola split into two companies, Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions.

Motorola Mobility will focus on mobility, the Internet and computing markets while Motorola Solutions will target next-generation communications solutions to government, public safety and enterprise customers.

"This has been a great week for us,"Mutricy said ofMotorolaMobility."It is a good beginning."

The official CES awards were sponsored by tech news website Cnet, which had editors pick the winners.

Japan-based Wii console maker Nintendo took top honors in a gaming category with a version of a DS videogame handset that allows 3D play without the need for special glasses.

A Sony"HandyCam"handheld video recorder with a built-in projector placed first in a Digital Imaging category, while a Casio Tryx digital camera was deemed the slickest gadget design at the show.

US chip giant Intel got some of the spotlight, with a speedy new generation of"Sandy Bridge"chips that thwart film piracy and enable quick handling of data-rich video and games rated the best computer innovation at the show.

A Toyota Entune innovation that makes fun or helpful software applications available while driving won top spot in a car category.

A Vizio TV that features Internet television from Google and online videogames from OnLive was declared the best in its category.

A sleek Razor Switchblade laptop that packs desktop computer gaming power into a small"netbook"won a People's Voice award based on votes logged on the Internet.

Meanwhile, a dual-screen Acer Iconia laptop with a second screen, touch controlled, where a keyboard would usually be won"Last Gadget Standing"honors at another CES competition.

A color version of the Nook electronic reader was the favorite in online"Last Gadget Standing"voting.

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Always connected lifestyle on display at CES

Smarter devices, homes and cars for the always connected lifestyle are taking center stage as the annual Consumer Electronics Show kicks off here on Thursday.

Slick new smartphones, ultra-thin laptops, tablet computers to rival Apple's iPad and Web-connected and3D televisionsets are expected to grab the most attention during the four-day event at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

But the show floor will also feature more smart home appliances such as ovens which can download recipes and vehicles which give drivers hands-freevoice controlaccess to their smartphone applications.

Technology titans such as Cisco, Intel,LG Electronics, Microsoft, Motorola, Panasonic, Samsung, Sony and Toshiba were among the firms offering a glimpse of their upcoming products to reporters here ahead of the official CES opening.

Motorola Mobility and LG Electronics both announced plans to launch touchscreen tablet computers this year powered by"Honeycomb,"the latest version of Google's Android software optimized for tablets.

Motorola Mobility said its tablet, the Xoom, which features a screen about the same size as the iPad, will be in stores by the end of March while LG Electronics said its G-Slate is expected to be available in the coming months.

More than 100 tablets are expected to be announced at CES as manufacturers around the world attempt to carve out a share of a market which technology research firm Gartner estimates will see sales of 55 million units in 2011.

As for market leader Apple, the California-based maker of the iPod,iPhoneandiPadis once again shunning CES.

Motorola Mobility was also one of a number of companies showing off their latest smartphones including devices designed to work on Verizon's 4G network, which boasts mobile Internet speeds up to 10 times faster than 3G.

Internet-enabled televisions are also in abundance as manufacturers seek to merge the Web with the traditional television viewing experience.

"The next big transformation is on us; the marriage between television sets and the Internet,"Sony chief executive Sir Howard Stringer said."It is clear that consumers are ready for it."

The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), which brings together the 2,600 exhibitors expected at CES this year, has forecast that more than half of all TV sets sold in 2014 will be Internet enabled.

As for 3D TV, which has met with a fairly unenthusiastic response from consumers so far, Sony is among the companies rolling out new 3D models, betting that the future of home entertainment is in 3D.

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Samsung staff set up the display for the Samsung Galaxy Tab for the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. More than 100 tablets are expected to be announced at CES as manufacturers around the world attempt to carve out a share of a market which technology research firm Gartner estimates will see sales of 55 million units in 2011.

David Steel, executive vice president for Samsung Electronics North America, said more than one million 3D TV sets were sold in the United States last year with Samsung taking a 70 percent market share.

"We're making a big investment in 3D and we're very optimistic about its future,"Steel said.

As for the home, CEA chief economist Shawn Dubravac said the average US household has 24 technology products -- and they are getting smarter all the time, from ovens to dishwashers to refrigerators to floor-cleaning robots.

Sanjay Jha, the chief executive of Motorola Mobility, said the smartphone is emerging as the device at the"center of our digital lives"allowing people to"connect with home while on the road."

"Smart access will allow us to control and monitor home appliances with a smartphone,"Jha said.

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Sony Move gamers armed with assault rifle controllers

Lovers of PlayStation 3 console shooter video games are being armed with assault rifle controllers by accessory makers playing into battle hero fantasies.

CTA Digital and Nyko were at theConsumer Electronics Showin Las Vegas with mock arsenals synched to the motion-sensing capabilities of Move control gear Sony released late last year for its popular PS3 hardware.

Move controllers, which are reminiscent of small black flashlights topped with brightly colored orbs, allow gamers to control PS3 play with swings, jabs and other natural movements instead of the toggle-and-button commands that have been trademarks of play on PS3 and rivalXbox 360consoles by Microsoft.

"Instead of pointing and shooting with a wand, this gives you the actual feel of a gun,"the Brooklyn-based wholesaler's director of e-commerce Barry Silberstein told AFP while hefting a rifle controller in his hands.

"People are going crazy over it."

The CTA rifle just hit the global market and was available at online shop Amazon.com for 65 dollars or less, according to Silberstein.

One version of the rifle is a shell that Move wands can be inserted into for play. A second version is a complete controller that wirelessly synch's to PS3 consoles. Action is directed with buttons on barrel housing and a trigger.

"Instead of playing 'Black Ops' with a wand controller you go shoot and reload,"Silberstein said."It's a cool gun."

CTA has had a Move submachine gun controller out for a couple of months and expected to have a Move sniper rifle complete with targeting scope available by March.

Nyko was at CES to show off a 25-dollar"Power Shot"tactical rifle that houses the Move wand and a nun chuck-style navigation control piece to allow rifle stylegameplay.

Power Shot players can"brace it against your shoulder for pinpoint accuracy"and boasts a"spring-loaded trigger,"Nyko said in its description of the Move accessory.

Sony is to release its own Sharpshooter machine gun style Move accessory in February to coincide with the release of a new installment to the hit"Killzone"shooter videogame tailored for play on the PS3.

Sharpshooter was expected to be price at 40 dollars.

CTA also had Move controllers crafted as mock archery sets, swords and shields.

CTA showed off mock bowling balls, golf clubs, tennis racquets and ping pong paddles adapted to house Move controllers.

"People like them a lot,"Silberstein said."It gives you a true feeling of the game."

He noted that CTA has been slightly stymied coming up with controller accessories for Xbox 360 Kinect devices that let players control the Microsoft videogame consoles using natural gestures and voice commands.

"Our bowling ball for Kinect is just a plastic ball,"Silberstein said."Instead of just moving your hand, you actually hold a ball."

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Tablet-mania at Las Vegas gadget show

Electronic book readers were all the rage at last year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas as companies raced to come out with rivals to Amazon's popular Kindle. This year they're all chasing the iPad. CES, which opened on Thursday, has been hit by tablet-mania.

Dozens of companies -- from the best known brands in the industry to total unknowns -- are displaying touchscreen tablet computers or prototypes in a bid to take a bite out of a fast-growing market dominated so far by Apple.

Shawn Dubravac, chief economist for the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), the CES organizer, estimated that more than 100 firms from around the world would be making tablet announcements at this year's show.

But like many of last year'se-readerhopefuls, quite a few of the devices may never see the light of day, he said.

At last year's CES, organizers for the first time set aside a special section on the sprawling Las Vegas Convention Center just for e-readers.

Not this year. Tablet sales are forecast to eclipse those of e-readers in 2011 despite the head start enjoyed by the Kindle and other e-reader makers such as Sony and US bookstore chain Barnes&Noble.

According to the CEA, tablet computer sales will double this year to 30 million units while e-reader sales will total nearly 20 million units.

Technology research firm Gartner forecasts even higher tablet computer shipments in 2011 -- more than 55 million units worldwide.

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The Blackberry PlayBook tablet is on display at the 2011 International Consumer Electronics Show January 6 in Las Vegas. Dozens of companies -- from the best known brands in the industry to total unknowns -- are displaying touchscreen tablet computers or prototypes in a bid to take a bite out of a fast-growing market dominated so far by Apple.

One explanation provided by analysts for the explosive growth of tablets over e-readers is the Web browsing and multi-media entertainment experience they offer in addition to serving as digital book readers.

Amazon, for its part, touts the Kindle as the better device for"serious readers"and announced last month that its latest version had become the Seattle-based company's best-selling product ever.

While the Kindle remains the market leader on the e-reader front, the iPad, which went on sale in April, is the device which rivals quite literally have in their sights.

Many of the tablets unveiled at CES bear a strong physical resemblance to the iPad, although some offer screens that are half the size of the iPad's 9.7-inch (24.6-centimeter display).

Most of the new entrants also boast front- and rear-facing cameras, a feature not included on the first generation of the iPad, and a USB port.

Where they differ more is on the inside, with most of the newtablet computerentrants opting to power their machines on Google's free Android software and a few with Microsoft's Windows operating system.

US telecom maker Motorola Mobility announced Wednesday that it will be the first to market with a tablet,the Xoom, featuring Android 3.0, or Honeycomb, software designed specifically for tablets by Google.

Motorola Mobility chief executive Sanjay Jha said the Xoom will go on sale by the end of March and he expects it to be"the most competitive product in the marketplace."

For the moment, Apple's stiffest competition has come from Samsung's Galaxy Tab, which hit stores in November and sold 1.5 million units during its first quarter of availability, according to the South Korean company.

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Panasonic's prototype Viera Tablet that runs on Android 2.2 is displayed at the 2011 International Consumer Electronics Show on January 6 in Las Vegas. Dozens of companies -- from the best known brands in the industry to total unknowns -- are displaying touchscreen tablet computers or prototypes in a bid to take a bite out of a fast-growing market dominated so far by Apple.

Apple has not yet released sales figures for its latest quarter but it sold eight million iPads between April and September and it is expected to reap the lion's share of the estimated 30 million to 55 million tablets sold this year.

In a bid to gain an edge, Motorola Mobility's Jha and other tablet makers are playing up the ability of their devices to run Adobe Flash video software, which is widely used on websites but is banned from the iPad.

Bill Monroe, a spokesman for Toshiba, which plans to market an Android-based tablet this spring, said the upcoming device from the Japanese company will not be as"limited."

"One of the great things is being able to run those Flash-based applications that are out there,"Monroe said as he stood next to a prototype of the unnamed Toshiba tablet mounted in a rotating glass case.

Motorola Mobility and US computer giant Dell, which unveiled a seven-inch (17.8 centimeter) tablet, the Streak 7, here on Thursday, are also touting the faster 4G networks of their wireless partners compared with the 3G speeds of Apple's partner AT&T.

Taiwan's Asus is seeking to differentiate its tablets from the iPad with hybrid models that marry a touchscreen tablet with a laptop by including a slide-out keyboard like on some mobile phones.

Other tablets, like the Qooq from France's Unowhy, are seeking to carve out a niche.

Described as the"cookbook of the 21st century"or"Kindle for the kitchen,"the Qooq offers recipes, tutorials and, its inventor Jean-Yves Hepp said,"it is able to withstand the assaults of butter, flour, milk and honey."

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60-second review: Auto-vacuuming robots

This column kicks off our series on gadgets to help you achieve your New Year's Resolution. Today's review: the latest in auto-vacuuming robots to aid our lazy readers who resolve to have a cleaner home. One is the Roomba, which you've heard of, and one you probably haven't heard of, the Neato.

Both are good choices for maintaining clean floors, but they're not perfect. To decide which to get, we compare their features:

-Price: Same. The Neato is $399, and theRoombaversion 570 can be found online for the same price.

-Size: Very similar. The Neato is just a tad bit taller because it has a laser on top that can"see"walls and obstacles to map out the whole room. Both were able to get under my furniture.

-Automated: Both have an auto-scheduling system, won't fall down stairs and will return to their charging base when finished.

-Brushes: The Roomba has two brushes, one bristle and another rubber. The Neato only just has the rubber beater brush.

-Maintenance: The Neato is easier to clean since the dirt bin is contained. Roomba's slide-out bin can cause dirt and dust to fly when opened. The Roomba's brushes have more pieces to take apart to untangle hair.

-Communication: The Roomba will speak in a female voice or beep if there is an error, such as needing to clean the brushes (which happened often for me). The Neato tells you on anLCD screen, and offers cute messages such as"please put me down"or"Thank you for cleaning my trash bin."

-Blocking a room: With the Roomba, you have to set up battery-powered towers to have it avoid an area or pull it toward a room. With the Neato, you have to lay down pieces of a thin, black magnetic strip in areas you don't want it to go into.

-Cleaning pattern: Here is where the most significant difference lies. The Roomba randomly zig-zags all over rooms like a manic sugar-overloaded 5-year-old, ramming into furniture and walls. The front bumper was covered in scuff marks within in a few minutes. When leaving it to do my entire downstairs floor, the Roomba went over some spots multiple times, but barely touched others. (And one time it didn't even bother going into my kitchen.) After a little over an hour, it returned to its base.

The Neato's laser sensor maps out the room, furniture and door frames. It barely ever touches the furniture since it can"see"it. It'll go over the perimeter once, then neatly cover the rest of the room in straight lines, like a carpet Zen garden. It'll only go over each spot once, but finished the entire floor in a half-hour.

But the Roomba's brazen attitude towards furniture was a benefit in cleaning between my blinds for the sliding glass door. The Neato saw the blinds as a wall and didn't push to clean the few inches behind them.

-Cleaning quality: Both filled up their bins with loads of dust, pet hair and debris. But the Roomba's duo of a bristle brush and rubber squeegee has potential to grab up more hair than the Neato - although the brush required more frequent maintenance to clean.

-Cleaning speed: The Neato and the Roomba travel at about the same speed, but the Neato finishes cleaning every area of the floor much faster than the Roomba. To go over my entire living room, kitchen, guest bathroom and den, the Neato took a half hour. The Roomba stopped after an hour and repeated some areas.

-The verdict: Neither will clean as well as a human with a stand-up vacuum cleaner and a hose, since corners and edges don't get a good clean. These are designed for maintenance. That said, they both will help keep your home cleaner, but I prefer the Neato. The Neato just gives me more piece of mind. I know it's covered the whole floor, it requires less maintenance to clean brushes if I set it when I'm away, the dirt bin won't fling dust around when I remove it, and it's not hurling itself at my furniture.

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Gadget charger harnesses walking power

A US company has come up with a baton-shaped device that charges gadgets using power generated by walking, hiking or running.

Tremont Electric was in Las Vegas on Tuesday for theConsumer Electronics Show, where it will tout the nPower PEG (personal energy generator) as ideally suited for today's gizmo-dependent lifestyles.

"It's for any outdoors enthusiast who is deep in the woods and doesn't have access to a power outlet or for a commuter who constantly needs backupbattery power,"said Jessica Davis of Tremont.

"You could use this for an emergency situation or just for your commute."

PEG batons measure nine inches (23 centimeters) and weigh 11 ounces (312 grams).Electricityis generated when floating magnets slide through coils, according to Davis.

The batons can be put in a backpack, brief case, or runner's pouch where they synch to up-and-down motion to generate power.

"It tunes to optimize the amount of power being produced,"Davis said.

PEG works with more than 3,000 handheld devices that are USB 2.0 compatible.

The Ohio-based company began selling the 160-dollar"kinetic"chargers in September and has been scrambling to catch up to demand.

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Students test-drive iPads in technical writing course

Niko Kovacevic, a Penn State junior studying math and computer science, originally wasn’t thrilled about fulfilling the technical writing requirement for his major. What he didn’t know was that he would be getting an Apple iPad for the fall semester to use for his course work -- no strings attached. Throughout the semester he has enjoyed exploring the tablet as a new educational tool.

According to a report from eMarketer, tablet sales are expected to increase more than 400 percent by 2012, thanks in part to the iPad. They guesstimate that more than 81.3 million tablets will be sold in 2012, up from the 15.7 million units sold worldwide in 2010. And a recent article in The New York Times states that the number of schools using iPads across the nation is increasing because of the device’s large touch screen, flat design and feather weight, offering relief from heavy textbooks. New York City public schools have ordered more than 2,000 iPads, more than 200 Chicago public schools applied for 23 district-financed iPad grants, and six middle schools in four California cities are teaching the first iPad-only algebra course.

In summer 2010 Penn State’s Education Technology Services (ETS) bought 40 iPad tablet computers for faculty and student projects. Michael Faris, an instructor in the Department of English, planned a technical writing course for fall 2010 featuring the iPad in its curriculum.

“Students in my class were juniors and seniors who had already developed their reading, writing and research habits,” Faris said.“The iPad forced them to adapt to different strategies and change the way they think about their work.”

Each student in the class received the touch-screen-only iPad and an accessory keyboard for the semester. Apple donated iTunes gift cards to cover the cost of applications students may have needed to download for the class -- like a word processing program -- as well as a gift card from publishing company Bedford/St. Martin’s, to cover the expense of the digital textbook they needed to download.

Faris said that his students found the iPad’s light weight convenient and told him it’s a great tool for reading and doing simple writing tasks. However, they also reported having trouble writing more extensive papers and creating multimedia projects with it.

“I think right now it's best to view tablet devices as supplements: they don't replace anything, but they fill needs and gaps in work activities,” Faris said.“For instance, a tablet can't replace the writing and heavy research capabilities of a laptop, but it can provide for a second screen, supporting some research that might have been open in a browser or printed off or in a book.”

Kovacevic agrees. He said the weight and portability of the iPad are nice benefits. He also likes having Internet access, class files, notes, a calendar of events and potentially all of his textbooks all on one device lighter than a laptop. However, when it comes to word processing -- for writing papers and other technical documents -- using an iPad is cumbersome.

“Auto-corrected typing, especially in conjunction with the onscreen keyboard, makes composition feel like writing papers on a cell phone,” Kovacevic said.“Documents requiring complicated formatting, such as resumes and instruction sets, have proven to be especially difficult to create on the iPad because of over-simplified commands and reduced control of touch-pad versus keyboard and mouse. Luckily, these disadvantages are solved by simply composing on a full-version computer rather than the iPad.”

A fan of the iPad's convenience, Kovacevic said he would be in favor of using it in more of his classes, but would probably not take another course based around it, preferring to type papers with a word processor instead. He also said that data transfer and hardware connectivity are weak on the iPad, which has no ports for connecting devices like storage drives and digital cameras. However, he wishes more classes used books available to download online and read on the iPad, so he could just have all textbooks stored in one lightweight location.

“I feel that the term and experiment was a success this fall. Besides minutiae in implementation and scheduling, I probably wouldn't suggest changing too much in our program,” Faris said.“One thing I think would be interesting is exploring more apps by students and teachers to really discover how the device could be used in a variety of ways. There are many tools out there, and students and teachers could probably find some free apps that might engage education or writing in new or interesting ways.”

Stuart Selber, associate professor of English and Science, Technology and Society, worked with ETS to help establish Faris' iPad-centered class. Selber says that because today's students do a considerable amount of writing using nontraditional means, such as cell phone texts, instant messaging and e-mails, he believes the iPad and similar tablets may be the future of reading, writing and the majority of communication. He also believes not all writing that students do in higher education has to be in the standard format. Tablet computers may or may not have an impact on reading, writing and research skills, he said, and he’s open to the idea that they may come to serve the status quo, or change the future of education. One thing he is sure about is that, in productive ways, technology is challenging students and teachers in higher education.

Using iPads in the English course and researching how students adapt to the changes are concepts that interest Selber and Faris.

Because computers are getting smaller and cheaper, Selber isn’t sure that the iPad and similar computers won’t be the future of education. Still, the iPad has some flaws he would like to see ironed out. The iPad isn’t plugged into the institutional grid -- students need a credit card for an iTunes account, they don’t plug into Penn State computer labs and certain online content that students need to access, such as the ANGEL course management site, isn't compatible with the iPad. However, Selber thinks the smaller tablet computers might get more student-friendly in the future. Besides their convenience and portability, there are more than 200,000 applications that iPad users can download that are free or fairly inexpensive. These applications make the iPad more applicable to a student’s daily needs. And, so far, teachers in Selber’s department are interested in implementing iPads into the curriculum.
“For us, a writing class is not about going to class to hear someone talk about writing, but instead allowing the students to work on their actual writing,” Selber said, referencing limits to available classrooms furnished with multiple computers.“The convenience of iPads would enticestudentsto bring them to class so there’s one computer per student.”

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Fujitsu unveils 'world's first' glasses-free 3D PC

Japanese IT services giant Fujitsu on Wednesday unveiled what it calls the world's first desktop computer with a display that enables users to see 3D images without needing special glasses.

The Esprimo FH99/CM desktop PC, included in Fujitsu's new line-up of the FMV computer series, has its liquid crystal display covered by a conversion panel enabling viewers to seethree dimensional imageson the screen.

The company plans to launch the 3D PC on February 25 in Japan, eyeing later overseas launches.

Fujitsu has already launched 3D desktop computers that require viewers to wear special glasses.

"Without having to wear glasses, you can enjoy watching 3D images with others,"saidFujitsuengineer Toshiro Ohbitsu."You can share the excitement with family."

The computer enables users to record and watch television and edit images.

Last month, Toshiba launched in Japan what it calls the world's first television that allows viewers to see 3D images without special glasses, amid intensifying competition in the market as the technology gains momentum.

Many in the industry say 3D television demand is being held back by consumers' resistance to wearing glasses.

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Balls, blocks, cars among high-tech toys at CES

Balls, blocks and miniature cars with a high-tech twist were among the toys at the Consumer Electronics Show -- although at prices only adults who are still children at heart may be able to afford.

Among the playthings which attracted attention during the show which ended on Sunday were Mattel's classic Hot Wheels cars, the zippy little metal racers which fly down an orange plastic track at high speeds.

These Hot Wheels, however, are equipped with a video camera on the front of the car which records their stunts.

The underside of the car features a tiny video screen and the videos can be downloaded to a computer using a USB connection for viewing.

Children who are too old to play on the floor with toy cars anymore can mount them on a helmet or a skateboard and record their exploits for theirFacebook friends.

The camera-equipped Hot Wheels will be available in time for Christmas next year and cost 60 dollars.

Another toy -- a finalist for a"Best of CES"award -- is even more high-tech than the new Hot Wheels cars -- a glowing robotic ball that is controlled by an AppleiPhoneor an Android smartphone.

Sphero, as the ball is called, rolls around the floor on command, stopping, starting, turning and navigating around objects.

"The gaming options are endless,"said Jim Booth, vice president of business development for Orbotix, the Boulder, Colorado-based firm behind Sphero, which has a light inside and is about the same size as a tennis ball.

"You can get simple driving apps to more complex multi-player games,"Booth said."Office golf -- we've had hundreds of ideas."

Sphero will go on sale in the United States in late 2011 and will cost under 100 dollars -- smartphone not included. Orbotix also plans to open up the Sphero platform to other developers so they can make their own games.

Building blocks have also been reinvented for the digital age by a pair of former students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the prestigious engineering school located in Boston.

Sifteo cubes feature a color screen and can be combined like dominoes in various ways to play games or solve puzzles and equations.

In one game, for example, the tiles rapidly flash commands to a player who earns points by responding correctly.

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A Sphero robotic ball, controlled from an iPhone, is demonstrated at the 2011 International Consumer Electronics Show on January 8, in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Sphero is 74mm in diameter with inductive charging and controlled via bluetooth, and other cool features. CES, the world's largest annual consumer technology trade show, ended on Sunday.

The tiles each have an accelerometer inside and are linked wirelessly to each other and to a computer which houses the game software.

A basic set of the matchbook-sized Sifteo cubes is three blocks. The game goes on sale later this year and will cost 149 dollars.

Mattel has also taken an Internet sensation and made it low-tech -- the addicting Angry Birds videogame from Finland's Rovio which involves catapulting birds at pigs which have stolen their eggs.

A plastic and metal version of Angry Birds, recommended for children over the age of five, will go on sale this year and cost just 15 dollars.

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Touch Mouse ready for Windows 7 after two long years

More than two years of hard work, countless prototypes, and intense collaboration with team members around the globe are just a few of the things that went into the creation of the Microsoft Touch Mouse, a new device created exclusively for Windows 7 that was announced at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

I’m Hrvoje Benko, one of the researchers behind the new Touch Mouse and I actually work for Microsoft Research. This mouse started as a research project back in 2008, mostly as a brainchild of my colleagues Dan Rosenfeld, Shahram Izadi, Nicolas Villar, John Helmes and me. Back at the start, we were all interested in the idea of merging the precision and pointing benefits of standard mice with the rich interactions that we had with multitouch devices, such asMicrosoftSurface, and wanted to see if we could bring multitouch interactions to the desktop without losing the benefits of interacting with the keyboard or the mouse.

So over the next year we worked on several hardware prototypes and many application scenarios in what became known as the“Mouse 2.0” project. You may have heard about it before– we showed five prototypes publicly in October 2009, and ultimately settled on the“Cap Mouse” (image at left) to develop into a consumer product. We chose the Cap Mouse for many technical and design reasons, but mostly because it allowed for flexibility in the design of a wireless device, with rich multitouch gestures, while still having a familiar form factor for people to grip their mouse and easily point and click. We worked in close collaboration with the Hardware team and the Cambridge Innovation Development team to develop a new multitouch mouse forWindows 7.

The mouse you see today is the best input device for Windows 7. It does everything you’re used to doing with a mouse, but also adds gestures with one, two or three fingers. The gestures work like this:

•One Fingerlets you manage the content of a document or webpage– moving one finger lets you precisely scroll in any direction and hyperscroll through long documents with a quick flick of your finger, while using your thumb lets you move back/forward easily through your internet browser.

•Two Fingerslets you manage multiple windows by maximizing, minimizing, restoring, and snapping them side-by-side.

•Three Fingerslets you navigate the whole desktop– three fingers up to display all of your open windows for easy task switching or three fingers down for clearing the desktop entirely.

Here is a video to demonstrate just how this works– take a look:

You need Flash installed to watch this video

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Review: Technology helps golfers fine-tune game

(AP) -- Golf is a constant quest for improvement, which is why new clubs, balls, training aids and other gadgets are introduced each year. If gadgets were truly the answer, of course, there would be more top-notch golfers littering the links.

Nonetheless, I tested a few newgolfdevices and one club in the off-chance one might bring me a step closer to breaking 80 on a par-72 course for the first time. Although I didn't manage that, I found some promising companions.

- The Callaway uPro ($399.99), from Callaway Golf Company, is aGPS deviceabout the size of a deck of cards. It tells you where you are in relation to the hole you're trying to knock the ball into.

Global positioning systemtechnology is familiar to the golf bag, but the uPro has several notable features. It lets you download full-color, birds-eye-view video clips of the course you're playing, so you can see trees, fairway widths and hazards that lie around the blind corner.

I connected the uPro to my PC and downloaded some of my local golf course maps to the device.

There are both free and paid versions of various golf courses. A single course map costs $10, and multi-course packs go for as much as $180 for 150 courses of your choosing.

The free ones provide basic yardage to the green, icons representing hazards and a few other features. The"Pro"paid versions gave me the flyover videos.

The Pro version also helped me select the best clubs for my shots by giving me the distance from where I stood to the spot I wanted my ball to come to rest. Using a navigation pad on the device, I moved an on-screen icon to my desired landing spot, and uPro gave me the distance to that location.

As I played the nine-hole Candler Park course in Atlanta, uPro gave me accurate yardage for all of my shots. That helped my game when I made solid contact with the ball, though very little when I misfired a shot.

The uPro is a fine device with premium GPS capabilities. It's lightweight, and I barely felt it when I shoved it in my back pocket during shots. I was also able to keep score for my round with the uPro, which handled all the multitasking just fine. I'd buy it if I played a lot of long courses where distance data are at a premium, but it's disappointing to have to pay extra for the Pro course maps.

- The Garmin Approach S1 ($249.99), from Garmin International, is a nifty GPS watch that offers important course info at a glance. No golf aid I've ever tried was easier to use than this one. I simply put it on my wrist and headed to the course.

All the course data are free and appear automatically. When I got to the Stonemount Course in Stone Mountain, Ga., the Approach S1 immediately recognized the course and my hole and gave me the yardage to the front, middle and back of the green. The numbers adjusted automatically when I arrived at my next shot, the next hole, and so on.

I never had to press a button unless I wanted to measure the distance of a shot I just hit. I could simply glance at it and know that I had 143 yards to the middle of a green. I can't consistently hit 143 yards, but that battle is for another day.

- My favorite device was the Garmin Approach G5 ($349.99). It's a smart, waterproof handheld GPS device that gave me all the features I could want.

It had thousands of free, detailed golf course maps preloaded into memory, gave me accurate yardage for shots and allowed me to keep score for multiple players. Best of all, it's a touch-screen device with a brilliant display and intuitive menus.

The Garmin S1 merely provides yardage numbers. The G5 device gives you everything, in a detailed graphic display. It was easier and faster to input scores and plan shot strategy with Garmin's G5 than using the Callaway device, which has a similar feature.

To plan my shots, I used my thumb to move a red circle on the screen to my desired landing spot on each hole at Stonemount. I could quickly measure my shots and log distances into the device's memory. After the yardage was measured, I simply tapped an on-screen button to select the club I used. It only takes a few seconds.

After my round, I went home and connected the Approach G5 to my PC. I saved scorecards for each round and displayed them on a Web page. Garmin's free software (PC or Mac) also tracked the number of putts I tapped for the round (many), the number of greens I hit in regulation (few) and the average distance I hit with my clubs.

- The Callaway Diablo Octane driver ($299.99) is made of a composite material invented by Callaway to make the clubhead lighter and stronger. If my tests at the range and on the course are any indication, the engineers did quite well.

The company says the new composite material results in a random arrangement of fibers that make the club lighter and stronger, which allows it to maintain more of its power through impact with the ball.

The sole and face of the clubhead are titanium, but the guts are composite.

Farther, or just farther left? I sought to find out.

After I got warmed up I hit some pretty pure drives, farther than I've ever hit. I was soon banging them out to the fence at the far end of the range, something I don't normally do at this particular driving range. I also felt I had a good amount of control over the slight fade I tend to hit. My accuracy improved with each swing for the fence.

On the course, the results were also mixed - after all, there are trees out there, and narrow fairways and people watching your shots. But when I hit them good, my shots with the Callaway driver went farther and straighter than with my aging TaylorMade driver.

The Callaway driver was no cure-all for off-center hits or bent-arm shanks into the woods. But I was able to control the plane of my swing better because the clubhead was lighter than I'm used to.

Nonetheless, I won't be shooting under 80 any time soon. Too many three-putts. Too many misfired fairway irons that trundle into the trees instead of soaring high toward the flag.

But I loved the raw power of the Callaway driver and the full repertoire of features that the Garmin Approach G5 provided. Those were the two best additions to my golf bag for this test.

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Tablets, smart gadgets rule at Consumer Electronics Show

Slick touchscreen tablet computers and smarter devices for the home and the car took center stage as the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) wrapped up on Sunday.

The always connected lifestyle was on full display at the annual gadget extravaganza as Internet technology ruled at a show traditionally dominated by eye-popping new television sets.

Tablet computers to rival Apple's iPad were the hot new products on display along with powerful new smartphones, ultra-thin laptops and Web-connected and 3-D TV sets during the four-day event.

"The tablet wars are now launched, with everybody under the sun producing tablets,"said Endpoint Technologies Associates analyst Roger Kay.

"A lot of companies, particularly Asian companies, are offering to create tablets for you on the fly if you want a tablet with your brand on it."

Emphasis on mobile gizmos and making traditionally dumb devices smart withInternet connectionsmade CES celebrities out of chip makers Intel, AMD, andNvidiaas well as US telecom carriers Verizon and AT&T.

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Attendees view LG Oled 2.9mm thin televisions at the 2011 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada, on January 7. CES, the world's largest annual consumer technology trade show run from January 6 to 9.

Rival chip makers showed off fast new processors combining graphics and traditional computing power.

"What that means is a lot more connected stuff,"analyst Rob Enderle of Enderle Group in Silicon Valley said of the chip announcements at CES."Everything thinner, lighter, more powerful and more intelligent."

Technology titans Apple and Google were absent but their influences weighed heavy at CES. Scores of tablets based on Google's Android software were launched in bids to challenge Apple's hot-selling iPads.

Motorola Mobility's Xoomtablet computerpowered by a coming"Honeycomb"version of Android tailored for such devices was crowned the best gadget at CES in what could be a sign of renewed glory for a faded technology star.

"Of the hundreds of tablets at the show, I didn't see any that were better than the iPad,"Enderle said, with a caveat that he didn't see the Xoom.

"I think the Honeycomb ones have a chance, but they are going to roll against an iPad 2 by the time they come out."

Apple is expected to introduce a second-generation of itsiPadlater this year as Honeycomb becomes available to tablet makers.

"The 800-pound gorilla not in the room was Apple, of course,"Kay said of the focus here on competing with or making accessories for iPads, iPods, iPhones or MacBooklaptopcomputers.

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Convention attendees line up to see Toshiba glasses-free 3-D televisions at the 2011 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) at the Las Vegas Convention Center, on January 7, in Las Vegas, Nevada. CES, the world's largest annual consumer technology trade show, run from January 6 to 9.

The show floor featured smart home appliances such as ovens which can download recipes and vehicles which give drivers hands-free voice control access to their smartphone applications.

Korea-based LG and first-time CES attendee General Electric were among major electronics makers that showed off washing machines, dish washers or other appliances made smart with computer chips and the Internet.

Televisions continued to dazzle, with high-definition or 3D screens boasting Internet connectivity for getting digital content from the Web.

Another important theme at the show was car technology, with Ford unveiling an electric Focus sedan and Internet services tailored for all models.

"Everybody and their brother are making the car into a living room,"Enderle said."I'm starting to worry about what people are going to be doing in their cars other than driving."

Audi's self-driving cars were not seen zipping around CES but a concept car developed by General Motors was -- the two-wheel EN-V, or Electric Networked Vehicle, which can park itself or be summoned using a smartphone.

"It's not just computers in control of the car, but computers that people use in the car and location-based services that go with that,"said Kay.

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An attendee looks at a Motorola Atrix smartphone at the 2011 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), on January 6, in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Atrix can plug into a laptop shell or"webtop", since it has no processor, with an 11.6-inch display, two USB ports and a full keyboard.

With 2,700 exhibitors at CES, offerings ranged from the practical to the frivolous.

"People were running around pretty excited about a lot of products they were seeing and it felt like a lot of buyers were there to buy,"Enderle said.

More than 140,000 people attended the show, compared with 126,000 at the annual event last year, according to the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) trade group behind CES.

"CES was a phenomenal worldwide event that spanned global industries including technology, automotive and entertainment markets,"said CEA president Gary Shapiro.

"This global technology gathering featured more innovation, more news, more social media buzz and more international attendance than any other show in CES history."

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Motorola unveils tablet computer, the Xoom

US telecom maker Motorola Mobility has jumped into the bustling tablet computer market with a touchscreen device powered by"Honeycomb,"the latest version of Google's Android software.

Sanjay Jha, the chief executive ofMotorolaMobility, also presented three new Android-powered touchscreen smartphones to reporters on the eve of the annualConsumer Electronics Show(CES).

Motorola Mobility's hotly awaited tablet computer, the"Xoom,"will be available in the first quarter of the year, Jha said.

With a 10.1-inch (25.6-centimeter) screen, the Xoom is about the same size as Apple's iPad, which hit stores in April and has other leading technology companies around the world scrambling to catch up.

More than 100 firms are expected to unveil tablet computers at CES, which officially opens on Thursday and features more than 2,600 exhibitors of the latest gadgets.

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Jha said the Xoom will be the firsttablet computerto hit stores featuring Android 3.0, or Honeycomb, an operating system developed with tablets in mind instead of smartphones.

"It's been designed ground up for the tablet, the user interface, the whole interaction,"Jha said."It has multi-tasking capability."

"All of these things, I think, deliver an experience which makeAndroid3.0 on our tablet probably in my opinion the most competitive product in the marketplace,"he said.

Jha pointed out several features on the Xoom that theiPaddoes not have including front- and rear-facing cameras and the ability to play Adobe Flash video software, which is banned from the Apple device.

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Chairman and CEO of Motorola Mobility Sanjay Jha unveils the Motorola Xoom Android Honeycomb tablet in Las Vegas. He said the first Xooms to hit the market will feature 3G connectivity to the Internet through US carrier Verizon Wireless. A 4G Xoom will come out later in the year and 3G versions can be upgraded to 4G

He said the first Xooms to hit the market will feature 3G connectivity to the Internet through US carrierVerizon Wireless. A 4G Xoom will come out later in the year and 3G versions can be upgraded to 4G.

Jha also unveiled three new smartphones, the Atrix 4G, available through US telecom giant AT&T in the first quarter of the year, the Cliq 2 and the Droid Bionic.

A laptop dock for the Atrix 4G allows a user to connect the phone to a computer monitor and surf the Web using a full Firefox desktop browser.

The Cliq 2, available through Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile in the United States from January 19, features a slide-out keyboard and was described as a device offering"business-ready features and robust entertainment options."

The Bionic Droid, which will be available in the second quarter of the year, is designed specifically for Verizon's 4G network, which was launched in December and currently covers about one-third of the US population.

It offers mobile Internet speeds up to 10 times faster than 3G and will, for example, allow high-quality streaming of television shows.

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Motorola Mobility unveils the Atrix 4G smartphone in Las Vegas. A laptop dock allows a user to connect the phone to a computer monitor and surf the Web using a full Firefox desktop browser. It was amongthree new Android-powered touchscreen smartphones unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show

Chief executive Jha rolled out the new products here a day after the Illinois-based Motorola split into two companies, Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions.

Motorola Mobility will focus on mobility, the Internet and computing markets while Motorola Solutions will target next-generation communications solutions to government, public safety and enterprise customers.

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Tablets crowd gadget show, chasing iPad's tail

(AP) -- Big tablets and small tablets, white ones and black ones. Cheap ones and expensive ones. Brand names famous and obscure at the starting line of a race where the iPad is already a speeding dot near the horizon.

It's impossible to walk the floor at this year's InternationalConsumer Electronics Showwithout stumbling across a multitude of keyboard-lesstouch-screencomputers expected to hit the market in the coming months. With Apple estimated to have sold more than 13 million iPads last year alone, the competition is clearly for second place, but even that prize is worth pursuing.

Technology research firm Gartner Inc. expects that 55 million tablet computers will be shipped this year, most of them still iPads, but there will be room for rivals to vie for sales of the remaining 10 million to 15 million devices.

A bevy of consumer electronics makers, including major names such as Motorola Mobility Inc., Toshiba Corp. and Dell Inc., showed off their tablets in Las Vegas at CES, betting 2011 will be the year the gadgets finally take off.

Companies tried for years to popularize tablets, but the frenzy began only with the release of theiPadin April. Now companies whose names don't include the word"Apple"are doing everything they can to differentiate themselves from the tablet front-runner.

They're adding bells and whistles the iPad doesn't yet have - such as front and back cameras for video chatting and picture taking and the ability to work over next-generation 4G data networks - in hopes of taking on the iPad, or at least carving out a niche.

Motorola's Xoom sports a screen that measures 10.1 inches diagonally - slightly larger than the iPad's - and dual cameras for video chatting and taking high-definition videos.

It will also include the upcoming Honeycomb version ofGoogleInc.'sAndroidsoftware. Honeycomb has been designed for the larger touch screens on tablets; current versions of Android, used in many of the tablets at CES, are meant more for the smaller touch screens on smart phones.

For example, Gmail on a Honeycomb tablet shows a list of e-mails in one column and the body of the one you're reading in a second column. On a current Android phone, you'd only see one column at a time.

Motorola, at least, is confident that its offering is more full-featured than the iPad.

"A lot of people have been waiting for the definitive tablet,"said Paul Nicholson, Motorola's marketing director."This is the definitive tablet."

The tablet, which will start selling in March for an as-yet-unknown price, will also work on Verizon Wireless' existing, 3G network at first and later be upgradeable to work on its faster 4G network.

Tablets that work with a wireless carrier's high-speed data network may be a key to success in the tablet space, said Ross Rubin, an analyst for NPD Group, a market research firm. While a version of the iPad can use AT&T Inc.'s 3G network, Apple has not yet announced a plan for it to use any of the new 4G networks.

"Today we see a lot of tablet usage in the home. Perhaps tying it to a faster network can ... really expand the on-the-go use case for these products,"Rubin said.

No matter how well any of the new contenders are received, though, analysts expect Apple to dominate in the tablet market for at least two years. With Apple's habit of annually refreshing its products, chances are the iPad will gain new features early this year that could launch it even further ahead of the competition.

And the company has something no one else has been able to match: mind share. Forrester analyst Sarah Rotman Epps said consumers are buying the iPad because they see their friends and colleagues with it, not because of its specific features.

"Just because Android tablets may have more features doesn't guarantee they will sell,"Rotman Epps said.

But if the market opened up by Apple's other mobile triumph, the iPhone, is any indication, they will. Since its 2007 debut the iPhone has been immensely popular, but it also sparked increased consumer demand for other smart phones - eventually including those running Android.

For AsusTek Computer Inc., the most important focus right now appears to be hardware and software diversification. The Taiwanese computer maker unveiled a number of tablets at the show, including the Eee pad Transformer, which is a laptop that splits in two to function as a tablet, and the Eee Pad Slider, a tablet with a keyboard that slides out of its left side.

The Transformer is set to begin selling in April for $399 to $699, depending on its configuration. And the Slider is set to be sold starting in May for $499 to $799.

This puts its cheapest Transformer $100 below the most inexpensive iPad, which sells for $499 to $829, depending on its configuration. Several other companies unveiled even cheaper tablets at CES, which could pique consumer interest, though lower prices could come with less-vivid screens and older software.

Richard Shim, a DisplaySearch analyst, said Asus' tactics point to a wider trend in tablets: The market is branching out extremely quickly in an effort to appeal to a wider range of consumers.

This extends to operating software, too: Some tablets shown ran Microsoft Corp.'s PC software, Windows 7. Research In Motion Ltd., the maker of BlackBerry phones, demonstrated its forthcoming PlayBook tablet, which is geared toward business users and runs new software built by QNX Software Systems, which RIM took over in 2010.

RIM plans to start selling a Wi-Fi version of the PlayBook early this year, and a version that operates on Sprint Nextel Corp.'s 4G network is due to arrive in the summer.

Android was clearly the software of choice at CES, though, and Honeycomb in particular. Rotman Epps sees this as the software for the first"real"Android tablet, despite the arrival of several non-Honeycomb Android tablets such as Samsung Electronics Co.'s Galaxy Tab last year. She thinks Honeycomb will help new tablets make their mark.

That's hard to judge now, however: Honeycomb hasn't been released yet. Many tablets at CES that will be released with that software were not showing off live versions of it at the show.

Several analysts said software - and the apps developed for it - are what will set winning tablets apart from the pack, but for now it's too soon to tell how compelling they will be.

"At the end of the day, that's what's going to sell the device,"Shim said.

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Sony stays loyal to 3D at CES gadget fest

Japanese electronics titan Sony is raising its bet that the future of home entertainment is 3D, as it unveils home video and photo gear in the format.

Internet connectivity, 3D, and content streamed online were main themes as Sony showed off its latest TVs, cameras, and more during a press event on the eve of the opening of the Consumer Electronics (CES) show Thursday in Las Vegas.

"Sony has the knowledge, vision, assets and conviction to redefine television,"said Sony chief executive Sir Howard Stringer.

"We are shaking up the television landscape and we will win."

Sony expanded its Bravia TV line-up with an array of new 3D models and internet-connected models.

Stringer said that Sony Entertainment film studio was pitching in major 3D films such as"The Green Hornet"slated to hit theaters this month and upcoming sequels to"Spider-Man"and"Men In Black."

Sony also has a Qriocity -- pronounced"curiosity"-- service that streams hit films on-demand to Internet-linked Bravia TVs.

A Qriocity-powered Music Unlimited service that hosts songs in the Internet"cloud"launched in Britain and Ireland in December and will expand to the United States, Canada and Europe by the end of March, according to Sony.

The Japanese giant intends to capitalize on its diversity and size by delivering films and music across a host of Internet-linked devices including Blu-Ray disc players,PlayStation 3video game consoles, Bravia televisions, and Vaio personal computers.

Sony devoted a section of its display area at CES to itsGoogleTVs that use the California Internet star's technology to merge the Internet and traditional broadcasting.

Sony also unveiled new Xperia smartphones based on the latest Android mobile operating system backed by Google.

Nearly 180 million people watchInternet televisioneach month and more than 65 million Internet-enabled sets will ship this year, according to industry forecasts and statistics cited by Sony.

"The next big transformation is on us; the marriage between television sets and the Internet,"Stringer said."It is clear that consumers are ready for it."

Sony will add more 3D movies, video, games, and a 3Net 3D television channel to"further cement"its position in the market, according to Stringer.

The company introduced digital and still cameras for people to"personalize"the 3D experience by making their own pictures or videos in the format.

Sony also provided glimpses at prototypes of future products including"Headman"3D headsets that can be worn like wrap-around eyeglasses but provide a theater style viewing experience.

The company is also working on a Blu-ray player that lets viewers see 3D films without the need for special glasses.

"We are showing these prototypes to provide you a glimpse into the future,"said Sony executive deputy president Hiroshi Yoshioka.

"We want you to know they are on the Sony radar,"he continued."Sony is fully committed to bringing a 3D experience from every angle."

3Dtelevisionsets were a major theme at last year's CES, but they haven't proven to be hot sellers.

Analysts contend that people haven't been motivated to buy 3D TVs due to a dearth of content for such sets and the need to buy and keep track of special glasses for viewing.

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Chinese website selling iPad2 cases, ordered to remove ads

Protective cases for the second generation iPad are being sold on Chinese e-commerce website Alibaba -- even before Apple has launched the new device -- and suggest the next model will have a camera.

Alibaba spokesman John Spelich told AFP on Tuesday the company had been asked to remove the listings, which showed brightly coloured silicon cases with a small hole in the back on sale for less than three dollars each.

"Shortly after we were made aware, through blog reports, of the presence of these listings, we received a legitimate take down request and we have been doing so since last week,"Spelich said, without naming the complainant.

An AFP search for iPad2 cases found seven listings on Alibaba -- a trading platform for small businesses -- mostly from suppliers based in southern China who were accepting orders for a minimum 200-500 units.

Apple'siPadtouchscreentablet computerallows users to watch video, listen to music, play games, surf the Web and read electronic books, but the next model is also expected to feature a camera and USB port.

The company is predicted to launch iPad2 this year after selling more than eight million of the original devices between April, when it went on sale in the United States, and the end of September, Apple's last reporting period.

In China -- the world's biggest Internet market with 450 million users, according to the last official count, and the major producer of Apple products -- hundreds queued for the first official iPads when they were launched in the country in September.

Goldman Sachs predicts iPad sales could top 37.2 million units in 2011 and technology research firm Gartner forecasts total tablet computer sales of 55 million units this year.

Some observers had expected Apple to unveil iPad2 at the US InternationalConsumer Electronics Show, which starts Thursday.

But the California-based company is shunning the massive electronics trade show, which attracts tens of thousands of buyers and sellers from around the world to Las Vegas.

Apple is notoriously secretive about new products but it's security system has been breached in the past.

A prototype of Apple's 4th generation iPhone turned up in Vietnam in May, a month before the gadget's global launch.

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Asus, PrimeSense to bring motion controls to PCs

(AP) -- If you've been wishing you could ditch your clunky computer mouse and control your PC with gestures - the way you can using Microsoft Corp.'s Kinect motion controller for the Xbox 360 gaming console - computer maker Asus expects to have a solution for you this year.

Asustek Computer Inc. and PrimeSense Ltd., an Israeli company whose 3-D camera is a core part of Kinect, said Monday that they're working to let users gesture to surf the Web, check social networks and control videos on their PC or a TV connected to your PC.

Kinect uses a 3-D camera, depth sensors and voice-recognition software to recognize your face, voice and gestures as you move around and talk, without requiring you to hold a controller or wear a headset. As a result, you can control on-screen characters in video games simply by talking or moving your body.

If Kinect's success is any indication, Asus could be on to something. Microsoft released Kinect in November and said it sold 2.5 million of the sensors in the first 25 days it was available.

Asus and PrimeSense will show off the technology at the annual InternationalConsumer Electronics Showin Las Vegas this week. The companies plan to enable motion controls on PCs in the second quarter of the year through an accessory called the WAVI Xtion, which combines an Asususer interfacewith PrimeSense's 3-D technology.

Asus did not say how much WAVI Xtion will cost.

Asus is also using PrimeSense technology in a product forsoftware developerscalled Xtion PRO. To be released in February, Xtion PRO will let developers make applications that incorporate gesture controls.

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iPhone alarm glitch leaves users fuming

The bells weren't ringing for many iPhone users this New Year's weekend, when thanks to a glitch the alarms on Apple's iconic mobile phones failed to go off, causing many to oversleep.

It was the second time in just a few months that thealarmfunction on the phone failed to activate correctly, prompting an avalanche of complaints on the social networking micro-blog Twitter.

"DeariPhone, why didn't your alarm go off this morning? I set six of them. I've now missed church. Thanks for nothing,"said one user Sunday morning.

"Some sort of digital iPhone pandemic is going on.Alarm clockfailure reports are pouring in from all sources around the globe,"said another Twitter user.

Apple said in a message sent to Macworld magazine that the California-based company was aware of the problem."We're aware of an issue related to non-repeating alarms set for January 1 or 2,"spokeswoman Natalie Harrison said.

"Customers can set recurring alarms for those dates and all alarms will work properly beginning January 3."

The problem seemed to be affecting Apple's most recent versions of iPhones and iPods launched in November, but websiteEngadgetsuggested that it may also have hit earlier versions.

The problem first occured when the clocks went back at the end of October and early November when Australian and British iPhone owners complained of being late for work because their alarms had not switched over to the new time.

Apple did not immediately respond to a query from AFP on Sunday.

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Tablets galore on tap at major CES gadget fest

Tablet computers will lead a host of"smart"gadgets in the Nevada desert this week at a Consumer Electronics Show (CES) spotlighting slick new devices on the horizon.

CES attendance in Las Vegas should top the 126,000 figure from the annual event last January and the roster of exhibitors has climbed 2,000 to 2,700.

Internet software will fuse with televisions, cars and even household appliances at CES, where an army oftabletswill be unleashed to challenge Apple's winning iPads.

"Certainly the Number One trend will be tablets,"said NPD Group analyst Stephen Baker.

"I think every smartphone and PC (personal computer) company will either have one on their show floor; be showing them behind closed doors, or announcing things."

CES organizers said that from 40 to 80 tablets could debut at the event that runs from Thursday through Sunday.

Apple sold more than eight million iPads since the California company introduced the tablets in April and year-end sales could surpass 10 million.

Tablets being unveiled at CES weren't expected to pose a threat to the iPad, a second-generation version of which is likely to be announced this year.

Android and Windows"won't be right"for tablets for at least a year, givingiPadtime to secure its throne against tablets based on the operating software fromGoogleand Microsoft, respectively.

"We are going to be up to our armpits in crappy tablets, and I do mean crappy,"said independentSilicon Valleyanalyst Rob Enderle.

Among the more promising tablets are a Hewlett-Packard model that might not be introduced at the show and a Notion Ink Atom made by a small company out of Israel that crafted its own operating software.

Apple has become a defining force at CES despite the fact that it shuns the gathering.

"Right now, in the consumer electronics space, Apple is the shining star that everyone and their brother are chasing,"Enderle said.

"CES is increasingly becoming an Apple show even though Apple is not there."

A sold-out"iLounge"spanning 50,000 square feet (4,645 square meters) will be crammed with accessories and software for iPads, iPhones, and iPods.

A kit for installing iPads in cars will be among myriad covers, cases, headsets, docks, and applications for Apple devices.

"There is a whole Apple empire,"CES spokeswoman Tara Dunion said of the iLounge portion of an exposition floor spanning a total of 1.6 million square feet.

An"On the Go"section of the show floor will be a hotspot for tablets, smartphones and e-readers.

Internet connectivity will be an overriding theme at CES, with dumb gadgets from television sets to appliances being made"smart"with software that cuts energy consumption or shares information using the Web.

For the first time, home appliance colossus General Electric will be among CES exhibitors.

"It's Internet everything,"Dunion said.

"The Internet will be in all products from cameras to smart appliances and cars."

3D TVs that were stars at last year's CES will return, but this time with an emphasis on partnerships with film and television studios providing content intended to make such screens worth buying.

"In a connected world, hardware doesn't do much good without content,"Baker said.

"More and more we'll see and hear about how the hardware and the content work together."

TV makers will play up flat-screens that let people access the Internet without set-top boxes, according to analysts.

"Pretty much everything in the next year or two will sell with a connectivity option,"Baker said of TV hardware.

Microsoft is expected to provide the first look at Windows 7 media software for Internet televisions"better than what Apple and Google brought to market,"according to Enderle.

A keynote presentation on Wednesday by Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer could include a glimpse at the successor to the Windows 7 operating system released in 2009.

"There is enough smoke around this particular fire that it is likely we will see our first glimpse of Windows 8 at the show,"Enderle said.

Telecom titans such as Verizon and AT&T will announce speedier wireless Internet networks crafted as highways for tablets and smartphones displayed at the gathering, according to Forrester Research analyst Sarah Rotman Epps.

Cars infused with Internet technology for entertainment, driver safety and fuel efficiency will also be stars of the show, according to analysts.

"A lot of wild work has been going into automotive,"Enderle said."This will probably be the show for automotive technology going forward."

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