Hi-tech Frontier

Vue mesh network video system We had a chance to play around with Avaak's new multi-camera wireless video system, the Vue, and we've got to say -- it's kind of neat. The technology -- originally funded by DARPA and developed by the company for the military -- uses a mesh network (dubbed FrameMesh) to allow up to 50 cameras to communicate with a single base station. The premise is simple, you connect the included base to your router, then switch on as many of the cameras as you like; each one feeds its signal back home, then straight to your account on the company's servers where you can monitor the videos remotely. Once the video hits the page (the cameras stay off until you're actually watching something), you can record, or share them via Facebook, Flickr, etc. The cameras themselves are tiny things, and each one perches on a magnetized base where they can be adjusted to almost any position. The basic kit will run you $299, which includes the base station and two ...

CEIVAlife digital photo frame This whole global economic crisis, and its resulting massive loss of jobs got us thinking. We here at Engadget didn't want to stand helplessly by, announcing every new round of misery without giving anything back -- so we decided to take the opportunity to spread a little positivity. We'll be handing out a new gadget every day (except for weekends) to lucky readers until we run out of stuff / companies stop sending things. Today we've got a CEIVAlife digital photo frame.

GM Opel Ampera As expected, GM just officially unwrapped its new Opel Ampera, the European rebadge of its Voltec-powered Chevy Volt. It's looking pretty "fit," as they say overseas, and will go into production late 2011. Internals are just what we're used to with the Volt, with a 16kWh lithium-ion battery that takes the car 60km (about 37 miles) and a gas powered generator for recharging the battery once depleted, that can extend the range to more than 500km (about 311 miles).

Pentax X70 Well, it looks like those intrigued by that Pentax bridge camera that turned up yesterday didn't have to wait too long to get the full scoop on it, as the camera has now produced yet another leak ahead of the big PMA show, this time with complete specs and a name: the X70. Among the stand-out features here is a 24x optical zoom, along with a more than adequate 12 megapixels, a 2.7-inch LCD, and a number of reasonably high-end features, including "reliable shake-reduction," 720p video recording, settings from ISO 50 to ISO 6400, and a high-speed shooting mode that'll let you capture up to 11 images per second. What's more, while Pentax still isn't saying anything official about the camera, it has already turned up on B&H's website with a price of $399.95, though there's no indication of a release date just yet.

LaCie new Sally Struthers-approved USB key drives If you felt that LaCie's CurrenKey ultraportable storage solution was a bit too heavy in the yuks department, the company's back with something that might be a little more up your proverbial alley. With a form factor that reminds one of a late-night ad for a correspondence course in locksmithing, these miniature microSD card readers offer 20MB/s read and 10MB/s write speeds. Additionally, PassKey supports microSDHC cards, and both iamaKey and itsaKey are available with either 4GB or 8GB of built-in storage. Sure, this guy won't open a cold one for you, but the shock-proof, Windows ReadyBoost-compatible device does look good on a keyring. You know, if that's what you're into. Price and availability to be announced.

ASUS 1TB SSD within Lamborghini VX5 laptop We're just now wrapping our heads around that 1TB SSD that pureSilicon launched in January, and already ASUS is looking to place us back in a state of disbelief with its newfangled Lamborghini VX5 laptop. Said machine, which is slated to debut tomorrow alongside a litany of other products here in Hannover, will sport a 1TB SSD, a Core 2 Quad CPU, 4GB of RAM and a 16-inch "Full HD" display. You'll also find a GeForce GT 130M graphics card with 1GB of GDDR3 memory, an illuminated "chiclet" style keyboard and a Blu-ray optical drive to boot. Needless to say, this one's aimed at those not fazed by stratospheric price tags, and we're saying that well before the MSRP has been made public. Call it a hunch... or just superb deductive reasoning.

Sony CyberShot DSC-HX1 camera Sony has finally shown its cards for PMA this year, and that Ten of Clubs up its sleeve looks to be the CyberShot DSC-HX1 we heard about last week. According to the presser, it's the company's first digital camera with sweep panorama technology for up to 224-degree horizontal and 154-degree vertical panorama shots with the push of a button. It's also sporting a 20x optical zoom, 1/2.4-inch Exmor CMOS sensor for 10 frames per second at 9.1 megapixel resolution, a Sony G lens and 1080p HD movie recording. Look for it this March for around five Benjamins.

MSI GT725 17-inch gaming laptop Remember that GT725? You know, that behemoth of a gaming laptop announced alongside 43.8 other MSI machines at CES. Anywho, MSI has just come clean with the actual specifications, and gamers in the crowd looking for a portable rig should be pleased. The machine is claiming to be the first ever gaming lappie to include ATI's 512MB Radeon HD4850 GPU, and that's complemented by a 17-inch WUXGA (anti-glare) display, a 320GB SATA hard drive, Blu-ray optical drive, 4-in-1 multicard reader, up to 4GB of RAM, a plethora of ports, nine-cell battery, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, gigabit Ethernet and a 2 megapixel webcam. There's also an ExpressCard slot, four standard speakers plus a "subwoofer" and a Turbo Drive Engine to make overclocking a lesson in simplicity. The 7-pound unit is being billed as MSI's new flagship laptop, and with a list of internals like that, we can fully understand why.

Kodak EasyShare Z915 While a smattering of other camera outfits decided to out most of their new point-and-shoot models a few weeks prior to PMA, Kodak has kept with tradition by breaking their new kid out here in Vegas. The EasyShare Z915 is a markedly standard 10 megapixel shooter, boasting a 10x image stabilized optical zoom lens, the company's own Smart Capture feature to automatically snag the best shots, support for AA batteries, a 2.5-inch rear LCD and an SD / SDHC card slot. It'll be available in red, blue, black and gray this April for a completely respectable $199.95. Trouble is, you'll probably forget this thing even exists by then.

SonyDPP-FP97 and DPP-FP67 photo printers Not content with just showing off new TVs, home theater systems, Blu-ray players, and cameras, Sony also unveiled at PMA two new photo printers for giving your digital memories a more tangible existence. The $120 DPP-FP67 and $200 DPP-FP97 create 4 x 6 prints in 45 and 67 seconds, respectively. Additionally, the FP97 (above and to the right) also sports HDMI out and a 3.5-inch LCD. No fancy Bluetooth connectivity like Dell's Wasabi, unfortunately, but the pair does support a variety of cards including SD, SDHC, MMC, xD and of course, Memory Stick. Look for these to help you finish that picture album when they hit retail channels sometime in May.

ASUS Dual Panel Touchscreen PC It may be snoozin' time on the East Coast of America, but things are already getting heated in Hannover. Live from the CeBIT floor, we present to you ASUS' Dual Panel touchscreen PC. The show models were still very much conceptual, with the hinges showing signs of imperfections and the interface not quite ready to be touched by onlookers. We did spot that the units on hand were humming along on Windows 7, though. The on-screen keyboard looked great from where we stood, but it's tough to say how hard it would be to get used to banging out dissertations on a flat panel.

ASUS Lamborghini VX5 laptop While it was admittedly difficult to turn our attention away from ASUS' Dual Panel touchscreen PC, we couldn't help but notice its latest Lamborghini-inspired machine. The newly announced VX5 was on display here at CeBIT, sporting a 1TB SSD, leather panel rests, that iconic Lamborghini logo and a few chrome accents to boot. Oh, and take our word for it -- that leather was supple. Real supple.

ASUS Eee Keyboard Remember that Eee Keyboard that was announced during CES? ASUS did itself proud by bringing a few to CeBIT this year, and we were able to swing by and take a look. The 5-inch, 800 x 480 touchpad was looking mighty fine, and the Atom N270 within seemed plenty powerful. It's a touch hard to believe that ASUS was able to shove a 16GB SSD, 1GB of RAM, WiFi and Bluetooth modules, VGA / HDMI ouputs and a few USB 2.0 ports within a slim, elegant keyboard, but somehow or another it did. Oh, and the actual typing experience wasn't bad from the few moments we spent practicing this here post.

MSI three new limited edition laptops for Japan: PX600, PR201 and EX620 MSI's more budget-minded offerings may be attracting most of the attention as of late, but the company has also been known to produce the odd premium laptop, and it's just let loose its latest batch in Japan. Leading the way is the leather-wrapped 15.4-inch PX600 Prestige Collection model, which is limited to a mere 30 units and packs a 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo P8600 processor, GeForce 9300M GS graphics, 4GB of RAM, and an equally stylish 4GB USB drive. A bit less limited is the 12.1-inch MSI PR201 YA! One, which is available in your choice of pink, green, or blue, and boasts some decent if unspectacular specs, including a 2GHz Core 2 Duo T4200 processor, 4GB of RAM, and a 320GB hard drive. Rounding things out is the 16-inch MSI EX620, which mixes things up with some ATI Radeon HD 3470 graphics and a Blu-ray burner, among other fairly standard specs. No word on a price for the PX600, it seems, but the PR201 and EX...

Samsung NC20 We've already seen Samsung's borderline netbook unboxed and on sale across the pond, but up until now, us Yanks have had to sit and ponder whether waiting for this to come Stateside was a worthwhile use of time. For those that held off, kudos. Laptop has received word from Sammy itself that an Americanized version of the 12.1-inch, VIA-powered NC20 will ship here in the United States starting on March 6th. At least initially, the computer will be offered up exclusively through NewEgg.com, and we're told that the US version will be black in color and equipped with a 5900mAh battery. The only detail that wasn't disclosed was the price, so it seems we've a few hours yet to wait before that becomes clear.

Casio EX-Z29 It's not HD, but we'll still give Casio's new EX-Z29 props for trying. The primarily bland compact camera (Casio itself describes the shooter as "Sleek & Sturdy") offers up a 848 x 480 video record mode and direct-to-YouTube setting to go along with the 10.1 megapixel sensor, 3X zoom and 2.7-inch LCD. The "Sturdy" camera is 0.91-inches thick, offers Anti Shake DSP for mildly less blurry photos and hits retail this month for $150, available in black, pink, blue, silver or purple.

Apple new 24-inch and 20-inch iMacs Apple just announced new 24-inch and 20-inch iMacs. Prices start at $1,199 for the 20-inch and $1,499 for the 24-inch. At the base level Apple offers a 20-incher with 2.66Ghz Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB of RAM, a 320GB HDD and GeForce 9400M graphics, the rest of the iMacs are 24-inch numbers with 4GB of RAM standard. In the high end Apple has 2.93GHz and 3.06GHz processor for $1,799 and $2,199, respectively, with GeForce GT 120 256MB and GeForce GT 130 512MB graphics. In between there's a 24-incher for $1,199 with 9400M graphics, a 2.66GHz processor and a 640GB HDD. On the outside it's that same iMac candy shell you know and love. All models are available now.

Apple Nehalem based Mac Pro News is just breaking across the wires as we speak, but Apple has announced a new Nehalem based Mac Pro with a starting price of $2,499. The new systems feature either a single core 2.66GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon 3500, or a dual 2.26 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon 5500, start with 3GB of memory, a 640GB hard drive, and the NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 with 512MB of RAM.

Apple refreshes Mac mini lineup with GeForce 9400M graphics After all that excitement in the run-up, Apple's done just about the bare minimum that was expected in a Mac mini update -- though we suppose the expected five USB ports will be a boon for homebuilt RAID enthusiasts. The new SKUs both run 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo processors and are backed up by the same NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics that've done wonders for the MacBook. For $600 you get 1GB of RAM and a 120GB hard drive, $800 nabs 2GB of RAM and a 320GB hard drive -- both minis have 8x SuperDrives.

Yuhua Xphone-SDK If you enjoyed feasting your eyes on that DSTL1 from General Mobile a couple weeks back, pay extra close attention here. Turns out that phone was designed by Chinese firm Yuhua, and they're back at it with a second Android device -- this time a reference design, seemingly without a distributor lined up -- the Xphone-SDK. We'd argue that this one looks even better than the DSTL1 did (from the renders here, anyway), but the specs suffer, stepping down to just 128MB of RAM and 256MB of ROM on board. As usual, you're left with just EDGE data, though a 3G version is promised down the road -- not to say it matters too much unless a brand decides to pick it up and sell it. What do ya say, General Mobile?

New Airport Extreme juggles two networks simultaneously Apple's new Airport Extreme actually brings some fun stuff to the staid wireless router market. The power comes from its new dual-band WiFi radios, allowing it to work in 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands simultaneously, support up to 50 users simultaneously and even set up a separate limited-access network for guests. That $179 pricetag doesn't get any easier to swallow, but at least you'll have the hippest 802.11n access point in your dorm.

Sony Ericsson W595 You know that a handset is getting close to overstaying its welcome when the special editions start knocking on the door, but Sony Ericssons's W595 slider has only been around for a few months, so we're going to cut it some slack this time around. The so-called Cosmopolitan Edition adds a floral theme in white and red, but it doesn't stop there -- you've also got a floral charm, a custom UI skin, and five, count 'em, five pre-loaded music tracks. No word on pricing, but you can expect to see it around Western Europe at some point this month.

Sony 240Hz, RFID enabled BRAVIA LCDs in Japan If the trouble of typing in a credit card number was the thing keeping you from renting acTVila video on-demand movies in Japan, Sony's fixed that right up by including FeliCa reading capability in the remote for its latest BRAVIA LCDs. No longer tied to an ugly outboard box, now you need only to press your credit card, cellphone or other RFID enabled device against the remote to authorize payment. The Japanese edition W5 and F5 line of LCDs mostly feature 240Hz MotionFlow and the latest BRAVIA Engine 3 display processing, and top out around ¥450,000 ($4,614) for a 52-inch.

Samsung BD-P1600 Netflix Blu-ray player Samsung's new value priced Blu-ray player managed to fly under our radar at CES in favor of its better equipped brethren but that hasn't stopped Dave Zatz and others from stumbling into them at retail lately, like this one sitting on a Best Buy shelf. By making BD-Live required 1GB storage and WiFi dongle aftermarket accessories, you can grab a slim, Netflix streaming, fast Blu-ray loading box for $299. Right now we'll probably wait until the whole product line appears and prices slide down a bit more before considering picking one up, but depending on your needs this could be a good option

Acer K10 pocket projector Acer announced its K10 pocket projector way back in December, but it looks like it's just now finally landed in the UK, and unfortunately received a bit of a price hike in the process. Now retailing for just over £400 (or $560, roughly a $100 increase), the SVGA projector otherwise seems to have remained unchanged since its debut, with it still promising an impressive 20,000 hour lamp life, and offering up 100 ANSI lumens of brightness, a 1,000:1 contrast ratio, and a projected image size up to 60 inches. As you can see, it's also not quite able to join the ranks of pico projectors, though its specs certainly beat out most of its smaller cousins.

Sony BDP-S360 and BDP-S560 Blu-ray players Hope you didn't just pull the trigger on a BDP-S350, 'cause we get the feeling Sony's two newest standalone BD decks are going to make you yearn for the next best thing. Here in Las Vegas, the company has just come clean with the Profile 2.0 BDP-S360 and BDP-S560, the latter of which includes integrated WiFi for tapping into BD-Live content and downloading future firmware updates sans an Ethernet cable. Also, the unit is fully DLNA-ready, handles DVD upscaling, bit-streams audio via HDMI, decodes Dolby TrueHD / DTS-HD Master Audio and plays nice with external media loaded up on a USB drive. As predicted, the lower-end BDP-S360 is essentially the same player sans WiFi. Moving on, we've got a new pair of 5.1-channel Blu-ray HTIB systems: the BDV-E300 and BDV-E500W. Both bundles include a BD-Live-capable (Profile 2.0) Blu-ray player, while the BDV-E500W sports integrated S-AIR wireless audio capabilities. In other words, your rear...

Sony W-Series BRAVIA HDTV While these three weren't quite ready for CES, they're still being debuted in Las Vegas alongside Sony's new Blu-ray devices. The W-Series, as with the recently announced BRAVIA Z5100 and XBR9 models, is fully equipped with an Ethernet jack and a Yahoo!-powered widgets engine. Consumers who bite on the 52-inch KDL-52W5100, 46-inch KDL-46W5100 or 40-inch KDL-40W5100 can expect easy access to Amazon Video on Demand, YouTube, Sony Pictures content, etc. The new family also includes Sony's Motionflow 120Hz technology, DLNA compatibility, a USB port for loading up external media, BRAVIA Sync (HDMI-CEC), four HDMI inputs and the Xross Media Bar (XMB) interface. As expected, each one sports a 1080p panel, and while pricing details are still sorely missing, the trifecta should hit retailers later this Spring.

Sony Optiarc Europe 24x AD-7240S DVD burner While we're not totally in agreement with Sony Optiarc Europe's claim that its AD-7240S DVD burner (AD-7220 A/S pictured) is the first on the planet to achieve a 24x burn rate, we won't deny the awesomeness. Inappropriately hailed as a "speed miracle," the drive features the company's Auto Strategy Technology in order to ensure perfect burns every time. You should also know that it'll toast blank CDs at up to 48x and dual-layer DVD-Rs at 12x. Nah, it's no Blu-ray burner, but it's not like you can even afford that kind of optical media, anyway.