Complete coverage: CES 2009

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The new Palm Pre, which runs on the new Web OS operating system, will not work with older applications supported on the Palm Treo and other smart phones, a Palm Inc. official confirmed.

Microsoft Corp. has ditched the download limit on Windows 7 beta, saying that users will be able to grab the preview through Jan. 24 -- even if the total exceeds the 2.5 million cap it had set earlier.

Attendance at this year's International CES trade show could be well below organizer estimates, according to preliminary data.

As Apple invades the consumer electronics space and cell phone market -- and as CES replaces Comdex as the "everything" show -- the contrasting style and substance of Macworld and CES provide a dramatic glimpse into who's up, who's down and who's who in consumer technology.

Designers of consumer electronics products need to go far beyond pink or purple cases to hold cell phones or laptops to appeal to female customers, a panel of designers said at CES.

Quick-boot capabilities have lingered on the horizon for years, but they could finally take off in small PCs such as netbooks and minilaptops.

New Palm Pre features touch screen, Web OS

Palm Inc. announced a new operating system running on a new smart phone called the Palm Pre, which will ship by July exclusively on the Sprint Nextel Inc. 3G network.

Sony's new Vaio P is a diminutive 1.4-lb. miniaturized laptop with an 8-in. 1,600-by-768 resolution screen. It's small size packs in a lot, but also has drawbacks.

Dell unveiled its upcoming Adamo computer, revealing it to be a lightweight laptop, which could make it a possible competitor to Apple's MacBook Air.

A top Clearwire Inc. official said the national WiMax high-speed wireless network market will grow in 2009, although details on when and where are still being discussed.

CEO Steve Ballmer unleashed Windows 7 at CES. Where can you get the public beta, how do you install it, and will you need to patch after you have the new OS on your PC? Questions, everyone has questions. We have some of the answers.

Microsoft Corp. launched the beta of Windows 7, posting the preview of the company's next operating system to its developer download services. CEO Steve Ballmer made the announcement at International CES Wednesday night.

The just-released beta 1 version of Windows 7 is a solid, fast-performing, stable operating system that appears to be just about fully baked and ready for prime time. It is much further along than Windows Vista was during its initial beta phase, and it appears to be feature-complete. Based on the stability and speed of this beta, don't be surprised if Microsoft releases Windows 7 before 2010 rolls around.

Many technologies are being touted to replace VGA and DVI. The two leading candidates are HDMI and DisplayPort, while USB remains the underdog.

While you might expect vendors to speak optimistically even in an economic downturn, the wireless vendors at International CES have solid reasons to be cheerful.

The company's new higher-performance SSDs for laptops are priced at less than $250 for a 120GB model and are being positioned as a "drop-in replacement" for hard disk drives to extend the life of hardware.

Cisco Systems pushed further into living rooms with new audio devices and network-attached storage products for the digital home, as well as a hosted software platform, Cisco Eos, aimed at helping media and entertainment companies create and manage online fan communities.

While vendors such as Hewlett-Packard, Dell and Lenovo are putting their latest laptops on crash diets, Gateway Inc. is boldly dismissing this as a fad.

Hewlett-Packard unveiled an all-in-one touch-screen-enabled desktop for businesses and large organizations, extending its growing line of TouchSmart PCs.

It signs up two vendors, Via and Shuttle Computer, to build Windows Home Server systems.

Some 65% of consumers polled at the Consumer Electronics Show say some companies overstate their green credentials to sell more products.

SanDisk Corp. unveiled its new Sansa MP3 music player as a companion to the company's line of slotRadio music cards, which come preloaded with music.

Asustek Computer debuted an ultrathin, light netbook called the S121 with two new technologies, Microsoft's yet-to-be released Windows 7 OS and the world's largest solid-state drive at 512GB.

LG Electronics announced a high-speed wireless wristwatch phone with video chat and text messaging capabilities.

The 2009 International CES trade show kicks off tomorrow, bringing the latest in global technology ingenuity to the forefront in the midst of a recession that some economists believe will extend at least into midyear.

Big innovations expected this year include a low-energy version of Bluetooth and a high-speed version using Wi-Fi at speeds 10 times faster than current specifications. http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9125178

The thinnest and smallest full-QWERTY BlackBerry, the BlackBerry Curve 8900 is the latest addition to RIM's popular family of smart phones.

Motorola to offer phone made from recycled plastic bottles

Motorola Inc. will show off a new cell phone made from recycled plastic water bottles, a touch tablet,' flip phone, rechargeable TV remote and a femtocell in a picture frame also to be shown at the Consumer Electronics Show.

Hewlett-Packard is introducing a netbook PC, the Mini 2140, with an extra-cost six-cell battery that it said will enable the system to run for up to eight hours before needing a recharge.

Lenovo Group's 2009 lineup of consumer desktop and laptop PCs is led by a new IdeaPad notebook that is as nearly as skinny as Apple's latest consumer laptops.

Software could overshadow gadgets at the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show, with Microsoft expected to shed light on its upcoming Windows 7 operating system.

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• Barbara Krasnoff: CES: Dell's Adamo offers luxury computing in hard times
• IT Blogwatch: Palm previews the Pre and webOS
• Seth Weintraub: CES is more interesting to this Apple Watcher than Macworld
• Barbara Krasnoff: CES: Storage for the less-than-tech-savvy
• Barbara Krasnoff: CES: Casio's new Dynamic Photo adds blue-screen to home videos
• Barbara Krasnoff: CES: Netgear talks about entertainment with panache - and NAS
• Barbara Krasnoff: CES: Iosafe starts the show with fireworks -- or, at least, a fire
• Dan Tynan: CES preview: The wireless revolution is finally here
• Preston Gralla: Five things Ballmer should say at CES
• Mike Elgan: How laptop screens will steal the show at CES
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Microsoft chief Steve Ballmer delivers the CES keynote address. Click on the video to play it.

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