Recession Takes Bite Out of CES Buzz

There was more to electronics show than TVs

(NEWSER) - This year's Consumer Electronics Show had the predictable high-tech TVs and other conventional items—but the 3,100 exhibitors also showed off some rather bizarre devices. A few highlights:

• Solowheel. An electric unicycle with no seat and footboards that allow riders to stand and lean in the direction they want to go. The 26-pound, $1,800 machine goes 10mph on its battery-powered motor, and has a 15- to 20-mile range.

'Ultra-resolution' screen uses motion control, too

(NEWSER) - Perhaps the days of searching for remotes are coming to a close: LG's latest TV operates using voice- and 3D motion-control. The 84-inch HDTV, shown off at the Consumer Electronics Show today, offers "ultra-resolution" and a bezel of just a millimeter, Mashable reports. It also has a plasma touch-screen for the company's Smart TV system. Plus, LG's latest television line will include Google TV, notes CNET . More»

Slate columnist: Tech journalists won't say it, but the show's always a bore

(NEWSER) - Farhad Manjoo isn’t one of the tech journalists descending on Las Vegas this weekend. He decided to stay home and avoid “the overcrowded, overstuffed, chaotic, and profoundly pointless vaporware parade known as CES,” he writes in Slate . The Consumer Electronics Show “is an enormous waste of time,” and all tech journalists know it, he contends—but because it gives them so dang much to blog about, they all schlep out there anyway. More»

Two conventions begin tomorrow, drive up room rates

(USER SUBMITTED) - Mash up the ultimate geek-o-rama with the awesomest porn-o-rama and who wins? Las Vegas hotels. Room rates are 10 times what they were last week, and some Vegas hotels are getting more this coming weekend than they did on New Year's Eve, reports IndyPosted via the Las Vegas Review-Journal . The Consumer Electronics Show and the Adult Entertainment Expo are putting out their finest gadgets and models starting tomorrow and going through the weekend. More»

Search giant must improve inter-company relations: analysts

(NEWSER) - Google has delayed the grand unveiling of its new TV software, after a spate of less-than-stellar early reviews. Toshiba, LG Electronics, and Sharp were all planning to debut their versions of Google TV at the Consumer Electronics Show next month, but Google surprised them by asking them to hold off while it tinkers with the software, the New York Times reports. Samsung will now likely be the only company showing off a Google set at the show. More»