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Consumer Electronics Show, January 8 to 11

: CNET covers the best of CES

Products from CES

Best of CES 2007 awards
CNET picks the top products at CES.

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CNET users blog and shoot video from the show floor.

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Watch CES 2007 coverage

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See our CES 2007 photos

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Best in Show

The format war between HD DVD and Blu-ray has prevented any manufacturer from releasing a player that will handle both formats...until the LG BH100. At CES 2007, LG introduced the first player capable of playing both Blu-ray and HD DVD discs. We were skeptical that any company could deliver a combination player at the show, but the LG BH100 is the real deal. LG demonstrated how you can seamlessly switch between HD DVD and Blu-ray, changing discs, skipping chapters, and watching true HD (1080p) movies in either format without a hitch. Perhaps the most surprising part is that the LG BH100 is ready to roll: The $1,200 player will be in stores, including Best Buy and Circuit City, in February 2007. The LG BH100 finally allows consumers to purchase high-definition discs according to which movie they like--not which player they own.
Read more about the LG BH100

People's Voice

Ford Sync powered by Microsoft

In a last-minute flurry of votes, Microsoft Sync--a partnership between Ford and Microsoft--pulled ahead of the People's Voice pack. A factory-installed tech panacea, Sync will ship on 12 of Ford's 2008 cars and on the entire 2009 fleet. The flash-based system lets drivers call hands-free (12 phones work with the always-on Bluetooth connection) and control MP3 players via voice commands and buttons mounted on the steering wheel.
Read more about Ford Sync powered by Microsoft

Best of CES winners in each category

Cameras and camcorders

Sony HDR-HC7

HD camcorders are the big thing for 2007, with prices for consumer models turning them into the mainstream camcorders to have. Sony's HC7 includes several next-generation technologies, including support for the xvYCC color space, which facilitates better colors for capture and display. Sony's HDR-HC series also has a proven track record of excellent MiniDV performance.
Read more about the Sony HDR-HC7

Car tech

Dash Navigation Dash Express

Dash Navigation's Dash Express takes GPS navigation to the next level. With its two-way connectivity--giving it access to other Dash units--as well as its preprogrammed, historic traffic-flow data, Dash Express has the potential to provide drivers with real real-time traffic information. Its Yahoo Local search gives drivers access to a points-of-interest database as big as the Web itself, and Dash throws in neat features such as the ability to search for gas stations by fuel price and for movie theaters by showtime.
Read more about the Dash Navigation Dash Express

Cell phones, smart phones, PDAs

Verizon Wireless V Cast Mobile TV

Verizon Wireless joins with MediaFlo to create a truly innovative and watchable TV-on-phone experience. V Cast Mobile TV offers full-length, live television programming on selected handsets via a dedicated UHF signal. There's little of the pixelated, choppy effects of 3G video streaming, and audio/video syncing and channel switching are zippy.
Read more about Verizon Wireless V Cast Mobile TV

Computers and hardware

Microsoft Windows Vista

You can't escape it. From the gigantic Windows Vista banner we saw at the airport minutes after landing in Las Vegas, to every hardware vendor talking about its plans to incorporate Vista in upcoming models, Microsoft's long-awaited OS is everywhere this week. Why does it belong in our computers and hardware category? New systems announced at the show, such as the HP TouchSmart all-in-one PC and the Asus SideShow laptop, provide a glimpse of what Vista will offer.
Read more about Microsoft Windows Vista

Emerging tech

Powercast

Powercast could forever change the way we interact with our handheld gadgets. Powercast uses the energy from a transmitted RF signal to power small, battery-operated devices--cell phones, wireless PC peripherals, and hearing aids may never go dead again. The transmitter can be placed in anything that plugs into the wall (lamps, alarm clocks, and so on) and can send a low, continuous signal to small gadgets that contain an embedded receiver. Charging batteries may never be necessary again.
Read more about Powercast

Gaming

Alienware Area 51 m9750

Two high-end GPUs, two processing cores, two enormous hard drives, and one big, beautiful, 17-inch display. Alienware might just have best gaming laptop we've ever encountered, and that's before you get to its integrated TV tuner and Blu-ray drive. This Vista-based mobile gaming monster is the first to serve up two GeForce Go 7950 cards, which, along with an overclocked Core 2 Duo processor, should allow it to post some ridiculously fast frame rates. The kicker? Alienware sounded sincere when it told us that it is attempting to bring a dual-GPU baseline model to market at less than $2,000.
Read more about the Alienware Area 51 m9750

Home audio

Philips HTS8100 SoundBar

We've seen single-speaker virtual-surround systems before, but the Philips HTS8100 is the first one that includes a built-in CD/DVD player. Wire up the external subwoofer and run the HDMI output to your flat-panel TV (it upconverts DVDs to 1080p resolution), and the result is the most minimalist home theater system to date.
Read more about the Philips HTS8100 SoundBar

Home video

LG BH100

The format war between HD DVD and Blu-ray has prevented any manufacturer from releasing a player that will handle both formats...until the LG BH100. Although it's expensive at $1,200, the player puts pressure on other deck makers to adopt both formats and, more importantly, allows potential buyers to finally purchase discs according to which movie they like--not which player they own.
Read more about the LG BH100

MP3 and portable audio

SanDisk Sansa Connect

Wireless connectivity isn't a brand-new feature for MP3 players (hello, Zune and Apple iPhone), but SanDisk takes connectivity in a different direction by allowing users to hop onto any open Wi-Fi connection to trade and to recommend songs from any distance. The Sansa Connect also offers a sleek design; a fun, user-friendly interface; and access to streaming Internet radio.
Read more about the SanDisk Sansa Connect

TVs

Samsung FP-T5894W

Samsung's wireless TV, the first of its kind, comes with a separate base station that accepts connections from A/V gear and wirelessly transmits to the 58-inch plasma panel via 802.11n at a range of up to 300 feet. That means fewer holes in the wall and maybe even a plasma by the pool.
Read more about the Samsung FP-T5894W

See all the Best of CES finalists