LAS VEGAS--We tech writers are constantly comparing real products to what we've seen in sci-fi movies. I'm still waiting for my Hoverboard, but at least we're inching a little closer to some "Minority Report"-style computer interfaces with the Mauz, a device that turns your iPhone into a mouse with special skills.

Mauz is like a combination of the Wii remote, the Kinect, and a desktop mouse. It involves a small device that plugs into your iPhone and an app that makes the magic happen.… Read more

LAS VEGAS--If you are looking to upgrade your existing computer to support 802.11ac, without having to get a new computer entirely, here's something to look forward to.

Trendnet announced today at CES 2013 its first USB 3.0 802.11ac W-Fi adapter, the AC1200 Dual Band Wireless USB 3.0 adapter, model TEW-805UB.

This adapter card supports the dual-stream setup Wi-Fi standard and offers the cap speed of up to 867Mbps, when used with a 802.11ac router. It also works with existing Wireless-N routers and offers up to 300Mbps data rate in this case.

The new adapter … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Canon piggybacks on this morning's PowerShot N announcement with the introduction of four new Pixma inkjet printers. Flaunting larger-than-average duty cycles and shipped with high-capacity ink cartridges, the Pixma MX392, MX452, MX522, and MX922 all-in-ones all deliver copy, scan, and print functions for individuals and large work groups.

Canon focuses on professional media handling on these devices, combining stationary wireless printing with Google Cloud Printing for the mobile crowd, not to mention compatibility with the Canon Easy-PhotoPrint app for Android and iOS devices that lets users forgo a standalone digital camera for a Web-connected smartphone.

Standing at the … Read more

LAS VEGAS--If you're tired of the router-modem combo device provided by your ISP, here's an alternative.

Netgear today unveiled at CES 2013 the first 802.11ac router in the States that also has a built-in ADSL2+ modem, the Netgear D6200 Wi-Fi DSL Modem Router. This router can be used directly with a DSL service without the need for a separate modem.

Personally, I generally am not a fan of combo devices, especially those provided by your ISP, but mostly because their router portion tends to be inferior to most existing routers on the market. The Netgear D6200 is … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Netgear showed off today at CES 2013 the latest in its line of NeoTV streaming players, the NeoTV Prime with Google TV (model GTV100).

The new player offers everything that previous players offered, plus the ability to run apps from Google Play. The player allows you to access a large pool of entertainment including movies, TV shows, and music from major streaming services such as Netflix, YouTube, Amazon Instant Video, HBO Go, Crackle, Flixter, Rhapsody, Pandora, and more. Google Play also gives you movies and new releases in HD, music albums, and apps designed specifically for the TV.

The … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Netgear's NeoTV player's feature list just went up a notch today.

Netgear announced at CES 2013 that it has added Sling Media's SlingPlayer to its line of NeoTV players: the NeoTV (NTV300), NeoTV Pro (NTV300S), the NeoTV Max (NTV300SL), and the just-announced NeoTV Prime with Google TV (GTV100).

The addition of the SlingPlayer means that now those with a Slingbox can use the NeoTV as a set-top box for streaming live TV shows, sporting events, recorded programming, and even movies on any TV via the Internet. It also means you can extend TV viewing to a … Read more

LAS VEGAS--If you're not so happy with Cisco's first 802.11ac router, the Linksys EA6500, there are now more options.

The networking vendors announced today at CES 2013 three more routers that all support 802.11ac. All of them belong to the same Linksys Smart Wi-Fi router series and share similar features as well as physical design as the Linksys EA6500. These new routers include:

Linksys Smart Wi-Fi Router AC 1750 HD Video Pro, EA6700: This is now the new top-notch Smart Wi-Fi Router in the Linksys portfolio. The AC1750 is designed for homes with 10 or more … Read more

LAS VEGAS--There might be a real solution to your online gaming at home after all, thanks to D-Link.

The networking vendor announced today at CES 2013 the first 802.11ac-based router designed specifically for gamers, which it aptly calls Gaming Router (model DGL-5500). In a way, this is the first major upgrade to the first router of this type, the DGL-4500 GamerLounge, that D-Link released more than four years ago.

And this seems an upgrade that's worth the wait.

Intelligent Internet management The DGL-5500 is the first router on the market to support the new StreamBoost technology that Qualcomm announced just a few days ago. … Read more

Two months ago, I called Promise's four-bay Pegasus J4 Thunderbolt storage device unconventional for its lack of RAID 5 support. Soon after that, at CES 2013, LaCie made the omission of RAID 5 a little more conventional with the introduction of the five-bay 5big Thunderbolt.

The new 5big Thunderbolt is the first multiple-bay storage device from LaCie that only supports RAID 0 or RAID 1. (Find out more about RAIDs here). In return it's a lot more affordable than a RAID 5-capable storage device of similar configuration.

The new 5big Thunderbolt is far from budget-friendly, however, with the … Read more