CES technology has implications for business

The massive Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is held each year in Las Vegas, Nevada. The 2010 CES show, which ended Sunday, showcased myriad tablet/slate PCs, e-book readers, 3D-TVs, mobile, wireless, and in-car technologies.

Some of the more interesting products chosen by CNET for their Best of CES Awards were Intel's wireless display and Lenovo's IdeaPad U1 Hybrid PC. Other products that didn't make CNET's list are the Skiff Reader and USB 3.0 in an HP notebook.

The Intel wireless display technology known as "WiDi" received the people's voice award. It's an interesting device that allows you to connect select notebooks to a large HDTV monitor, well, wirelessly. Of course you'll need a WiDi enabled notebook PC and the wireless adapter that connects to the HDTV monitor.

Lenovo won best in computers and hardware for their IdeaPad U1 Hybrid notebook PC with a detachable display that doubles as a tablet/slate PC. Although tablet PCs are not new, they have yet to hit the mainstream of PC usage. Perhaps the unique design of the IdeaPad U1 Hybrid will ignite new interest in tablet/slate computers.

Another interesting tablet form-factor device is the Skiff Reader. This super thin large screen e-reader, designed for the upcoming Skiff e-reading service, brings reading newspaper and magazine content into the 21st century. In addition to newspapers, magazines and books purchased through the Skiff Store, the e-reader can be used to display personal and work documents.

Weighing just over a pound, the Skiff Reader has Wi-Fi and 3G wireless connectivity and an 11.5-inch high resolution UXGA (1200 x 1600) touch-screen display. The device features a new e-paper display based on a thin, flexible sheet of stainless-steel foil that's less vulnerable to breakage than the glass screens found in other e-readers.

USB 3.0, which has been in the works for some time now, made an appearance at CES in an HP notebook and WD external hard drive. USB 3.0 is very fast and backward compatible with earlier USB versions. The USB 3.0 spec can reach theoretical speeds of up to 5Gbps, over 10 times faster than the 480Mbps maximum of USB 2.0. Products supporting USB 3.0 will begin appearing in late January this year.