The holidays have come and gone and so has CES!  We haven’t published any articles as of late, though that is not to say we don’t have any coming.  In fact, we have been spending the holidays and the first half of January reviewing products from Schtickers, Silverstone, A-DATA, Vizo, Tacens and more! However, now to the actual topic of this article: a CES overview.

We were unable to attend CES this year, nevertheless we have rounded up some of the many releases at the event.

Seagate and WD down and dirty with USB 3.0

Both Seagate, and Western Digital jumped into the USB 3.0 market as Seagate unveiled the Black Armor PS 110 USB 3.0 Performance kit and Western Digital showed off the My Book 3.0 drive.

The PS 110 USB 3.0 Performance kit differentiates itself from the regular PS 110 with its USB 3.0 connection interface, meaning higher speeds for the consumer.  To help you “upgrade” your non-USB3.0 notebook the Performance kit even includes an express card expansion. The drive itself is a 2.5” 500GB, 7200 RPM drive and comes with a 5 year limited warranty.  (Product Page / Press Release)

The WD My Book 3.0 comes with a 1 TB capacity and a 2 year limited warranty, and claims to be up to 10 times faster than its USB 2.0 counterpart. The drive is already available at shopwd.com and retails for a price of $179.99. If you also want a PCI3 (gen2) adapter card, it will cost you an additional $20. Expect a 2TB version of the drive in the very near future! (Product Page / Press Release)

Verbatim reminds us their still in the storage game

Continuing on with storage solutions, Verbatim unveiled a “new range” of “slim, sleek, and stylish high-performance portable hard drives”. The products released or updated include the Titan XS, CLŌNE, My Clone and InSight. Storage capacities vary from 320gb to 640gb depending on the model. (Official Site / Press Release)

Razer is at it again, Motion Controls for PCs? Xbox 360?

Razer sets out to let PC Gamers enjoy the fun of motion sensing controllers

With all three major game consoles already supporting or preparing motion sensing controllers, PC gamers can now also enjoy the fun. Well not yet, but the way it looks, it will be possible in the near future. Razer and Sixsense have hooked up to bring motion sensing controls via magnetic field to PC gaming. It is said to be similar to the Wii controls in tandem with Project Natal.  The user simply moves the controllers along with the game. Currently Valve is committed to the project and it has been hinted that further releases from the company will support this technology. Expect a product using this technology on the market sometime in the latter half of this year! (Official Site / Press Release)

Its not the easiest to explain but take a look at this video courtesy of TigerDirectBlog (Until 2:00):

Razer sets out to conquer the console industry

Razer also entered the console gaming market with the release of the Razer Onza and Chimaera for the Xbox 360. The Razer Onza is Razer’s take on the Xbox 360 controller. Dressed in black, and laced in green the Onza shares similarities with the original 360 controller. For example, the general shape is similar but with an aggressive edge. The layout appears to be unchanged from the original controller but there are some noticeable differences.  There are two extra triggers which the user can set the Y,X,A, or B buttons to, as well as tension adjustment for the two sticks.  The MSRP for the Razer Onza Professional Gaming Controller for Xbox 360 is US $49.99, a 25% higher than the Official Xbox 360 controller. No information is out yet about a possible release of a wireless version of the controller. (Product Page / Press Release)

The Razer Chimaera is a gaming headset for the 360 and offers full 5.1 surround sound and noise isolation. It also features “a Daisy-Chain” solution to allow multiple Razer base stations to be connected to create a direct, private communication channel for in-game conversations. MSRP for the Chimaera is US $129.99. (Product Page / Press Release)

Mad Catz goes Mad with Customization and Touch

The Cyborg RAT sets a new bar in customization

Mad Catz, another player in the gaming accessories market brought along the Cyborg RAThe majority of gaming mice today allow for quick DPI changes and some allow for custom weight and positioning.

However, Mad Catz took the concept of adjustability to a whole new level with the Cyborg RAT first off the RAT has four variants: the lowest end model RAT 3 features a 3200 dpi laser, moving up to the 4000 dpi RAT 5 and the top of the line model 5600 dpi RAT 7 and 9. So far it sounds like a typical gaming mouse eh?

Well, the top of the line models (7 & 9) are virtually the same except for the fact that the 9 is wireless, but more importantly they are both FULLY adjustable and by fully we really do mean fully. From length, to width, to weight, the RAT allows the user to customize the mouse to his or her preference. The RAT 5 also features additional adjustability but only to an extent by allowing the user to adjust the length of the mouse.

Pricing starts at $49.99 for the RAT 3 and up to $99.99 or $129.99 for the RAT 7 and 9 respectably. (Official Site / Press Release)

Mad Catz wasn’t done there; they also released the Eclipse Wireless Touchmouse, Litetouch Keyboard, and Mobilemouse.

The Touchmouse features a 1600dpi laser and Bluetooth 2.0 connectivity. It is powered using a single AA battery. As the name insinuates, the main feature of the mouse is the unique “touch scroll” in place of the traditional scroll wheel. The touch scroll is gesture-based control trackpad. The Eclipse Touchmouse will be available later this year.(Official Site / Press Release)

The Litetouch Keyboard also features a form of touch control and comes in both wireless and wired variations (the Wireless Litetouch Keyboard communicates over a wireless 2.4GHGz connection). It features a 360 degree trackball with left and right mouse button controls as well as its distinctive 3-1 touch panel. The 3-1 panel switches between media mode, numerical-pad mode, and MyEclipse mode. With all these features and backlit keys, the Litetouch does not come cheap: it has a MSRP of $129.99.(Official Site / Press Release)

The final product released by Mad Catz is the Eclipse Mobilemouse. As the name indicates, it is designed for the mobile user. The mouse is constructed out of hard-wearing materials and has a die cast frame to ensure durability. Its main catch point is not its 1600dpi laser or its nano dongle, but its 4 way scrolling 360 degree scroll ball. It’s a decent concept but considering Apple had done this in their Mighty Mouse half a decade ago, it may be a bit late to introduce it into the line.(Official Site / Press Release)

Logitech releases the Speaker Lapdesk N700

Getting closer to our roots in notebook cooling, Logitech brought forth the Speaker Lapdesk N700. The N700 has a cushioned bottom and can support notebooks up to 16”. Furthermore, it boats two 2” neodymium drives, each with 2W of power for sound, and has a fan for cooling. Sounds like a great package? Well it sure did for us, but remember nothing is perfect.

The N700’s fan moves a mere 6CFM and is rated at 31 dbA. To give you an idea of how loud that is, 30dbA is the noise level of a whisper. Sounds quiet does it not? Imagine it running when ever your notebook is. It is not very pleasant and something you may not be able to put up with. If the CFM were higher or Logitech had just not put the fan in and created airflow space rather than an on off switch it would be no problem. Note that the speakers of the N700 will have to be pumped through the 31dbA caused by the fan. Also don’t notebooks have speakers already? The quality must be pretty good if users are to appreciate the product.

In all honesty, it would be great to see Logitech put a little more thought and effort into their design. The Cooler Master U2 for example runs at 25dbA, though we don’t have many complaints about it. This is not to say that we like one company more than the other, the U2 is capable of 17.4 CFM per fan.

If you like the design, take a look at the Logitech Comfort Lapdesk instead. It will run you $40, likely less, as the N700 will run you $80. (Product Page / Press Release)

SteelSeries adds to its collection

Cooling off, we next look at the SteelSeries NP+. Adding to the large library of mouse pads, SteelSeries designed a water resistant mouse pad. The design appears to be very similar to that of the Zowie Gear N-RF1 which we reviewed back in September and which we believed to be a decent option for those looking for a mouse pad that makes their movements snappier. (Product Page / Press Release)

Turtle Beach updates the Micro and Amigo from I to II

Looking to boost the quality of sound out of your notebook? With many aftermarket sound enhancing products being desk prone or bulking out of the notebook they have not been a great success. Turtle Beach upgraded their Micro and Amigo and dubbed it the Micro II / Amigo II. The major change is the fact that the bulk can now be bent away from the computer as it is separated from the USB head. You can grab the Micro for $24.95 and get true 5.1 out of your notebook. (Product Page Amigo II / Micro II / Press Release)

25 Million Pixels, 6 Screens, and ATI

The last product we are featuring is not really related to notebooks but deserves to be mentioned. Samsung and ATI teamed up to work on SyncMaster MD230 mega-displayed for gamers that just can’t get enough. There are two versions but the version that caught our eye is the one with six screens. Yes, it’s been done before but in this case each 23” screen has a resolution of 2560 x 1600. Six screens combined, that is 12x the resolution of 1080p and nearly 25 million pixels. However there is a catch and this is where ATI comes in; the displays require a new ATI card to function. As for cost, the three monitor version will run you a cool $1,899 and the six goes for $3,099. Affordable? Yes; Cheap? No. (Source: Google News)