Productopia | Carl Laron

At Consumer Electronics Show, it's hard to miss Sony, LG, Panasonic, etc. But sometimes -- actually, make that most time -- the thing that makes you stop and say "whoa, that's just cool" can be found in the smallest booths tucked away in the farthest reaches of the show's most remote exhibition hall. At this year's CES, one product that delivered that cool factor for me was the MakerBot Replicator 3D printer. Read more

Press Day at CES can seem a little surreal at times. After all, it's when some of the biggest names in consumer electronics do their darndest to convince the media that their new mousetrap is the best ever invented -- even if they said the same thing about last year's mousetrap (and never mind how that turned out). Lots of smoke and mirrors, and song and dance -- not to mention some big name celebrity endorsers such as Justin Timberlake, Kelly Clarkson and Will Smith. Oh, yeah, there was some pretty neat technology on display as well, especially in the realm of home entertainment. Here is some of what piqued my interest. Read more

With the Christmas holiday now in our rear-view mirror, and the new year nearly upon us, it is time to focus on the next big event on the calendar: the 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), which officially kicks off on Jan. 10. That's when somewhere in the neighborhood of 150,000 attendees will descend on Las Vegas to see the latest and the greatest -- and, yes, plenty of the not-so-great as well -- in electronics for the home and on the go. Though much of what's to be unveiled remains a closely guarded secret, some rumors and official announcements have snuck out. Here's just a taste of what to expect. Read more

They're here. We've been waiting for Blu-ray players to crack the $50 barrier for a while now, and the first round of Black Friday circulars reveals that the wait is over. We know of at least two offers, and there's the possibility of more once all is said and done. While you can still save a tiny bit by opting for a DVD player, at this price point, a Blu-ray player makes far more sense for anyone with an HDTV, or that thinks they might get an HDTV in the next year or two. Don't forget, in addition to delivering pristine (or at least near-pristine) video quality with high-def Blu-ray discs, Blu-ray players are completely compatible with DVDs, and usually do as good a job -- or better -- than most DVD players when it comes to taking those discs and scaling their standard-def images for display on an HDTV. But are these bargain Black Friday Blu-ray players really a bargain? Let's find out Read more