As she said, the Que is targeted toward business readers. So is the price, when the reader is released in April prices will be a whopping $649 for the 4GB model and $799 for the 8GB model — which will also feature 3G on top of the Wi-Fi that is featured on both.

OK, it’s big and it’s thin, but that is far too much money for a reader in my (e)book. For even $400 any reader can get a netbook with a color screen and a real keyboard. Maybe I just don’t get it.

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The VAC Phi 200 Power Amplifier had a whole room to itself at the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show. It looks pretty neat, but I think I’d rather spend my $9,800 on other things.

The VAC Amps amp specifications are as follows:

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A cool demonstration of the powerless technology from WiPower was turning heads at the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show.

Take a look, the booth featured floating lights powered by the wireless pad at the bottom.

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The Motorola Backflip was named the top upcoming cell phone at the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show and I can see why, it was incredibly fast.

The modified Android system was set up for social media especially and got tweets, Facebook updates and the like to the screen nearly instantly.

Launching with Android 1.5, the Backflip will be upgradable to Android 2.1. It will also feature a 5 megapixel camera, 3.1 inch HVGA — which was very responsive — and a 528 MHz Qualcomm processor. The phone also comes with Motoblur functionality; which backs up all the contact information including social media data and pictures.

CNET said that the Backflip had one especially novel feature:

Another unique feature of the Backflip is the trackpad, which Moto calls Backtrack, located on the back of the display (when the phone is open). It works just like a traditional trackpad, allowing you to navigate through menus, flip through photos, scroll through the home screen panes, and more.

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According to a MakerBot press release it works just like a glue gun.

To get a sense of how it works, imagine an extremely accurate, programmable glue gun. The Cupcake CNC starts by drawing a picture of the first layer of your object in plastic. It then raises the extruder up 1/3rd of a millimeter and draws the next layer. When all the layers are complete, you’ve manufactured a 3D object from your own or an open source design.

The device serves — a DIY kit itself– as a good glimpse into the subculture of do-it-yourself technology. While it’s not financially connected to Make Magazine or the popular open-source Audrino chip and operating system, MakerBot’s founder Bre Pettis has plenty of connections. Pettis created videos for Make Magazine and the MakerBot printer runs on the Audrino system.

The first few printers that come up on a Google search are $14,900 and $35,000, and the cheapest one on EBay is 4,999.98, so at $950 the MakerBot printer is a bit easier on the pocket book.

The printer can be used to make a robot shell for one of the many robotics kits out there or make a little gondola for a blimp kit.

At even the low price of $950, the MakerBot 3-D printer is a bit rich for the occasional tinkerer, but since the DIY movement is incredibly well connected, it could make a great addition to a local hackerspace and would be quite affordable if a few members split the cost. Renting out the MakerBot to other local makers could make up for a lot of the costs as well, though I didn’t find anything on Craigslist, talking to local makers could put one on the right track.

All in all, the MakerBot printer is a really interesting step in DIY tech and gets techies closer to putting their imaginations instead of their money into their new gizmo.

Below is some more video of the MakerBot printer in action at the 2010 CES.

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The Beamz interactive instrument is an interesting take on making music. Instead of actually learning an instrument, musicians can simply wave through a laser trigger to trigger a different “musical event.”

What does that mean? Well, watch the video. But basically every move through the laser sparks a bass beat, a drum fill or a synth riff.

It looks like a fun gizmo, but unless a DJ really wants something novel on stage I don’t see it exploding on the music scene.

The device comes in two versions, one for $199 with a preset package of songs and a $299 version for upgraded software that allows the user to tweak the sounds and add their own music for use with the Beamz.

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Here’s a pair of really cool, futuristic gadgets that turn the desktop into an empty desk.

The evoMouse mouseless mouse and projected keyboard are one of my favorite things at the Consumer Electronics Show. I’d seen the keyboard a while back, but never thought I’d be playing with one. It works pretty well for the level of technology and the small size.

There were a few little hiccups, but those could easily be attributed to trying to type on a new keyboard. When I first got a phone with a virtual keyboard I typed like a 13-year-old girl for weeks.

The mouse was great, and looks like a little robot dog. And it has full multitouch capabilities, truly a magic mouse.

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A perfect paring with the whole house audio Panasonic’s wireless spire speakers are awfully pretty.

There wasn’t a chance to hear the speakers, but look how tall gray and hansom they are!

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Remember Lite Brite?! Me too; all those tiny pieces to swallow, those bulbs that burn out and are too expensive to replace and those great colors.

OK, so Lite Brite was fun, but it was high time for an upgrade. That’s where Hi-Tec Art’s new design comes in.

Instead of pegs sticking into a lit board, the design offers a thin pad of foam over a 5 watt current. Each of the little LEDs have a pair of prongs that stick through and light up. An addition over the old school Lite Brite is the bendable light wires that Hi-Tec artists can wrap around the diodes — like in the picture.

The offering was one of the few young-kid gadgets, but the fun danger factor is still there for the kids since the prongs at the base of the LEDs is pretty sharp.

Go forth kids and swallow those LEDs and stab your finger — for America!

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I was walking through the maze of bizarre gadgets in the international bazaar at the Consumer Electronics Show seeing mostly flashlights switches and the like when I saw the Biocera laundry ball.

I kept walking for a moment, but thought, “I bet that would make a good picture,” so I walked back and asked about it so I could snap a picture and keep walking.

The rep said the ball would last for 1,000 washes — I was stunned.

The advertising says the Biocera ball works with nanotechnology balls that “have Negative ion and infrared rays” that shrink the surface tension of water. Nope, it doesn’t make sense at all, but let’s chalk that up to the translation.

If it really does work even just a little bit, it could mean saving the harsh and expensive detergents for the heavy, dirty loads of laundry.

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I got a chance to peek at the Peregrine Gaming Glove at the Consumer Electronics Show, it looks pretty sweet for serious gaming.

Basically, as the video shows, you can bind any keystroke to a spot on the glove. Touch the thumb to the second knuckle on your ring finger and you can switch weapon sets. Touch again at the tip of the pointer finger, and toss a grenade.

It looks to be especially useful in games with a lot of abilities like the one demoed. I think it would be perfect for FPSs though. Hypothetically, if someone were not sober and playing Modern Warfare 2 in the dark it could be difficult to call in that airstrike without throwing a grenade on accident — hypothetically of course.

The pro gamer also mentioned the glove’s use for feature-heavy programs like Photoshop — especially for artists. Finding Shift+Ctrl+Y (I don’t know, I just crop stuff) is annoying and navigating through the menus while trying to use a stylus pad takes the artist out of the creative moment.

The glove is only available for preorders right now, and at $130 it’s sure to price out all but hardcore gamers and maybe the occasional artist or graphic designer.

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The entire Intel space at the Consumer Electronics Show was focused on the new i7 processor line, but the cream of the crop was the interactive wall.

The wall, as the rep says, pulls feeds from Google News, Flickr and and puts them into a really trippy rolling box wave interface. Like the Intel rep says, it would be ideal for say a conference or an airport at a school or at a mall — anyplace where people want a quick taste of the internet.

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This is by far the coolest thing I’ve seen at the Consumer Electronics Show so far. The iPhone drone is just so, so awesome.

The possibilities of this thing are nearly endless. Citizen journalists could use this as a front line video capture device, sending video stories high directly to the internet. Firefighters and rescuers could use it to peek in windows and in unstable rubble to look for victims or survivors.

And of course you can use it to spy on your neighbors, scare the dog and generally goof around.

Reps I talked to said the price point would likely be around $249. It’s still a toy, surely, and I’d like to see how it handles in a little wind, but what a great gadget. I’ve seen larger industry versions for photographers, but the price reaches toward $5,000 and up.

Reps said there is no plan for an Android app, but they didn’t rule it out.

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Xantech, Inc. created the Digital Delivery System for audio; which pumps high quality sound with amplification into any room in the house via cheap CAT-5 cable (hear that Monster?).

Installation looks pretty simple, just the same as a light switch or wall socket without having to deal with dying by electrocution. The wall mounts come with every output you could want, as well as IR inputs for remotes and whatever else audiophiles have laying around.

This would be perfect for setting up a music center in the living room or basement and piping it into every room in the house without having to deal with spotty wi-fi or home networks. Not to mention, pumping some big bass through laptop speakers sounds like crap.

If I had a house, I would grab this immediately — right after the hot tub, the sauna, flamingos for the lawn and the secret underground lab.

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A very interesting bit of technology, a wireless power countertop, was shown off at the Consumer Electronics Show.

The demonstrators heated water, toasted air and blended water all wirelessly. Having a few of these around the kitchen or the house would be really awesome, or on the bar.

Blended margaritas anyone?

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In the corner of one room at the Consumer Electronics Show I found a gel-covered orb mouse.

I’d never seen one before, and I think I know why.

Grabbing onto the thing made me feel like I had to wash my hands. The representative said that that wasn’t the case, that interchangeable covers kept users germ-free in a household full of germs.

Besides the odd feel of the gel, it was really awkward to use. Maybe that was due to my heavy use of a normal mouse, but I don’t think I’d get this for anyone other than a grandparent or a child who doesn’t have a sweet G5 mouse.

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The Kohijinsha had a pretty big crowd gathered around at the Consumer Electronics Show, and there is no question why. Sporting a pair of 10.1 inch monitors that fold together to close, the laptop brings twice the desktop to a very light, portable PC.

I use a pair of monitors for most of my work, with one dedicated to e-mail, a movie or social media spam.

For people who want to take their job on the run without carrying a bulky PC, one of these babies would be ideal. It’s especially nice since most people aren’t carrying around a mouse along with their laptop, switching between applications is much easier.

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One of Vixen’s huge reflector telescopes has one feature that made it perfect for the Consumer Electronics show.

Attached to the telescope is a mini map so that astronomers can point directly where they want to look, and actually know what is there.

So instead of looking at star charts and compasses, the device has a sort of Google SkyMap wired right in, including pictures of what astronomers should spot at the other end.

At around $12,000, the gadget isn’t for the novice, but for anyone who really, really likes space, it could be a great time and effort saving device.

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Powetech Industrial Co. designed a really, really clever USB charger. Instead of having its own plugin, the Slim USB Charger (terrible, boring name) taps into the plugin of whatever other device is plugged in.

The USB charger won Innovations honors in the Portable Power category for the slick, space-saving design.

I think I’ll be buying this to replace my USB phone charger/nightlight/plug hog as soon as I can.

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It brought back the instant printing paper, now Polaroid is set to go even more retro by giving Polaroid freaks some wood.

Ahem, a wood-bodied camera that is.

The mockups were shown off at the Consumer Electronics Show but reps gave no word on when the retro-styled bodies would be available or their prices.

It’s a good step for the company I think, the die hard Polaroid fans have always loved the old boxy style and will pay top dollar for the opportunity to revisit it without the hassle of buying old finicky electronics.

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It’s been a long time coming, but Polaroid has another instant-print camera, and it’s super fast and fun, despite being clunky and shooting in only 5 megapixels.

This will surely bring back the fun of instant printing for anyone who buys the $300 camera. Polaroid also showed off some interesting instant photo art by a photographer. It’s a bunch of little pictures, so I’ll leave it up to your imagination.

The lady was nice enough to shoot a 2×3 image of me taking a video of her.

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It’s one of the few TVs that isn’t 3-D that many people bothered looking at at the Consumer Electronics Show.

It’s nothing special on the TV part, but the fact that the whole thing slides back and forth makes it a really visually apealing addition to a home entertainment system. Slide it over to reveal the DVDs, slide it back to play Wii, etc.

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On the other end of the spectrum, several companies didn’t score nearly as well. Samsung, Dell, Lenovo and LGE were all mentioned as companies that failed to live up to some of their environmental promises. From the press release:

Samsung, Dell, Lenovo, and LGE pick up penalty points in the Guide (1) for failing to follow through on a promised phase-out of toxic chemicals in their products. The majority of the companies in the Guide had pledged to remove toxic PVC vinyl plastic and brominated flame retardants (BFRs) (2) from their product range by the end of 2009, which would have meant a greater show of greener, toxic-free products for visitors to preview at the CES. But, for now, it’s a no show for these companies, who have delayed their phase-out to 2011 or beyond.

Greenpeace’s complete coverage of CES can be found here. Personally, I’m glad that the group is out there pushing for greener, safer electronics. After all, we all die from cancer or global warming, we won’t get to play with any more fun tech toys.

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Got a chance to goof around with 3-D games, in 3-D omg!

I was surprised how sleek it looks. I really thought it would give me a headache or seizure or just blow my head up, luckily it didn’t. It did add another dimension to the game (pun intended). It really puts you into the action better than just 3-D on a 2-D screen can.

I cannot wait until this is tweaked and ready for a commercial sale.

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Say what, Microsoft is giving something away for free, and it doesn’t suck?!? I got a chance to see the Photosynth in action at the

Consumer Electronics Show, and I must say I was quite impressed.

This could be a great alternative to a slideshow of 50 images on Facebook. Just link the image and all your photos are together, it also gives a sense of where you are, instead of those 50 random images. By putting the whole bar, dance, wedding, etc. together in one spot, viewers can instantly see what the event is, where it is and who was involved. And moving around they can see each individual picture.

It was the first thing I saw when I walked into the CES floor, I can’t wait to see what else is here.

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3-D TV With No Glasses: Everyone and their mom is unveiling a 3-D TV this year, but I really want to see the new 3M TV that promises three dimensions sans the polarizing glasses that most 3-D requires. It sounds really intriguing, but the headache factor may be a major deal-breaker.

Nexus One: I just want to play with it. And if, by chance, they want to give me one, I’d be quite happy. It’s got some quite impressive specs and I want to see how fast it can be — I also want to see Android 2.1 since my phone still has 1.6.

Lenovo’s Tablet, Notebook Hybrid: Holy crap, this thing looks awesome. I’ve been pretty unimpressed by all the tablets and PMPs going around — they all seem to be a lesser, slightly smaller version of my laptop. The portability just didn’t trump my need to do actual work on a computer. But Lenovo’s IdeaPad U1 Hybrid looks to have the best of both worlds. You can type, surf and everything with the keyboard, then unhitch the screen to watch movies or read e-books. The really novel part is that when it’s unhitched, the tablet part runs on its own operating system.

Super Slim E-Reader: I still have a soft spot for books, but I am eager to peek at the next generation in e-readers. The Que e-reader looks super slim and easy to move, but anyone who’s tried an e-reader knows that if the operating system or interface is wonky, it won’t last.

In-car wireless network: finally, a way to make driving even more dangerous. A few manufacturers have announced the mobile networks, and while it would make for more tech overload for drivers, it also means endless access to steaming music and safety services a la OnStar. Ford is giving a keynote address, which could unveil some interesting new car tech.

HydroFill fuel cells: These sound pretty cool and a good step toward commercial fuel cells. The system plugs in to separate water into hydrogen and oxygen, stores the hydrogen in the MiniPak. Users then use the MiniPak to charge their devices with a USB port or adapters.

Project Natal: It took a while, for a competitor to the Wii’s interactivity, but Project Natal looks pretty good. Microsoft is poised to release Project Natal, or at least demonstrate it again. I cannot wait to see people trying it out and looking completely ridiculous.

Mini Touch Projector: The Light Touch looks simply amazing, projecting a 10 inch touch screen onto a table. These touch-projectors have been around for a while, but nothing has looked so sleek and so usable. This could really mean turning any smart phone into a work station on the go.

What else?

I want to see new apps! Since apps are about the only tech a lot of people can afford, I’d think that developers would be working extra hard to tweak their old apps and create new ones. Foursquare will be out in force, with a special badge for attendees, and these conferences are a great way for early-adopters to find those new social apps that are getting so popular.

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