CES 2010: Picks and Pans

10.01.2010

Next Page: TV, Meet PC

Boxee Gets Boxed--and Better: D-Link is the first vendor to come out with a for the lauded Boxee home media management software. The box is oddly shaped, but it won't take up much space when it sits next to a TV. It streams Internet video and connects wirelessly to your computer, so it can play back media files, such as music, photos, and video, on your TV. You get Boxee's cool user interface, as well as a long list of supported file formats; you can play virtually any kind of video on it. The Boxee Box will be available for $199 in the second quarter of this year. --Mark Sullivan

Cutting the Cord Gets Easier Each CES: Intel's is exactly what it sounds like--a laptop equipped with the technology to connect to your TV at the push of a button, giving you much more screen real estate without the need to futz with wires. But there's no magic here, since the laptop is actually streaming to an adapter connected to your TV. One caveat: Streaming is unprotected, so it doesn't yet support protected content such as Blu-rays and DVDs. Dell, Sony, and Toshiba will be releasing laptops featuring the technology on January 17. --Nate Ralph

Cue the Jaws Soundtrack: Imation's yet-unnamed Wireless USB shark fin plugs into your LCD television via HDMI, grabbing audio and video from your computer at 15MB per second. Just plug in the included USB dongle, and you'll be flying with 720p video from up to 30 feet away. The price will be less than $199 in March. I like it, but I'd like it a lot more if TV makers would bundle or integrate it. --Jared Newman