Nokia, HTC, Lenovo, Others Show Off Smartphones, Laptops, 3D Tech

by Nicholas Kolakowski

The Toshiba Portege R700 features a thin magnesium casing, with an internal structure honeycombed for strength, and a battery life of 8.5 hours—sturdy and lightweight enough, in other words, for road warriors who need a full-performance machine as opposed to a netbook.

The HP Compaq 6000 Pro All-in-One Business PC—available July 16—includes Windows 7, a choice of Intel Core 2 Duo processors, up to 8GB of DDR3 memory, an integrated Webcam and a hard drive of up to 1 terabyte in size.

Lenovos reinvigorated Y460 laptops, aimed at mainstream consumers, include a choice of Intel i3 or i5 processors, along with Windows 7.

The Lenovo IdeaCentre A700, an all-in-one PC, includes a 23-inch screen with optional multitouch.

The BlackBerry Pearl 3G 9100, available internationally for the time being, includes 3G network support, an optical trackpad, dedicated media keys, a removable battery and an ultra-compact shape.

Barnes & Nobles free BN eReader App for iPad allows readers to adjust their e-books font, customize line spacing, share their favorite volumes with others via the LendMe feature, and sync a text with their other devices.

Barnes & Noble recently reduced the price of its original Nook e-reader from $259 to $199, and is marketing a WiFi-only version of the device for $149. The original Nook leverages 3G for downloading ebooks.

The high-end Nokia N8 features a 12-megapixel camera, global Ovi Maps, access to the Ovi Store for applications, and the Symbian ^3 operating system. It will be available in the third quarter, according to the company.

The Nokia N8s Symbian ^3 operating system includes user-interface enhancements such as “pinch-to-zoom,” three personable homescreens, and streamlined memory management that allows more applications to run in parallel.

Many tech companies continue to have 3D technology on the brain. Here, Nvidia shows off how its GeForce GTX 400 GPUs, and pairing of Nvidia Surround Technology with Nvidia 3D vision, create a 3D gaming experience.

The HTC Evo 4G represents Sprints attempt to rebuild its customer base via a smartphone designed to deliver rich multimedia content at blindingly fast speeds. The device features a 1GHz Snapdragon processor and two integrated cameras (an 8-megapixel lens in the rear and 1.3-megapixels in front), and runs Android 2.1.

The HTC Evo 4G includes both 3G and 4G capability, a 4.3-inch capacitive touch screen, and a kickstand for hands-free multimedia viewing.

Microsoft just released the new beta for its Windows Live Essentials, which includes applications such as Messenger, Photo Gallery and Movie Maker.

Parrots AR.Drone has been making the rounds at shows such as Januarys CES, trying to entice anyone interested in a remote-controlled hovercraft.

The Iomega iConnect wireless data station allows users to connect all their USB storage into their network through its four slots.

Not to be outdone in the intensifying e-reader wars, Borders is marketing its own device, the Kobo eReader, which includes a 1GB hard drive (capable of storing up to 1,000 titles), a battery capacity of about two weeks and the ability to sync with smartphones.

The Garminfone, offered through T-Mobile, combines an Android-powered smartphone with a Garmin GPS navigation device. Garminfone includes location-based services for things like weather and gas prices, and the phone/communication part provides access to e-mail, texts and social networks.

3Ms Mpro 150 Pocket Projector is compatible with Word, PowerPoint, Excel and PDF documents.

The Samsung Galaxy S includes Super AMOLED technology, which the company says makes the smartphones 4-inch screen 20 percent brighter, with 80 percent less sunlight reflection and 20 percent more battery life. It runs Android 2.1 and is powered by a 1GHz processor.

Samsungs Gravity phone line includes a slide-out QWERTY keyboard and a 2-megapixel camera, and is Web-enabled.