When it comes to design, products from Porsche-Design Studio rank right up there with Apple's. The P'9121 Sound System is no exception. I would even dare to say that it is one of the nicest looking sound systems out there.

Though the prototype was introduced at last year's CES, the company weren't able to release the product until this year. The production version features a multi-band radio (AM/FM/Shortwave/RDS) with three 1.5" full-range speakers/control knobs in front and a powerful 3" subwoofer located at the back. Other features include OLED display, 12/24 hour clock, alarm battery backup and a metal remote.  To expand its listening possibilities, it also comes with an iPod dock, XM Satellite radion and a range of connections for external analog sources. The brushed metal finish combined with a highly-polished plastic shell leaves little doubt why they can charge $500 for this beauty.

The P'9121 will first be available at Porsche-Design stores nationwide and will be availble to other retailers a few months after.

Personal weather devices are generally not anything to write home about. But that was before La Crosse Technology's Weather Direct Personal Weather System - the first Internet-enabled weather personal devices. Even the most technological-advanced weather device like this just has a sensor that sits outdoors and sends information to the weather device indoors. That's ancient technology compared to the Weather Direct.

The Weather Direct system consists of a transmitter that connects directly to the network access point and a display module that receives weather information from the transmitter. In order for the system to work, the user must first create an account on Weather Direct's web site and customize the information he wants to receive. Here's when it gets interesting. Not only do you get weather information, you can receive email, eBay alerts, 4-day forecast, horoscope, sports scores, headlines, financial news, RSS feeds and a host of other personal information you would like to receive. The top of the line Weather Direct device can even read the information to you. One transmitter is all you need to trasmit information to multiple Weather Direct receivers.

The pricing starts from $60 for a basic unit to $150 for the top of the line unit that can "talk". The availibility is in Spring of this year.

You heard it right. You'd think that Apple would until wait next week to announce new products/upgrades at their annual Macworld Expo and Conference. I guess, that's fine by us. It only means that they will be even more room to announce more products comes the keynote time.

The two new upgrades are for the Mac Pro and Xserve lines of products.

With the Mac Pro line, 8-core configuration is now standard. The new Mac Pro is powered by 2 new 45nm Quad-core Intel Xeon 5400 (Harpertown) processors (up to 3.2GHz). Besides other standard features like 2GB of 800MHz DDR2 RAM, ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT (256mb), 320GB SATA drive and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR suport, the new "beast" is also getting the same aluminum keyboard as the iMac line.

As for the Xserve upgrade, the 1U wonder now has up to 8-core performance of 2 Quad-core 3.0GHz Harpertown goodness. Based on a new server architecture, it now has faster front-side buses, faster memory and up to 3TB of internal storage. Philip Schiller is calling this new Xserve "unbeatable server performance and value for under $3,000."

As of this writing, the online Apple Store is still down. So you have to wait a little bit more before you whip out that credit card.

Holy moly. As the day came to an end and I was walking out of the convention center, I had a run in with a celebrity. No, not Britney Spears nor Lindsay Lohan. It was the big man himself, the Bumblebee Transformer. This thing was HUGE. I was surprised they could even drag this thing in through the door. And a real crowd pleaser it was. People were swarming around it like bees to honey, oohing and aahing (and drooling).

Please forgive me.  I was so awe-struck by the yellow celeb that I totally forgot which booth actually hosted the little giant. 

GPS maker, Mio, had a bunch of cool devices and technologies to show off at their booth. First there is there is the P560, which is a PDA Navigation System. The Windows Mobile 6-powered GPS PDA has integrated WiFi, Bluetooth and provide full PDA functionality. It even comes with an SD/MMC slot for expansion.

Next there is the A702 GPS PDA phone. This beauty is powered by Windows Mpbile 6, has a built-in 3.2MP camera and is also equipped with Blutooth and WiFi. Add to that Mio's excelent GPS technology and it's the only phone you ever need.

Mio is also introducing a technology called MioMore Online. The technology basically utilizes the GPRS network to download live up-to-date information via a connected cell phone or embedded SIM card (in newer models). Through MioMore, users can receive dynamic data, such as traffic and weather information.

Lastly, the company is readying the Samsung Upstage-inspired two-face GPRS cell phone. The phone has a touchscreen GPS interface on one side and then a phone interface on the other along with a screen and keypad.

D-Link is launching a user-oriented web site called "D-Life", in which users of D-Life-enabled devices can "interconnect" with each other. The idea behind the D-Life concept is simple: connect people, not computers. All D-Life-enabled devices configure themselves automatically once plugged into the wall. Each device uses HomePlug PowerLine technology to connect to an internet-enabled device that connects directly to your access point (no computers needed).

In order to use a D-Life-enabled device, the user must first create an account on D-Life.com web site. He can then add devices to his account and manage devices from a web browser. Each device can be addressed via a unique ID. This is great for video conferencing with older parents who might not know how to use webcam on the computer. Another use of this technology is surveillance, in which a user can remotely view live video feed from connected web cam via his web browser.

Creative lets loose its brand new InPerson video conferencing system at CES. Not that we've never seen this type of video "phones" before. However, Creative is really serious about this thing.

With the inPerson conferencing system, Creative is going after the heavy-weights like PolyCom and other mid to high-end video conferencing systems. The device features a 7" VGA screen, WiFI and dual microphones with echo-cancellation for clearer voice input. Through inPerson's monthly service plan, you can conference up to 4 people. The remote parties can even use a webcam-conntected PC to conference in.

The inPerson conferencing system is priced at $699.99 per unit and will be available to public very soon.

With movies being in a 16:9 ratio, it's about time somebody comes out with this: a laptop with a 16:9 screen. Dell actually announced this concept laptop over the weekend. It just doesn't make sense that computer screens are in 16:10 and the content is in 16:9. That's why you always see black bands on top and bottom of the screen every time you play a wide-screen movie.

Dell is not saying much about the specs. The rep I talked to just said that it was a concept PC so he couldn't say much about it; not even the processor that runs it. However, I sure hope this thing makes it to production soon. Just can't stand those bands.

More photos here

Belkin is licensing technology by ANIMON to bring consumers HD content over the air. The new FlyWire products will allow you to stream video and audio over the air from a transmitter to a receiver connected to an HDTV. Impressive is its ability to stream uncompressed video (up to 1080p) and audio content up through walls for 50 feet with a lag time of only 1 ms.

The first generation of FlyWire will be packaged with a receiver, a transmitter, remote dongles for your existing remotes and a remote for controlling the FlyWire module itself. The product will be available this summer with an MSRP of $599.

More photos here

Not impressed with Belkin Podcast Studio? Then meet its big brother, the TuneStudio. The big brother is basically a 4-channel mixer that records directly to iPod 5th generation. This allows for four different instuments to be plugged into the unit for recording; each channel is equipped with a 3-band EQ and level controls.

Here are some official specs:

• Records directly to iPod in 16-bit, 44kHz quality
• Streams audio through built-in USB interface to and from a PC or Mac® computer
• Each channel is equipped with 3-band EQ, pan and level controls
• Phantom-power-enabled XLR inputs provide up to 60 dB of microphone gain
• High-quality stereo compressor with makeup gain enhances audio dynamics and keeps audio levels within recording limits of the iPod
• Features one-knob compression control
• LEDs indicate master audio level, power status, peak indication, compressor activity, and recording status

The TuneStudio is priced at $249.99 and will be available next week.

More photos here