Audio

An MP3 player for your wallet

The Wallet MP3 is only slightly thicker than a credit card, and it plugs directly into a PC. Image: Jon Fortt

LAS VEGAS – At the Consumer Electronics Show, you often find those geeky product gems tucked away in a little booth away from the action. That's where I spotted the Wallet MP3.

It's an MP3 player the size of a credit card, complete with a USB connector that plugs into a MORE

Good times roll again at Sony

The innovative Rolly robotic speaker system, which is not yet available, is emblematic of the company's improved fortunes. Image: Sony

LAS VEGAS - After a rough couple of years, Sony is beginning to look like its old self.

It might be too soon to declare a total comeback, but the electronics giant finally seems to have momentum. Those quarterly losses that at times topped $500 million as Sony (SNE) struggled to turn MORE

Live-blogging CES: Sony announces super-thin TVs, and a dancing speaker system

Journalists prepare for the start of the Sony pre-CES press conference. Image: Jon Fortt

LAS VEGAS - Fresh from its news that Warner has backed its Blu-ray format for high definition, Sony (SNE) is vying to show that it is still an electronics innovator, and isn't languishing in the shadow of iPod maker Apple (AAPL).

To that end, the electronics giant said it will immediately begin selling an 11-inch version of a MORE

The odds on an Apple flash laptop

At next month's Macworld show, will the trendsetter say goodbye to hard drives?

Apple's MacBook Pro could get a storage upgrade soon. Image: Apple

What do you get when you cross an iPod with a Mac?

A super-slim laptop that uses chip-based flash memory in place of a spinning hard drive, of course. If the rumors are right, Apple (AAPL) will unveil one at the annual Macworld confab next month.

Before you begin salivating MORE

Cisco's video revival

Cisco Systems CEO John Chambers gives a presentation in July. Image: Cisco

To understand why Cisco CEO John Chambers is still bullish on the company's growth prospects in an uncertain economy, consider the change underway at the BBC.

The European public service broadcaster is in the throes of a major digital transformation. Its online operation, bbc.co.uk, moves a staggering 1.3 petabytes of data every month to its audience – the equivalent MORE

A chat with Apple's iPod and iPhone marketing czar

The iPod family. Image: Apple

Greg Joswiak has what you might call a busy job -- he's charged with marketing two of Apple's biggest hit products, the iPod and the iPhone. That might sound easy considering the buzz Apple's product announcements generate, but there's more to the task than promotion; he works with the company's engineering teams to decide what the next iPods and iPhones will look like, what features they'll MORE

iPod: The once and future stocking stuffer

Apple's iPod is the king of holiday gadgets. But can the company deliver another round of blowout sales in its make-or-break season?

iPod nano. Image: Jon Fortt

It's 7 p.m. at an Apple Store less than six miles from the company's Silicon Valley headquarters, and even in early November, it's already a madhouse. Throughout the upscale mall space, customers are busily poking and prodding the latest iPods and Macs, gushing about how MORE

A digital nanny for all those home PCs

New Home Server aims to bring big-business technology to the home -- but it will be a tough sell HP's MediaSmart Server runs Microsoft's new Windows Home Server operating system. Image from Microsoft.

Yes, it has come to this. Now that consumers have multi-PC homes, wireless networks, and thousands of digital files floating around, they need a computer whose sole purpose is to keep an eye on the other computers.

At least, that's MORE

Will Apple's control issues hurt the company?

Jobs has thrived by owning the user experience – but rivals hope he's going too far Apple CEO Steve Jobs greets attendees after an iPod event in September. Photo: Jon Fortt

Remember when Apple was the tech industry's underdog?

It's not anymore. As rival device makers seek ways to dethrone Apple's iPod and derail the iPhone, they're increasingly casting Apple (AAPL) as a selfish mega-company that plays by its own digital rules, manhandling MORE

Sony sees big holiday season for electronics

Sony expects that products like this KDL-46XBR2 TV will be a hit this holiday season. Image: Sony

Never mind the mortgage blues: Sony executives say signs already point to this being one of the best-ever holiday seasons for consumer electronics sales.

During an invitation-only press event Monday night in San Francisco, Sony Electronics President Stan Glasgow said that despite recent doom-and-gloom predictions about fallout from the subprime mortgage mess, he is confident MORE