• Intel Atom N270, 1.6 ghz
• 1 GB memory
• 10.1” WSVGA
• 80 GB HDD
• Bluetooth
• XP Home
• 6 Cell Battery

Although it desperately needs to be, the 6-cell is not available for the regular S10 notebook.

We saw a very cool HP Universal Docking Station, that has supposedly been announced but I have not seen mention of it, that allows graphics over USB, powering up to 6 external monitors. According to the rep, it uses a technology from DisplayLink Corp to make this happen.

In this video, an HP Mini 1000 Netbook is demoed displaying 3 external monitors that are connected to the HP Universal Docking Station. Very, very cool stuff, especially considering a netbook is connected to all of that stuff. Now, we just need more USB based monitors…

You know that portable hard drive sitting in your bag? What if someone got a hold of it and then had access to all of your backup and mobile data? Well, that is the kind of scenario Lenovo is hoping to address with their new USB Portable Secure Hard Drive.

Plug it in to a computer and Windows will only recognize it as a device once the 6 - 20 key password is entered on the keypad on the encrypted portable harddrive. Check the video out for a short demo.

The hard drives are available in 160gb and 320gb configurations and will be available for order soon on Lenovo.com

We’ll try to stop by their booth at CES to check them out. No word on pricing. Press release after the break.

Las Vegas, Nevada – CES 2009 - ezGear, a leading manufacturer of innovative electronic accessories announces the extension of their top selling ezSpace UFO space saving surge protectors with the introduction of the ezSpace Wall Mount UFO. Created in the shape of the iconic round “UFO” the ezSpace UFO is a 6 outlet plug expander with built in 1050 Joule surge protection that provides space for a large plug or transformer on each outlet.

The new ezSpace Wall Mount UFO, the 6th product in the ezSpace product family, is our smallest and most cost effective model to date.  The ezSpace Wall Mount UFO plugs directly into the power outlet on your wall and provides the same 6 outlets standard on our other models.  The ezSpace Wall Mount UFO includes a LED indicator and a reset button on the front.  The middle of the ezSpace UFO houses a screw to secure the ezSpace Wall Mount to the outlet, so it will stay in place, even with multiple large transformers plugged in.  Like all other ezSpace models, the ezSpace wall mount UFO on ezGear’s patent pending technology.

According to Charlie Bernstein, President, ezGear, LLC “The new ezSpace UFO is specially designed to make plugging in anything easy anywhere in your home or office. The new wall mount model is perfect for your kitchen, bathroom, family room or home office. I have two in my home, one in the kitchen and one in the bathroom.  I really wanted this for our bathroom, it doesn’t take up any counter space, and now the razor, hair dryer, curling iron and water pick can all be plugged in conveniently.”

I am at Staples and just happened across the Microsoft Mobile Mouse 3000. They are quite comfortable, stylish, and priced right at 29.99. Too bad the USB receiver isn’t as small as the Logitech Nano.

Worth checking out if you are in need of a mobile mouse.

Here are a few common uses for a USB to IDE adapter.

• These adapters can be used to recover files from a computer that has crashed and burned (as long as your HDD is not damaged).
• A USB to IDE adapter can easily convert an internal CD/DVD to an external peripheral.
• The adapter quickly turns an internal HDD into a portable HDD.
• These adapters can be used to install the original or different operating systems.
• USB to IDE adapters allow a quick, easy way to backup your data or store large files that you’ve downloaded.

Newegg features several USB to IDE adapters ranging in price from USD $12.99 to just over $30.  It’s important to make sure you purchase the USB to IDE adapter that is compatible with your peripherals.  Make sure to consider the following when purchasing a USB to IDE adapter.

• Does the USB to IDE adapter in question feature compatible connections with your drive?
• What power adapters are included?  Make sure the USB to IDE adapter features a power adapter.  Most USB devices receive their power through the USB connection and therefore do not require a separate power source.  However, an internal drive requires a separate source of power than the USB connection.
• What software or drivers are required to use the USB to IDE adapter?  Most include drivers and software but are also “plug and play.”
• Make sure your USB to IDE adapter is PC/Mac compatible depending upon your system(s).  Most adapters are both PC and Mac friendly.

You should be cautioned that not all netboks play nice when booting from certain internal CD/DVD drives that were originally designed to be internal.  I’ve had success booting Linux, XP, and OS X install CDs/DVDs with my USB to IDE adapter on my Eee PC 701 and MSI Wind U100.  The success of booting from an internal drive with a USB to IDE adapter largely depends on the internal drive rather than the adapter.  Regardless, a USB to IDE adapter is a handy tool to keep on hand for a variety of purposes.

I’ve already begun packing my gear bag and here is what I’m taking with me:

• Lenovo X200 Touch Tablet PC - for producing all of our video, pictures, and pounding out tons of posts. Special thanks to Lenovo for sponsoring our CES coverage this year
• Nokia E71 ( and extra batteries) - for shooting quick video, quick pictures, and posting quick blog articles from the floor. They keyword there is, you got it, quick!
• Flip Mino HD - for shooting longer, better quality video
• iPhone - for keeping up with my schedule and doing other iPhone type stuff
• TomBihn Brain Bag - need something to carry all this stuff in
• Either a Canon SD600 or my Nikon DSLR - battling between traveling light and getting better still pictures
• Versipod 2 Monopod-Tripod
• Verizon USB727 Air Card
• Apple AirPort Express for spreading WiFi in our room
• A small MoleSkine Journal for taking notes during times that whipping out the Tablet PC will take too long
• An HP Mini 1000 running Windows XP - turns out we might be able to get a three-way head to head review while at CES - Samsung NC10 vs Lenovo S10 vs HP Mini 1000.

• Lenovo W700ds Quick Hands-On Video, Part 1
• Lenovo W700ds, Part 2
• Free Inking Applications for your Tablet PC
• 2009 Predictions - Rob’s Take
• 2009 Predictions - Warner’s Take
• A Christmas List for Tablet PC and Mobile PC Geeks
• Samsung Prepping New Netbook for 2009
• Netbook Sites Getting Cease and Desist Orders
• Sony’s New Mobile Device

The following represents the 30 most downloaded InkShows and Shortcuts for 2008.

Special thanks to TechSmith, the sponsor our InkShows and Podcasts. If you are interested in sponsoring our Shortcut videos and being among the next 1,000,000 downloads, contact me at rob@gottabemobile.com .

GBM InkShow: Windows 7 and N-Trig Pre-Beta Multi-Touch InkShow
GBM Shortcut: Intel UrbanMax Innovation Platform
GBM InkShow: Lenovo W700ds Quick Hands On Video
GBM InkShow: Amazon Kindle and Sony eReader Head to Head
GBM InkShow: The Lenovo ThinkPad X200 Tablet PC Video Review
GBM InkShow: The HP 2133 MiniNote
GBM InkShow: Fujitsu N7010
GBM Shortcut: 3K Computers RazorBook 400
GBM InkShow: iRex iLiad
GBM InkShow: The HP 2730P Tablet PC
CES 2008: GBM Hands On With The Asus R50A
GBM InkShow: Toshiba M700 Tablet PC Overview
GBM InkShow: HP iPAQ 900 Series Business Communicator
CES 2008: GBM and the HP TX2000 Tablet PC
GBM InkShow: Wacom Cintiq 12WX
GBM InkShow: Latitude XT Touch and Ink Review
GBM Shortcut: Dell Latitude XT Tablet PC LED and DLV Head to Head
GBM InkShow: InkSeine
GBM Shortcut: Microsoft Live Labs Seadragon Demoed on Surface
GBM InkShow: Thomasin and the HP 2133 Mini-Note
GBM InkShow: Dell Latitude XT vs HP tx2051z
GBM InkShow: Windows 7 Running on LS800 Tablet PC
GBM Shortcut: HP Touchsmart
CES 2008: The Toshiba M700 Tablet PC
GBM InkShow: A Chat with Ken Hinckley and Raman Sarin
GBM InkShow: The Lenovo ThinkPad X301 Notebook
GBM InkShow: An Interview with Lenovo’s Mika Majapuro about the ThinkPad X200T Tablet PC
GBM Inkshow: Inking in Windows 7 Pre-Beta Build
GBM InkShow: Lenovo X300 First Looks Video Review
GBM Shortcut: Fujitsu T5010

Check out:

• jkOnTheRun’s Tips for new Netbook owners: How to get big results from your tiny machines
• Liliputing’s Netbook accessory guide.

Most of them are gift cards, but then everybody knows geeks love to do their own shopping anyway.

• Amazon.com offers gift cards in any amount you wish to give and you can send them via email.  Of course you know you can purchase just about anything on Amazon.com.
• iTunes Gift Cards. You can hardly walk into a store these days without seeing iTunes Gift Cards for sale and of course you can purchase them on-line. Now here’s the thing in my opinion, these are great if you’re giftee has an iPod Touch or iPhone to fill up with apps, or is selective enough to purchase DRM free music from iTunes. Otherwise, I’d suggest getting your music lover an Amazon.com card so they can get their music DRM free and in most cases a few cents cheaper.
• NetFlix Subscription: Whether they want to have DVDs shipped to them or enjoy movies via streaming, buying a NetFlix subscription for your movie buff is a great way to go.
• Skype Credit: If your geek uses Skype, you can purchase them credit for their Skype account (I think the minimum amout is $10). Handy if they travel alot as it saves on phone calls.
• Other Stores and Outlets: Of course most of the major retailers offer gift cards that you can purchase as a card or on-line. Just be careful though when doing so. We already know Circuit City is having trouble and rumors are others will as well. You don’t want to give a gift card that might not be usable down the road.

And for an added bonus, give your geek a gift that gets him/her away from their geek-dom for awhile. Think about a gift certificate from a local restaurant or movie theatre, (or hey, live theatre!) where you can head out for an evening unplugged. Your geek may not think he/she wants to unplug for a time, but trust me, these kind of gifts always work. (Just make them leave their smartphone at home!)

For a decade, consumers mostly ignored electronic book devices, which were often hard to use and offered few popular items to read. But this year, in part because of the popularity of Amazon.com’s wireless Kindle device, the e-book has started to take hold.

The $359 Kindle, which is slim, white and about the size of a trade paperback, was introduced a year ago. Although Amazon will not disclose sales figures, the Kindle has at least lived up to its name by creating broad interest in electronic books. Now it is out of stock and unavailable until February. Analysts credit Oprah Winfrey, who praised the Kindle on her talk show in October.

via More Readers Are Picking Up Electronic Books - NYTimes.com.

Here is my best guess for what 2009 holds for us mobile tech enthusiasts:

• Windows 7 will get released in time for the 2009 holidays, and it will get rave reviews. Corporate customers will upgrade in huge numbers, going straight from XP to Windows 7.
• Most Tablet PC OEMs will begin switching to capacitive touch screens, but we won’t see an uptick in adoption until 2010
• 2009 will be a telling year for N-Trig as the numbers line up on who switches to N-Trig and who goes with Wacom Capactive Touch - my guess is that Wacom will be the winner of 2009. InPlay’s new digital pen technology will show up on a few notebooks, but we won’t see it make a lot of headway until 2010. 2009 will be about going with a proven winners in the space. N-Trig and InPlay will have to continue to make their case.
• Multi-Touch will be a dominate story in 2009, with many families opting to get HP TouchSmart All-In-One type of systems in their homes
• Dell will release the XT2 early next year, but it will fall along the same pricing scheme as the XT, minor upgrades only. Dell and N-Trig will not do anything about current XT problems and that will plague them going in to the XT2
• Lenovo will continue to dominate the corporate tablet pc space
• HP will continue to be creative in its approach to the consumer tablet pc space
• Slate tablet pcs, like TabletKiosk / Motion Computing / Fujitsu, will continue to be a quiet, but strong vertical market.
• OQO will come to market with a Model 03 - capacitive multi-touch, the keyboard tweaked a little. They will have a low end model under $1000.
• The pricing of Netbooks will force regular notebooks down in price, and people will begin making size vs feature trade-offs, likely opting for features. Netbooks will still be a big item through 2009, though, due to costs, the economy, etc.
• Book readers, like the Kindle and Sony eReader, will continue to make strong headway. The new Kindle will spark another fire in eReaders. They will show up in more places like coffee shops, student centers, etc
• We won’t see much innovation in the tablet pc software space until late 2009 / 2010 when Windows 7 is released.
• The software story of 2009 will be about sync, with solutions like EverNote and Microsoft’s LiveMesh leading the way. Sync will continue to head-off cloud-only computing, with people not trusting whether Web 2.0 companies will make it through 2009. As a result, they will want their documents and files local, but available on other platforms through seamless sync.
• Video recording will finally show up on the iPhone, the camera will still stink, though.
• The Blackberry Storm will become the laughing stock of the year
• The Google Android OS will make major headway against Apple’s iPhone, coming in to its own toward the middle / late of 2009.
• There will be an Apple Netbook, but no Apple Tablet.
• In large measure, I see the first three quarters of 2009 as a “hold steady” time. By the 4th quarter, money will begin to get released again, and we’ll begin to see alot of technological releases that were being worked on during the first three quarters. Tough times beget innovation, and we’ll see the benefits of that going in to 2010.

Regifting tech items used to be impractical primarily because of high cost and lack of device availability.  The game has changed now as supply has outpaced demand for many of the following items.  These tech treasures will come in handy if somehow you never find the time to take care of last minute shopping.  You might consider regifting the following items or even picking them up as stocking stuffers to keep the holiday cheer alive.

1) SD Card/USB Thumbdrive/Multi Card Reader: Who doesn’t have a drawer full of SD Cards or USB thumbdrives?  The cost of these useful storage companions has dropped dramatically in the past two years.  It’s now possible to find a 4GB SDHC card for a very reasonable price.  You can never have too many, and these cards have found life in many of our everyday devices.  Many cell phones, mp3 players, digital photoframes, MIDS, and computers feature SD card capabilities.  Original Price: $15-30 for 4GB, even less for 2GB.

2) iTunes gift card: An iTunes gift card is an easy, fast regiftable.  It takes little time and wrapping paper to redirect this gift.  Always useful, anyone that is a music lover would benefit from this present.  Original Price: $15, $25, $50, or $100

3) Beta Software with License/Serial #: Sharing the beta love can bring joy, let your friends experience new software, and help developers fix bugs.  The key is making sure that you gift software that you’re permitted to share.  The easiest way to do so is referring friends to developer’s sites when beta software or invites are being made to the public.  Make sure that the recipient is familiar with beta software and aware of potential risks.  A site like InviteShare allows you to get the scoop on the hottest beta software.  Original Price: $0

4) Webcam: The popularity of Skype and video conferencing has led to significant price drops for webcams.  A quality webcam can be purchased for little out of pocket, and just a few bucks will grab you the basics.  Webcams are great not only for video chat but also security cameras, baby monitors, or hosting your own outdoor weather/birdcam.  I managed to snag a very basic webcam for $1.40 on eBay, and it works great.  Original Price: $2, $20 and beyond.

5) An original/unique email account: Nobody wants to be Matt.I.Was.Born.1890@, Matt.99Grad@, or 1234Matt@.  You can brighten your friends day by giving them an original, easy to remember email address like JediMaster@, or HockeyStop@.  Best of all, this gift costs you nothing but clever brainpower and a little time.  This works great for parents, grandparents, or folks who are new to the Internet.  Think of adjectives that describe the person.  Original Price: $0

6) Travel USB Hub: On top of misplacing all of the items listed in this article, I’m always running out of USB ports.  A Travel USB hub is a great item to regift because it’s portable and useful.  Newegg features several different models.  Original Price: $4 to $20+

7) USB Optical Mouse: Just like the webcams and USB hubs, every tech-enabled household seems to have several mice running around.  A travel USB optical mouse can be purchased for nearly nothing at your neighbood Walmart.  With the explosion of netbooks, a companion travel mouse makes any task easier.  Additional features like Bluetooth make a travel mouse even more useful.  Several of the USB travel hubs featured on Newegg have packages that include mouse, adapters, and USB hub.  Original Price: $8 to $30+

8) iPod/mp3/PMP Earbuds: I’m always misplacing my iPod earbuds.  If you’re looking to score a cheap pair of replacements, Amazon can hook you up with a plethora of choices.  I’ve even seen Duracell battery packages that included free earbuds!  Original Price: $.74 to $40 and above.

A few regifting tips for your technology items.

• Make sure your item is new.  While you may think it’s ok to wrap some dusty old item up and give it as a gift, you should technically only regift new items that are sealed in the original packaging.  Open items can be regifted as long as they include all original packaging, documentation, and appear in a like-new condition.
• Be sure that the person you’re regifting to won’t be offended if they find out your item was regifted.  Somehow, the truth always seems to work its way to the surface.  Don’t regift a something trashy to your significant other unless you want to spend Christmas with the dog.  Take the time to purchase something important and meaningful for your special loved one.

What are some of your great regifed tech ideas?  Hit up the comments to share your gift giving wisdom.

• OS X Realtek Wireless Driver for MSI Wind
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• GBM InkShow: Fujitsu N7010 and Secondary Display
• Lenovo’s X200 Tablet and X200 Tablet With Touch Go Head to Head
• InPlay Technologies Announces New WriteSense Digital Pen Technology
• GBM InkShow: HP tx2525 Entertainment PC
• 2008 GottaBeMobile Awards Announced
• GBM’s HP Magic Giveaway Winner Passes On The Magic