This is not exactly a pure mobile news. Heck, I’m not sure it’s mobile related at all, but it’s interesting nonetheless. Sony is adding bits of convergence to its non mobile phone products that are on display at this year’s CES. What I’m talking about here is a digital camera with WiFi connectivity and a web browser, and camcorders with built-in GPS receivers.

We usually caught the inverse trend – to put everything into a mobile phone. The Japanese giant obviously thinks there’s room to make their other, non-mobile products better by making them WiFi-enabled or GPS receiver-equipped.

The new DLNA-compatible, 10-megapixel Cyber-shot DSC-G3 digital camera is the one that comes with WiFi connectivity and a web browser, allowing users to not only upload their photos and videos to the popular video/photo sharing services, but also to browse the web on the DSC-G3’s 3.5-inch screen. AT&T (NYSE: T) is Sony’s “HotSpot launch partner” for the United States, where interested users can grab the camera in black for about $500.

On the other side, Sony also unveiled three new camcorders — HDR-XR520V, HDR-XR500V and HDR-XR200V — all of which come with a built-in GPS receiver and NAVTEQ maps for video and photo geo-tagging. The three mentioned camcorders are obviously part of the company’s high-end series of devices and will start shipping in March for $1500, $1300, and $1000, respectively.

It’s interesting trend to add some of the modern mobile phone features into other devices to make them more premium (i.e. to justify the high price tag), don’t you think?

Cobra Electronics is showing its Bluetooth-enabled products at the CES — from hands-free mobile phone devices to marine products to CB radios. Here’s what you can find at their CES booth (Central Hall booth #13238):

• CB Radio (29 WX NW BT) – new device builds on the success of the world’s first-ever Bluetooth enabled CB radio, the 29 LTD BT from Cobra, with the addition of NightWatch electroluminescent illuminated front panel and access to seven NOAA weather channels and alerts. The 29 WX NW BT has a MSRP of $199.95 and will be available in Spring 2009.
• CB Radio (29 LTD BT) – the world’s first-ever CB radio to offer Bluetooth wireless technology, allowing drivers to pair their mobile phone with their CB radio so having phone conversations does not interfere with driving. The 29 LTD BT comes with a noise-canceling microphone, and one-touch features make redialing, answering or ending phone calls easier. The 29 LTD BT has a MSRP of $179.95 and is already available for purchase.
• Weather Proof Handset (BT 200) – touted as the “loudest and clearest way to conduct cell phone calls while operating off-road vehicles, farm machinery, construction equipment or other noisy devices,” the BT 200 hooks to a vehicle with a supplied 12-volt cigarette lighter adapter. Incoming call audio is routed through the speaker, and outgoing voice audio is relayed through the noise-canceling microphone. The BT 200 has a MSRP of $189.95 and will be available in Spring 2009.
• Marine Handset (MR F300 BT) – helps boaters communicate in the noisy marine environment. Like in the case of the BT200, incoming calls are routed through the speaker, and outgoing voice goes through the noise-canceling microphone. The marine handset is completely waterproof and rated submersible by JIS7 specifications. It has a MSRP of $189.95 and is already available for purchase.
• Bluetooth Noise-Canceling Headsets – Cobra has two Bluetooth headsets on display: Deluxe (over-the-head) and Premium (in-the-ear). In addition, Cobra also offers a Bluetooth Visor unit, which also sports premium noise-canceling capabilities and heavy-duty design complete with metal clip and metal encased speaker.

Want to know more about Cobra’s Bluetooth-enabled products? The dedicated website is there to help.

It’s CES time and South Korean iriver is using the event to release more details about its upcoming all-touchscreen phone – WAVE. That, however, doesn’t mean we know release dates for the western hemisphere. Likewise, we’re unaware of the pricing info, despite the fact that we reported earlier the WAVE is coming to Korea in March.

As for the specs, we’ve talked about that as well. Let me quickly recap – the WAVE boasts a 3-inch touchscreen, WiFi, FM radio, 4GB of built-in storage, media player, electronic dictionary. In addition, the device can sing along Bugs Music service and provides great sound quality thanks to SWS WOW HD.

Aside from an actual device, included in the box, users will find a set of earphones, USB cable, stylus, battery, adapter, quick start guide, warranty card, and the installation CD…

[Via: Unwired View]

We’re going to ignore the fact that this booth could more correctly have been called the “RIM booth.” Afterall, RIM makes the BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM).

The BlackBerry booth at CES Las Vegas 2009 was in the same exact spot that it was in last year. The new BlackBerry 8900 Curve was on hand to usher in a new era for the BlackBerry Curve lineup. More on the BlackBerry 8900 Curve here (and here).

Aside from the new Curve, the BlackBerry booth didn’t have much to offer in the way of new hardware. The BlackBerry 9000 Bold and BlackBerry 9350 Storm attracted the lion’s share of attention at the booth, while the poor little BlackBerry 8220 Pearl sat mostly by itself in the corner. Such is life in a monoblock-dominated world…

Booth tour below!

What’s better than a digital picture frame? How about a digital picture frame with a cellular connection and its very own phone number? Just go ask T-Mobile (NYSE: DT), they’ll tell ‘ya the T-Mobile Cameo is the best thing to happen to digital picture frames since, uh, LCD screens.

T-Mobile’s booth wasn’t the biggest of the mobile-bunch, but they held their own. The No. 4 US wireless carrier used their space on the CES Las Vegas showfloor to show off their handsets and their new T-Mobile Cameo. Using its T-Mobile network connection, the T-Mobile Cameo waits for you to send it an email or MMS message (picture message) containing the picture you just took with your mobile phone. The Cameo updates its picture gallery whenever you choose, wherever you happen to be.

There’s nothing like a little real-time photo album updating to brighten up a pink and yellow-colored booth!

We’re still trying get used to the idea of a Palm smartphone with the right stuff to compete with the most

popular smartphones on market. More on that here and here.

But, CES 2009 Las Vegas isn’t all about Palm (NSDQ: PALM). Nestled in the heart of the Las Vegas Convention Center, we happened to come across Nokia (NYSE: NOK)’s impressively designed booth. Well, actually, it would be more appropriate to refer to it as a veritable island of mobile goodness. Nokia was one of the few dedicated mobile phone manufacturers on hand at CES 2009 to show off their snazzy wares, and we couldn’t have been happier to find their booth.

Nokia was showing off their Ovi and other web-based services, and had some really impressive demonstrations. What caught our eye, however, was the Nokia 5800 XPressMusic “Tube” sitting all nonchalant between other music-phones. The handset is svelte, maybe a little too light. But, that doesn’t really matter. The Nokia 5800 XpressMusic is an impressive music-phone.

Even better, the touchscreen and S60 Touch UI make the 5800 XpressMusic a fun handset to use. Say what you will, touchscreens are just more fun – call the 5800 XpressMusic the lone blonde in Nokia’s lineup. And, with a 3.2 megapixel Carl Zeiss camera, 3G data connection, and WiFi radio tucked under the hood, the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic is no slouch where it counts.

Nokia booth tour pics below.

In the aftermath of the media blitz that was the Palm press event, Palm (NSDQ: PALM) was kind enough to setup a Palm Pre Press Lounge where they showed off the new Palm Pre and Web OS in a more intimate setting. The Palm Pre is being touted as the next-generation handset that will help you navigate through your life – seamlessly and without wires. With a generous 3.1-inch capacitance touchscreen, 8GB of on-board storage, WiFi, Bluetooth, EVDO Rev. A, and a 3 megapixel camera, the Palm Pre is no slouch in the features-department. And, with the Linux-based Web OS powering the Palm Pre “experience,” the new mobile offering from Palm promises to bring the struggling company out of the red and ready to compete with the likes of Apple (NSDQ: AAPL), Samsung, and even Nokia (NYSE: NOK)!

Let’s take a closer look at the Palm Pre. First, the handset will be launched as a Sprint (NYSE: S) exclusive in the US, but will be available in the future in GSM form. Next, the Pre sports a “high speed” processor built on the new OMAP3 architecture. Palm was hesitant to quote processor specs, presumably because they’re still tweaking everything to maximize performance and battery life, but we’re willing to bet the farm that the CPU will blow the doors off most smartphones currently on market.

Then, there’s the bevy of features. Things like the 3 megapixel camera, 8G on-board storage, WiFi, 3.1-inch capacitance touchscreen, and a vertically-sliding QWERTY keyboard make the Palm Pre a serious competitor in an increasingly crowded mobile segment. The Palm Pre features an arc-slider design reminiscent of the Motorola (NYSE: MOT) Z10 that is said to improve calling ergonomics, but we just say it’s “cool.”

Unfortunately, there’s no expandable microSD card slot. Palm’s VP of software tells us that an expansion card would add unnecessary complexity to the Web OS interface – something that goes against the platform’s intuitive philosophy. But, with 8GB of built-in storage, the Palm Pre won’t exactly be hurting for media storage space.

Now, the Palm Pre hardware is great, but without the Web OS, it’s not going to go anywhere. Built on a Linux kernel, the Web OS (which we believe is “Nova,” but can’t confirm with Palm reps), is Palm’s vision of the future of smartphone computing. All applications are shown as “cards” that represent a workspace. All “cards” can be organized in any order and allows the user to switch quickly between running applications (or “cards”) with just a flick of the finger. And, with true multi-tasking capability, the Web OS will be a productivity platform like none other.

Speaking of finger-flicking, the Web OS is designed around an intuitive touch-based interface. Below the capacitance touchscreen lies the gesture-control region. Flick your finger upwards and you can access your application launcher. Flick your finger sideways and you can move back and forward through webpages and applications. For more on how the finger-flick works, check out our video (to be posted soon). And, the touchscreen features a comfortable friction coefficient that isn’t too slick but still allows you finger to slide smoothly across the screen.

Palm has also announced extensive support for web developers. All applications for the Web OS can be coded with web langages like Javascript, HTML, and CSS. Gone are the days where app developers needed to know more complex computer languages, the future is web-apps gone native!

Lastly, Palm has announced what could be the coolest manufacturer-integrated accessory – the Palm Touchstone. The Touchstone is a magnetic “puck” on which you rest your Palm Pre. The Touchstone charges the Palm Pre without wires – thanks to the magic of magnetic induction! With wireless charging solutions like Slashpower recently going under, we had doubts that we’d ever see wireless charging coming to market. But, with Palm’s Touchstone, we’re pleasantly surprised.

The Palm Pre and Web OS represent the next-generation of smartphones. Palm is even embracing the web developer ecosystem and we can’t wait to see how the Web OS guides Palm into the next decade.

Massive piture gallery from Palm’s press event and after-event follows after the break…

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Palm is expected to unveil their next-generation mobile platform, Nova, at CES today. We’re sitting here waiting for Palm (NSDQ: PALM) to kick off the show. Stay tuned for hit-by-hit coverage!

Palm has launched the Palm Pre, powered by the company’s new Web OS platform!

Keep reading for more pictures (a truly massive gallery, if you’re in to that sort of thing) and a live-transcript of the Palm press event!

[Update]
Now with 100% more video! (Courtesy of Serko)

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Sony Ericsson (NYSE: SNE) has unveiled three new phones at the CES. Two of the three are Walkman-branded (W508, W715), while the third one is a Cyber-shot (C510). Here’s a recap:

• W508 – clamshell form factor, HSDPA enabled, 3.2 megapixel camera with 3.2x digital zoom, 2.2-inch QVGA screen, Memory Stick Micro (M2) expansion slot, FM radio with RDS, dedicated music keys, shake and gesture control, SenseMe, TrackID with text search. Hitting select markets (W508a has AT&T (NYSE: T)’s 3G frequencies) from Q2 in “Metal Grey” and “Poetic White.”
• W715 – Vodafone (NYSE: VOD) exclusive slider, HSDPA enabled, Wi-Fi and DLNA certified, aGPS, 3.2 megapixel camera with 3.2x digital zoom, 2.4-inch QVGA screen, Memory Stick Micro (M2) expansion slot, FM radio with RDS, dedicated music keys, shake and gesture control, SenseMe, TrackID with text search. Hitting select Vodafone markets this quarter in “Galactic Black” and “Luxury Silver.”
• C510 – we’ve already seen this one in the wild. The entry-level Cyber-shot phone sports a 3.2 megapixel camera with auto-focus and an array of photo taking technologies — including Smile Shutter, Face detection, Photo fix. The Sony Ericsson C510 will be available in selected markets from Q1 in “Future Black” and “Radiation Silver.”

Also announced today is a new colour of C905 Cyber-shot – Tender Rose, available from Q1 2009 in selected markets and IM502, a new camera phone tripod, available in stores now.

Nokia (NYSE: NOK) announced three new phones for the U.S. market. Let’s briefly go through each one of them:

• First comes the ultra-low-end, CDMA-based Nokia 1006, which was developed in Nokia’s San Diego product creation center for AWS carriers. It’s an entry-level device with basic phone features that will be available most probably for free on a contract, in blue and silver.
• Then there’s the Nokia 7510 Supernova which we already caught on Nokia’s website. The stylish clamshell is UMA compatible, allowing flexibility between using the cellular and Wi-Fi networks for calls. In addition, the 7510 boasts exchangeable frond and back covers, which are available in “Fatal Red,” “Espresso Brown” and “Emerald Green.” The device is set to hit the T-Mobile (NYSE: DT) USA’s offering later in the month.
• Finally, Nokia announced “ready-for-the-States” version of its E63 messaging phone. It’s a Symbian S60-based smartphone with full QWERTY keyboard, WiFi connectivity, 2 megapixel camera, and much more. No carrier partners have been announced yet, but an unlocked device will be available for $279 through Nokia Flagship Stores in Chicago and New York, and via retail partners.

In addition, the Finnish giant also unveiled a new Bluetooth headset – BH-904, which is capable of separating a user’s voice from ambient noise, ensuring good speech quality in noisy environments. It can also maintain two active connections between the headset and another device at the same time. The BH-904’s battery allows up to five hours of talk time after only 15 minutes of charging.

Only three devices from Nokia? Kinda sad. I guess they’re preparing to rock the Mobile World Congress. Can’t wait!