cnet.com coverage of CES…includes the LG VX8360 phone…Pioneer car audio…Vaio P series Lifestyle PC…ATI Mobility Radeon graphics…Samsung LED monitor…and my favorites so far, the Ion USB turntables and iPod speaker docks!

gearcrave.com has a nice review of Sony’s Cybershot DSC-G3…10 megapixel, 3.5-inch LCD, 4X optical zoom, 4 GB memory, Wi-Fi and a web browser for uploading your pictures or video to Shutterfly or YouTube.

phone news from phonedog.com…who said talk is cheap?  Palm comes back with a full touch-screen phone running their new operating system called Nova.  Blackberry Storm & Curve…Nokia…LG…Garmin…Sony Ericsson, and new Android phones.

informationweek.com talks about the proliferation of LG HDTV’s, including new wireless and broadband models that A. allow you to avoid all the messy wiring, and B. download Netflix videos right into your HDTV.

Soda machines go high-tech.  Samsung displays a Coke machine with a touchscreen display, network connectivity, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and digital camera.  Have a Coke and a smile with cnet.com.

The Official Site for cesweb.org

Also, check out the new gdgt.com from Peter Rojas and Ryan Block, the guys behind Engadget and Gizmodo.  They’re also covering CES and Macworld.

Follow on Twitter …… twitter.com/CNETatCES …… twitter.com/mikiesoft

Yes!  Some media devices can accept streaming video from Netflix and deliver movies and television to your Xbox or Roku box, and certain Blu-ray players from LG Electronics and Samsung.

LG is advertising the world’s first network Blu-ray player that streams video from Netflix, with 12,000 titles available in standard resolution, plus it plays standard DVDs in near HD quality; the LG BD300 Blu-ray player.

The Samsung BD-P2550 Blu-ray player not only accepts streaming video from Netflix, but it also streams audio from Pandora, along with a firmware update.  I highly recommend both services, I’ve used them both for years and never had a problem with either one.

The Roku is a stand-alone Netflix player box.  Wired Magazine calls it the top gift of 2008.  I call it pretty cool because it streams over 12,000 movies and TV shows to your TV, including some titles in HD.  All for just $99.  The Roku is also wireless, so it will connect to your home wi-fi network and receive software updates automatically.  Plus you can use the included remote to browse your Netflix video catalog.

TV technology just keeps getting better.  As we move closer to the all-digital-TV-broadcast date next February, there’s more and more choices for consumers.  Personally, I’m glad to see more options in the offering for people like us.  The ol’ entertainment budget just doesn’t go as far today as it used to.

Check out the Blu-ray resource center at Samsung!

Makes sense to me because I pay almost one hundred dollars a month for cable TV and internet access; (bundled services are supposed to be cheaper.)  If I were to subscribe to a video content service such as Netflix, I would only be paying for what I want to watch, and not what the cable company forces me to pay for (that I don’t watch anyway!)

Netflix starts at 4.99 a month with benefits like quick 2-day turnaround on DVD rentals by mail.  They also have video streaming with great quality, with thousands of TV and movie titles to choose from.

Plus streaming video is available from most of these online services, with the option of downloading to your PC, Mac or DVR.  In researching this post, I have learned that streaming video is available to supply content to your Xbox or Roku box, and even some Blu-ray players from LG Electronics and Samsung.