Best of the CES.

Best of the CES by MIKE WENDLAND
As all technology eyes shift to San Francisco, where today Apple Computer's Steve Jobs will reveal the latest Mac products at Macworld, it's time for a look at the hottest new tech trends and gizmos from the just-ended Consumer Electronics Show.

I walked more than 30 miles -- as measured by a pedometer -- at the huge four-day show in Las Vegas, which drew a record 150,000 participants to see exhibits from more than 3,000 companies. Here's my highlights and disappointments:

Coolest trend: TV and movies via the Internet, pushed to our desktops, laptops, smartphones and personal media players. Microsoft is the key player, with a whole bunch of tech companies using variations of its Windows Media Player on various platforms for various devices so the format will be standardized. Intel is empowering it with new multimedia-optimized processors.

Google and Yahoo are all over it with new downloading services with TV networks and movie studios. The Net is clearly going to be a major distribution medium for on-demand programming and the repercussions for the networks, movie studios and local stations will be many.

My favorite device to watch TV: The huge super wide 103-inch plasma prototype by Panasonic. It takes up an entire wall. Since it's a prototype, there's no price and no guess on availability. Until it comes up, I'd have to do with the biggest consumer plasma so far, Panasonic's new 65-inch, 1080p model, headed for release this spring. Retail cost hasn't been set but you can figure $10,000 for a ballpark price.

Coolest phones: My heart is torn between two models, though I have reservations on both. The phones are the just released Treo 700 from Palm that works on the broadband access Verizon Wireless network and Motorola Q, which is promised by spring and also will run on the Verizon high-speed network.

Both phones look alike, with a full BlackBerry keyboard, a bright color display, a built-in 1.3-megapixel camera, and full MP3 and audio capabilities.

What both offer is BlackBerry-like always-on push e-mail. But they offer more than BlackBerry. They do wireless synchronization with the user's desktop computer and the calendar, contact, memo and to-do list programs that are part of the Microsoft Outlook application.

I've had the Treo 700 for two weeks. It is very slick.

But my big disappointment is in the Microsoft Windows Mobile operating system it uses (so will the Motorola Q). It's really cumbersome.

I have never liked Microsoft's Pocket PC phones because they keep all applications running, even if you click the little "x" in the top right corner. That gobbles up memory fast.

Why Microsoft kept that klutzy feature with Windows Mobile is beyond me and is so irritating that it almost negates all the other great features of the phone. Really, I liked the 650's operating system from Palm a lot more.

Cost for the Treo 700 is $399.99 after a $100 instant rebate with a two-year service agreement. The cost for the Motorola Q has not yet been released.

Coolest digital camera: The Kodak v570 dual-lens digital camera. I got my hands on this out at CES and took it all over Las Vegas. It performed flawlessly. Turn the phone on and the cover reveals two lenses. One is an ultra wide angle, the other a 5X optical zoom. It takes 5-megapixel quality pictures and as much video as you can squeeze onto a memory card.

I took pictures and video under all sorts of light conditions. You can check them out on my blog at http://pcmike.com. My only gripe with this camera is the Kodak Easy Share software that comes with it. It wants to take over your computer, linking much too intrusively to Kodak Web sites for my taste. Cost is $399.

Not so cool: The still unsettled war between high-definition DVD formats. We hoped for resolution at CES (pun intended). Instead, the two sides strengthened their opposition. Blu Ray or HD DVD? It's like the old Betamax versus VHS format war for video recorders from the '80s. Until the manufacturers agree to a standardized format, a lot of insiders are telling consumers NOT to buy any high-def DVD system.

Contact MIKE WENDLAND at 313-222-8861 or mwendland@freepress.com