The 2012 Consumer Electronics Show is over, but so many tech news stories, product showcases and software announcements came from the convention that you’re almost guaranteed to have missed something. If you take a look at our wrap up guides, you just might catch up on something you overlooked. Here’s everything we saw — and loved — at CES 2012.

CES 2012: Best in Show

The Annual Best of CES Awards
Here are the show’s standout products in 13 categories including the best smartphone, laptop, tablet, auto technology and accessory to surface in an unending swell of new gadgets.

Reader’s Choice Award 
The Best of CES Awards spotlights our editors’ top picks from the annual convention, but this year our readers had a decidedly different take on the single hottest piece of new tech.  

CES 2012: The Hottest Products

Best Laptops of CES 2012
Seven of these 8 clamshells fell short of a Best of CES Award, but they certainly garnered their fair share of time in the spotlight. Check out the laptops we eagerly look forward to reviewing this year.  

Best Smart Phones of CES 2012
The show’s smartphone announcements include a big step forward for Windows Phone, larger-than-ever screen sizes and phone cameras with the best specs we’ve encountered.

Best Tablets of CES 2012
This year’s tablets will offer longer battery life, lower prices and clearer screen resolutions.

CES 2012: The Biggest News Stories, Our Commentary and Live Video Coverage

Top 10 Videos of CES 2012
Some tech you have to see for yourself, like the Tobii Gaze Interface which, someday, will take hands-free to a whole new level by allowing you to navigate a computer screen just by looking at it. 

CES 2012: Biggest News Stories
CES doubles as a town hall for the world’s most successful tech companies to make huge announcements. This year, Microsoft embarked on its last CES keynote address and Intel announced partnerships to build smart phones with Lenova and Motorola.

SpoonFed: Top 5 Things I Learned at CES 2012
CES is too big to leave without thoughts on the long-view of tech. LAPTOP Editor-in-Chief Mark Spoonauer learned that despite Ultrabooks’  lionshare of limelight at the show, hybrid Android tablets that connect to keyboard docks could be a bigger trend. 

CES 2012: How Our Staff’s Mobile Gear Performed
We armed ourselves with some of the best gadgets of 2011 and tested them in the fast-paced halls of North American’s largest tech show. Check above to see how the MacBook Air 13, ASUS Zenbook UX31 Ultrabook, Samsung Galaxy Nexus smartphone and other favorite gadgets performed in action. 

LAS VEGAS — 2012 was an exciting year for news and trends at the Consumer Electronics Show. Among other things, the show kicked off with Microsoft’s final keynote address,  Intel gave us a glimpse of the future of DLNA, Texas Instruments demonstrated that tablets using its processors can wirelessly stream a movie to a TV and play a game at the same time, Nvidia touted the power of its Tegra 3 mobile processor and OnStar announced its plan to provide car passengers access to streaming content through Verizon’s 4G LTE network. Check out our slideshow to see some of the other major announcements from CES 2012.

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Metro, Metro, Metro! Microsoft’s Final Keynote Kicks Off CES 2012

CES 2012 formally kicked off with Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer’s keynote address, which was the company’s last at the trade show. The keynote detailed Microsoft technologies such as Windows Phone and Windows 8, as well as notable product announcements (such as ultrabooks; Nokia’s Lumia 900; and the HTC Titan). In the end, Ballmer underscored that Windows is the linchpin of the company. “There’s nothing more important to Microsoft than Windows," Balmer said at the address. "Metro will drive the new magic across all of our user experience. What’s next at Microsoft in 2012? Metro, METRO, METRO! Windows, WINDOWS, WINDOWS!”

Read the Full Story Here

LAS VEGAS — Warpia’s got a new solution this CES for those looking to sync up their PC and TV. The WarpiaTV lets you stream HD content from your hard drive and the Internet to your big screen using a Wireless Motion Controller (complete with seven controls for volume, mute and more).

WarpiaTV sports a grid-style interface that users can customize with their favorite applications, sites and media sources. The Wireless Motion Controller acts just like a standard TV remote, so you can point directly at your TV instead of your PC. Warpia says you’ll get a range of up to 30 feet.

A wired version of the WarpiaTV (including the Wireless Motion Controller, WarpiaTV Browser, and a 6-foot HDMI cable) goes for $79.99, while the wireless version goes for $199.

• CES 2012: Full Coverage
• Warpia ConnectHD Offers HD Wireless Streaming

As part of its ongoing quest to make all your gadgets–even your washer, as of today–more intelligent, Samsung unveiled two new Smart TVs at its press conference today. And while TVs are hardly mobile, Samsung has designed these sets to interact with its tablets and smartphones

Samsung’s announcements weren’t limited to a specific product; today’s presentation was more about demonstrating its new vision for connecting your various devices and making each one do more. For example, users will be able to download apps on-screen while watching a movie at the same time. Another innovation: Samsung claims it’s “future-proofing” its Smart TVs with a system called the Evolution. Essentially, Smart TV users with a last-gen model will be able to get the latest added features by inserting a chip into a slot on their TV.  Read the rest of this entry »

Lenovo’s coming out with a 55-inch smart TV that has three firsts to its name: It’s the first TV from Lenovo, the first TV running Qualcomm’s 1.5-GHz 8060 Snapdragon CPU, and it’s also the only set so far to run Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich).

The 55-inch set full HD 3D backlit panel has a 240GHz refresh rate, and audio is compliments of SRS TrusurroundHD. The hard drive gives you 8GB of media storage space, with a removable SD card adding an extra 2GB.

Thanks to the Ice Cream Sandwich U1, the Lenovo K91 SmartTV offers apps in addition to your regular TV programming. Wi-Fi connection is here too, of course, along with access to the Lenovo Cloud and voice control technology for controlling the set with your voice. Video On Demand content is based on user’s past viewing history. (Starting to get why it’s called the SmartTV?) Read the rest of this entry »

Star Trek fans, set phasers to awesome. Microsoft is working on a new suit of technologies that will, eventually, offer users the chance to experience a toned down version of one of the show’s greatest inventions, the holodeck. Joshua Topolsky over at The Verge, visited Microsoft’s Redmond campus to get a look at the new technology and it looks impressive.

The suite consists of several disparate pieces of tech that, when brought together, should allow users to interact with a wall that displays a virtual environment that users can explore. Using a specialized display, complete with a face tracking LCD, users can for instance, look around a room projected on the display in real time. When the LCD notices that your head has moved, even slightly, it will adjust the image to display what you would see when looking around the projected room.

Read the rest of this entry »

Archos is keeping the budget-priced Android experience coming with the just-announced Archos 35 home connect. The company describes the device as an “Android-based web radio designed specifically for the home user.”

The Archos 35 home connect is running Android 2.2 Froyo, packs a 1-GHz OMAP 3630 processor, and comes pre-loaded with the TuneIn Pro radio app for streaming music from more than 50,000 web radio stations. Two built-in high-def speakers sit on either side of the 3.5-inch touch screen in “specially designed cases for improved bass.” Read the rest of this entry »

Credit: Google

Google is taking another shot at its smart TV platform with revamped software including an improved interface, a more unified view of Internet video content and the inclusion of apps from its Android operating system onto the TV platform.

After listening to customer feedback, Google TV is back with an array of new features and a much simpler interface. The company announced on its blog today (Oct. 29) that it will be unveiling the new software in the upcoming weeks.

This is Google TV’s first update since the platform – which provides access to streaming content such as YouTube and Netflix with live TV such as cable all on one platform debuted in Logitech and Sony devices last year. [Read: Reviews: Internet TVs]

Many early adapters complained about how the Google TV was complicated to use, as content was difficult to locate and the interface was inundated with too many menus.

“The initial version of Google TV wasn’t perfect, but launching it gave us the opportunity to learn,” Google said via its blog. “These are still early days, and we’re working hard to move forward with each update.”

The company’s latest updates leaves consumers wondering if it’s finally time to take the Google TV plunge.

Read the rest of this entry »

Even if you happen to have several grand lying around–or  several million–it’s tough to get a gift for someone when money is no object. Well, how about a diamond-encrusted iPad 2 that includes Tyrannosaurus Rex bone shavings? Or a water-propelled jetpack? Or a toilet that comes with feet warmers and a touchscreen tablet? These are just some of the ideas for the person who has (almost) everything. Can’t afford anything on this list? Then just enjoy the ride.

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iPad 2 Gold History Edition ($8.14 million)

Designer Stuart Hughes is known for turning gadgets into extreme luxury items, so it was only a matter of time before he came out with a 24-carot gold, diamond-encrusted iPad 2 that includes shavings of 65 million year old Tyrannosaurus Rex dinosaur’s thigh bone. The Apple logo sparkles with 53 diamonds and the front frame is made from the oldest rock in the world, Ammolite—where the dinosaur bone shavings are sprinkled in. The iPad 2 Gold History Edition is so rare only two units have been made.

www.stuarthughes.com

If your loved ones still depend on cable, help them to cut the cord (or, at least, add to their cable experience) with one of these Wi-Fi-connected television accessories. Each of these devices adds tons of internet content to your television screen, and some do more.  

iPad and iPhone owners will love that the Apple TV can sync their photos and music, and the Roku 2 XS box includes up to 300 channels of streaming content, including access to familiar services like Hulu and Netflix.  With those options, there’ll always be something on their television sets worth watching. 

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Apple TV

Tightly tied into the iTunes store, Apple’s slick set-top box also offers Netflix and TV show rentals from partners such as ABC and Fox, but it has fewer independent streaming options (no Pandora) than the competition. On the other hand, only the Apple TV lets you stream music, photos, and video from your iPhone or iPad. A recent software update adds iCloud support, so your music and photos stay in sync with your iPhone and iPad.

$99; www.apple.com