We’ve picked four of the fastest, sleekest portable hard drives of 2012 from some of the industry’s leading manufacturers and evaluated them based on price, design, selection of utilities and most importantly, speed. Though each drive supports USB 3.0 and features at least 750GB of storage space, not each device is created equal. Which of these drives offers the perfect combination of speed, design and price? Read on to find out.

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Buffalo MiniStation Extreme ($169)

Last January, Buffalo released the MiniStation Stealth, an unassuming portable hard drive that featured the fastest file transfer speeds we'd yet seen. Now, having released the MiniStation Extreme, Buffalo hopes to create a drive that is not only faster than the Stealth but features shock-resistance as well. Read on to find out if Buffalo succeeded.

Read Our Review of Buffalo MiniStation Extreme

Matt Hickey at The Daily reported last Friday that Microsoft plans to bring its popular Kinect motion-sensing device onto laptops in the near future. The preview laptops, which appeared to be ASUS netbooks running Windows 8, feature a number of sensors running across the top of the screen where the webcam would normally be positioned. The Kinect will be able to function at such close distances thanks to the device’s new ”Near Mode,” which allows it to detect movement from a distance as close as 40 centimeters. Although Steve Ballmer announced Kinect for Windows at CES, this is the first time that a device has been integrated directly into the hardware of a notebook.

Since the Kinect was first released in 2010, hackers have been devising ingenious ways to transform the device into everything from a virtual fitting room to a robotic, lightsaber-wielding “Jedibot”. As astoundingly creative as these projects may be, however, ordinary users may be less thrilled about how – for instance – surgeons are using the hands-free motion controls of the Kinect to manipulate images, speeding up operations and reducing the risk of contamination. So what kind of practical applications can the average user expect? Here are five ways the Kinect can be used to enhance your daily laptop experience:

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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 — EFun announced three new tablets here at CES 2012 and we spent some lengthy hands-on time with each of them. The tablets, which include the 7-inch Premium 7, the 8-inch Premium 8 and the 9.7-inch Premium 10, will all come preloaded with Google’s Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich rather than Android Honeycomb and getting an update to Ice Cream Sandwich later.

The Premium 7 and Premium 8 are basically fraternal twins, identical on the inside, different on the outside. Both tablets feature the same 1-Ghz single-core ARM Rockchip RK2918 Cortex-A8 processor and front-facing cameras. But where the Premium 7 has an 800 x 480 resolution 7-inch display, the Premium 8 has a higher resolution 1024 x 600 8-inch screen. Pricing for the units has yet to be announced, although the 7-inch could sell for as low as $129, and the 8-incher could go for $149. Read the rest of this entry »

LAS VEGAS — Gadget-chargers have been everywhere this CES–and we can’t complain. Nothing tests a device’s mettle like a full day of blogging, photographing, texting and emailing like crazy. And while we’ve seen plenty of devices for rejuicing your tech, not all of them offer the ruggedized protection of Mophie’s new Juice Pack Powerstation Pro.

This external battery features a USB and microUSB port for recharging your mobile gear, and it’s IP 65-certified to withstand dirt, sand, water and other potentially harmful elements. The USB ports are water-tight and sealed for safe keeping, and the whole package comes in a sturdy rubber housing.

The Juice Pack Powerstation Pro can switch between 500mAH, 1AH and 2.1A charge rates. The total amount of power is a whopping 6,000mAH. No word on pricing yet, but the power pack has been hyped here in Vegas and we imagine its release is soon to come.

• CES 2012: Full Coverage
• Mophie Juice Pack Air Review
• Mophie Juice Pack Review

LAS VEGAS — Do you think that the 3.5-inch, 960 x 540 display of your iPhone 4S fails to do justice to the graphical marvel that is Infinity Blade? Wish you could watch Iron Man on a screen larger than your iPad’s 9.7-inch display while traveling? Wish no more, as Mobile Monitor Technologies unveiled the first portable monitor compatible with mobile devices at CES 2012.

Building upon the first Monitor2Go — unveiled by Mobile Monitor Technologies at last year’s CES as the first portable monitor for computers — the new Monitor2Go  is not only compatible with USB-enabled notebooks and PCs but can also connect to Apple mobile devices such as the iPad and iPhone, as well as any HDMI-compatible smartphone or tablet. The 15.6-inch LCD LED display boasts an HD resolution of 1600 x 900.

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LAS VEGAS — Iogear’s new Multi-Touch Pad is a straightforward peripheral that nonetheless looks pretty promising at this year’s CES. Running a 2.4-GHz processor under the hood, this wireless mouse includes hotkeys for controlling settings such as volume and supports multitouch gestures. And with the touchpad area measuring almost 5 inches, you have plenty of room to double-tap, right-click, scroll and more.

The Multi-Touch Pad has a range of up to 33 feet from your PC. There’s an inclued USB Nano Adapter to minimize interference, and it’s built in for storage in the battery compartment. It’s available now for an MSRP of $79.95.

• CES 2012: Full Coverage
• Iogear Gear Juice – Mobile Pocket Power Review
• Microsoft Unveils Limited Edition Mice

LAS VEGAS — During a special CES 2012 keynote today, Qualcomm chief executive Dr. Paul Jacobs invited industry leaders to the stage to show off hardware leveraging the company’s latest computer processors. The presentation included several innovative gadgets, including a concept tablet running Windows 8, a new smart television set from Lenovo, a color eReader from Mirasol and augmented reality software that uses Snapdragon processor power to bring virtual life to a Sesame Street playset.

The most impressive product showcased the Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 chip-powered Windows 8 reference tablet. Jacobs shared that the chipset was more than powerful enough to run the Windows 8 interface on a touch-capable display, and demoed web browsing on the slate as it surfed the AT&T LTE network.

Before moving, the Qualcomm chief made a dig at competing chip makers, saying, “That’s all running on an ARM processor–and by the way, no fan.”

LAS VEGAS–Scosche might just be music to your ears, thanks to the addition of three premium headphones to its REALM line, announced at CES 2012. The REALM IDR676md in-ear headphones features an integrated bass contour switch, a first for Scosche. The switch allows listeners to customize the lower frequencies on a track. The company claims that the headphones’ 11mm drivers will give listeners clear crisp audio with powerful bass. The 1DR676mds will also come with several different sized dual flanged silicon inserts, ensuring a comfortable fit and increased noise isolation.

In terms of over-ear headphones, Scosche is releasing the RH656mds and a pair of yet-to-be-named Bluetooth headphones. Both sets of headphones have 40mm drivers with copper voice coils and neodymium magnets for accurate audio reproduction. Each model should fit snugly on the ears due to the genuine leather ear cups with memory foam. The Bluetooth headphones have a range of 33 feet as well as integrated controls (play, skip, pause and volume) that allow listeners to control the music directly from the headphones. All of Scosche’s new headphones will work with tuneQ, a free iOS-exclusive app that lets listeners adjust the equalizer.

And just in case you need to charge your music device on the go, Scosche has also announced five new portable chargers. Each charger is compatible with the free reVIVE app, which gives a graphical representation of how much time users have before their device runs out of power. It also displays how long it will take to recharge. 

Both the reVOLT h2 and reVOLT c2 are packing dual USB chargers. In another first, the C2 is the first shotgun shell-sized charger to house two USB chargers. Scosche claims that either charger carries enough juice to recharge two tablets either at home or on the go. The 2.1A reCOIL II has a retractable 3 foot long, 30 pin cable that can charge any iDevice. The cable  magnetically locks, ensuring against unsightly clutter.

The reviveLITE III is the latest generation of the reviveLITE docking charger/LED nightlight for iPod and iPhone. The reviveLITE III has all the bells and whistle of previous models and adds a side USB charger. The final addition to the Scosche’s CES debut is the microUSB version of the flipCharge burst battery backup and charger. The charger provides an emergency boost of energy to dying phones, able to boost most Android phones to above 30% of power.

No word on pricing and availabilty for any of the products, but we’ll keep you posted on any and all new developments. 

• CES 2012: Full Coverage
• Best Battery Life: Laptops That Last 7+ Hours
• Easy Battery Tips: Make Your Smartphone Last Longer