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CES gallery: New gear dazzles - 15 top choices

Here are the some of the products from CES that could change your life - or at least pique your interest.
By Andy Smith, Contributor
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CES 2011 didn't officially kick off until Thursday Jan. 6, but many of the top companies showcased their new gear to the press on Wednesday. Here are the some of the products that could change your life. Plus, here's more about the show on our special report.

Here's a product you'll probably never see but it could change the way you see things on your tech gear. Intel unveiled the second generation of its Core processors - codenamed “Sandy Bridge” -  playing up the visual elements that will create a new experience in computing. Read Sam Diaz's blog for more.

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Samsung said it has cooked up a new device—dubbed the Samsung Sliding PC 7 Series available in March—that offers the benefits of a laptop with key features of a tablet. Larry Dignan is interested.

But Chris Dawson's pretty confused by all these new tablets.

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ASUS has a different tablet strategy than most of the vendors trotting out tablets at CES 2011. Learn it’s two-pronged strategy for beating the iPad and get the details on its four tablets. This one is the Eee Pad Transformer which features the dual core NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor and will run Android 3.0. This machine can transform from a tablet into a laptop. Jason Hiner has more on the Transformer and other Eee laptops.

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Motorola Mobility has raised the bar on mobile computing, announcing four new Android-based products. The most impressive one, according to Sam Diaz, is the Atrix, which is compatible with a laptop dock station that turns the phone into an actual laptop computer.

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Toshiba unveiled its first mobile tablet for the U.S. market, a 10.1-inch device that runs on Google Android. Andrew Nusca has all the major details.

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General Motors said it would offer a retail, boxed version of an OnStar-equipped rearview mirror, giving nearly any vehicle — from a Ford to a Toyota — features such as automatic crash response, turn-by-turn navigation, stolen vehicle location assistance, emergency and roadside services and hands-free calling. For more, read Andrew Nusca's blog.

Here's a photo gallery

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Some of the already planned apps for Panasonic's new Viera Connect will be optimized for display on Panasonic's Viera HDTVs. They include programs from MLB, NHL, NBA, MLS, Skype, Facebook, Twitter, Ustream, BodyMedia, Withings and Hulu Plus. To match the new Viera Connect platform, Panasonic also introduced the Viera Tablet. Here's more from Rachel King.

Photo credit: Sarah Tew, CNET

Plus, other coverage of Panasonic products at CES:

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Microsoft had a busy day showing off the “next version of Windows” running on ARM processors.Microsoft Windows President Steven Sinofsky showed off an early build of Windows 8 runnong on new systems-on-a-chip (SoC) platforms from NVIDIA, Qualcomm and Texas Instruments on ARM. Mary Jo Foley has all the details.

Photo credit: James Martin, CNET

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Microsoft officials shared a few particulars on the next-generation Surface 2.0 device, which Samsung is manufacturing with Microsoft. he new Surface is only four inches thick and uses Gorilla glass to make it more durable. Mary Jo Foley has more.

Photo Credit: Microsoft

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But the biggest news from Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer's press conference may have been what he didn't say, according to Mary Jo Foley.

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In the mobile arena, AT&T Mobility CEO Ralph de la Vega says his company expects to roll out 4G services this summer. Meanwhile, AT&T diversified its smartphone lineup and touted new 4G Android devices from Motorola, HTC and Samsung. Larry Dignan has the scoop.

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LG puts in a claim that its new Optimus Black Android-based smartphone is the world’s slimmest mobile device at only 9.22mm. Andrew Nusca has more details.

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Everyone seems to have that one spot in their homes where the Wi-Fi network coverage is so spotty or even nonexistent, which is frustrating to no end. Netgear has some new solutions that might end that annoying feeling. Andrew Nusca explains.

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LG along with Nvidia announced their new "super phone," the LG Optimus 2X. The phone includes Nvidia's Tegra 2 chip which can manage 1080p video and “console-quality gaming,” according to the companies. Andrew Nusca has more.

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Motorola continues to roll out Android smartphones and the ones this year are taking advantage of the faster 4G data networks. Pictured is the Droid Bionic. Matthew Miller has details on Motorola's three new smartphones.

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